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Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi) was a world-famous Indian public figure, politician, and fighter for Indian independence. He developed the tactics of nonviolent struggle - satyagraha. In India he is called the "father of the nation."

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, also known as Mahatma Gandhi, was born in Porbandar on October 2, 1869. My father was engaged in commerce, was active in politics, and even for some time was the chief minister of the state of Gujarat, the capital of which was Porbandar. The boy's mother is a model of virtue. Thanks to her efforts, the family strictly observed fasts and rituals.

The whole family regularly attended services in churches and studied religious literature. My parents were vegetarians; they believed that people have no right to kill animals. Mohandas subsequently held the same views.

Studies

The boy received his secondary education at a local school in Porbandar. The future politician’s teachers noted that the boy was an average student. Didn't show much interest in the subjects. Things got better when he continued his studies at Rajkot High School. Here he was attracted to jurisprudence.

After consulting with his parents, Mohandas decides to continue his education in the UK. In 1888 he became a student at University College London. And three years later he received a law degree and returned to his native India.

Career and social activities

To understand how to help his people, the young lawyer decided to study India. During the year he visited many settlements (Tural, Sanekshar, Salem, Proddater and others), and traveled by train. Dirty carriages, poverty, angry passengers... All this reflected the general situation in the country and brought despondency to the Mahatma.

The legal practice somehow didn't work out. And Gandhi decides to radically change his life. Thanks to his father's connections, he receives the position of legal adviser in the sales office of one of the Indian firms in South Africa. There, the lawyer joins the social movement to protect the rights of Indians. The ideas of the Irishman M. Devitt and the American G. Torro had a significant influence on the figure.

How to defend the rights of fellow citizens and at the same time avoid victims and violence? How to find the way to God? These questions tormented the young Gandhi. He found the answers unexpectedly. Somehow he came across the book “The Kingdom of God is within you, or Christianity not as a mystical teaching, but as a new understanding of life,” which changed his worldview. He developed a new concept of behavior for fellow citizens - satyagraha.

It is noteworthy that having created a philosophical theory, Mohandas could not find a suitable name for it. They even had to announce a competition, under the terms of which the author who proposed the most successful name would receive a cash prize. The winner was Gandhi's cousin, Maganlal Gandhi. Satyagraha is a combination of two words - sat (truth) and agraha (firmness).

Successful activities in Africa gave the philosopher hope that he could also benefit his country. His views were liked by many European and American public figures. In Gandhi's homeland, Gandhi's achievements also did not go unnoticed. With the light hand of his compatriot R. Tagore, Mhandas began to be called Mahatma, which means “great soul.”

In 1915, the philosopher returned to India and was actively involved in the political struggle for the independence of his homeland. Thanks to his father, the doors to most of the offices of members of the Indian National Congress are open to him. But not everyone agreed to support his idea. Why? The new philosophical theory was based on the principles:

• nonviolent resistance;
• civil disobedience.

What were they? Followers of Gandhi must renounce:

• honors, titles bestowed by Great Britain;
• work in the civil service, police, army;
• purchasing English goods.

Despite such hardships, most officials became obsessed with the idea of ​​winning independence.

In 1919, Gandhi first called on his fellow citizens to take peaceful action: mass strike and disobedience. Millions of Indians did not go to work on the appointed day. They walked through the streets shouting slogans about freedom and independence. But, at some point, the situation got out of control. The crowd became aggressive and clashes with the police began. There were some casualties.

Gandhi was arrested as the ringleader and sentenced to six years. Having served his entire sentence, the Mahatma returned to normal life. Spiteful critics did not pay attention to the philosopher. They believed that the former prisoner was broken and his political career was over. According to the sage himself, prison gave him time to rethink his theory and find problem areas.

No, he did not return to his family. The Mahatma founded an ashram (abode for the needy). But for this he chose not a desert area, but the environs of the large industrial city of Ahmedabad. Thus, showing that he intends to continue to protect the people and continue the struggle for the independence of his country, to preach Gandhism.

