great indian leader essay

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What did Gandhi try to accomplish with his activism?

What were gandhi’s religious beliefs, what other social movements did gandhi’s activism inspire, what was gandhi’s personal life like, what were contemporary opinions of gandhi.

Mahatma Gandhi

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Initially, Gandhi’s campaigns sought to combat the second-class status Indians received at the hands of the British regime. Eventually, however, they turned their focus to bucking the British regime altogether, a goal that was attained in the years directly after World War II. The victory was marred by the fact that sectarian violence within India between Hindus and Muslims necessitated the creation of two independent states—India and Pakistan—as opposed to a single unified India.

Gandhi’s family practiced a kind of Vaishnavism , one of the major traditions within Hinduism , that was inflected through the morally rigorous tenets of Jainism —an Indian faith for which concepts like asceticism and nonviolence are important. Many of the beliefs that characterized Gandhi’s spiritual outlook later in life may have originated in his upbringing. However, his understanding of faith was constantly evolving as he encountered new belief systems. Leo Tolstoy ’s analysis of Christian theology, for example, came to bear heavily on Gandhi’s conception of spirituality, as did texts such as the Bible and the Quʾrān , and he first read the Bhagavadgita —a Hindu epic—in its English translation while living in Britain.

Within India, Gandhi’s philosophy lived on in the messages of reformers such as social activist Vinoba Bhave . Abroad, activists such as Martin Luther King, Jr. , borrowed heavily from Gandhi’s practice of nonviolence and civil disobedience to achieve their own social equality aims. Perhaps most impactful of all, the freedom that Gandhi’s movement won for India sounded a death knell for Britain’s other colonial enterprises in Asia and Africa. Independence movements swept through them like wildfire, with Gandhi’s influence bolstering existing movements and igniting new ones.

Gandhi’s father was a local government official working under the suzerainty of the British Raj, and his mother was a religious devotee who—like the rest of the family—practiced in the Vaishnavist tradition of Hinduism . Gandhi married his wife, Kasturba , when he was 13, and together they had five children. His family stayed in India while Gandhi went to London in 1888 to study law and to South Africa in 1893 to practice it. He brought them to South Africa in 1897, where Kasturba would assist him in his activism, which she continued to do after the family moved back to India in 1915.

As lauded a figure as Gandhi has become, his actions and beliefs didn’t escape the criticism of his contemporaries. Liberal politicians thought he was proposing too much change too quickly, while young radicals lambasted him for not proposing enough. Muslim leaders suspected him of lacking evenhandedness when dealing with Muslims and his own Hindu religious community, and Dalits (formerly called untouchables) thought him disingenuous in his apparent intention to abolish the caste system . He cut a controversial figure outside India as well, although for different reasons. The English—as India’s colonizers—harboured some resentment toward him, as he toppled one of the first dominoes in their global imperial regime. But the image of Gandhi that has lasted is one that foregrounds his dogged fight against the oppressive forces of racism and colonialism and his commitment to nonviolence.

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Mahatma Gandhi (born October 2, 1869, Porbandar, India—died January 30, 1948, Delhi) was an Indian lawyer, politician, social activist, and writer who became the leader of the Indian Independence Movement against British rule . As such, he came to be considered the father of his country . Gandhi is internationally esteemed for his doctrine of nonviolent protest ( satyagraha ) to achieve political and social progress.

In the eyes of millions of his fellow Indians, Gandhi was the Mahatma (“Great Soul”). The unthinking adoration of the huge crowds that gathered to see him all along the route of his tours made them a severe ordeal; he could hardly work during the day or rest at night. “The woes of the Mahatmas,” he wrote, “are known only to the Mahatmas.” His fame spread worldwide during his lifetime and only increased after his death. The name Mahatma Gandhi is now one of the most universally recognized on earth.

Gandhi was the youngest child of his father’s fourth wife. His father—Karamchand Gandhi, who was the dewan (chief minister) of Porbandar , the capital of a small principality in western India (in what is now Gujarat state) under British suzerainty—did not have much in the way of a formal education. He was, however, an able administrator who knew how to steer his way between the capricious princes, their long-suffering subjects, and the headstrong British political officers in power.

Gandhi’s mother, Putlibai, was completely absorbed in religion , did not care much for finery or jewelry, divided her time between her home and the temple, fasted frequently, and wore herself out in days and nights of nursing whenever there was sickness in the family. Mohandas grew up in a home steeped in Vaishnavism —worship of the Hindu god Vishnu —with a strong tinge of Jainism , a morally rigorous Indian religion whose chief tenets are nonviolence and the belief that everything in the universe is eternal. Thus, he took for granted ahimsa (noninjury to all living beings), vegetarianism , fasting for self-purification, and mutual tolerance between adherents of various creeds and sects.

The educational facilities at Porbandar were rudimentary; in the primary school that Mohandas attended, the children wrote the alphabet in the dust with their fingers. Luckily for him, his father became dewan of Rajkot , another princely state. Though Mohandas occasionally won prizes and scholarships at the local schools, his record was on the whole mediocre . One of the terminal reports rated him as “good at English, fair in Arithmetic and weak in Geography; conduct very good, bad handwriting.” He was married at the age of 13 and thus lost a year at school. A diffident child, he shone neither in the classroom nor on the playing field. He loved to go out on long solitary walks when he was not nursing his by then ailing father (who died soon thereafter) or helping his mother with her household chores.

He had learned, in his words, “to carry out the orders of the elders, not to scan them.” With such extreme passivity, it is not surprising that he should have gone through a phase of adolescent rebellion, marked by secret atheism , petty thefts, furtive smoking, and—most shocking of all for a boy born in a Vaishnava family—meat eating. His adolescence was probably no stormier than that of most children of his age and class. What was extraordinary was the way his youthful transgressions ended.

“Never again” was his promise to himself after each escapade. And he kept his promise. Beneath an unprepossessing exterior, he concealed a burning passion for self-improvement that led him to take even the heroes of Hindu mythology, such as Prahlada and Harishcandra—legendary embodiments of truthfulness and sacrifice—as living models.

In 1887 Mohandas scraped through the matriculation examination of the University of Bombay (now University of Mumbai ) and joined Samaldas College in Bhavnagar (Bhaunagar). As he had to suddenly switch from his native language— Gujarati —to English, he found it rather difficult to follow the lectures.

Meanwhile, his family was debating his future. Left to himself, he would have liked to have been a doctor. But, besides the Vaishnava prejudice against vivisection , it was clear that, if he was to keep up the family tradition of holding high office in one of the states in Gujarat, he would have to qualify as a barrister . That meant a visit to England , and Mohandas, who was not too happy at Samaldas College, jumped at the proposal. His youthful imagination conceived England as “a land of philosophers and poets, the very centre of civilization.” But there were several hurdles to be crossed before the visit to England could be realized. His father had left the family little property; moreover, his mother was reluctant to expose her youngest child to unknown temptations and dangers in a distant land. But Mohandas was determined to visit England. One of his brothers raised the necessary money, and his mother’s doubts were allayed when he took a vow that, while away from home, he would not touch wine, women, or meat. Mohandas disregarded the last obstacle—the decree of the leaders of the Modh Bania subcaste ( Vaishya caste), to which the Gandhis belonged, who forbade his trip to England as a violation of the Hindu religion—and sailed in September 1888. Ten days after his arrival, he joined the Inner Temple , one of the four London law colleges ( The Temple ).

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Mahatma Gandhi

By: History.com Editors

Updated: June 6, 2019 | Original: July 30, 2010

Revered the world over for his nonviolent philosophy of passive resistance, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was known to his many followers as Mahatma, or “the great-souled one.” He began his activism as an Indian immigrant in South Africa in the early 1900s, and in the years following World War I became the leading figure in India’s struggle to gain independence from Great Britain. Known for his ascetic lifestyle–he often dressed only in a loincloth and shawl–and devout Hindu faith, Gandhi was imprisoned several times during his pursuit of non-cooperation, and undertook a number of hunger strikes to protest the oppression of India’s poorest classes, among other injustices. After Partition in 1947, he continued to work toward peace between Hindus and Muslims. Gandhi was shot to death in Delhi in January 1948 by a Hindu fundamentalist.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, at Porbandar, in the present-day Indian state of Gujarat. His father was the dewan (chief minister) of Porbandar; his deeply religious mother was a devoted practitioner of Vaishnavism (worship of the Hindu god Vishnu), influenced by Jainism, an ascetic religion governed by tenets of self-discipline and nonviolence. At the age of 19, Mohandas left home to study law in London at the Inner Temple, one of the city’s four law colleges. Upon returning to India in mid-1891, he set up a law practice in Bombay, but met with little success. He soon accepted a position with an Indian firm that sent him to its office in South Africa. Along with his wife, Kasturbai, and their children, Gandhi remained in South Africa for nearly 20 years.

Did you know? In the famous Salt March of April-May 1930, thousands of Indians followed Gandhi from Ahmadabad to the Arabian Sea. The march resulted in the arrest of nearly 60,000 people, including Gandhi himself.

Gandhi was appalled by the discrimination he experienced as an Indian immigrant in South Africa. When a European magistrate in Durban asked him to take off his turban, he refused and left the courtroom. On a train voyage to Pretoria, he was thrown out of a first-class railway compartment and beaten up by a white stagecoach driver after refusing to give up his seat for a European passenger. That train journey served as a turning point for Gandhi, and he soon began developing and teaching the concept of satyagraha (“truth and firmness”), or passive resistance, as a way of non-cooperation with authorities.

