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Father of Nation: Mahatma Gandhi ji

“Though we sing - all glory to God on high and on the earth be peace - there seems to be today neither glory to God nor Peace on earth” EARLY LIFE Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi also known as bapu was born on October 2, 1869, at Porbandar, in the present-day Indian state of Gujarat. His father was the dewan of Porbandar; his deeply religious mother was a devoted practitioner of Vaishnavism. At the age of 19, Mohandas left home to study law in London at the Inner Temple, one of the city’s four law colleges. Upon returning to India in mid-1891, he set up a law practice in Bombay, but met with little success. He soon accepted a position with an Indian firm that sent him to its office in South Africa. Along with his wife, Kasturbai, and their children, Gandhi remained in South Africa for nearly 20 years.

In July 1914, Gandhi left South Africa to return to India. He supported the British war effort in world war I but remained critical of colonial authorities for measures he felt were unjust. In 1919, Gandhi launched an organized campaign of passive resistance in response to Parliament’s passage of the Rowlatt Acts, which gave colonial authorities emergency powers to suppress subversive activities. He backed off after violence broke out–including the massacre by British-led soldiers of some 400 Indians attending a meeting at Amritsar–but only temporarily, and by 1920 he was the most visible figure in the movement for Indian independence.

His entire life is a saga of valor and sacrifices. Freedom was the breath of Mahatma Gandhi’s life. In 1919 he started a non-violent and peaceful movement. Hindu-Muslim unity, removal of untouchability and usage of Swadeshi (domestic-made) goods were his life-long missions. He launched the ‘Khadi Movement’ to encourage the use of handspun fibers like khadi or jute. ‘Khadi Movement’ was part of a bigger movement “Non¬co-operation Movement” which encouraged the use of Indian goods and boycotting of foreign goods.

SALT MARCH

The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty five day march lasted from 12 March 1930 to 6 April 1930 as a direct action campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the Britishsaltmonopoly. Another reason for this march was that the Civil Disobedience Movement needed a strong inauguration that would inspire more people to follow Gandhi's example. Gandhi started this march with 78 of his trusted volunteers. The march spanned 240 miles (390 km), from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi, which was called Navsari at that time (now in the state of Gujarat). Growing numbers of Indians joined them along the way. When Gandhi broke the British Raj salt laws at 6:30 am on 6 April 1930, it sparked large scale acts of civil disobedience against the salt laws by millions of Indians.

The Salt Satyagraha campaign was based upon Gandhi's principles of non-violent protest called satyagraha, which he loosely translated as "truth-force".Literally, it is formed from the Sanskrit words satya, "truth", and agraha, "insistence".

After making the salt by evaporation at Dandi, Gandhi continued southward along the coast, making salt and addressing meetings on the way. The Congress Party planned to stage a satyagraha at the Dharasana Salt Works, 25 mi (40 km) south of Dandi. However, Gandhi was arrested on the midnight of 4–5 May 1930, just days before the planned action at Dharasana. The Dandi March and the ensuing Dharasana Satyagraha drew worldwide attention to the Indian independence movement through extensive newspaper and newsreel coverage. The satyagraha against the salt tax continued for almost a year, ending with Gandhi's release from jail and negotiations with Viceroy Lord Irwin at the Second table Conference Although over 60,000 Indians were jailed as a result of the Salt Satyagraha, the British did not make immediate major concessions.

CONCLUSION

Sometime after 5 p.m., according to witnesses, Gandhi had reached the top of the steps leading to the raised lawn behind Birla House where he had been conducting multi-faith prayer meetings every evening. As Gandhi began to walk toward the dais, Godse stepped out from the crowd flanking Gandhi's path, and fired three bullets into Gandhi's chest and abdomen at point-blank Gandhi fell to the ground. He was carried back to his room in Birla House from which a representative emerged sometime later to announce his death. Godse was captured by members of the crowd—the most widely reported of whom was HerbertReinerJr, a vice-consul at the American embassy in Delhi—and handed over to the police. The Gandhi murder trial opened in May 1948 in Delhi's historic Red fort, with Godse the main defendant, and his collaborator Narayan Apte and six others as the co-defendants. Godse and Apte were sentenced to death on 8 November 1949. They were hanged in the Ambala jail on 15 November 1949.

His tragic death on January 30th, 1948, plunged the entire nation into the gloom. He was assassinated by a Hindu frantic. His death was the greatest blow to the forces of peace and democracy. The memorable words of Lord Mountbatten are worth quoting, “India, indeed the world, will not see the likes of him perhaps for centuries.” His death left a great vacuum in the life of the nation. His birthday 2nd October is commemorated as ‘Gandhi Jayanti’, a national holiday in Indian, and worldwide as the ‘International Day of Non- violence’. The whole world still loves and respects this veteran of the twentieth century who has left an indelible mark on the sands of time.

“HATE THE SIN,LOVE THE SINNER”.

BY:CDT ANJALI SHETH REG NO:GUJ/SW/20/316587