Mahatma Gandhi statue

Every day a lot of people gathered in the ashram to listen to the sage. Witnesses of those days said that the philosopher was a poor speaker, his gestures were unclear and his voice was quiet. Only the first rows could hear what he preached, but his charisma was enough for everyone.

The cruelty of the British and the inaction of local owners forced people to listen more carefully to the elder’s speeches. And as a result, the Mahatma's authority grew inexorably. His convincing arguments made political elites think.

The country gained independence in 1947 but was divided into India and Pakistan. An armed confrontation arose between Muslims and people professing Hinduism. To stop the confrontation, the elder went on a hunger strike. Such a radical measure had an effect and the armed conflict stopped.

Personal life

The future politician married at the age of 13 to a girl of the same age named Kastruba, who until the end of her days was his faithful friend and support. The couple had four sons:

• Harilal (1888-1949);
• Ramdas (1897-1969);
• Manilal (1892-1956);
• Devdas (1900-1957).

Since the Mahatma was constantly busy with political affairs and social activities, he had no time left for his personal life and family. And Kastruba’s wife had to raise the children herself. The growing sons clearly lacked paternal involvement. Maybe that's why Harilal began to lead an indecent lifestyle.

Gandhi tried to reason with his son, but the criticism was to no avail. The fates of the remaining children are prosperous. They got married and had children.

Assassination attempts and death of the Mahatma

The Mahatma survived two attempts on his life, and the third was fatal. One of the pilgrims approached the teacher during the evening sermon and shot him three times. Gandhi was immediately taken to the hospital, but doctors were unable to save the 78-year-old man. One of the bullets hit a lung.

According to eyewitnesses, the politician tried to finish all his affairs before he died. He almost completed the first Constitution of independent India. After his death, only a few changes were made to it.

There are many interesting facts associated with the name Gandhi:

• Both during his life and after his death, Gandhi continues to influence modern politicians through his written works. noted more than once that modern leaders of countries want to solve everything by force and it is a pity that among them there is no one like Mahatma Gandhi.
• By the way, some people are sure that she is a relative of the “father of the nation.” But this is not true, they are just namesakes.

• In an effort to create a reliable historical portrait of Gandhi, experts also analyzed his handwriting. According to the results, the sage was an honest, open person. He was careful and decisive.
• Many films have been made about the life of the great Indian. Quotes from his books and sayings are used in their speeches by famous politicians and public figures.
• The Mahatma was known for his humane treatment of animals.

Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 in the fishing village of Porbandar (now Gujarat, a state in western India) and belonged to the Banya merchant caste. Gandhi's father was a minister in a number of princely states of the Kathiyawar peninsula. Gandhi grew up in a family where the customs of the Hindu religion were strictly observed, which influenced the formation of his worldview.

At the age of seven, Gandhi was engaged and at thirteen he married Kasturbai Makanji.

Having been educated in India, Gandhi went to England in 1888 to study law at the Inner Temple (a division of the Inns of Court bar corporation).

"Great Soul" Mahatma GandhiOctober 2 marks the 145th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, one of the leaders and ideologists of the movement for Indian independence from Great Britain. His philosophy of non-violence (satyagraha) influenced movements for peaceful change.

After completing his studies in 1891, Gandhi returned to India and practiced law in Bombay until 1893. He founded several ashrams - spiritual communes, one of them, near Durban, was called Phoenix Farm, the other, near Johannesburg, was Tolstoy Farm. In 1904, he began publishing a weekly newspaper, Indian Opinion.

From 1893 to 1914, Gandhi served as legal advisor to a Gujarati trading firm in South Africa. Here he led the fight against racial discrimination and oppression of Indians, organizing peaceful demonstrations and petitions addressed to the government. In particular, in 1906 he carried out a campaign of civil disobedience, which he called "satyagraha" (Sanskrit - "holding to the truth", "persistence in the truth").

He was frequently arrested for his Satyagraha campaigns - in November 1913 three times in four days while leading a march of two thousand Indian miners from Natal to the Transvaal. The demonstration was stopped by agreement with Jan Smuts, then Minister of Defense of the Union of South Africa. However, as a result, South African Indians managed to get some discriminatory laws repealed. In July 1914, Gandhi left South Africa.