The Birth of Passive Resistance

In 1906, after the Transvaal government passed an ordinance regarding the registration of its Indian population, Gandhi led a campaign of civil disobedience that would last for the next eight years. During its final phase in 1913, hundreds of Indians living in South Africa, including women, went to jail, and thousands of striking Indian miners were imprisoned, flogged and even shot. Finally, under pressure from the British and Indian governments, the government of South Africa accepted a compromise negotiated by Gandhi and General Jan Christian Smuts, which included important concessions such as the recognition of Indian marriages and the abolition of the existing poll tax for Indians.

In July 1914, Gandhi left South Africa to return to India. He supported the British war effort in World War I but remained critical of colonial authorities for measures he felt were unjust. In 1919, Gandhi launched an organized campaign of passive resistance in response to Parliament’s passage of the Rowlatt Acts, which gave colonial authorities emergency powers to suppress subversive activities. He backed off after violence broke out–including the massacre by British-led soldiers of some 400 Indians attending a meeting at Amritsar–but only temporarily, and by 1920 he was the most visible figure in the movement for Indian independence.

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The iconic Indian activist, known for his principle of nonviolent resistance, had humble beginnings and left an outsized legacy.

When Gandhi’s Salt March Rattled British Colonial Rule

In March 1930, Mahatma Gandhi and his followers set off on a brisk 241‑mile march to the Arabian Sea town of Dandi to lay Indian claim to the nation's own salt.

Assassination of Gandhi

Passive Resistance For some 50 years, Gandhi, born on October 2, 1869, and called “Mahatma” (“great‑souled” in Sanskrit), fought for India’s independence from Britain, practicing civil disobedience and peaceful protests that included fasting, boycotts and marches. He was an adherent of satyagraha (“truth‑force”), a passive political resistance he defined as “a weapon of the strongest […]

Leader of a Movement

As part of his nonviolent non-cooperation campaign for home rule, Gandhi stressed the importance of economic independence for India. He particularly advocated the manufacture of khaddar, or homespun cloth, in order to replace imported textiles from Britain. Gandhi’s eloquence and embrace of an ascetic lifestyle based on prayer, fasting and meditation earned him the reverence of his followers, who called him Mahatma (Sanskrit for “the great-souled one”). Invested with all the authority of the Indian National Congress (INC or Congress Party), Gandhi turned the independence movement into a massive organization, leading boycotts of British manufacturers and institutions representing British influence in India, including legislatures and schools.

After sporadic violence broke out, Gandhi announced the end of the resistance movement, to the dismay of his followers. British authorities arrested Gandhi in March 1922 and tried him for sedition; he was sentenced to six years in prison but was released in 1924 after undergoing an operation for appendicitis. He refrained from active participation in politics for the next several years, but in 1930 launched a new civil disobedience campaign against the colonial government’s tax on salt, which greatly affected Indian’s poorest citizens.

A Divided Movement

In 1931, after British authorities made some concessions, Gandhi again called off the resistance movement and agreed to represent the Congress Party at the Round Table Conference in London. Meanwhile, some of his party colleagues–particularly Mohammed Ali Jinnah, a leading voice for India’s Muslim minority–grew frustrated with Gandhi’s methods, and what they saw as a lack of concrete gains. Arrested upon his return by a newly aggressive colonial government, Gandhi began a series of hunger strikes in protest of the treatment of India’s so-called “untouchables” (the poorer classes), whom he renamed Harijans, or “children of God.” The fasting caused an uproar among his followers and resulted in swift reforms by the Hindu community and the government.

In 1934, Gandhi announced his retirement from politics in, as well as his resignation from the Congress Party, in order to concentrate his efforts on working within rural communities. Drawn back into the political fray by the outbreak of World War II , Gandhi again took control of the INC, demanding a British withdrawal from India in return for Indian cooperation with the war effort. Instead, British forces imprisoned the entire Congress leadership, bringing Anglo-Indian relations to a new low point.

Partition and Death of Gandhi

After the Labor Party took power in Britain in 1947, negotiations over Indian home rule began between the British, the Congress Party and the Muslim League (now led by Jinnah). Later that year, Britain granted India its independence but split the country into two dominions: India and Pakistan. Gandhi strongly opposed Partition, but he agreed to it in hopes that after independence Hindus and Muslims could achieve peace internally. Amid the massive riots that followed Partition, Gandhi urged Hindus and Muslims to live peacefully together, and undertook a hunger strike until riots in Calcutta ceased.

In January 1948, Gandhi carried out yet another fast, this time to bring about peace in the city of Delhi. On January 30, 12 days after that fast ended, Gandhi was on his way to an evening prayer meeting in Delhi when he was shot to death by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu fanatic enraged by Mahatma’s efforts to negotiate with Jinnah and other Muslims. The next day, roughly 1 million people followed the procession as Gandhi’s body was carried in state through the streets of the city and cremated on the banks of the holy Jumna River.

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Mahatma gandhi at 150: lessons on leadership.

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Today, October 2, marks the 150 th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi.  Around the world, Gandhi’s legacy of non-violence and as the father of India’s Independence Movement is being commemorated and analyzed for relevance in our increasingly turbulent times.  Gandhi became the role model for the most successful political movement leaders of the 20th century – from Martin Luther King to Lech Walesa, Cesar Chavez and Nelson Mandela.

Had he come of age today, Gandhi might have branded himself as a “social entrepreneur”.  In reality, few social entrepreneurs have achieved anywhere near the scale of impact that Gandhi was able to.  But the comparison is apt, as Gandhi was never a head of state or government, but instead, the head of a private organization - the Indian National Congress, that, along with its many partners, mobilized an incredibly diverse and complex peoples into a united movement against British imperialism.  He led first and foremost by understanding the diversity of India and its people – economically, culturally, religiously, and deeply integrating that diversity into the Independence movement.  He further integrated himself into the movement by dedicating his life to the cause, living as much among the people as possible, and actually risking death many times for the cause.  While there may never be another Gandhi, there is no reason that today’s committed social entrepreneurs can’t embrace their own version of Gandhi’s personal and political leadership commitment.

Arguably, Gandhi’s greatest leadership trait was his ability to visualize the qualities of a successful, post-Independence Indian nation, and maintain a life-long focus on the four intertwined challenges that he believed must be collectively addressed for India to achieve success as a nation.  The four challenges, or goals, as articulated by Ramchandra Guha in his book,  “ Gandhi, The Years That Changed The World ”; were: to free India from British occupation, to end untouchability, to improve relations between Hindus and Muslims, and to make India into a self-reliant nation – economically and socially.   Gandhi aligned most of the social movements he led around these four goals - starting with his work in South Africa and continuing until his death.  He believed firmly that without addressing all four challenges simultaneously, India could not acquire independence and become a successful nation.   Without communal harmony between Hindus and Muslims, or between upper caste and lower caste Hindu’s, for example, Gandhi did not believe India would ever achieve its potential.

A second element of Gandhi’s leadership was his lifelong commitment to achieving that intertwined vision of a successful Indian nation.  Starting in the 1890’s with his work in South Africa until his death in 1948, Gandhi wrote, mobilized and preached about the same goals of freedom, inclusion, harmony, diversity and empowerment.  Today, few of the most committed social entrepreneurs have the energy to stay engaged on the same set of issues for 50-60 years.  Dr. Muhammad Yunus of the Grameen Bank has been one, very notable exception.

Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi’s most well-known, and most-studied, leadership trait was his willingness to live like the majority of Indians that he sought to help, and his exhortation that all Indians “be the change they wish to see in this world”.    It seems obvious, but in a day and age when NGO leaders are in Davos, London and New York as much as they are in the villages, and when NGO salaries remain a hot topic, Gandhi’s ability to live comfortably among villagers and the urban poor – to be the change he wished to see, brought him the credibility, trust and intellectual understanding needed to lead India’s independence movement.  While today’s social entrepreneurs also have compelling visions for change, they are often unable to separate themselves from the global elite to which they have historically belonged.  And fairly or unfairly, many for-profit entrepreneurs and social enterprises are perceived as seeking to profit off the backs of the world’s poor, and never gain credibility, even when their primary objective and motivation is to improve the human condition.

Gandhi’s least studied leadership trait was his ability to use the fast as a social and political weapon.  Over the course of his life time, Gandhi fasted 14 times for social, religious or political purposes – a skill he mastered through personal practice.  He would fast for personal penance and to build his own capacity for sacrifice, ahimsa and brahmacharya.

Today in business and entrepreneurship, we often talk about core competency and disruptive innovation.  Entrepreneurs are told to develop a product or service that is difficult to compete against - technically complex, different from the past and very difficult to replicate by others.

Gandhi’s ability to fast for social change was his core competency.  It took him many years to train his body and mind to function without food, and only later did he use the fast as a political weapon.  No one else could do it and there was no answer for it – from anyone.  The British never had an effective response, nor did angry Indian communal rioters.  In each case, Gandhi’s fasts brought capitulation to his wishes, because anything was a more acceptable solution than to allow Gandhi’s death.   It was a great innovation in social movements that, except for Cesar Chavez’s fasts for farm workers in California, has never been remotely replicated.

The elements of Gandhi’s leadership model remain relevant today.  Whether a leader is seeking to end sexual discrimination, eradicate HIV/AIDS or legislate a jobs program, they will need their own version of Gandhi’s leadership model - re-imagined in their own vision.   In the age of the #MeToo movement, for example, leaders for gender equality and an end to sexual harassment must attack the intertwined issues of religion, family structure, sexism, and the transformation of labor markets.  Similarly, to eradicate the HIV virus will require new drugs and vaccines, but will also transformation in the health care system, cultural norms around sexuality, building rural health delivery programs and many other things.  These will take a life time to achieve and require leaders with great credibility and trust amongst the communities they are seeking to help and change.  Gandhi was able to maintain the support of India’s upper caste Hindu’s and industrialists while maintaining the trust of the rural and poor.

