MAHATMA GANDHI

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in the town of Porbander in the state of what is now Gujarat on October 2, 1869. He had his schooling in nearby Rajkot, where his father served as the adviser or prime minister to the local ruler. Though India was then under British rule, over 500 kingdoms, principalities, and states were allowed independence in home and inner affairs: these were the so-called 'native states.'

He entered an arranged marriage with Kasturbai Makanji when both were 13 years old. His family later sent him to London to study law, and in 1891, he was admitted to the Inner Temple, and called to the bar. In Southern Africa he worked endlessly to improve the rights of the immigrant Indians. It was there that he developed his creed of passive resistance against injustice, truth force, and was frequently put in jail as a result of the protests that he led. Before he returned to India with his wife and children in 1915, he had dramatically changed the lives of Indians living in Southern Africa.

Back in India, it was not long before he was taking the lead in the long struggle for independence from Britain. When Muslims and Hindus committed acts of violence, whether against the British who ruled India, or against each other, he fasted until the fighting ended. Independence, when it came in 1947, was not a military victory, but a triumph of human will.

To Gandhi's despair, however, the country was persuaded into Hindu and Muslim. The last two months of his life were spent trying to end the violence which encouraged, leading him to fast to the brink of death, an act which finally stopped the riots. In January 1948, at the age of 79, he was killed by an assassin as he walked through a crowded garden in New Delhi to take evening prayers.

Gandhi was a determined to make a difference. He was a hero to thousands, including me. He lived for peace; he wasn’t phased by fame or publicity. His motto was simple, peace + love= happiness, and happiness was what he achieved for a period of time. Unfortunately, not everyone considered him a hero and started to rebel against him. He was indeed assassinated, but his courage will live throughout everyone. Although he is gone, he is still and always will be remembered as my hero. He said, “What kind of victory is it when someone is left defeated?”