Upon returning to his homeland, he founded a new ashram near Ahmedabad and became close to the Indian National Congress (INC) party, and soon became one of the leading leaders of the national liberation movement of India, the ideological leader of the Congress.

Gandhi attached particular importance to improving the position of lower castes, equal rights and political activity of women, promoting religious tolerance, as well as the development of folk crafts, primarily home weaving, as a symbol of encouraging domestic production. For Gandhi and his associates, spinning acquired the character of a ritual, and the hand spinning wheel was a symbol of the INC for a long time.

In 1918, Gandhi went on his first hunger strike. When the British passed the Rowlett Acts in 1919, which extended restrictions on Indian civil liberties, Gandhi declared the first All-India Satyagraha. Gandhi and his followers traveled throughout India, speaking at crowded rallies calling for a fight against British rule. Gandhi limited this struggle exclusively to nonviolent forms, condemning any violence on the part of the revolutionary people. He also condemned the class struggle and preached the resolution of social conflicts through arbitration, based on the principle of trusteeship. This position of Gandhi was in the interests of the Indian bourgeoisie, and the INC fully supported it.

The involvement of the masses in the national liberation movement is the source of Gandhi's enormous popularity among the people, who nicknamed him Mahatma ("Great Soul").

Thousands of people across the country protested without resorting to violence, but there were massive street riots in many places. The British resorted to repression, culminating in a massacre in Amritsar, where a crowd of Indians was machine-gunned and 379 people were killed. The events in Amritsar turned Gandhi into a determined opponent of the British Empire.

Gandhi launched the second All-India Satyagraha in 1920. He soon called on his countrymen to boycott British textiles and produce their own fabrics on handlooms. In 1922 he was arrested for sedition, tried and sentenced to six years in prison (he was released in 1924).

Gandhi did not limit himself to satyagraha, putting forward the so-called constructive program. He campaigned against untouchability and for Muslim-Hindu unity, for women's rights, the rise of primary education, the prohibition of alcoholic beverages, and the introduction of personal hygiene rules.

In 1929, the INC declared January 26 as National Independence Day, and Gandhi led the third All-India Satyagraha. The following year he protested against increasing the salt tax. At the beginning of 1932 he was subjected to another prison sentence. For six days, Gandhi did not eat food in protest against the policy towards the untouchable castes. In 1933, the hunger strike lasted 21 days. Gandhi was released from prison at the very beginning of his hunger strike to prevent charges against the British authorities in the event of his death.

Gandhi's wife Kasturbai, who was arrested six times over the course of two years, also began to engage in active political activities.

In 1936, Gandhi moved his ashram to Sevagram (Central India), where he published the weekly newspaper Harijan (God's Children).

In 1942, the INC passed the Quit India resolution, and Gandhi became the leader of the last all-India satyagraha campaign. He was arrested along with his wife and jailed in Pune. In February 1943 he went on a 21-day hunger strike. In 1944, his wife died in prison, and Gandhi’s health also suffered greatly. In May 1944 he was released from prison.

In August 1946, INC Chairman Jawaharlal Nehru received an offer from the British to form a government, which forced Muslim League leader Jinnah to announce Direct Action Day, which in turn sparked clashes between Hindus and Muslims. In November, Gandhi walked across East Bengal and Bihar, calling for an end to the unrest. He strongly opposed the partition of India.

On August 15, 1947, when Pakistan officially separated from India and the countries declared their independence, Gandhi went on a hunger strike to express his grief and try to stop the clashes between Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs.

On January 12, 1948, Gandhi began his last hunger strike, which lasted five days. He led congregational prayers daily in the garden outside Birla House in New Delhi.

On January 20, 1948, a refugee from Punjab named Madandal attacked Mahatma Gandhi.

On January 30, 1948, Gandhi was assassinated on his way to prayer. He was cremated on the banks of the Jamna River at Raj Ghat (in New Delhi), a place that has become a national shrine.