What’s missing today is the 2019 version of the fast.  We have major global crises in areas like climate change and forced migration, but no leaders who have yet found tools, like Gandhi’s fast-till-death, to push public opinion and government leaders to action.  Our greatest commemoration of Gandhi’s life may be to find the tools that lead to large-scale change non-violently, but forcibly in the same manner that he did so effectively.

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Mahatma Gandhi

Date of Birth: October 2, 1869

Place of Birth: Porbandar, British India (now Gujarat)

Date of Death: January 30, 1948

Place of Death: Delhi, India

Cause of Death: Assassination

Professions: Lawyer, politician, activist, writer

Spouse : Kasturba Gandhi

Children: Harilal Gandhi, Manilal Gandhi, Ramdas Gandhi and Devdas Gandhi

Father: Karamchand Uttamchand Gandhi

Mother: Putlibai Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an eminent freedom activist and an influential political leader who played a dominant role in India's struggle for independence. Gandhi is known by different names, such as Mahatma (a great soul), Bapuji (endearment for father in Gujarati) and Father of the Nation. Every year, his birthday is celebrated as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday in India, and also observed as the International Day of Nonviolence. Mahatma Gandhi, as he is most commonly referred to, was instrumental in liberating India from the clutches of the British. With his unusual yet powerful political tools of Satyagraha and non-violence, he inspired several other political leaders all over the world including the likes of Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr and Aung San Suu Kyi. Gandhi, apart from helping India triumph in its fight for independence against the English, also led a simple and righteous life, for which he is often revered. Gandhi's early life was pretty much ordinary, and he became a great man during the course of his life. This is one of the main reasons why Gandhi is followed by millions, for he proved that one can become a great soul during the course of one’s life, should they possess the will to do so. 

M. K. Gandhi was born in the princely state of Porbandar, which is located in modern-day Gujarat. He was born into a Hindu merchant caste family to Karamchand Gandhi, diwan of Porbandar and his fourth wife, Putlibai. Gandhi’s mother belonged to an affluent Pranami Vaishnava family. As a child, Gandhi was a very naughty and mischievous kid. In fact, his sister Raliat had once revealed that hurting dogs by twisting their ears was among Maohandas’ favorite pastime. During the course of his childhood, Gandhi befriended Sheikh Mehtab, who was introduced to him by his older brother. Gandhi, who was raised by a vegetarian family, started eating meat. It is also said that a young Gandhi accompanied Sheikh to a brothel, but left the place after finding it uncomfortable. Gandhi, along with one of his relatives, also cultivated the habit of smoking after watching his uncle smoke. After smoking the leftover cigarettes, thrown away by his uncle, Gandhi started stealing copper coins from his servants in order to buy Indian cigarettes. When he could no longer steal, he even decided to commit suicide such was Gandhi’s addiction to cigarettes. At the age of fifteen, after stealing a bit of gold from his friend Sheikh’s armlet, Gandhi felt remorseful and confessed to his father about his stealing habit and vowed to him that he would never commit such mistakes again.

In his early years, Gandhi was deeply influenced by the stories of Shravana and Harishchandra that reflected the importance of truth. Through these stories and from his personal experiences, he realized that truth and love are among the supreme values. Mohandas married Kasturba Makhanji at the age of 13. Gandhi later went on to reveal that the marriage didn’t mean anything to him at that age and that he was happy and excited only about wearing new set of clothes. But then as days passed by, his feelings for her turned lustful, which he later confessed with regret in his autobiography. Gandhi had also confessed that he could no more concentrate in school because of his mind wavering towards his new and young wife.

After his family moved to Rajkot, a nine year old Gandhi was enrolled at a local school, where he studied the basics of arithmetic, history, geography and languages. When he was 11 years old, he attended a high school in Rajkot. He lost an academic year in between because of his wedding but later rejoined the school and eventually completed his schooling. He then dropped out of Samaldas College in Bhavnagar State after joining it in the year 1888. Later Gandhi was advised by a family friend Mavji Dave Joshiji to pursue law in London. Excited by the idea, Gandhi managed to convince his mother and wife by vowing before them that he would abstain from eating meat and from having sex in London. Supported by his brother, Gandhi left to London and attended the Inner Temple and practiced law. During his stay in London, Gandhi joined a Vegetarian Society and was soon introduced to Bhagavad Gita by some of his vegetarian friends. The contents of Bhagavad Gita would later have a massive influence on his life. He came back to India after being called to the bar by Inner Temple.

Gandhi in South Africa

After returning to India, Gandhi struggled to find work as a lawyer. In 1893, Dada Abdullah, a merchant who owned a shipping business in South Africa asked if he would be interested to serve as his cousin’s lawyer in South Africa. Gandhi gladly accepted the offer and left to South Africa, which would serve as a turning point in his political career. 

In South Africa, he faced racial discrimination directed towards blacks and Indians. He faced humiliation on many occasions but made up his mind to fight for his rights. This turned him into an activist and he took upon him many cases that would benefit the Indians and other minorities living in South Africa. Indians were not allowed to vote or walk on footpaths as those privileges were limited strictly to the Europeans. Gandhi questioned this unfair treatment and eventually managed to establish an organization named ‘Natal Indian Congress’ in 1894. After he came across an ancient Indian literature known as ‘Tirukkural’, which was originally written in Tamil and later translated into many languages, Gandhi was influenced by the idea of Satyagraha (devotion to the truth) and implemented non-violent protests around 1906. After spending 21 years in South Africa, where he fought for civil rights, he had transformed into a new person and he returned to India in 1915. 

Gandhi and the Indian National Congress

After his long stay in South Africa and his activism against the racist policy of the British, Gandhi had earned the reputation as a nationalist, theorist and organiser. Gopal Krishna Gokhale, a senior leader of the Indian National Congress, invited Gandhi to join India’s struggle for independence against the British Rule. Gokhale thoroughly guided Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi about the prevailing political situation in India and also the social issues of the time. He then joined the Indian National Congress and before taking over the leadership in 1920, headed many agitations which he named Satyagraha.

Image source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/17029304817074165/

Champaran Satyagraha

The Champaran agitation in 1917 was the first major success of Gandhi after his arrival in India. The peasants of the area were forced by the British landlords to grow Indigo, which was a cash crop, but its demand had been declining. To make the matters worse, they were forced to sell their crops to the planters at a fixed price. The farmers turned to Gandhiji for help. Pursuing a strategy of nonviolent agitation, Gandhi took the administration by surprise and was successful in getting concessions from the authorities. This campaign marked Gandhi’s arrival in India!

Kheda Satyagraha

Farmers asked the British to relax the payment of taxes as Kheda was hit by floods in 1918. When the British failed to pay heed to the requests, Gandhi took the case of the farmers and led the protests. He instructed them to refrain from paying revenues no matter what. Later, the British gave in and accepted to relax the revenue collection and gave its word to Vallabhbhai Patel, who had represented the farmers.  

Image source: YouTube.com

Khilafat Movement Post World War I

Gandhi had agreed to support the British during their fight in World War I. But the British failed to grant independence post the war, as promised earlier, and as a result of this Khilafat Movement was launched. Gandhi realized that Hindus and Muslims must unite to fight the British and urged both the communities to show solidarity and unity. But his move was questioned by many Hindu leaders. Despite the opposition from many leaders, Gandhi managed to amass the support of Muslims. But as the Khilafat Movement ended abruptly, all his efforts evaporated into thin air.

Non-cooperation Movement and Gandhi

Non-cooperation Movement was one of Gandhi’s most important movements against the British. Gandhi’s urged his fellow countrymen to stop co-operation with the British. He believed that the British succeeded in India only because of the co-operation of the Indians. He had cautioned the British not to pass the Rowlatt Act, but they did not pay any attention to his words and passed the Act. As announced, Gandhiji asked everyone to start civil disobedience against the British. The British began suppressing the civil disobedience movement by force and opened fire on a peaceful crowd in Delhi. The British asked Gandhiji to not enter Delhi which he defied as a result of which he was arrested and this further enraged people and they rioted. He urged people to show unity, non-violence and respect for human life. But the British responded aggressively to this and arrested many protesters. 

On 13 April 1919, a British officer, Dyer, ordered his forces to open fire on a peaceful gathering, including women and children, in Amritsar’s Jallianwala Bagh. As a result of this, hundreds of innocent Hindu and Sikh civilians were killed. The incident is known as ‘Jallianwala Bagh Massacre’. But Gandhi criticized the protesters instead of blaming the English and asked Indians to use love while dealing with the hatred of British. He urged the Indians to refrain from all kinds of non-violence and went on fast-to-death to pressure Indians to stop their rioting.  

Image source: Wikimedia.org

The concept of non-cooperation became very popular and started spreading through the length and breadth of India. Gandhi extended this movement and focused on Swaraj. He urged people to stop using British goods. He also asked people to resign from government employment, quit studying in British institutions and stop practicing in law courts. However, the violent clash in Chauri Chaura town of Uttar Pradesh, in February 1922, forced Gandhiji to call-off the movement all of a sudden. Gandhi was arrested on 10th March 1922 and was tried for sedition. He was sentenced to six years imprisonment, but served only two years in prison. 

