Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, commonly known as the "beacon of light" and the Father of India, in the last years of the British colonial rule. He was engaged in promoting peace, non-violence, harmony and justice among people of different beliefs and faith. Born in 1869 and raised by Hindu parents on the west coast of India, Gandhi got numerous chances to interact with people of other faiths, among them Muslims, Christians and Jain. He probably took Ahimsa, which means doing no harm principle from his Jain neighbors, which later developed to the Satyagraha principle, meaning the truth force. He hoped to win people's hearts and change through his non-violent advocacy (Pati, 2012). Gandhi believed in love for all human beings, including the opponents. He believed that one should not cause any harm to the enemy, whether physical harm or through hatred or ill will. He believed any involvement in violence would result in more violence.

When Gandhi went to South Africa in 1893, he experienced a lot of racial discrimination, which really displeased him. There was a case, when he bought a first class ticket, but was thrown out of the train for failing to give up his seat for a white person. When he got to Pretoria, he could not get a hotel room because of his nationality, and had to spend the night with the poor Indians in the cold. They told him that he had to use cheap traveling means designed for Indians and Africans. The discrimination and oppression by the whites did not end in South Africa, when he came back to India; he found that his compatriots were facing the same circumstances. During the period towards the end of World War I, many Indian rights were under oppression by the British forces. Consequently, he spent the rest of his life opposing discrimination and unfair treatment of people by the whites in South Africa and India. Gandhi became a true pacifist, who rather than mobilizing people for violence against the whites, mobilized them to pressure them to stop the discrimination and unfair practices (Kurtz, 2012). Gandhi tried hard to live a life without temptations; he used all means to avoid the temptations of Kama, and in fact, at the age of 38, he started living a celibate life. He kept on fighting a spiritual war against sex temptations but would eventually become victorious.

Gandhi played a key role in the struggle for the Indian independence from the British, through his non-violent tactics, which laid the foundation for attaining independence. It was so annoying, since he had been able to inspire people to just stand and do nothing, rather than engaging the British in fights. He led several movements, which eventually pushed the British out of India. One of the first major movements was the non-corporation movements, aimed at informing the Indians that they opposed the British government, and if they did it actively, they would keep a check on them. Thus, they boycotted education institutions, foreign goods, and nominated seats in all the government institutions. The movement failed, but the Indians became aware that they would do without the British.

Gandhi started another movement called the Civil Disobedience Movement, a more active non-violent shift, which withdrew support for British operations (Boulding, 2013). The second campaign, under the leadership of Gandhi, was the Quit Movement, aimed at bringing the British negotiations with the Indians, with a call for immediate independence. However, the British arrested the Indian leaders soon after Gandhi delivered his speech. It led Gandhi to fast for 21 days, in spite of his ailing health, and the British had to release the leaders. After this event, entire India united in the movement for freedom, raising the cry or complete independence. After lots of efforts and sacrifices, led by Gandhi, India attained its independence on 15 August 1847.

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