The street in Delhi where Gandhi died is now called Tees Janwari Marg (30th January Street). In the Indian capital, there is a memorial to Gandhi Samadhi, where part of his ashes are buried, and his last words are engraved on the marble tombstone - “He Ram!” ("Oh my God! "). Gandhi's collected works span 80 volumes, including his autobiography The Story of My Experiments with Truth (1927), thousands of articles from Indian Opinion, Young India, Harijan and a huge number of letters.

In 2007, the UN declared October 2, Mahatma Gandhi's birthday, as the International Day of Non-Violence.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Father:

Karamchand Gandhi

Spouse:

Kasturbai Gandhi

Children:

Harilal Gandhi (1888-1948)
Manilal Gandhi (1892-1956)
Ramdas Gandhi (1897-1969)
Devdas Gandhi (1900-1957)

Mohandas Karamchand "Mahatma" Gandhi(guj. મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી , Hindi मोहनदास करमचंद गाँधी , October 2, Porbandar, Gujarat - January 30, New Delhi) - one of the leaders and ideologists of the movement for Indian independence from Great Britain. His philosophy of non-violence (satyagraha) influenced movements for peaceful change.

Biography

Gandhi in South Africa (1895)

Mohandas Gandhi and his wife Kasturbai (1902)

Gandhi in 1918

His name is surrounded in India with the same reverence with which the names of saints are pronounced. The spiritual leader of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi fought all his life against the religious strife that was tearing his country apart and against violence, but in his declining years he fell victim to it.

Gandhi came from a family belonging to the trading and money-lending jati baniya belonging to the Vaishya varna. His father, Karamchand Gandhi (-), served as the Diwan - Chief Minister - of Porbandar. All religious rituals were strictly observed in the Gandhi family. His mother, Putlibai, was especially devout. Worship in temples, taking vows, observing fasts, strict vegetarianism, self-denial, reading Hindu sacred books, conversations on religious topics - all this constituted the spiritual life of the young Gandhi’s family.

At the age of 13, Mohandas married his peer Kasturbai. The couple had four sons: Harilal (-), Manilal (28 October -), Ramdas (-) and Devdas (-). Representatives of the modern Indian family of politicians, the Gandhis, are not among their descendants. The father abandoned his eldest son Harilal. According to his father, he drank, was debauched and got into debt. Harilal changed his religion several times; died of syphilis. All other sons were followers of their father and activists in his Indian independence movement. Devdas is also known for his marriage to Lakshi, the daughter of Rajaji, one of the leaders of the Indian National Congress and an ardent supporter of Gandhi and the Indian national hero. However, Rajaji belonged to the Varna Brahmins, and inter-varna marriages were against Gandhi's religious beliefs. Nevertheless, in 1933, Devdas's parents gave permission for marriage.

Mahatma Gandhi enjoyed enormous influence among both Hindus and Muslims in India and tried to reconcile these warring factions. He was extremely negative about the division of the former colony of British India in 1947 into the secular republic of Hindu-majority India and Muslim Pakistan. After Partition, violent fighting broke out between Hindus and Muslims. The year 1947 ended in bitter disappointment for Gandhi. He continued to argue the pointlessness of violence, but no one seemed to hear him. In January 1948, in a desperate attempt to stop ethnic strife, Mahatma Gandhi resorted to a hunger strike. He explained his decision this way: “Death will be a wonderful deliverance for me. It’s better to die than to be a helpless witness to India’s self-destruction.”

Gandhi's act of sacrifice had the necessary impact on society. Leaders of religious groups agreed to compromise. A few days after the Mahatma began his hunger strike, they made a joint decision: “We assure that we will protect the lives, property and faith of Muslims and the incidents of religious intolerance that took place in Delhi will not be repeated.”

