Sometimes amazing people are born into the world who are destined to change the world for the better. This was the native of India Mahatma Gandhi. He managed to create a whole course of non-violent resistance, advocating for the independence of his native country from Great Britain. His life was hard, it is a fact, but grateful descendants will forever remember everything he did for them.
The future ideologue of Indian independence was born in a very wealthy family. His father was one of the ministers. The Mahatma Gandhi family was distinguished by a high degree of religiosity. This was especially true of his mother. When Mahatma was thirteen years old, his parents married him to a girl of the same age. On the same day as his wedding, two others took place – his brothers, a cousin and a relative. This allowed the family to save money. By the way, in India still often parents marry even adult children, not particularly interested in their opinions. In translation, the surname “Gandhi” means as “trader” or “shopkeeper”.
Mahatma Gandhi’s real name is Mohandas. The name “Mahatma” was given to him by his supporters. Translated, it means “great teacher.” While studying in London, the young Mahatma demonstrated to everyone around him that a native of India could be the same gentleman as the native English. He was a staunch vegetarian. The lowest of the castes of traditional Indian society, the caste of untouchables, Mahatma Gandhi called “children of God.” The battle with public opinion for changing attitudes towards this caste was one of the main tasks of his life. Devoting himself to others, Mahatma Gandhi refused material wealth. He walked barefoot and in tatters, and the numerous donations he received sent him to those in need.
When asked why he was traveling in trains in the third class, the cheapest, he replied “because there is no fourth.” For the first time, Gandhi embodied his idea of non-violent resistance in South Africa, where he fought for the rights of Indians living in the country. Mahatma Gandhi was nominated five times for the Nobel Peace Prize. At 37, he completely abandoned his sexual life.
Leo Tolstoy had a strong influence on ideas about resistance without violence of Mahatma Gandhi. The Russian classic was the first to voice this idea, at the beginning of the 20th century, in correspondence with one of the public figures of India. For his convictions, he repeatedly visited prisons. The audience at the English Queen Gandhi appeared in his usual clothes – simple pants and a cape. Mahatma Gandhi wrote several letters to Adolf Hitler, urging him not to unleash World War II. His portrait is emblazoned on some Indian banknotes. Five months before his death, Mahatma Gandhi achieved his life goal – India gained its independence from Great Britain by peaceful means, without bloodshed. Gandhi died when one of his compatriots, who considered him guilty of the split in India, shot him in the street in front of everyone.