Simon Commission & Salt Satyagraha (Dandi March)

During the period of 1920s, Mahatma Gandhi concentrated on resolving the wedge between the Swaraj Party and the Indian National Congress. In 1927, British had appointed Sir John Simon as the head of a new constitutional reform commission, popularly known as ‘Simon Commission’. There was not even a single Indian in the commission. Agitated by this, Gandhi passed a resolution at the Calcutta Congress in December 1928, calling on the British government to grant India dominion status. In case of non-compliance with this demand, the British were to face a new campaign of non-violence, having its goal as complete independence for the country. The resolution was rejected by the British. The flag of India was unfurled by the Indian national Congress on 31st December 1929 at its Lahore session. January 26, 1930 was celebrated as the Independence Day of India. 

But the British failed to recognize it and soon they levied a tax on salt and Salt Satyagraha was launched in March 1930, as an opposition to this move. Gandhi started the Dandi March with his followers in March, going from Ahmedabad to Dandi on foot. The protest was successful and resulted in the Gandhi-Irwin Pact in March 1931.

Negotiations over Round Table Conferences

Post the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, Gandhi was invited to round table conferences by the British. While Gandhi pressed for the Indian independence, British questioned Gandhi’s motives and asked him not to speak for the entire nation. They invited many religious leaders and B. R. Ambedkar to represent the untouchables. The British promised many rights to various religious groups as well as the untouchables. Fearing this move would divide India further, Gandhi protested against this by fasting. After learning about the true intentions of the British during the second conference, he came up with another Satyagraha, for which he was once again arrested.

Quit India Movement

As the World War II progressed, Mahatma Gandhi intensified his protests for the complete independence of India. He drafted a resolution calling for the British to Quit India. The 'Quit India Movement' or the 'Bharat Chhodo Andolan' was the most aggressive movement launched by the Indian national Congrees under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi was arrested on 9th August 1942 and was held for two years in the Aga Khan Palace in Pune, where he lost his secretary, Mahadev Desai and his wife, Kasturba. The Quit India Movement came to an end by the end of 1943, when the British gave hints that complete power would be transferred to the people of India. Gandhi called off the movement which resulted in the release of 100,000 political prisoners. 

Freedom and Partition of India

The independence cum partition proposal offered by the British Cabinet Mission in 1946 was accepted by the Congress, despite being advised otherwise by Mahatma Gandhi. Sardar Patel convinced Gandhi that it was the only way to avoid civil war and he reluctantly gave his consent. After India's independence, Gandhi focused on peace and unity of Hindus and Muslims. He launched his last fast-unto-death in Delhi, and asked people to stop communal violence and emphasized that the payment of Rs. 55 crores, as per the Partition Council agreement, be made to Pakistan. Ultimately, all political leaders conceded to his wishes and he broke his fast. 

Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi

The inspiring life of Mahatma Gandhi came to an end on 30th January 1948, when he was shot by a fanatic, Nathuram Godse, at point-blank range. Nathuram was a Hindu radical, who held Gandhi responsible for weakening India by ensuring the partition payment to Pakistan. Godse and his co-conspirator, Narayan Apte, were later tried and convicted. They were executed on 15th November 1949. 

Mahatma Gandhi’s Legacy

Mahatma Gandhi proposed the acceptance and practice of truth, peace, non-violence, vegetarianism, Brahmacharya (celibacy), simplicity and faith in God. Though he would be remembered forever for his great contribution to the Indian freedom movement, his greatest legacies are the tools of peace and non-iolence that he preached and used in India's struggle for freedom against the British. He was for peace and non-violence all over the world, as he truly believed that only these virtues can save the mankind. Mahatma Gandhi once wrote a letter to Hitler , before the World War II, pleading him to avoid war. These methods inspired several other world leaders in their struggle against injustice. His statues are installed all over the world and he is considered the most prominent personality in Indian history.

Gandhi in Popular Culture

The word Mahatma is often mistaken in the West as Gandhi’s first name. His extraordinary life inspired innumerable works of art in the field of literature, art and showbiz. Many movies and documentaries have been made on the life of the Mahatma. Post the Independence, Gandhi’s image became the mainstay of Indian paper currency. 

Source: Mahatma Gandhi Quotes @ FamousQuotes123

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Mahatma Gandhi: The Father of the Nation

Last updated on July 9, 2024 by ClearIAS Team

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi.

Gandhi was a lawyer, nationalist, and anti-colonial activist. He led a non-violent mass movement against the British rule of India which ultimately resulted in Indian independence .

Mahatma Gandhi is revered in India as the Father of the Nation.

Table of Contents

The early life of Mahatma Gandhi: Birth and Family

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Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2 nd October 1869, in Porbandar in the princely state of Kathiawar in Gujarat.

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His father was Karamchand Uttamchand Gandhi who served as a dewan of Porbandar state. His mother was Putlibai who came from Junagadh. Mohandas was the youngest of four children. He had two brothers and a sister.

At age of 13, Mohandas was married to 14-year-old Kastubai Makhanji Kapadia as was the custom at that time.

His father passed away in 1885, and the same year he and his wife lost their first child. The Gandhi couple later had four sons over the years.

Education of Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi Ji received his primary education in Rajkot where his father had relocated as dewan to the ruler Thakur Sahib. He went to Alfred high school in Rajkot at the age of 11.

In 1887, at the age of 18, Gandhi Ji graduated from a high school in Ahmedabad. He later enrolled at a college in Bhavnagar but dropped out later. He had also joined and eventually dropped out of a college in Bombay.

He then went to London in 1888 to pursue law at the university college. After completing his studies, he was invited to be enrolled at Inner temple to become a barrister.

He returned to India in 1891 at the age of 22 after his mother passed away.

He failed to establish a successful law career both in Rajkot and Bombay.

In 1893, he moved to Durban, South Africa, on a one-year contract to sort out the legal problems of Abdullah, a Gujarati merchant.

South Africa during the 1800s

The British had colonized and settled in the Natal and Cape provinces of South Africa during the 1840s and 50s. Transvaal and Orange Free State were independent Boer (British and Dutch settlers) ruled states. Boer means farmer settler in Dutch and Afrikaans. The governance of colonial regions (Natal and Cape) was controlled by the minority white population which enforced segregation between government-defined races in all spheres.

This created three societies- whites (British and Dutch or Boer ancestry), Blacks and Coloureds (mixed race) which included ethnic Asians (Indians, Malayans, Filipinos, and Chinese).

Indian immigration to South Africa began in the 1860s, when whites recruited indentured Indian labour (Girmityas), especially from south India, to work on sugar plantations. Later many Indian merchants, mostly meman Muslims also migrated. By the 1890s, the children of the ex-indentured labourers had settled down in South Africa making up the third group.

Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa

1893 : Mohandas Gandhi witnessed extreme apartheid or racial discrimination against Asians in South Africa. His journey from Durban to Pretoria witnessed the famous incident when he was thrown out of a first-class compartment by a white man at Pietermaritzburg station. Upon arriving at Johanessburg, he was refused rooms in the hotels.

These experiences motivated him to stay in South Africa for a longer period to organize the Indian workers to enable them to fight for their rights. He started teaching English to the Asian population there and tried to organize them to protest against the oppression.

1894: After the culmination of his Abdullah case in 1894, he stayed on there and planned to assist Indians in opposing a bill to deny them the right to vote. He founded the Natal Indian Congress and moulded the Indian community into a unified political force.

1899-1902: The Boer War

The Boer War extended Britain’s control from Natal and Cape Province to include Transvaal and Orange Free State.

During this time, Gandhi volunteered to form a group of stretcher-bearers as the Natal Indian ambulance corps. It consisted of indentured labourers and was funded by the Indian community and helped treatment and evacuation of wounded British soldiers.

Gandhi Ji thought that helping the British war efforts would win over the British imperial government and earn sympathy for the plight of Indians there. He was also awarded the Queen’s South Africa Medal for serving the British empire.

Till 1906, it was the moderate phase of the struggle for the Indians in South Africa. During this time, Gandhi concentrated on petitioning and sending memorials to the legislatures, the colonial secretary in London, and the British parliament.

1906: The Civil Disobedience in South Africa

The failure of moderate methods led to the second phase of the struggle, civil disobedience or the Satyagraha.

He started two settlements- the Phoenix settlement in Durban and the Tolstoy farm in Johanessburg for helping the needy and initiate a communal living tradition.

His first notable resistance was against the law passed by the government, making it compulsory for Indians to take out certifications of registrations that held their fingerprints and was compulsory to carry it on the person at all times. Gandhi formed a Passive Resistance Association against this.

Gandhi and his followers were jailed. Later the government agreed to withdraw the law if Indians voluntarily registered. They were tricked into the registrations and they protested again by publicly burning their certificates.

1908: The existing campaign expanded to protest against the new law to restrict migrations of Indians between provinces. Gandhi and others were jailed and sentenced to hard physical labour.

1910: Gandhi Ji set up the Tolstoy farm in Johannesburg to ready the satyagrahis to the harsh conditions of the prison hence helping to keep the resistance moving forward.

1911: Gopal Krishna Gokhale visited South Africa as a state guest on the occasion of the coronation of King George V. Gokhale and Gandhi met at Durban and established a good relationship.

1913: The satyagraha continued against varied oppressive laws brought by the government. The movement against the law invalidating marriages not conducted according to Christian rites brought out many Indian women onto the movement.

Gandhi launched a final mass movement of over 2000 men, women, and children. They were jailed and forced into miserable conditions and hard labour. This caused the whole Indian community in South Africa to rise on strike.

In India, Gokhale worked to make the public aware of the situation in South Africa which led the then Viceroy Hardinge to call for an inquiry into the atrocities.