But Gandhi achieved only partial reconciliation between Hindus and Muslims. The fact is that extremists were, in principle, against cooperation with Muslims. The Hindu Mahasabha, a political organization with terrorist outfits Rashtra Dal and Vashtriya Swayam Sevak, decided to continue the fight. However, in Delhi she was opposed by the authority of Mahatma Gandhi. Therefore, a conspiracy was organized, led by the leader of the Hindu Mahasabha, Bombay millionaire Vinayak Savarkar. Savarkar declared Gandhi the “insidious enemy” of the Hindus, and called the idea of ​​non-violence absolutized by Gandhism immoral. Gandhi received daily protests from orthodox Hindus. “Some of them consider me a traitor. Others believe that I learned my present beliefs against untouchability and the like from Christianity and Islam,” Gandhi recalled. Savarkar decided to eliminate the objectionable philosopher, who was so popular among the Indian people. A Bombay millionaire created a terrorist group from his loyal people in October 1947. These were educated brahmins. Nathuram Godse was the editor-in-chief of the far-right newspaper Hindu Rashtra, and Narayan Apte was the director of the same publication. Godse was 37 years old, came from an orthodox Brahmin family, and had an incomplete school education.

Attempts and assassination of Gandhi

The first attempt on Mahatma Gandhi's life occurred on January 20, 1948, two days after he ended his hunger strike. The country's leader was addressing worshipers from the veranda of his Delhi home when a Punjab refugee named Madanlal hurled a homemade bomb at him. The device exploded a few steps away from Gandhi, but no one was injured.

The Indian government, alarmed by this incident, insisted on strengthening Gandhi's personal security, but he did not want to hear about it. “If I am destined to die from a madman’s bullet, I will do it with a smile.” At that time he was 78 years old.

Perpetuation of memory

Mr. President, former Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder called you “a pure democrat.” Do you consider yourself one?
- (Laughs.) Am I a pure democrat? Of course, I am an absolute and pure democrat. But do you know what the problem is? It’s not even a problem, it’s a real tragedy. The fact is that I am the only one, there are simply no others like me in the world. ...After the death of Mahatma Gandhi, there is no one to talk to.

• A. Einstein wrote:

The moral influence which Gandhi exercised upon thinking men is far greater than seems possible in our times with his excess of brute force. We are grateful to fate for giving us such a brilliant contemporary, showing the way for future generations. ... Perhaps future generations simply will not believe that such a person of ordinary flesh and blood walked this sinful earth.

Essays

• Hind Swaraj (book chapters). Satyagraha in South Africa (fragments). My Tolstoy. Articles and speeches
• My life. M., Ch. ed. oriental literature publishing house "Science", 1969
• Pedagogical essays. M.: Shalva Amonashvili Publishing House, 1998
• Correspondence of L. N. Tolstoy with M. K. Gandhi Publ. A. Sergeenko // L. N. Tolstoy / USSR Academy of Sciences. Institute rus. lit. (Pushkin. House). - M.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1939. - Book. II. - (Lit. inheritance; T. 37/38).
• Letters from Gandhi to Hitler (original text and translation).

Notes

Literature

• Rolland Romain“Mahatma Gandhi” (1924) - Collected Works, vol. XX, - L.: “GIHL”, 1936
• Roslavlev U. Gandhism. - M.: Sotsekgiz, 1931
• Datta D. Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi / Trans. from English A.V. Radugina. - M.: Foreign publishing house. lit., 1959
• Namboodiripad E. M. Mahatma Gandhi and Gandhism. - M.: Foreign publishing house. lit., 1960
• Komarov E. N., Litman A. D. Worldview of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. - M.: Science, 1969
• Martyshin O. V. Political views of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. - M.: Science, 1970
• Immortal Lotus: A Word about India / Comp. A. Senkevich. - M.: Mol. Guard, 1987
• Discovery of India: Philosophical and aesthetic views of India in the 20th century. / Per. from English, Beng. and Urdu; Editorial team: E. Komarov, V. Lamshukov, L. Polonskaya and others - M.: Khudozh. lit., 1987
• Gorev A.V. Mahatma Gandhi 2nd ed. - M.: “International Relations”, 1989
• Polonskaya L. R. Mahatma Gandhi: The meaning of life. Saint or politician? // New and recent history No. 4, 1991
• Devyatkin S.V. The art of satyagraha // Experience of non-violence in the 20th century. Ed. R. G. Apresyan. - M.: Aslan, 1996
• Rybakov R. B. Nonviolent struggle for peace without violence (Ahimsa in the Indian tradition and in the teachings of M.K. Gandhi) // “Pacifism in history. Ideas and movements of the world", M.: IVI RAS, 1998.
• Vasilenko V. Pedagogical philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi - preface to the collection of pedagogical works by M. Gandhi
• Orwell J. Reflections on Gandhi // Man. No. 2, 2001

