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Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was very commonly referred to by the name of Mahatma, which means great soul. He was born in Gujarat on October 2, 1869. Born as a fortunate child, Gandhi received a good education, but, unfortunately, turned out to be a mediocre student. At age 13, he was married to Kasturba Makhnaji, a wedding that was arranged by their parents. Gandhi was unhappy at college and at age 18, when his father offered him to go overseas for study, he accepted. Gandhi determinately followed Hindu practices including vegetarianism and abstinence from sex and drinking. Gandhi after a long struggle settled in London and researched many religions including Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism and several others . In 1893, Gandhi took a 1-year contract for legal work in South Africa with hopes to boost his self-confidence. His stay in Africa eventually extended to 21 years during which time he became a steadfast and resilient man. He came across his first injustice in South Africa when he was thrown off a train during his travel to Transvaal for his first case. He decided to fight against the injustice, but his fight was very non-violent, further driven by the power of truth and righteousness. He further termed his struggles as Satyagraha.
Upon his return to India, he felt the urge to work for his own people, and for the same purpose, he refined Satyagraha. He stood for injustices and challenged the people of India to stand up for their rights. Even though Gandhi held not office, and was not the proud owner of many estates, he managed to gain the love and respect from his own people. The main reason behind this was that he practiced what he preached, and seeing that, people grew more and more respectful for their leader. . It was during his first year back to India that Gandhi was given the title of Mahatma by his own people. He achieved plenty during his life, but none of these achievements was for his own benefit. Gandhi was a very selfless man and this character trait gained his a lot of love and respect among his own people. Gandhi never asked his people to do something he was not comfortable doing. Finally, in 1894, Gandhi founded the Indian National Congress as a political platform for the fight for the rights of the Indian people.
In 1920, Gandhi led a non-cooperation movement against the ruling British at the time of his return to India. The campaign lasted for two years where the people of India refused to use British goods and merchandise. Just like Gandhi, his followers also indulged in the fight against their rights in a very non-violent manner. The year of 1930 saw the civil disobedience movement where his following marched towards preparing salt and broke the salt law set by the British. The movement was very commonly referred to in the books of the Indian history as the salt march. Then in August 1942, Gandhi launched the quit India movement as a request for independence for the people of India. The greatest achievements of Gandhi yet were his ability to fight for a separate state for his people where they could live and worship peacefully, a fight that in the end he won.
Mahatma Gandhi often said that people must not lose hope in the power of humanity. He believed humanity to be an ocean. He explained that even if a few drops of water are dirty in the ocean, it does not make the ocean dirty (White, 2014). Gandhi led his life to make the life of his people better. He joined them in every march, protest, rally and movement and showed the real conduct to his people by practicing. He practiced what he believed in and what he did not believe in, he never asked his followers to do. Mahatma Gandhi was a real leader and an honest man. Even today, his name is taken with great respect and gratitude. This is his real legacy. That he will forever be the greatest leader as long as the state of India shows on the map.
References
Channel, T. w. (n.d.). Life and Accomplishments of Mahatma Gandhi. Retrieved from http://the-world-history-channel.blogspot.com/2012/09/life-and-accomplishments-of-mahatma.html
KUMAR, S. (2008, January 30). Mahatma Gandhi's achievements. Retrieved from https://www.opendemocracy.net/article/globalisation/mahatma_gandhi_s_achievement
Mahatma Gandhi. (n.d.). Retrieved from Biographies: http://www.history.co.uk/biographies/mahatma-gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi Accomplishments. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.dgreetings.com/gandhi_jayanti_cards/mahatma-gandhi-accomplishments.html
White, J. Terrorism and homeland security.