A series of negotiations took place between Gandhiji, Viceroy Hardinge, CR Andrews (Christian missionary and Indian Independence activist), and General Smuts of South Africa. This led to the government conceding to most of the Indians’ demands.

Gandhiji’s return to India: 1915

1915: On the request of Gokhale, conveyed by CF Andrews (Deenbandhu), Gandhi Ji returned to India to help with the Indian struggle for independence .

The last phase of the Indian National movement is known as the Gandhian era.

Mahatma Gandhi became the undisputed leader of the National Movement. His principles of nonviolence and Satyagraha were employed against the British government. Gandhi made the nationalist movement a mass movement.

On returning to India in 1915, Gandhi toured the country for one year on Gokhale’s insistence. He then established an ashram in Ahmedabad to settle his phoenix family.

He first took up the cause of indentured labour in India thus continuing his fight in South Africa to abolish it.

Gandhiji joined the Indian National Congress and was introduced to Indian issues and politics and Gokhale became his political Guru.

1917: At this point, World war I was going on, and Britain and France were in a difficult position. Germany had inflicted a crushing defeat on both the British and French troops in France.

Russia’s war effort had broken down and the revolution was threatening its government.

America had entered the war but no American troops had yet reached the war front.

The British army required reinforcements urgently and they looked to India for participation. Viceroy Chelmsford had invited various Indian leaders to attend a war conference. Gandhi was also invited and he went to Delhi to attend the conference.

After attending the viceroy’s war conference Gandhiji agreed to support the recruitment of Indians in the British war effort. He undertook a recruitment campaign in Kaira district, Gujarat.

He again believed that support from Indians will make the British government look at their plight sympathetically after the war.

Early movements by Gandhiji

Champaran Satyagraha, Kheda Satyagraha, and Ahmedabad Mill Strike were the early movements of Gandhi before he was elevated into the role of a national mass leader.

1917: Champaran Satyagraha

Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 was the first civil disobedience movement organized by Gandhiji. Rajkumar Shukla asked Gandhi to look into the problems of the Indigo planters.

The European planters had been forcing passengers to grow Indigo on a 3/20 of the total land called the tinkatiya system.

Gandhi organized passive resistance or civil disobedience against the tinkatiya system. Finally, the authorities relented and permitted Gandhi to make inquiries among the peasants. The government appointed a committee to look into the matter and nominated Gandhi as a member.

Rajendra Prasad, Anugrah Narayan Sinha, and other eminent lawyers became inspired by Gandhi and volunteered to fight for the Indigo farmers in court for free.

Gandhi was able to convince the authorities to abolish the system and the peasants were compensated for the illegal dues extracted from them.

1918: Kheda satyagraha

The Kheda Satyagraha was the first noncooperation movement organized by Gandhi.

Because of the drought in 1918 crops failed in the Kheda district of Gujarat. According to the revenue code if the yield was less than one-fourth of the normal produced the farmers for entitled to remission. Gujarat sabha sent a petition requesting revenue assessment for the year 1919 but the authorities refused to grant permission.

Gandhi supported the peasants’ cause and asked them to withhold revenue. During the Satyagraha, many young nationalists such as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Indulal Yagnik became Gandhi’s followers.

Sardar Patel led a group of eminent people who went around villages and gave them political advisors and instructions.

The government finally agreed to form an agreement with the farmers and hence the taxes were suspended for the years 1919 and 1920 and all confiscated properties were returned.

1918: Ahmedabad mill strike

This was Gandhi’s first hunger strike. He intervened in a dispute between Mill owners of Ahmedabad and the workers over the issue of discontinuation of the plague bonus.

The workers were demanding a rise of 50% in their wages while the employees were willing to concede only a 20% bonus.

The striking workers turned to Anusuiya Sarabai in quest of justice and she contacted Gandhi for help. He asked the workers to go on a strike and to remain non-violent and undertook a fast unto death to strengthen the workers’ resolve.

The mill owners finally agreed to submit the issue to a tribunal and the strike was withdrawn in the end the workers receive a 35% increase in their wages.

Gandhiji’s active involvement in the Indian National Movement

Gandhi’s active involvement in the Indian Freedom Struggle was marked by many mass movements like the Khilafat Movement, Non-Cooperation Movement, Civil Disobedience Movement, and Quit India Movement.

1919: Khilafat movement

During World War I Gandhi sought cooperation from the Muslims in his fight against the British by supporting the Ottoman Empire that had been defeated in the world war.

The British passed the Rowlatt act to block the movement. Gandhi called for a nationwide Satyagraha against the act.

It was Rowlatt Satyagraha that elevated Gandhi into a national leader. Rowlatt Satyagraha was against the unjust Rowlatt Act passed by the British.

On April 13th, 1919 the Jallianwala Bagh incident took place. Seeing the violence spread Mahatma Gandhi called off the civil disobedience movement on the 18th of April.

1920: Non-Cooperation Movement

Gandhi convinced the congress leaders to start a Non-Cooperation Movement in support of Khilafat as well as Swaraj. At the congress session of Nagpur in 1920, the non-cooperation program was adopted.

1922 : Chauri chaura incident took place, which caused Gandhi to withdraw from the non-cooperation movement.

After the non-cooperation movement ended, Gandhi withdrew from the political platform and focused on his social reform work.

1930:  The Salt March and The Civil Disobedience Movement

Gandhi declared that he would lead a march to break the salt law as the law gave the state the Monopoly on the manufacturer and the sale of salt.

Gandhi along with his followers marched from his ashram in Sabarmati to the coastal town of Dandi in Gujarat where they broke the government law by gathering natural salt and boiling seawater to produce salt.

This also marked the beginning of the civil disobedience movement.

1931 : The Gandhi Irwin pact

Gandhi accepted the truce offered by Irwin and called off the civil disobedience movement and agreed to attend the second round table conference in London as the representative of the Indian National Congress.

But when he returned from London he relaunched the civil disobedience movement but by 1934 it had lost its momentum.

1932 : Poona pact

This was a pact reached between B.R Ambedkar and Gandhi concerning the communal awards but in the end, strived to achieve a common goal for the upliftment of the marginalized communities of the Indian society.

1934 : Gandhi resigned from the Congress party membership as he did not agree with the party’s position on varied issues.

Gandhi returned to active politics in 1936 with the Lucknow session of Congress where Jawaharlal Nehru was the president.

1938 : Gandhi and Subhash Chandra Bose’s principles clashed during the Tripuri session which led to the Tripuri crisis in the Indian National Congress.

1942: Quit India movement

The outbreak of World war II and the last and crucial phase of national struggle in India came together.

The failure of the Cripps mission in 1942 gave rise to the Quit India movement.

Gandhi was arrested and held at Aga Khan Palace in Pune. During this time his wife Kasturba died after 18 months of imprisonment and in 1944 Gandhi suffered a severe malaria attack.

He was released before the end of the war on 6th May 1944. World war II was nearing an end and the British gave clear indications that power would be transferred to Indians hence Gandhi called off the struggle and all the political prisoners were released including the leaders of Congress.

Partition and independence

Gandhiji opposed the partition of India along religious lines.

While he and Congress demanded the British quit India the Muslim league demanded to divide and quit India.

All of Gandhi’s efforts to help Congress and the Muslim league reach an agreement to corporate and attain independence failed.

Gandhiji did not celebrate the independence and end of British rule but appealed for peace among his countrymen. He was never in agreement for the country to be partitioned.

His demeanour played a key role in pacifying the people and avoiding a Hindu-Muslim riot during the partition of the rest of India.

Death of Mahatma Gandhi

30th January 1948

Gandhiji was on his way to address a prayer meeting in the Birla House in New Delhi when Nathuram Godse fired three bullets into his chest from close range killing him instantly.

Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy

Throughout his life, in his principles practices, and beliefs, he always held on to non-violence and simple living. He influenced many great leaders and the nation respectfully addresses him as the father of the nation or Bapu.

He worked for the upliftment of untouchables and called them Harijan meaning the children of God.

Rabindranath Tagore is said to have accorded the title of Mahatma to Gandhi.

It was Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose who first addressed him as the Father of the Nation.

Gandhian Philosophy inspired millions of people across the world.

Many great world leaders like Nelson Mandela followed Gandhiji’s teachings and way of life. Hence, his impact on the global stage is still very profound.

Literary works of Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhiji was a prolific writer and he has written many articles throughout his life. He edited several newspapers including Harijan in Gujarati, Indian opinion in South Africa, and Young India in English.

He also wrote several books including his autobiography “The Story Of My Experiments with Truth”.

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Reader Interactions

January 31, 2022 at 6:36 pm

Gandhi the greatest freedom fighter? It is an irony that Gandhi was a British stooge, he partitioned India and was responsible for death of millions of Hindus and Sikhs during partition. How he and Nehru got Bose eliminated is another story. He slept with many women by his own confession. He never went to kala Pani and enjoyed luxury of British even in jails in India.

January 31, 2022 at 7:14 pm

How is he ‘Father of nation’ ?? He is not even close to be a father of post-1947 India(It would be Bose anyday).And he is the one who did all kinds of absurd fantasies(mentioned in his own autobiography).His role in independence was MINIMAL ! His non-violence theory was hypocritic and foolish(teaching oppressed instead of oppressor!) And as AMBEDKAR rightly said ‘sometimes good cometh out of evil'(on jan 30th 1948)

March 26, 2024 at 11:47 am

So true …

Bro I literally agree with all of this…

May 20, 2022 at 1:37 pm

It is Bose who first gave the title of “Father of the Nation” to Gandhi.

Please try to look at things with an open mind.

May 26, 2022 at 11:15 am

Ck is wrong I think Mahatma Gandhi Is a TRUE LEADER.

