Mahatma Gandhi
(1869-1948)

Died aged 78

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (/ˈɡɑːndi, ˈɡændi/; GAHN-dee; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule, and to later inspire movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The honorific Mahātmā (Sanskrit: "great-souled", "venerable"), first applied to him in 1914 in South Africa, is now used throughout the world. Born and raised in a Hindu family in coastal Gujarat, Gandhi trained in the law at the Inner Temple, London, and was called to the bar at age 22 in June 1891. After two uncertain years in India, where he was unable to start a successful law practice, he moved to South Africa in 1893 to represent an Indian merchant in a lawsuit. He went on to live in South Africa for 21 years. It was here that Gandhi raised a family and first employed nonviolent resistance in a campaign for civil rights. In 1915, aged 45, he returned to India and soon set about organising peasants, farmers, and urban labourers to protest against excessive land-tax and discrimination. Assuming leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921, Gandhi led nationwide campaigns for easing poverty, expanding women's rights, building religious and ethnic amity, ending untouchability, and, above all, achieving swaraj or self-rule. Gandhi adopted the short dhoti woven with hand-spun yarn as a mark of identification with India's rural poor. He began to live in a self-sufficient residential community, to eat simple food, and undertake long fasts as a means of both introspection and political protest. Bringing anti-colonial nationalism to the common Indians, Gandhi led them in challenging the British-imposed salt tax with the 400 km (250 mi) Dandi Salt March in 1930 and in calling for the British to quit India in 1942. He was imprisoned many times and for many years in both South Africa and India. Gandhi's vision of an independent India based on religious pluralism was challenged in the early 1940s by a Muslim nationalism which demanded a separate homeland for Muslims within British India. In August 1947, Britain granted independence, but the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two dominions, a Hindu-majority India and a Muslim-majority Pakistan. As many displaced Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs made their way to their new lands, religious violence broke out, especially in the Punjab and Bengal. Abstaining from the official celebration of independence, Gandhi visited the affected areas, attempting to alleviate distress. In the months following, he undertook several hunger strikes to stop the religious violence. The last of these, begun in Delhi on 12 January 1948 when he was 78, also had the indirect goal of pressuring India to pay out some cash assets owed to Pakistan. Although the Government of India relented, as did the religious rioters, the belief that Gandhi had been too resolute in his defence of both Pakistan and Indian Muslims, especially those besieged in Delhi, spread among some Hindus in India. Among these was Nathuram Godse, a militant Hindu nationalist from western India, who assassinated Gandhi by firing three bullets into his chest at an interfaith prayer meeting in Delhi on 30 January 1948. Gandhi's birthday, 2 October, is commemorated in India as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday, and worldwide as the International Day of Nonviolence. Gandhi is commonly, though not formally, considered the Father of the Nation in India and was commonly called Bapu (Gujarati: endearment for father, papa).

DbPedia
Wikidata Wikipedia

Commemorated on 6 plaques

Mahatma Gandhi 1869-1948 stayed here in 1931

Kingsley Hall, Powis Road, Tower Hamlets, E3, London, United Kingdom where they stayed

Mahatma Gandhi 1869-1948 lived here as a law student

20 Baron's Court Road, Hammersmith and Fulham, W14, London, United Kingdom where they lived

Originally known as the The Kraal, this home was built by the architect Herman Kallenbach. From 1908-1909, Kallenbach lived here with his friend, Mohandas Gandhi. During these years Gandhi deepened his philosophy of non-violent struggle, called Satyagraha. Turning away from a life of wealth and comfort, both men embraced ideals of simple living, self discipline and manual labour.

15 Pine Road, Orchards, Johannesburg, South Africa where they lived

Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi lived here from 1904 to 1906 together with his wife Kasturba and sons Manilal, Ramdas and Devdas. They shared the house with Henry Polak, Gandhi's friend and colleague in his law office. In 1905 they were joined by Polak's wife Millie who describes the house in her book on Gandhi: "The house was situated in a fairly good middleclass neighbourhood, on the outskirts of town. It was a double-storied, detached, eight-roomed building of the modern villa type, surrounded by a garden, and having in front the open spaces of the koppies. The upstairs verandah was roomy enough to sleep on it, and indeed in warm weather it was often so used.

11 Albermarle Street, Troyeville, Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa where they lived (1904-1906)

Lead of Indian Independence Mahatma Gandhi 2 October 1868 - 30 January 1948 visited his nephew J. V. Joshi here on 17 October 1931

13 Linden Grove, Beeston, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom where they visited (1931)

Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948) Spiritual leader and non-violent campainger for Indian independence stayed here in 1931. Erected to commemorate the 150th anniversary of his birth.

Woodbrooke - 1046 Bristol Road, Selly Oak, Birmingham, United Kingdom where they stayed (1931)