Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the Indian Nation

Mahatma Gandhi is the Father of the Indian Nation. He was one of the main leaders of Indian Independence movement who got us the freedom we deserved. He was also known as Bapu, Gandhiji

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2nd october 1869 in Porbunder in the state Gujarat of the present India.
His parents were Shri Karamchand Gandhi and Shrimathi Putlibhai. Father Karamchand Gandhi was the diwan of the e then Porbunder state. In 1883 he got married to Kasthuribhai. To continue higher studies he went to London and then joined Inner Temple to become a Barrister at Law.

When he was 24 he went to South Africa to work as a legal representative for the Muslim Indian Traders based in the city of Pretoria. While he was at South Africa. he developed his political views, ethics and political leadership skills. In South Africa, Gandhiji faced the discrimination directed at all coloured people, he was even thrown out of the train one day fo refusing to move out at the behest of an European Passenger. Once he was even asked to remove his turban, which he refused to do. After witnessing racism, prejudice and injustice against Indians in South Africa, it became the turning point in his life and awakened him to fight for social justice.

In 1915, he came ti India at the behest of Gopala Krishna Gokhale and joined Indian National Congress. In 1920 he tookon the leadership of the Indian National Congress, demanding the british government to give in to Indians. On 26th January 1930 he announced Independence for India which the government refused to recognize. Gandhiji was arrested time and again and was put in various jails.

Non cooperation movement was his brain child and he refused to work with the govrnment. Gandhiji had the base to employ noncooperation, nonviolence and peaceful resistance as his "weapons" in the struggle. After the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and subsequent violence, Gandhi began to focus on winning complete self-government and control of all Indian government institutions. Later it went on into Swaraj or complete individual, spiritual, political independence.

Gandhiji was arrested and kept in the Aga khan palace in Pune for two years. He losthis wife Kasthuriba there after 18months of imprisonment. At the same time the entire Congress working committee was also arrested and put in jail. Without the Congress leaders, others went on with the second world war and got organizational support. Mohammad‎ Ali Jinnah started demanding for a separate Pakistan, a muslim state. Gandhiji tried to meet Jinnah and talk to him. Jinnah refused and held on to his demands.

When Gandhiji and the Congress asked the British to quit India, Jinnah went ahead and the Muslim League passed a resolution to divede India and then quit. On 14th and 15th of August 1947 the Independence of India was invoked. Many people started moving from Pakistan to India and vice versa. There were communal riots and many were killed.

While Gandhiji was going to attend the prayer meeting accompanied by his grand nieces, he was shot dead by the Assassin Nathuram Godse on 30th January 1948.