November 26, 2023 at 8:36 pm

Gandhi the greatest freedom fighter

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Essay On Great Leader | Great Leader Essay for Students and Children in English

Essay On Great Leader: When we are to think of ‘a great leader’, our mind naturally turns towards a great leader — one of the greatest of the modern world — Mahatma Gandhi. for a political or a national leader who have the turn ‘Mahatma’ added to it, by itself determines and decides his greatness. No other leader of the modern age has achieved this distinction of being called a ‘Mahatma’:— one who is ‘great’ in ‘Soul’ — ‘Mahaan’ in ‘Atma’.

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Short essay on great leader 200+ words in english, 10 lines on great leader.

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Long and Short Essays on Great Leader Kids and Students in English

Given below are two essays in English for students and children about the topic of ‘Great Leader’ in both long and short form. The first essay is a long essay on the Great Leader of 400-500 words. This long essay about Great Leader is suitable for students of class 7, 8, 9 and 10, and also for competitive exam aspirants. The second essay is a short essay on Great Leader of 150-200 words. These are suitable for students and children in class 6 and below.

Below we have given a long essay on Great Leader of 500+ words that is helpful for classes 7, 8, 9, and 10 and Competitive Exam Aspirants. This long essay on the topic is suitable for students of class 7 to class 10, and also for competitive exam aspirants.

Let us first know something about his life and how from an ordinary lawyer he grew into a great soul.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born is 1869 in Porbandar, Kathiawar in Gujarat. At the age of eighteen, he passed the University examination and went to England to study law. There, in England, he found himself very much out of place as the society there was quite different from the one in which Gandhi was born. He tried to adapt himself to that society — he studied law, put on the best English dress, even joined classes to learn dancing as the English men and women dance, even broke his vow given to his mother and ate meat. But in none of these ways did he achieve any success and he remained what he was. Only that he passed out the law examination and returned to his country — India — settled in Bombay as a lawyer.

Gandhi had been married, as per the normal social customs, at the early age of 13 years. He wrote in his autobiography how he was deeply attached to his wife. That is what it was but then life as a lawyer in Bombay started well. Gandhi was a very shy sort of a young man and that was a handicap for him as a lawyer. But then, as luck would have it, he got a chance to go to South Africa as a lawyer to one of his clients. This was a turning point in his life.

In South Africa — under the British rale then, he found that the native ‘blacks’ were treated by the ‘whites’ with great disgrace and humiliation. Even he, as an Indian, with a brown complexion, had to suffer this disgrace. He was thrown out of a first-class railway compartment by the ‘white’ Co-travellers as ‘blacks’ were not allowed to travel by a first-class. Having been physically assaulted and thrown out of the compartment, Gandhi at once struck upon an idea which flashed in his mind — passive-resistance — Satyagraha.

From then onwards, Gandhi started into a new role — an agitator against racial discrimination on behalf of the Indian Community in South Africa. He made Johannesburg and Praetoria as the centers of his agitation and established a center for the Indian Community at Phoenix. His tireless zeal in this matter earned him a great name and the Indian Community got great moral courage under his leadership. He addressed assemblies, was prosecuted and jailed, and suffered but would not give up. This strong-willed resistance won him the title of ‘Mahatma’.

Gandhi returned to India in January 1915 and soon got out organizing the labor class. The gruesome Jalianwala Bagh massacre of unarmed, peaceful assembly at Amritsar turned him to direct political protest against the British government. He became a dominant figure in the Indian National Congress. He launched his non¬cooperation movement against the British government in 1920-22, organized protest marches like the Dandi Salt March against the salt-tax.

Below we have given a short essay on Great Leader is for Classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. This short essay on the topic is suitable for students of class 6 and below.

Gandhi was repeatedly imprisoned for civil disobedience and his final imprisonment came in 1942-44 as a result of his call, to the British to ‘Quit India’. So much honor had he won for himself by his selfless struggle that he was invited by the Emperor of Great Britain, King George V to meet him and he met him as he was, in a loincloth and a shawl over the shoulders. It was in this manner that he lastly met Lord Mountbatten and Lady Mountbatten to negotiate on Indian independence.

He had always fought for the rights of the downtrodden and called the untouchables of the Hindu Society as ‘Harijans’ and stayed with them in their colonies. He always fought for Hindu-Muslim unity.

A man of great moral courage, he fasted so many times, the last being the most dangerous for his life. He was against the creation of Pakistan but then that was done. He still fought for the sake of giving Pakistan its due and this led to a great Hindu backlash. On January 30, 1948, he was killed by a Zealot, Godse for his pro-Muslim and pro-Pakistan attitude.

But Gandhi remained an undisputed leader of the masses. His moral courage and his godliness rightly gave him the title of ‘Mahatma’ and he shall ever be remembered as the greatest leaders of the 20th century.

• When we think of a great leader, one thinks of Mahatma Gandhi.
• Born at Porbander, Kathiawar, Gujarat in 1869; married at the age of 13 and left for England at the age of 18 to study law.
• I wanted to become an Englishman while in England, tried to learn dancing, and even ate meat.
• On his return to India, he started practice at Bombay. I had the chance to go to South Africa to plead a case.
• This was the turning point in his life. In South Africa experienced racial discrimination practiced by the ‘White’ rulers against native ‘blacks’ Himself became its victim.
• Started agitation against this discrimination and launched ‘Satyagraha’ — passive resistance.
• Organized the Indian Community in this passive resistance, suffered persecution but did not give up. Became a leader with a great soul-force, a Mahatma.
• On arrival back to India organized laborers. The brutal massacre of innocent, unarmed people in Amritsar (Jalianwala Bagh) by the British Soldiers, shifted Gandhi’s field of activity to the political scene.
• Non-cooperation movements, passive resistance, Gandhi became the national leader with the Indian National Congress — suffered jail terms several times, undertook fasts.
• Remained committed to fighting against untouchability and for Hindu-Muslim unity. Lived a poor-mans life to be an example. Did not want a partition of the country, favored Muslims, and at last became the victim of a bullet on Jan. 30, 1948.

Students can find more English Essay Writing Topics, Ideas, Easy Tips to Write Essay Writing, and many more also visit Mahatma Gandhi Essay

FAQs on Essay on Great Leader

1. What are the qualities of a Great Leader?

Below is the list of some of the qualities of a Great Leader.

Integrity. Ability to delegate. Communication. Self-awareness. Gratitude. Learning ability. Influence. Empathy.

2. What makes you a Great Leader?

A great leader posses a clear vision, is courageous, has integrity, honesty, humility, and clear focus. Great leaders help people reach their goals, are not afraid to hire people that might be better than them, and take pride in the accomplishments of those they help along the way.

3. What does a good leader look like?

Great leaders are people in which others have confidence and respect. They have clear goals but are very open to alternative perspectives. They care about the people who work with them but are capable of making hard decisions when necessary. They are self-confident without being loud, aggressive, or dominating.

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Home — Essay Samples — History — Mahatma Gandhi — Mahatma Gandhi And His Leadership Style

Mahatma Gandhi and His Leadership Style

• Categories: Leadership Styles Mahatma Gandhi

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Words: 794 |

Published: Mar 18, 2021

Words: 794 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

• C.Maxwell, J. (n.d.). 10 Leadership Quotes. Retrieved May 8, 2019, from www.success.com: https://www.success.com/10-powerful-quotes-on-leadership/
• History.com.Editors. (2010, July 30). Mahatma Gandhi. Retrieved May 8, 2019, from HISTORY: https://www.history.com/topics/india/mahatma-gandhi
• Mishra, P. (2017, September 22). Gandhi Jayanti.Retrieved May 8, 2019, from www.mapsofindia.com: https://www-mapsofindia-com.cdn.ampproject.com
• Winning essays of the Mahatma Gandhi competition. (2010, January 11). Retrieved May 8, 2019, from spectator.sme.sk: https://spectator.sme.sk/c/20034950/winning-essays-of-the-mahatma-gandhi-competition.html

Should follow an “upside down” triangle format, meaning, the writer should start off broad and introduce the text and author or topic being discussed, and then get more specific to the thesis statement.

Provides a foundational overview, outlining the historical context and introducing key information that will be further explored in the essay, setting the stage for the argument to follow.

Cornerstone of the essay, presenting the central argument that will be elaborated upon and supported with evidence and analysis throughout the rest of the paper.

The topic sentence serves as the main point or focus of a paragraph in an essay, summarizing the key idea that will be discussed in that paragraph.

The body of each paragraph builds an argument in support of the topic sentence, citing information from sources as evidence.

After each piece of evidence is provided, the author should explain HOW and WHY the evidence supports the claim.

Should follow a right side up triangle format, meaning, specifics should be mentioned first such as restating the thesis, and then get more broad about the topic at hand. Lastly, leave the reader with something to think about and ponder once they are done reading.

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National Leader Mahatma Gandhi - Free Essay Examples and Topic Ideas

Mahatma Gandhi, also known as “Bapu”, was an Indian independence activist who played a significant role in India’s struggle for freedom from British rule. He was a firm believer of non-violent civil disobedience and inspired millions of people worldwide with his philosophy of Satyagraha. Gandhi advocated for social justice, gender equality and the upliftment of the poor and marginalized. His simple, yet profound lifestyle and teachings continue to inspire people today. He was assassinated in 1948, but his legacy lives on as a symbol of peace, freedom and human rights.