Links

	Portal "Personalities"
	Mahatma Gandhi in Wikiquote
	Mahatma Gandhi on Wikimedia Commons

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Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand is an Indian politician, public figure, ideologist and one of the leaders of the movement for national independence. Born on October 2, 1869 in the north of the country, in the principality of Porbander, where his father served as chief minister. The family was very religious, lived an intense spiritual life, strictly adhered to traditions, practiced strict vegetarianism, and the worldview of the future “father of the nation” was formed under the influence of the ethical and religious tenets of Hinduism. As a thirteen-year-old teenager, Mohandas married a girl of his own age, whose marriage gave birth to four sons.

At the age of 19, Gandhi left for London to study as a lawyer in the English capital. In 1891, he returned to his homeland with a lawyer's diploma, but his professional activities did not give the results he expected, so the young lawyer went to South Africa in 1893 and got a job in an Indian trading company as a legal adviser. Abroad, he gradually became involved in the Indian rights movement.

After returning to his homeland in 1915, a new stage began in the life of Mohandas Gandhi, which connected his entire subsequent biography with the struggle against discrimination against his compatriots and violence in its various manifestations. Gandhi joined the INC party - the Indian National Congress, fighting for the independence of India from Great Britain. With the light hand of Rabindranath Tagore, a famous Indian writer, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, Gandhi began to be called Mahatma (translated as “great soul”). His compatriots had great respect for this modest man in dress and needs, who considered himself unworthy of such a flattering title and devoted much effort to the struggle for their better life. In 1921, Mohandas Gandhi became the leader of the INC.

The principles of struggle (both tactical and ideological) proclaimed by Gandhi became widely known as “Gandhism” and were based on the concept of “satyagraha”, “persistence in truth” - resistance based on non-violent action. In particular, Leo Tolstoy’s teaching on non-resistance to evil through violence had a noticeable influence on its formation. It was in this way that Gandhi and his like-minded people resisted the dictates of Great Britain - for example, by ignoring products produced by English manufacturers. Gandhi made a serious contribution to the elimination of caste inequality.

The consistent implementation of the principle of non-violence was repeatedly subjected to serious tests and pitted Gandhi against the Congress, which did not consider it necessary to extend such a strategy to foreign policy. Fundamental differences on this issue and compromise solutions in the summer of 1940 and winter of 1941 were given to Gandhi, according to eyewitnesses, at the cost of great mental suffering.

One of Gandhi's priorities was the fight against national-religious strife between Hindus and Muslims, which had torn India apart for centuries. In 1947, the former British colony was divided into the Republic of India, where the majority of the population was Hindu, and Pakistan, with a predominance of Muslims, and this event served as a reason for a new aggravation of relations.

Mahatma Gandhi made calls to stop senseless violence, but all attempts were in vain, and then in January 1948 he went on a hunger strike. Since Gandhi was a great authority for both warring parties, they entered into a compromise agreement. But an extremist Hindu group decided to remove from the political horizon the bright, charismatic personality of the Mahatma, who was hindering their fight against the Muslims, and organized a major anti-government conspiracy. On January 20, 1948, there was an assassination attempt on Gandhi: a homemade bomb exploded near him, causing no harm to anyone. 78-year-old Gandhi categorically refused enhanced security, and already on January 30, 1948, his life was cut short by three bullets fired by a terrorist. With his last gestures, Mohandas Gandhi made it known that he would grant his murderer forgiveness.

