Why Was Mahatma Gandhi Famous?
Mahatma Gandhi draws fame for political leadership: he led India’s independence movement and advocated for equal treatment and rights of Indian and South African citizens. Mahatma Gandhi, born Mohandas Karamchand Ghandi, originated in Porbandar, India. Gandhi received an undergraduate education in India, then moved to London to study law before ultimately becoming involved in politics and advocating civil disobedience.
Upon receiving a legal education, Gandhi moved to South Africa. There, he spent nearly two decades advocating for the equal rights of South Africans and Indians, inspiring change through nonviolent means. In the early 1900s, Gandhi emerged as a primary leader of India’s Home Rule movement, a larger campaign to free India from oppressive British rule. Although advocating nonviolent means of protest, Gandhi supported civil unrest, encouraging change through action. Gandhi sympathized with many underprivileged citizens, including women and laborers. Gandhi also voiced opposition for India’s caste system, considering it socially oppressive. To promote his mission, Gandhi interacted with citizens and government officials.
Gandhi’s anti-government actions caught the attention of unsympathetic government officials, leading to imprisonment and charges of conspiracy. Gandhi found himself imprisoned from 1919 through 1931 on charges of conspiracy. Upon release, he returned to campaigning for equality, leading a 200 mile march to the Indian Ocean in protest of government oppression. After securing Indian independence in the 1940s, Gandhi lent a hand resolving a conflict among Hindus and Muslims in Bengal, ultimately meeting his death from assassination.