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• Gandhi as National Hero
• Mahatma Gandhi and the national movement
• Legal Career
• Political Career
• Civil Disobedience
• Quit India Movement
• Indian National Army
• The global market isn’t just an entirety of various national
• Assassination
• External links
• Early Life of Mahatma Gandhi
• The Making of a Mahatma
• Gandhi’s Political Awakening
• The Indian National Congress
• The Champaran Satyagraha
• The Kheda Satyagraha
• The Ahmedabad Mill Workers’ Strike
• The Rowlatt Satyagraha
• The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
• The Khilafat Movement
• The Non-Cooperation Movement
• The Salt March
• The Civil Disobedience Movement
• The Quit India Movement
• Gandhi and the Partition of India
• Gandhi’s Assassination

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APJ Abdul Kalam Essay for Students and Children

500+ words apj abdul kalam essay.

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam is a famous name in the whole world. He is counted among the greatest scientists of the 21st century. Even more, he becomes the 11th president of India and served his country. He was the most valued person of the country as his contribution as a scientist and as a president is beyond compare. Apart from that, his contribution to the ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) is remarkable. He headed many projects that contributed to the society also he was the one who helped in the development of Agni and Prithvi missiles. For his involvement in the Nuclear power in India, he was known as “Missile Man of India”. And due to his contribution to the country, the government awarded him with the highest civilian award.

Career and Contribution of APJ Abdul Kalam

APJ Abdul Kalam was born in Tamil Nadu. At that time the financial condition of his family was poor so from an early age he started supporting his family financially. But he never gave up education. Along with supporting his family he continued his studies and completed graduation. Above all, he was a member of the Pokhran nuclear test conducted in 1998.

There is a countless contribution of Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam to the country but he was most famous for his greatest contribution that is the development of missiles that goes by the name Agni and Prithvi.

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Presidency Period

The great missile man becomes the President of India in 2002. During his presidency period, the army and country achieved many milestones that contributed a lot to the nation. He served the nation with an open heart that’s why he was called ‘people’s president’. But at the end of his term period, he was not satisfied with his work that’s why he wanted to be the President a second time but later on forfeited his name.

Post-presidency Period

After leaving the presidential office at the end of his term Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam again turn to his old passion which is teaching students. He worked for many renowned and prestigious institute of India located across the country. Above all, according to his the youth of the country is very talented but need the opportunity to prove their worth that’s why he supported them in their every good deed.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Awards and Honors

During his lifetime Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was not only awarded and honored by Indian organization and committees but also by many international organizations and committees.

Writings and Character

During his lifetime, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam wrote many books but his most notable work was ‘India 2020’ which have an action plan to make India a superpower.

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was a man of simplicity and integrity. He was so busy at work that he rises up early in the morning and work till late hours after midnight.

Death of APJ Abdul Kalam

He died during delivering a lecture to students in Shillong by sudden cardiac arrest in 2015. He was an outstanding scientist and a pioneer engineer who served his entire life for the nation and died while serving it. The man had the vision to make India a great country. And according to his the youth are the real assets of the country that’s why we should inspire and motivate them.

Essay Topics on Famous Leaders

• Mahatma Gandhi
• APJ Abdul Kalam
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• Subhash Chandra Bose Essay

Essay on Subhash Chandra Bose for Students

Essay writing imbibes writing skills among students. Hence, students are given the opportunity to write on various topics as a part of any language studies. At Vedantu, you can find free essays on different topics to understand how to write essays in exams to get good marks. Get an essay on Subhash Chandra Bose on Vedantu’s site.

Subhash Chandra Bose- An Unsung Hero

Whenever we hear the name Subhash Chandra Bose, the first thing that comes in our mind is a popular saying by him, “Tum Mujhe Khoon do main tumhe Azadi dunga”.

Subhash Chandra Bose, popularly known as Netaji, was a great militant, freedom fighter and a patriot. He was born in Cuttack, Orissa on 23rd January 1897 to Janakinath Bose and Prabhavati Devi. His father Janakinath Bose was a well-known lawyer of his time. His mother Prabhavati Devi was a religious woman. 

Subhash Chandra was a brilliant student who had scored the second position in the matriculation exam. At an early age, he started reading about Swami Vivekananda and Ramakrishna and was influenced by their teachings. Bose completed his B.A. Hons in Philosophy in 1918 from the University of Calcutta. He later went to England in September 1919 for further studies. He was selected for the Indian Civil Service but he did not want to stay in England and serve the British government. Subhash Chandra resigned from his Civil Service job in 1921 and returned to India after hearing of the national turmoil in India. 

From a young age, Subhash Chandra Bose had the nationalist temperament and Britishers’ discrimination towards Indians would fill him with rage. To serve the country, he joined the Indian National Congress (also known as the Congress Party). Bose joined the Noncooperation Movement, started by Gandhi under his influence. Bose was a revolutionary freedom fighter who was known to have founded the Azad Hind Army or Indian National Army. For his revolutionary movements, Bose had been to jail several times. He was suspected of connections with secret revolutionary movements and was sent to Mandalay Jail in Burma (Myanmar) where he contracted Tuberculosis. Bose was elected the president of Congress party and worked along with Jawahar Lal Nehru, another great political leader. Both had a more militant and left-wing approach to Independence, which became a reason for Bose’s differences with Gandhi and other Congress leaders. 

Bose’s selfless contribution to India’s Independence Movement and organizing and leading the Indian National Army is indispensable. His struggle of Independence was highlighted during the Civil Disobedience Movement for which he had even been arrested. In fact, he was imprisoned 11 times for his ideologies and the use of force against the British. Bose was elected the president of the Indian National Congress twice but he resigned from the post as he was against the congress internal and foreign policy. 

Soon, he left the party and went out of the country seeking an alliance with other countries to fight against British forces. He earned the support of the Japanese and they agreed to help him in forming the Indian national army in Southeast Asia. Later on, he became the commander of the INA. The Indian National Army attacked the North-eastern parts of India. This attack took place under the leadership of Subhash Chandra Bose and he was even successful in acquiring a few portions of the north-eastern parts of India. Unfortunately, the surrender of the Japanese forced him to withdraw and call off the war. It is believed that he died in a plane crash on 18th August 1945. Subash Chandra Bose was an unforgettable national hero who fought for the country’s freedom struggle against the British till his last breath. He is known to be one of the greatest heroes the country has ever seen!

A Little Bit About Subhash Chandra Bose

Subhash Chandra Bose was born in Cuttack, Orissa, in 1897. He grew up deeply identifying with the Indian Freedom Movement and subsequently became a part of it in the 1920s. 

He led a radical wing of the Indian National Congress (INC) throughout the 1920s and 1930s and eventually gained enough popularity and support to rise to a position of leadership in the INC. He eventually became the Congress President in 1938, but ended up leaving the party in 1939 because of a difference of opinion with the rest of the Congress leadership.

After his resignation from the Congress, he was placed under house arrest by the ruling British Government, but managed to escape India in 1940. Upon his escape, he made his way to Germany by 1941, where he secured the sympathy and help of the Nazi party in his plan to overthrow the British Occupation. With help from Germany's ally Japan, he Bose headed the Indian National Army (INA) which attempted to "conquer" parts of India, thereby freeing those areas from British Occupation. This attempt eventually failed and in 1945, the INA was soundly defeated by the British forces. 

Despite his failure at leading a military revolt against the British Occupation, Bose was extremely successful in another area. In 1941, a Free India Radio was set up with help from Germany, on which Bose regularly spoke about the Indian Freedom Movement. Due to his charisma and charm, he succeeded in generating a wave of support for the Indian Freedom Movement.

Subhash Chandra Bose was a great freedom fighter whose role in India’s Independence is instrumental. Through this essay, students will learn a great deal about Subhash Chandra Bose and his life. Writing about him will allow students to have knowledge about his struggle for freedom in detail. Download Free Essay on Subash Chandra Bose on our site. 

FAQs on Subhash Chandra Bose Essay

1. Who was Subhash Chandra Bose?

Subhash Chandra Bose was an Indian freedom fighter who was affectionately known as Netaji. His political and ideological views were largely influenced by the Bhagavad Gita and he worked tirelessly to gain independence for India from British rule. He believed in the ideals of democracy, however, he also believed that pure democracy would not work in a post-colonial India. He believed that the National Socialist model adopted by Soviet Russia would be the best model to implement in India. His life was filled with respect for his actions as a freedom fighter, but he also faced criticism for his alliance with Nazi Germany and Imperialist Japan to overthrow the British Occupation.

2. How to write an essay on Subhash Chandra Bose?

To write an essay on Subhash Chandra Bose, you can take a look at the example provided on this page. As you can see from the example provided, the essay is clearly divided into three main parts – the introduction, body, and conclusion. In the introduction, the essay briefly describes who Subhash Chandra Bose is, his family, his birthplace, and what he was known for. These points form the basis of your introduction because they let the reader know who the essay is about. The body of the essay goes more in depth about Subhash Chandra Bose's contribution to the Indian Freedom Movement and his ideology. This forms the bulk of the essay because it is what he is most known for. Finally, the conclusion of the essay summarises all of the information presented in the essay and draws a one-sentence conclusion about who Subhash Chandra Bose is and how he is remembered.

3. What was Subhash Chandra Bose's contribution to the Indian Freedom Movement?

Subhash Chandra Bose began his political career as one of the leaders of the Indian National Congress (INC). He worked alongside eminent personalities like Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, and other leading figures in the Indian Freedom Movement. However, he ended up leaving the INC in 1939 due to a difference of opinion with Mahatma Gandhi and the rest of the INC leadership. He escaped India in 1940 and formed an alliance with Nazi Germany and Imperialist Japan to provide aid in overthrowing the British Occupation. He, with the help of Japan, formed the Indian National Army, which included Indian soldiers, to fight against the British Government. While his efforts at overthrowing the British Government ultimately failed, he succeeded in gaining a lot of support for the Indian freedom struggle from other countries.