Mahatma Gandhi (real name Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi) was one of the most authoritative moral and spiritual leaders of the 20th century. Under his leadership, India won independence in 1947, and he achieved this not through political cunning or force, but peacefully, through the method of collective rejection of the imposed system, through civil disobedience and public self-organization. This was the great work of his entire long life. However, he did not taste the fruits of his victory for long - a year after India gained independence, Gandhi spoke out against the Indo-Muslim conflicts that broke out in the country and was assassinated.

Biography of Mahatma Gandhi. early years

Gandhi was born and raised on October 2, 1869 in a fairly wealthy family, belonging to a caste located in the middle of the social ladder. And although Gandhi's family came from a trading caste, his family for many generations belonged to the service class and occupied high positions - for example, Gandhi's grandfather and father were prime ministers in the principality of Porbandar in northwestern India.

According to Hindu customs, marriages were planned in advance, and even young children were engaged. Gandhi was engaged at the age of 7 to his future faithful companion Kasturbai, whom he married at the age of 14. Their marriage lasted 62 years and they had four sons: Harilala, Marilala, Ramdasa and Devadasa. Kasturbai was Mohandas’s faithful life partner, participated in her husband’s political actions and was with him in prison. Kasturbai died of a heart attack in 1942, while under yet another arrest.

After graduating from the Lyceum, Gandhi went to London to obtain a legal education. At first he tried to adapt to the new environment, to become European, but soon abandoned this idea and began to lead a modest life. Returning to India in 1891, Gandhi was admitted to the Bombay Bar Association, where he gained his first legal experience.

Biography of Mahatma Gandhi. South African period

Soon he received an invitation to the position of legal adviser in one of the Indian trading firms and left for South Africa. Here his business took off, and he quickly won the recognition of the Indians, who began to call him their protector. The nickname "Mahatma", or rather a respectful honorific, literally means "Great Soul".

Indians arrived en masse in South Africa in the second half of the 19th century, when Europeans began offering them contracts to work on sugar cane plantations, as miners and artisans. By the time Gandhi arrived in Africa, there were approximately 150 thousand of his compatriots there. At first, relations between the British and Indians were good, but when Asians became serious competitors of the British, especially in trade, Indians increasingly began to be subjected to racial discrimination - they did not have voting rights, they were levied additional taxes, forced to register and were severely punished for not necessary documents; Marriages according to Indian customs were often declared illegal.

All this prompted Gandhi to undertake social activities to protect Hindus from oppression by the British. He published his “Green Book” in his homeland, India, in which he outlined all the hardships of the situation of Indians in South Africa. This brochure caused a lot of discussion and Gandhi's name became known.

While in Africa, Gandhi called for non-violent struggle, which he called passive resistance and formulated the doctrine of satyagraha - perseverance in truth based on non-violence. He instilled in Indians a sense of national unity and the right to protect their own interests, and carried out explanatory work on protests and civil disobedience.

In 1899, the Boer War began, and Gandhi led a medical aid detachment; for his courage and selfless service to the wounded, he was awarded a gold medal. However, his goal was not to help the British, but to help the wounded. He did the same thing in 1906, during the Zulu uprising. The cruelty of the British during the suppression of this uprising shocked Gandhi, he was completely disappointed in the values ​​of Western civilization.

When the authorities in South Africa developed a new registration law in 1907, which put “coloreds” in a humiliating position. Gandhi organized the resistance on the principle of satyagraha (which means "persistence in truth" or "non-violent disobedience").

Being a defender of the rights of Indians, especially the disadvantaged, Gandhi himself lived like an ascetic: he dressed in canvas trousers and sandals, and limited his property to a few essential items. In 1907, Gandhi was first imprisoned for disobeying the authorities and was sentenced to shackles and hard labor.

After his liberation, in January 1908, a number of strikes, rallies, and boycotts against British violence were held under his leadership. As a result of his actions, Gandhi found himself in prison. However, even after leaving prison, he did not stop there; in 1909 he continued negotiations, created the Tolstoy Farm community, promoting the new idea of ​​​​Indian self-government (or “swaraj”). These actions were successful, and in 1914 Gandhi achieved the repeal of the most humiliating racist laws.