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Gandhi Jayanti is celebrated annually in India on October 2, marking the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, who is also regarded as the ‘Father of the Nation’.
- The United Nations also celebrates October 2 as the International Day of Non-Violence to honour Gandhi’s belief in peace and non-violence.
About Mahatma Gandhi
- He was an Indian lawyer, politician, social activist, and writer who became the leader of the nationalist movement against the British rule of India.
- He was born October 2, 1869, Porbandar.
- For untouchables : He also worked for the upliftment of untouchables and gave them a new name ‘Harijan’ meaning the children of God.
- Role in South Africa : It was in South Africa that Mahatma Gandhi first forged the distinctive techniques of non-violent protest known as satyagraha, first promoted harmony between religions, and first alerted upper-caste Indians to their discriminatory treatment of low castes and women
- Contributions in the freedom struggle : In 1915, he returned to his homeland after two decades of residence abroad.
- In 1916 he travelled to Champaran in Bihar to inspire the peasants to struggle against the oppressive plantation system.
- In 1917, he organised a satyagraha to support the peasants of the Kheda district of Gujarat.
- Affected by crop failure and a plague epidemic, the peasants of Kheda could not pay the revenue, and were demanding that revenue collection be relaxed.
- In 1918, Mahatma Gandhi went to Ahmedabad to organise a satyagraha movement amongst cotton mill workers.
- In 1919 Gandhiji gave a call for a satyagraha against the Rowlatt Act that the British had just passed.
- The Act curbed fundamental rights such as the freedom of expression and strengthened police powers
- He called for a campaign of “non-cooperation” with British rule.
- Indians who wished colonialism to end were asked to stop attending schools, colleges and law courts, and not pay taxes
- In February 1922, Mahatma Gandhi decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement.
- He felt the movement was turning violent in many places and satyagrahis needed to be properly trained before they would be ready for mass struggles
- Dandi Salt March : On 12 March 1930, Gandhiji began walking from his ashram at Sabarmati towards the ocean.
- He reached his destination three weeks later, making a fistful of salt as he did and thereby making himself a criminal in the eyes of the law.
- “Quit India”: After the failure of the Cripps Mission, Mahatma Gandhi decided to launch his third major movement against British rule. This was the “Quit India” campaign, which began in August 1942.
- “He was genuinely a mass movement, bringing into its ambit hundreds of thousands of ordinary Indians. It especially energised the young who, in very large numbers, left their colleges to go to jail
- Legacy : Gandhi is internationally esteemed for his doctrine of nonviolent protest (satyagraha) to achieve political and social progress.
- He made the Indian National Congress a peoples’ Congress and the national movement a mass movement.
- He made people fearless and bold and taught them the nonviolent methods for fighting against injustice.
- He had a passion for individual liberty which was closely bound with his understanding of truth and self-realisation.
- He considered the problem of peace as an ethical, rather than political, issue.
- He was shot dead by Nathuram Godse on January 31, 1948.
Mains Practise Question [Q] In what way did Mahatma Gandhi transform the nature of the Freedom Struggle?discuss |
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