Mahatma Gandhi – Essay 1.
Introduction: Gandhiji was one of the greatest Indian of all time. He is called the “Father of the Indian Nation”. His original name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He was given the title of “Mahatma“, which implies “Great Soul“. People also call him “Bapu” affectionately.
Early life: The birth of Mahatma Gandhi took place on 2nd day of October in 1869 at Porbandar (Gujarat). His father, Karamchand Gandhi, was a noble and pious man. Mr. Karamchand was the chief Dewan of the State of Rajkot.
His mother, Putlibai, was a simple and religious lady. In his early age, Gandhiji was deeply influenced by the religious and pious behaviour of her mother.
Gandhiji received his early education and training from such pious parents. He grew up to be deeply religious, truthful, honest, and fearless from his very boyhood. He was married to Kasturba Gandhi in 1883. The wedding took place according to traditional custom.
As a child, he was a brilliant student. He completed his matriculation examination in 1887. After a brief study, he traveled to England to study barrister-in-law. In 1891, he became a barrister and returned back to home country.
South Africa: At the age of 24, Mahatma Gandhi went to South Africa as a lawyer. He had spent twenty-one years at South Africa from 1893 to 1914. As a lawyer, he was mainly employed by Indians staying at South Africa. He found that Indians and other dark skinned people were the oppressed section of the society. He himself faced discrimination on several occasions. He was once disallowed to travel on first-class and thrown out of the train. He was moved by the poor condition of Indians and decided to fight against the injustice. In 1894, he formed the Indian Natal Congress to fight for the civil rights of the Indian community in South Africa.
While at South Africa, he fought for the civil rights and privileges of the Indians living in South Africa. Throughout his struggle, he taught people to fight for their rights through non-violence. Hence, he made his mark as a great political leader in South Africa.
India: He returned to India in 1915. Later, he was the president of Indian National Congress. He protested against the mis-rule of the British Government. He had been associated with several national movements during India’s struggle for independence such as Non-cooperation Movement in 1920, Satyagraha, Quit India Movement in 1942, etc. On several occasions, he was sent to prison. There was wide participation of women in the freedom movements led by Gandhi.
Non-cooperation was his great weapon. The Non-cooperation Movement as a non-violent protest against the use of the British made goods by Indians. It was a movement of the masses of India.
Salt Satyagraha or Dandi March was a protest against the tax regime of British in India. Gandhiji produced salt at Dandi without paying the salt tax. The Civil Disobediance Movement movement got support of millions of common people.
Also read: Causes, Effects and Significance of Civil Disobedience Movement in India
In 1942, Gandhi raised the ‘Quit India’ slogan. Gandhiji asked the British Government to “Quit India”. The Quit India Movement was the most powerful movement launched by Gandhi to end the British rule in India. He gave the famous slogan of “Do or die” for the freedom of mother country.
Principles: He followed the principles of non-violence, truth and peace throughout his life. He guided his fellow citizens to struggle for freedom, not by using weapons, but by following ahimsa (non-violence), peace (Shanti) and truth (Sayta). He proved that Ahimsa (non-violence) is more powerful than the sword. He adopted the principles of satyagraha in the Indian Independence movements.
Gandhian era in Indian History: His remained the most influential leader of India’s freedom movement during the period from 1919 to 1948 and thus the period is called the ‘Gandhian Era’in Indian history.
Importance: He is a well-known world personality. He shook off the British imperialism. The British were compelled to quit India. He secured freedom for our country following the principles of truth and non-violence. He was, thus, a saintly leader. Finally, India won its independence on 15th day of August in 1947.
Gandhi Jayanti: In India, Gandhi Jayanti is celebrated every-year on the day of his birth-anniversary. It is a national holiday. The world celebrates 2nd October as the International day of non-violence.
Death: Unfortunately, the great saint was assassinated by Nathuram Godse on 30th January, 1948.
