Mahatma Gandhi

Leader of India's nonviolent independence movement

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian lawyer and anti-colonial nationalist who led India's independence movement through nonviolent resistance.^[1] He was born on 2 October 1869 in Porbandar, a coastal town in the Kathiawar Peninsula.^[2] In 1914, while Gandhi was in South Africa, the title Mahātmā, which translates from Sanskrit as "great-souled" or "venerable," was used for him for the first time.^[3]

Last updated 2026-09-30 from the source article.

Quick Facts

Other names

Bāpū (father), Rāṣṭrapitā (the Father of the Nation)

Birth name

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Born

2 October 1869

Birthplace

Porbandar, Kathiawar Agency, British Raj

Died

30 January 1948

Place of death

New Delhi, India

Cause of death

Assassination by gunshot

Monuments

Raj Ghat
Delhi; Gandhi Smriti
New Delhi

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Gandhi's father Karamchand served as dewan of Porbandar state and later became diwan of Rajkot.^[4][5] His mother Putlibai came from a Pranami Vaishnava family and was deeply pious.^[6][7] At age 13, Gandhi married 14-year-old Kasturbai Gokuldas Kapadia in an arranged marriage.^[8] In 1888, Gandhi sailed to London to study law at University College London and the Inner Temple.^[9][10]

After being called to the bar in 1891, Gandhi returned to India but struggled to establish a law practice.^[11] In 1893, he accepted a one-year legal assignment in South Africa, where he faced racial discrimination.^[12][13] Gandhi became a member of the London Vegetarian Society and, under the leadership of its president Arnold Hills, was chosen for its executive committee.^[11]

What the cited sources add

The International Vegetarian Union records that a farewell dinner was held for Gandhi at Holborn before he left London.^[14] At that dinner, Hills proposed a toast wishing Gandhi "God speed" in his future work for vegetarianism.^[14] Two entries in the Professors' Fees Book for 1888-1889 show Gandhi listed under Henry Morley for English classes.^[15] Gandhi's autobiography describes his election to the Vegetarian Society's executive committee and his shyness at meetings.^[16]

The same source notes Gandhi considered Dr. Allinson's views on birth control dangerous.^[16]

References

Wikipedia, "Mahatma Gandhi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Gandhi". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.; B. R. Nanda, "Mahatma Gandhi", 2019; Ganguly, "Rethinking Gandhi and Nonviolent Relationality: Global Perspectives", Routledge, 2008, p. 4–5; Parel, "Pax Gandhiana: The Political Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi", Oxford University Press, 2016, p. 202–; Stein, "A History of India", John Wiley & Sons, 2010, p. 289–290 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Mahatma Gandhi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Guha 2015, p. 19–21; Guha 2015, p. 19–21; Todd, "Mohandas Gandhi", Infobase Publishing, 2012, p. 8; Gandhi 2008, p. 1–3 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Mahatma Gandhi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McGregor, "The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary", Oxford University Press, 1993, p. 799; Gandhi, "Gandhi: The Man, His People, and the Empire", 2006, p. 172 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Mahatma Gandhi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gandhi, "An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth", The Floating Press, 2009, p. 21; "Rethinking Gandhi and Nonviolent Relationality: Global Perspectives", Routledge, 2008, p. 4–; Guha 2015, p. 19–21; Guha 2015, p. 19–21 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Mahatma Gandhi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Guha 2015, p. 19–21 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Mahatma Gandhi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Guha 2015, p. 19–21; Misra, Amalendu, "Identity and Religion: Foundations of anti-Islamism in India", Sage Publications, 2004, p. 67; Gandhi 2007a, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=TEyXCoc76AEC&pg=PA5 5]; Malhotra, S.L., "Lawyer to Mahatma: Life, Work and Transformation of M. K. Gandhi", Deep & Deep Publications, 2001, p. 5 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Mahatma Gandhi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: . "The subcaste the Gandhis belonged to was known as Modh Bania, the prefix apparently referring to the town of Modhera, in Southern Gujarat."; Renard, John, "Responses to 101 Questions on Hinduism", Paulist Press, 1999, p. 139; Gandhi 2008, p. 1–3; Arvind Sharma, "Gandhi: A Spiritual Biography", Yale University Press, 2013, p. 11–14; Rudolph, "Gandhi: The Traditional Roots of Charisma", University of Chicago Press, 1983, p. 17; Arvind Sharma, "Gandhi: A Spiritual Biography", Yale University Press, 2013, p. 11–14; Gerard Toffin, "Public en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Mahatma Gandhi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gandhi, "At the High School", The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1940 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Mahatma Gandhi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gandhi, "The Story of My Experiments with Truth", 1940; Guha 2015, p. 19–21; Swapnajit Mitra, "My Experiment with Truth", India Currents, 12 October 2014 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Mahatma Gandhi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: B. R. Nanda, 2019 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Mahatma Gandhi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Brown 1991 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Mahatma Gandhi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Herman 2008, p. 82–83 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Mahatma Gandhi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gandhi, "The Story of My Experiments with Truth", 1940; Dhiman 2016, p. 25–27; Dhiman 2016, p. 25–27; Gandhi 2002; Gandhi, "The Story of My Experiments with Truth", 1940 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
"International Vegetarian Union – Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948)", ivu.org. facts only, no text reused. ivu.org
Swapnajit Mitra, "My Experiment with Truth", India Currents, 12 October 2014. facts only, no text reused. indiacurrents.com
"Shyness my shield", Autobiography, 1927. facts only, no text reused. mkgandhi.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Mahatma Gandhi (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.