Gandhi's Influential Journey

On October 2nd, 1969, Karamchand Gandhi had a son from his fourth wife, Putlibai. His name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, or he was later known by the world as Mahatma Gandhi. Mohandas was the youngest child, having one elder sister and two elder brothers. Born into a simple family, he looked like the simplest of boys and was about to influence the whole world with his rebellious virtues and tactics. While the whole world chose violence, Mahatma Gandhi chose words.

The early days were nothing special, as it was like any other school life story—mocking teachers and calling them names. But he was otherwise a very shy introvert, and he used to avoid fame and the spotlight as much as he could. He instead chose books as his mates.

Even from his childhood days, he always embraced the truth, always speaking the truth despite the consequences he would have to face later. He was a simple young lad with the qualities of respecting the elders, loving the youngers, and bonding with the people of his age. He always acknowledged his teachers, relatives, friends, and companions.

But two plays made him set two new rules throughout his life. In the play of Shravana, he carries a sling on his shoulder, carrying his blind parents. This gave him a motive to take care of his parents until his last breath. Another is about Harishchandra, where he always speaks the truth despite the pain and consequences he might face later.

Mahatma Gandhi married at the age of 13, which he thinks was a disturbing and incorrect happening in his life. He did not hate Kasturbai (Gandhi’s wife), but disliked child marriage in general. Actually, he thought of her as a simple and preservative woman.

Gandhi’s family was a pure vegetarian, and so was he. But Gandhi’s friend Mahtab manipulated and dragged Mohandas to eat meat, as Mahtab deceived him into believing that meat was the only way to become strong. He used to consume goat meat. He had done this, breaking his father's faith in him. Then he thought and came to the conclusion that it was wrong and should not be continued. However, it was not the end of deceiving others. He used to smoke the cigarettes thrown away by his relatives clandestinely.

Gandhi’s marriage life was not easy. When he was sixteen, his father died. However, the death happened at the most rare and unusual time possible. As Gandhi notes, it happened when Kasturbai and Gandhiji were having sex. This incident left him in trauma until his last moments and brought hatred towards sex into his mind.

Now, with his father dead, he was the main man of the house and decided to go to England with three virtues: never touching another woman, wine, and meat. Gandhi went to London to study law. Nevertheless, the adaptation wasn’t easy; he wore a hat, learned their dance, and learned to play the violin. He also visited the Eiffel Tower. He returned in 1891 to work in the high court of Bombay. He found out that his mother had died while he was in London. Later, he left Bombay for Rajkot and set up his office there, where his brother lived. In 1893, he got a contract from South Africa for a court case. He accepted it and went on a new adventure in a new country. South Africa, where he experienced various forms of racial discrimination. The three most famous incidents are: first, he was thrown from his first-class train seat only because he was an Indian. Second, he was forced to take off his ‘pagdi’ while fighting the court case in South Africa. Third, in his hotel, he was commanded to eat his dinner in his room because only white people deserved the dinner tables, despite both races paying the prices equally.

After these oppressive experiences that he faced, he started some protests with some other Indians as well. He went back to India after some months to take his wife and sons with him. He continued protesting and influencing people with his lifestyle. Later, he was invited to India again, and thus he went back.

Gandhi's speeches were powerful and convinced many to adopt a non-violent protest called Satyagraha. This approach later influenced Nelson Mandela too. Satyagraha was nothing but a movement where you are not supposed to claim or win something using your physical strength but rather by tolerating and using your words.

He also used another movement while fighting for India’s independence. In this movement, Indians were requested to only use products that were Indian-made and to boycott British products, which came with a heavy amount of tax. Gandhi led a famous event called the Salt March, where Indians collected their own salt instead of buying it from the English, showing opposition to British control.

After World War II, England was slowly getting weaker and losing land and men. That is why, on August 15th, 1947, India gained its independence and became an independent country. Gandhi was a phenomenon. From a normal boy to the greatest Indian personality, let us use his teachings in our lives as well.

Modern Indian School, Grade: VII