IOA / Exposition

Topic: Historical events and people who have shape our life stories

a. Representative person: Biography.

Mahatma Gandhi was the primary leader of India’s independence movement

and also the architect of a form of non-violent civil disobedience that would

influence the world. Until Gandhi was assassinated in 1948, his life and

teachings inspired activists including Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.

Mahatma Gandhi, byname of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, (born October 2,

1869, Porbandar, India—died January 30, 1948, Delhi), Indian lawyer, politician,

social activist, and writer who became the leader of the nationalist movement

against the British rule of India. 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.

b. Early Life and preparation.

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. After having been admitted to the

British bar, upon returning to India in mid-1891, he set up a law practice in

Bombay, but met with little success. Two years later an Indian firm with interests

in South Africa retained him as legal adviser in its office in Durban. Arriving in

Durban, Gandhi found himself treated as a member of an inferior race. He was

appalled at the widespread denial of civil liberties and political rights to Indian

immigrants to South Africa. He threw himself into the struggle for elementary

rights for Indians.

 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.

c. Historical event caused / or that was part of.

From 1919, he openly belonged to the front of the Indian nationalist movement.

He established new methods of social struggle such as the hunger strike and in

his programs; he rejected the armed struggle and preached ahimsa (non-

violence) as a means of resisting British rule. He widely defended and promoted

total fidelity to the dictates of conscience, even going as far as civil disobedience

if necessary; in addition, he fought for the return to the old Hindu traditions. He

corresponded with Leo Tolstoy, who influenced his concept of non-violent

resistance. He was the inspirer of the Salt March, a demonstration across the

country against the taxes to which this product was subject.

d. Impact in the society: in that time and nowadays

In the Past:

His non-violent resistance helped end British rule in India and has influenced

modern civil disobedience movements across the globe. Widely referred to as

Mahatma, meaning great soul or saint in Sanskrit, Gandhi helped India reach

independence through a philosophy of non-violent non-cooperation.

In the present:

Aside from India, Gandhi overcame a multitude of problems worldwide including

racism, sexism, labor rights, lack of education, and poverty. He also impacted

human rights activists in the western hemisphere such as Martin Luther King Jr.
 Sources:

- https://www.history.com/topics/india/mahatma-gandhi

- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mahatma-Gandhi

- http://www.kamat.com/mmgandhi/gandhi.htm

- https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/mohandas-karamchand-gandhi

- https://www.biography.com/activist/mahatma-gandhi

- https://padlet.com/silvanacar011/gabdhi305

- https://prezi.com/mmdj5vihqy3n/gandhis-impact-on-indian-

society/#:~:text=Worldwide%20Impact,as%20Martin%20Luther%20King%20Jr