Conclusion: Thus, Mahatma Gandhi was both a saint and a practical leader of his compatriots. He was a simple, pure, unselfish and religious person. He did most of his personal jobs of his own. He fought for the freedom of India through non-violent and peaceful methods. He tried hard to raise the distressed sections of the society. He fought against illiteracy. He dreamt of providing mass employment through Charka and Khaddar. He always felt for the poor and untouchables people. He wanted to abolish untouchability from Indian society.
The life and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi were so glorious that people around the world still pay homage to him. We will always remember his in our hearts.
Also read: Short Biographical Paragraph on Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi – Essay 2
Mahatma Gandhi refers to as the “Father of the Nation,” and Bapu (Father) was the leader of the advocacy group that fought for the Independence of India called ‘Indian independence movement’ against the British rule. He was a Lawyer, a writer, politician, and an activist.
The early life of Mahatma Gandhi
He was born on the 2nd of October in 1869. He was born as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi into a Gujarati Hindu Modh Baniya family in Porbandar. He went to a local school near his home in Rajkot at the age of 9, at the age of 11, he attends High school in Rajkot. He was married at the age of 13 to a 14-year-old Kasturbai Makhanji Kapadia in an arranged marriage.
He studied law in University College London. After returning to India for a short period, he was invited to Johannesburg to be a lawyer for an Indian acquaintance. Once there he was faced with extreme racism and discrimination towards the local Indian community from the British officers. He started a movement against the British while in Africa.
The Role of Mahatma Gandhi in the Indian Independence
He returned to India and joined the Indian struggle for Independence. He joined the Indian National Congress and as a leader led many movements like the Satyagraha movement, Dandi March, the non-cooperation, civil disobedience movements while maintaining non-violence. He courted arrests and even fasts to demand Swaraj.
Finally,the British agreed to give independence to India.
Influence on the world
Gandhiji left a deep influence on the world movements and leaders and is still considered to be one of the greatest leaders in the world.
Conclusion
Mahatma Gandhi died on 30th of January, 1948 at the age of 78 years. He was indeed the Father of Nation because of his role in India independence.
Short Essay on Gandhiji – Essay 3
Gandhiji, in India, is referred to as Father of Nation. It was a name given to Mahatma Karamchand Gandhi who pushed India towards Independence. Gandhiji was born on 2nd of October, 1869 in Gujarat, India. He was also raised in his birthplace.
His father was Karamchand Gandhi and mother Putlibai Gandhi. He was admitted to a local school in Rajkot, near his home at the age of 9. At the age of 11, he was admitted to high school in Rajkot, he was an average student and a shy type but won some prizes. He was a bookworm and has no interest in games.
He got married at a tender age of 13 years to her wife of 14 years named Kasturbai Makhanji Kapadia. The marriage was an arranged marriage and it was in line with the custom of that region then. The wedding was a joint event because his brother and cousin got married on the same day.
At the age of 18, in November 1887, he graduated from High school in Ahmedabad then enrolled at Samaldas College in Bhavnagar state in January 1888. In the same year; 1888, his wife gave birth to the first surviving son. On 4th of September, 1888 he sailed to London to attend University College, London to study Law and jurisprudence.
At age 23, in 1893, he went to South Africa. It was in South Africa, where he developed himself in terms of politics and ethics. He spent 21 years in South Africa. When he returned to India, he joined the Indian National Congress and was made the leader in 1920. He started pushing for the independence of India since then until 26 January 1930 and immediate independence was asked for in 1942.
India was freed on 15th August, 1947. He was assassinated on 30th of January, 1948 at 5:17 pm.
In conclusion, Gandhiji was the man who pushed for the independence of India and was celebrated up till today.
Mahatma Gandhi – Essay 4.
Introduction
Mahatma Gandhi (full name: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi) is a name is popular all around the world. Many people know about the famous Indian activist who led the Indian country towards independence from the British. Besides being a freedom fighter, he helped to inspire many people around the world to fight for their rights and freedom.
Father of the Nation
Mahatma Gandhi is considered as the father of the nation in India. This is a title that is given to someone if they are regarded to as being the force behind which a country or state was established. This title hence suits Mahatma as he was the one who led to the establishment of free India.