4. What is the structure of an essay?

In general, an essay consists of three parts – an introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction comes first and usually consists of one short paragraph that briefly explains the topic and the thesis statement (when applicable). The next part is the body of the essay, which is the largest part of the essay. This can be any number of paragraphs. In the body, the writer explains their statement, gives evidence, and explains each individual point in separate paragraphs. The last part of the essay is the conclusion. In the conclusion, the writer briefly summarises all of the points discussed in the body of the essay and comes to a conclusion regarding the topic.

5. Where can I find more essays?

You can look through the Vedantu website or app for more essays like the one on Subhash Chandra Bose available on this page. Vedantu has plenty of example essays available for you to peruse and use as references. Some of the common topics used for English essays are historical figures, social issues, environmental issues, etc. By finding the appropriate example essays on Vedantu, you can learn how to structure your own essays, which will help you score higher in your exams.

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Essay on Freedom Fighters | Freedom Fighters Essay in English for Students and Children

February 12, 2024 by Prasanna

Essay on Freedom Fighters of India in English: Freedom Fighters were those great leaders who sacrificed their lives with fearless courage to bring freedom to the Nation. They faced pains, exploitation, immense torture, and hardships to bring freedom. So, people considered them the epitome of patriotic people. British ruled over India for more than 200 years. Many Freedom Fighters adopted various ways of fighting against Britishers to attain freedom. Their unimaginable sacrifice, hardships, pains, and hard work gets an eternal salute from people.

They struggled a lot to make India free from Britishers and an independent country. The list of Freedom Fighters is endless. Some of them are known while others quietly sacrificed their life for the protection of their motherland. At present, whatever convenience and freedom we got in our life is just because of these freedom fighters. Some of the famous freedom fighters are Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, Mangal Pandey, Rani Laxmi Bai, Subash Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Lokamanya Tilak, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Chandra Sekhar, Rajguru, and Sukhdev who sacrificed their lives fighting for their country.

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200 Words, 150 Words, 100 Words Essay on Freedom Fighters

Freedom Fighters fought for the freedom of the country. Because of them, we are celebrating Independence Day. They are revolutionary and some of them use non-violence as a weapon against the Britishers. India got independence on 15th August 1947 due to the struggle of our freedom fighters to make it independent. They devoted everything to the progress of their nation.

They brought freedom to India after a century of revolution, blood-shedding, and battles. Due to these great leaders only we are living in a democratic and independent country. Many freedom fighters fought for the protection of people from the injustice, exploitation, and cruelty of Britishers. Even though they had no training, they still did it for the freedom of their country.

Many of them lost their lives during the battle. So, we can realize their sacrifice and courage in every situation to make us free citizens. However, they motivated other people to fight for acquiring their freedom. They made awareness among people of their basic rights and power through many freedom movements. It is all because of them we are free from any kind of colonizers. So, they are the cause of our supremacy and freedom. We will update soonly essay on freedom fighters in Hindi, Urdu, Telugu, and English.

Introduction of Famous Freedom Fighters

There are many famous freedom fighters who fought for their motherland. But, let’s know about some of the famous freedom fighters who inspired and encouraged people to work for their country due to their patriotism.

Mahatma Gandhi: The Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi was the great leader of the freedom movement. He was saying ‘work is worship’. Truth and non-violence were his weapons to fight against the Britishers. He contributed a lot to the Indian freedom movement. He joined the Non-cooperative Movement to curb the policies implemented by the Britishers. He made unity among Indians and generated the spirit of patriotism. He joined the Civil Disobedience movement to curb the tax on salt brutal rules of Britishers. He joined actively in the Quit India movement against the Britishers. He utilized his time, efforts, energy, and spirit to achieve freedom in India instead of expecting anything for his contribution.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru: Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was one of the great leaders who gave up everything and fought for the freedom of India. He was the first Prime Minister of India after India got Independence. He joined Mahatma Gandhi against discarding the legislations produced by the Britishers. He was imprisoned with Gandhiji for standing against the salt act. When released from prison both of them reunited their congress party and fought together against Britishers. He was imprisoned a number of times in spite of stopping himself to fight against the injustice of Britishers.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose: Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was a great and courageous leader who fought for India’s freedom. He was not following peace and non-violence to fight against the Britishers. His campaign for freedom was ‘Give me your blood and I will give you freedom’. He took Hitler’s help for raising the Indian National Army to show the power of Indians to Britishers.

Lal Bahadur Shastri: Lal Bahadur Shastri was the second Prime Minister of India after India got Independence. He was living a simple life and contributed a lot to the freedom movement. He actively joined the Non-cooperative Movement with Gandhiji for abolishing salt rules. He also participated in the Satyagraha Movement and was imprisoned for six years. He also joined the Green Revolution Act to promote the nation’s food production.

Rani Laxmi Bai: Rani Laxmi Bai was also a great freedom fighter. She is the epitome of women’s empowerment for the future generation. She fought for the freedom of the nation in spite of many struggles and hardships. She never gave up her nation because of her child. Instead, she took him to fight against injustice in the war. Her story to achieve freedom is more inspiring and vigorous.

Conclusion on Freedom Fighters Essay

Today’s Independent India was the aim of every Freedom Fighter. They will always be memorable for their patriotism and love for the country. Every year people celebrate Republic and Independence Day to give a tribute to their victory. However, communal hatred rises day by day among people which is the disrespect of making freedom in India. So, we should not stand against each other and try to bring peace in life. Then only we can respect their struggles and sacrifices and make a developed and prosperous country.

FAQ’s on Freedom Fighters Essay

Question 1. What does Freedom Fighters of India mean?

Answer: Freedom Fighters were those great leaders who sacrificed their lives with fearless courage to bring freedom to the Nation.

Question 2. Why are the freedom fighters considered as the epitome of patriotic people?

Answer: The freedom fighters faced pains, exploitation, immense torture, and hardships to bring freedom. So, people considered them the epitome of patriotic people.

Question 3. What is the significance of freedom fighters?

Answer: Freedom Fighters fought for the freedom of the country. Because of them, we are celebrating Independence Day. They brought freedom in India after a century of revolution, blood-shedding, and battles. Due to these great leaders only we are living in a democratic and independent country. Many of them lost their lives during the battle. So, we can realize their sacrifice and courage in every situation to make us a free citizen. They are the cause of our supremacy and freedom.

Question 4. What are the names of famous freedom fighters of India?

Answer: There are many famous freedom fighters who fought for their motherland. Some of the famous freedom fighters are Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, Mangal Pandey, Rani Laxmi Bai, Subash Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Lokamanya Tilak, and Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Question 5. What was the weapon of Mahatma Gandhi to fight against Britishers?

Answer: Non-violence was the weapon of Mahatma Gandhi to fight against the Britishers.

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Essay on A Great National Leader of India

Introduction

The national leaders lead their nations. But the best of them give their lives for the good of their nations. They dedicate themselves in the interest of their nations. So, if they die they become martyrs and if they live they become heroes. Gandhiji was the greatest national leader of India. He is a martyr. He died for his country. He built the Indian Nation. He brought freedom to India and her people. So, he is revered as the father of the nation.

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Gandhiji early life

The full name of Gandhiji was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He was born at Porbandar in Kathiawar on the 2nd October 1869. His father Kaba Gandhi was the Dewan of Kathiawar. His mother Putalibai was very pious lady. Her piety has a great influence on  Gandhiji’s character. Gandhiji was very truthful and kind since his childhood. After finishing his education up to Matric Standard he went to England for higher education. There he become a Barrister at-law and come back to India. He married Kasturibai, when he was only thirteen years old. He went to South Africa as a Barrister and worked for the Indians living there. There he experimented truth and non-violence. Gandhiji came back to India in 1914. He was then forty-five years old. he began his public life in this country. He took up the cause of the Indigo farmers of Champaran in Bihar and the farmers of Kaira in Gujurat. Gandhiji then took the leadership of Indian National Congress and made it a revolutionary body.

What Gandhiji did for India

Gandhiji began the civil disobedience movement against the British Government. He demanded freedom for India. Jawaharlal Nehru, Sarder Patel and Raj Gopalachari joined him. This movement was successful. The Indians come to limited power in 1937. Gandhi then worked for the social reform and economic improvement of the people. He worked to remove untouchability and to introduce village industries like spinning and weaving. He preached to the people to be clean in body and mind. He put stress on the local sanitary work. He also worked to established communal harmony between the Hindus and the Mohammedans in India. In 1942 he began the Quit India Movement. So, the British left India and India become free on 15th August 1947, thought a part of India formed another State called Pakistan. Gandhiji was killed by a Hindu fanatic on the 30th January 1984. Because he misunderstood Gandhiji’s approach at the communal question. Gandhiji is no more among us. But his sprit lives with every Indian. He is truly the father of the Indian Nation.

Gandhiji was a great national leader. But still he was a great humanitarian and a great cosmopolitan. He thought the nation as a part of the great human society. Though we honor him as our great national leader he is revered by the world as a great friend of mankind.

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• He had supreme confidence in the ability of Indian engineers
• He was considered the father of experimental fluid dynamics research in India

In the annals of Indian space history, a crucial lesson in leadership unfolded in 1979, when the first attempt to launch the Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 (SLV-3) ended in failure.

The satellite, instead of soaring into space, plunged into the Bay of Bengal. The mission's failure was a deeply disheartening moment for the team at the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), led by former president of India APJ Abdul Kalam, the project director at the time.

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