Gandhi - Bapu: India’s Father

Gandhi

When you mention India’s father of the nation, the picture of a bald, smiling old man in nothing but a worn-out shawl comes to our mind. This is the man who broke out of the boundaries of his country and established his place in the world as an idol of peace; Mahatma Gandhi.

Early life and influences

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, in Gujrat, India. His father was the chief minister of a small state. His mother was the fourth wife of his father; the previous three died during childbirth. Arranged child marriage was a tradition in his area, so Gandhi was married at 13, to Kasturbai Makhanji who was at that time 14 years old. Gandhi first became a father at the age of 15, but the child, tragically, didn’t survive more than a few days. Later, Gandhi and Kasturbai had four sons: Harilal, Manilal, Ramadas, and Devdas.

Gandhi did not achieve any remarkable feats in studies or any physical activities. He was an average student and he passed his matriculation exam with difficulty. He then went to London to study Law and jurisdiction, as his family wanted him to. In 1891, he returned to India after learning about his mother’s death. Despite his studies, he couldn’t practice law because of his shyness while speaking in court. He managed to make a moderate living by attending small businesses that changed very often.

Gandhi’s earliest influences were the Indian classic novels. He was moved by the story of King Harishchandra, who had to give up almost everything to protect his honesty but never tried to find another way and was later rewarded for his character. Gandhi tried to follow the same principles in his life and became successful.

The beginning of the protest

When he was in South Africa, he faced harsh discrimination against all ethnic nationalities. Once, he was thrown from a train because he refused to give up his seat in the first class to a white man. He protested against it and, the next day, he could sit in the first class. This incident gave him the resolve to fight discrimination. Not much later, he was beaten by a driver for the same thing. He was kicked out

 of restaurants, ordered to remove his turban, but he didn’t crumble in the face of such mental and physical assault. Rather, he decided to resist the injustice against India. He opposed a bill in South Africa which stated that Indians cannot vote. Though the bill wasn’t withdrawn, he caught everyone’s attention.

 

In January 1887, Gandhi was beaten up by a gang of white men. He was saved by a woman who stood between him and his attackers. The media published this event and members of the attacking mob

 were arrested, but Gandhi didn’t press any charges. He was admired for this and gained popularity. In 1906, the colonial government of South Africa introduced a law that ordered all the Asians, including Indians, to register their name, address, and information and carry a card with them. This was the start of Gandhi’s non-violent protest. The continuation of this protest resulted in Gandhi and his fellow protesters being arrested many times, but it went on and finally, in 1914, the Act was withdrawn.

 

The next big event was when the British government, who ruled India back then, passed an act that legalized arresting and locking Indians up in prison without a trial if they were suspected of terrorism. Gandhi led his famous non-violent civil disobedience and boycotting all British products including food and clothing. He encouraged everyone to make their own food and clothing, blowing a large hole in the British economy. Seeing trouble, the British imposed the Salt Act which made it illegal for an Indian to produce his own salt. Gandhi was imprisoned

 again and he led a “Quit India” campaign against the British, demanding them to leave the country. He later started a hunger strike in 1943 which lasted for 21 days. Fearing that a martyr-like Gandhi would invoke a revolution, he was released, and soon afterward, in 1946, India was independent.

 

After independence, Gandhi again started a hunger strike when a war between India and Pakistan was going on because of a payment Pakistan claimed India owed them. His strike ended the war and brought back peace between the rival countries.

Gandhi was killed in 1948 by a Hindu who claimed that Gandhi favored Pakistan over India and hated his non-violent stance. The loss for India was immeasurable and people grieved for his death everywhere. Even in death, he brought the two opposing parties of India together, working as one to reinstate order in the country.

The white man

Gandhi was nicknamed “Bapu” by his followers. In Hindi, it means “father”. This man showed everyone that one man can change the whole world if he wants to and that it’s not necessary to be violent if you are protesting. He always raised his voice against injustice and discrimination, but never once in his life had he wanted revenge.

His whole life can be described with his famous words: “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.”