Mahatma Gandhi and The Gandhian Era (1915-1948)

Mahatma Gandhi was born on 2nd October 1869 in Porbandar, Gujrat, India. His father was Karamchand Gandhi and mother was Putali Bai. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was the full name of Mahatma Gandhi. His political inspiration was Gopal Krishan Gokhale. 

Also Read: Thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi Part 1
Mahatma Gandhi was a born activist against social evils of the society and culture. He moved to South Africa in 1893 for law practice. In 1906 he had launched the first Civil Disobedience (Satyagraha) movement in South Africa against the Asiatic Ordinance in Transvaal followed by another Civil Disobedience in Transvaal against Compulsory Registration and Passes for Asians (The Black Act). These movements lead to first jail term of his life in Johannesburg Jail in 1908. Another Satyagraha was launched in 1913 against the no recognition of non Christian marriages in Capetown. During his 21 years of life in South Africa he gone through various Satyagraha specially for dark coloured peoples to escalate their position in society as well as in the matter of law. For raising an Indian Ambulace Core during Boer wars, he was awarded with the title Kaisar-i-Hind (The Lion of India).

• 1915 :- After a very long period of 21 years in South Africa he returned to Bombay (Mumbai) India on 9th Jnuary 1915. In the same year he founded the Satyagrah Ashram in Kocharab near Ahmedabad, which was than shifted at the banks of Sabarmati.
• 1916 :- He attainded the the Lucknow session of INC held in 26-30 December,  1916, where Raj Kumar Shukla, a cultivator from Bihar met Mahatma Gandhi and requested him to come to Champaran.
• 1917 :- This year is one of the most important year of the Indian history, in this year Champaran Cmpaign launched to redress the grievances of the Indigo cultivators of Bihar. This was Mahatma Gandhi's first civil disobedience movement in India. This year laid the foundation of independence of India.
• 1918 :- In this year there were two struggles were launched, the first one is launched in the month of February in Ahmedabad which involved industrial workers, hunger strike was first time used as weapon in this struggle and the other one was launched in the month of March where Gandhi worked for peasants of Kheda, Gujrat who were facing severe difficulties in paying the rent due to failure of crops. It was the first Non-Cooperation Movement by Mhatma Gandhi. Also Read:Thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi Part 2
• 1919 :- This was one of the worst year of the Indian history, which was written by the blood of the people of Jaliawala Bagh who were peacefully gathered at the Jaliawala Bagh for protest against the Rowlett Act and General Dier ordered the fire on the people waiting for the protest to be started and hundreds of them were died which includes children and women also. Earlier on 6th April Mahatma Gandhi gave a call for Styagraha against the Rowlatt Act. In the same year The All India Khilafat Conference elected Gandhi as the president.
• 1920 :- In this year Gandhi launched the Non-Cooperation and Khilafat MOvements which were ended in 1922 when Gandhi called off the movements after the violent incident at Chauri-Chaura on 5th February, 1922.
• 1924 :- In this year Mahatma Gandhi was elected as the president of Indian National Congress for the first and the last time.
• 1930-34 :- In this year Gandhi launched the first Civil Disobedience Movement with Dandi March or Salt Satyagraha, which was started on 12th March 1930 and ended on March 5, 1931 with the Gandhi-Irwin pact signed between Gandhi and Lord Irwin. Gandhi attended the Second Round Table Conference in London as a sole representative of the Congress between 7th September and 1st December,1931 and the second phase of this conference was held between 3rd January 1932 to 17th April, 1934.
• 1934-39 :- Gandhi retires from active politics and set up Sevagram which also called as Vardha Ashram.
• 1940-1941 :- Mahatma Gandhi launched Individual Satyagraha Movement which gained huge support from general public.
• 1942-44 :- In this year Gandhi launched the Individual Satyagraha Movement an Quit India Movement for which he had given the slogan"Do or Die". In a speech he said that ' we shall either free India or die in the attempt'. Due to this movement Gandhi was kept in legal detention in the Aga Khan Palace, near Pune (9 August 1942 to May 1944). During this period his wife Kasturba Gandhi and private Secretary Mahadev Desai were died.
• 1946 :- Muslim League's Direct Action Call lead to huge communal violence, to restore peace Gandhi visited Noakhali, East Bengal (now Bangladesh) and then Calcutta. But in this effort Gandhi didn't get success.
• 1947 :- In this year Mountbatten Plan was rolled out to make India free from British colonial government and divided India into three parts First is the Undivided India second is the East Pakistan and third one is the West Pakistan on the communal background. Mahatma Gandhi was very distressed with this plan, he made several attempts to save India from getting partitioned but again he failed. Finally on 15th of August 1947 India got independence from British rule.
• 1948 :- On 30th January 1948, when Mahatma Gandhi was going for evening prayer meeting at Birla House, he was shot dead by Nathuram Godse. In the last minutes the word which was on his lips is "Hey Ram".

An Eye For An Eye Makes The Whole World Blind.  - Mahatma Gandhi

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