What does Mahatma mean?
The word Mahatma comes from a Sanskrit word that means one with a great soul. This title was then given to Gandhi to show that he was a person of wisdom, prestige and to show his selflessness. Gandhi was given the title Mahatma by the poet Rabindranath Tagore in the year 1915.
Early Life and Education
Gandhi was born on the 2nd of October 1869. His father was named Karamchand Gandhi who was a Chief Minister of the now Gujarat state. His mother’s name was Putlibai who was a very stringent religious woman. He started school at the age of nine years where he went to a local school in Rajkot. At the school, Gandhi studied arithmetic, history, geography and Gujarati language. He went to a high school in the same area when he was aged 11. At the age of thirteen, Gandhi married his 14 year old wife who was called Kasturba. He hence missed a year of school due to the marriage but he later recovered it. Gandhi graduated from high school when he was 18 years old and he went to Samaldas College but he later dropped out and went back to his family. He then went to the University College of London where he studied law and was later enrolled to the Inner temple with the desire of becoming a barrister.
Movements in South Africa
When Gandhi was aged 23, he went to South Africa to become a lawyer. He stayed in South Africa for 21 years which was where he began gaining his political views and he became an activist. He faced a lot of discrimination from the whites in the country who treated Indians and Africans unequally. Some of the things that he did in South Africa include;
- He helped the Indians in South Africa to refute a bill that denied them the right to vote. Although the bill was still passed, his actions drove the attention of the world to the treatment of Indians in South Africa.
- In 1894, he founded the Natal Indian congress that that unified the Indians in South Africa as one political movement.
- In the year 1906, Gandhi had his first ever Satyagraha campaign that was aimed at opposing the Transvaal Asiatic rule that would oppress the Indians in South Africa,
- In 1907, he also led a Satyagraha campaign against the black act that discriminated against the Africans.
- Gandhi was also arrested multiple times for carrying out Non Violent movements against the British rule in South Africa.
Freedom Movements in India
- Gandhi carried out the Champaran movement in 1917 that was aimed at fighting against the oppression of the farmers in the Champaran regions.
- He also organized the Kheda movement in the year 1918 that was aimed at fighting against the oppression of the Indian people by the British landlords to the people of Kheda village.
- Gandhi supported the Khilafat movement took place in 1919.
- The Non-cooperation movement took place in 1920 to convince the Indian people not to cooperate with the British in a peaceful way.
- The Quit India Movement of 1942 was organized during the Second World War so that the British rule would be driven out of India.
- The Civil Disobedience Movement was one that was aimed at opposing the rule of the British government.
Gandhi Jayanti
Gandhi Jayanti is national celebration in India that is used to celebrate the birth of Mahatma Gandhi. This celebration takes place on the 2nd of October every year. It is National holiday in India. This day involves a memorial of Gandhi and prayers and tributes all over the country.
Ahimsa (Peace and Non-violence)
Ahimsa is a Sanskrit that is used to symbolize ‘non-injure’ and compassion. This is a term that is used to symbolize an important virtue to the Indian religions. Mahatma Gandhi is believed to have greatly depended on the principle of Ahimsa. This was why he advocated for non violent and peaceful movements.
Global personality
Mahatma Gandhi was a person who had a very large reputation around the world. This is due to the advocacy for peace and the fight for equal rights for all. He is a global personality who not only helped to shape the modern day India but he helped to be the base upon which global peace would be preached.
An Inspiration
Gandhi is an inspiration to many people all over the world. This is because he is a symbol that represents peace and selflessness. He fought for the rights of others without expecting anything in return. This hence should be what we all advocate for to ensure that we are able to achieve world peace and harmony.
Conclusion
Mahatma Gandhi is a person that will leave to be remembered not only in India but also in the whole world. He played a critical role towards the attainment of independence by India and also other countries like South Africa. He is a leader that the present day leaders and individuals should aim to emulate due to his love for peace and non-violence.
Last updated: June 20, 2019