Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, better known as Mahātmā Gandhi, (Mahātmā meaning great

soul in Sanskrit) was a lawyer by profession. He was born on the 2nd of October,1869 and
raised by a wealthy, Hindu family in Porbandar, India; a family that would mold Gandhi to
become a man who changed the world for the better. He married his wife Kasturba at age 13
and had his first son at 18 years of age. Although Gandhi was born into a fortunate family, he
was always mindful of the poor & needy and always wanted to give back to his community.
Mohandas seemed to have an urge to stand firmly for his beliefs of doing the righteous thing
and sticking to his beliefs as at the mere age of 22, even though he had four year old son and a
wife ,he was compelled to leave his family in india to pursue a career in law at the university
college of london where would pass his roman law examination exam in 1890 and the Bar in
1891. After concluding his exams however, he was unable to start a successful law practise for
two years, until he moved to South Africa in 1893 to represent an Indian merchant in a lawsuit
as well as receive a one year contract.

He would later on find that Indians were mistreated in South Africa and decided to stay to fight
against this inequality of his people as opposed to going home to his family who he hadn't seen
in years. Several cases of unfairness were documented but one that grasps attention like no
other, is the instance when gandhi was thrown out of a train at the Pietermaritzburg Railway
Station in south africa because he refused to yield at the request to move to the back of the train
although he had a first class ticket. A complaint was made by a white man because he refused
to share a space with the Indian, which ultimately led to Gandhi being forced out of the train.
After this racist interaction, The young Mahatma instated the Natal Indian Congress in 1894, an
organization that led protests against the oppressive treatment of the white people against the
africans and indians alike.

Gandhi had his unique method of going about his protests however. He would firmly aspire to
the omission of violence and civil disobedience. The Natal Indian Congress gained traction and
many people began to follow mohandas’ lead and adapted his nonviolent lifestyle. It must be
noted that gandhi was a devoted hindu, but he wasn't engaged in a particular way of hinduism
but rather had his own interpretation of the religion by being open to other religions, most
notably christianity and islam. In 1966, Gandhi had the intention of furthermore growing the
N.I.C so he briefly returned to India and brought back over 800 participants to aid in his protests
but upon arrival awaited a brutal gang ready to attack and Mohandas was injured. The protests
continued and Gandhi was committed to earning the same level of respect and rights for the
Africans and the Indians that was displayed by the white citizens to the opposing races.

Eventually, in 1906, Gandhi organized the first campaign of satyagraha. Satyagraha was crucial
to Gandhi, his philosophy and his legacy. It is essentially the non-violent way of life and allows
mankind to perceive the way of overcoming greed and fear with love as well as resistance to
evil and untruth.. After seven heartfelt years of torment, Gandhi managed to come to an
agreement with the South African government and was finally able to return to India with a clear
conscience.Gandhi returned to his homeland in 1915 and was officially reunited with his family.
He had expanded his family, now having 6 children with a newfound sense of fame among the
whole of India and despite his somewhat short and frail appearance, Gandhi was a very
powerful and well respected man in his homeland.

The first world war was imminent and he was unhappy with the mandatory military drafting of
Indians in Britain. He took to his natural instinct and once again, started a protest against the
unfairness towards indian natives. Hundreds of thousands rallied alongside him against Britain,
leading the country’s authorities to jail him several times but due to his large following as well as
his positive impact on the nation, he was greatly supported and it was almost impossible to keep
Gandhi locked behind bars. He was such an influential person in his community that he was
selected among the people of India to lead the movement towards independence of India. After
numerous years of protests involving the non-violent methods of Gandhi, such as ceasing the
purchase of British goods and refusing to pay taxes to the British government, India was
granted independence by the British in 1947, all which without Gandhi, wouldn't be possible.

The year 1947 holds an important event in the story of Gandhi, as it was the last of his life.
Gandhi attended a prayer vigil when a Hindu extremist shot him three times in his chest
because he didn't agree with Gandhi's tolerance and inclusion of the muslim religion. Gandhi
dropped to the ground and in his final moments, uttered his last words ‘‘hey ram.’’ With
everything considered, Gandhi's impact in our society is undeniable and his memory lives on to
this day as seen in various schools, institutions and films in his name. Mahatma Gandhi’s
teachings have blossomed and reached the new generations, even after 75 years of his
assassination. If Gandhi were non- existent, there would not have been such mass mobilization
in our society today, the separation of classes would be visible and anarchy would ensue, not to
mention the fact that India would not have gained independence.