Mukt Shabd Journal ISSN NO : 2347-3150 MAHATMA GANDHI FATHER OF NATION Prof. Sanjay Shamrao Waghmare Librarian, Late Baburao Patil College Hingoli [email protected] Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869 into an Indian Gujrati Hindu Modh Baniy aFamily in Porbandar (also known as Sudamapuri), a coastal town on the Kathiawar Peninsula and then part of the small princely state of Porbandar in the Kathiawar Agency of the Indian Empire. His father, Karamchand Uttamchand Gandhi (1822–1885), served as the diwan (chief minister) of Porbandar state. Although he only had an elementary education and had previously been a clerk in the state administration, Karamchand proved a capable chief minister. During his tenure, On 2 October 1869, Putlibai gave birth to her last child, Mohandas, in a dark, windowless ground-floor room of the Gandhi family residence in Porbandar city. As a child, Gandhi was described by his sister Raliat as "restless as mercury, either playing or roaming about. One of his favourite pastimes was twisting dogs' ears." The Indian classics, especially the stories of Shravana and king Harishchandra, had a great impact on Gandhi in his childhood. In his autobiography, he admits that they left an indelible impression on his mind. He writes: "It haunted me and I must have acted Harishchandra to myself times without number." Gandhi's early self-identification with truth and love as supreme values is traceable to these epic characters. The family's religious background was eclectic. Gandhi's father Karamchand was Hindu and his mother Putlibai was from a Pranami Vaishnava Hindu family. Gandhi's father was of Modh Baniya caste in the varna of Vaishya. His mother came from the medieval Krishna bhakti-based Pranami tradition, whose religious texts include the Bhagavad Gita, the Bhagavata Purana, and a collection of 14 texts with teachings that the tradition believes to include the essence of the Vedas, the Quran and the Bible. Gandhi was deeply influenced by his mother, an extremely pious lady who "would not think of taking her meals without her daily prayers... she would take the hardest vows and keep them without flinching. To keep two or three consecutive fasts was nothing to her." In November 1887, the 18-year-old Gandhi graduated from high school in Ahmedabad.[ In January 1888, he enrolled at Samaldas College in Bhavnagar State, then the sole degree-granting institution of higher education in the region. But he dropped out and returned to his family in Porbandar. On 10 August 1888, Gandhi aged 18, left Porbandar for Mumbai, then known as Bombay. Upon arrival, he stayed with the local Modh Bania community while waiting for the ship travel arrangements. The head of the community knew Gandhi's father. After learning Gandhi's plans, he and other elders warned Gandhi that England would tempt him to compromise his religion, and eat and drink in Western ways. Gandhi informed them of his promise to his mother and her blessings. The local chief disregarded it, and excommunicated him from his caste. But Gandhi ignored this, and on 4 September, he sailed from Bombay to London. His brother saw him off. Gandhi attended University College, London which is a constituent college of University of London. At UCL, he studied law and jurisprudence and was invited to enroll at Inner Temple with the intention of becoming a barrister. His childhood shyness and self withdrawal had continued through his teens, and he remained so when he arrived in London, but he joined a public speaking practice group and overcame this handicap to practise law In 1893, Gandhi went to South Africa to handle a case. But though his legal work was soon over, he remained there for 21 years, fighting for Indian rights and defending indentured labour in low courts against discrimination. In this he was assisted by European staff and associates like Polak and Kallenbach. The Natal India congress founded by Gandhi in 1894, on lines similar to the Indian National Congress, and later the British Indian committee in the Transvaal fought against restriction on Indian trade, movement and residence. During the campaign against the 'Black' Registration Act, Gandhi lit a grand bonfire of thousands of the registration certificates. Gokhale visited south Africa in 1892, and studied the Indian problems first-hand. He met government leaders and securing promise of relief counselled Indian moderation. But government failure to abolish the 5 poll-tax drove them to despair. In November 1913, Gandhi led the 'Great March' from Natal into the Transvaal, defying law. Gandhi decided to return to India. After receiving farewell tributes, the Mahatma left South Africa in July 1914. When in England, enroute home, the great war broke out. Gandhi helped to raise an Indian Volunteer Corps. In December, Gandhi and Kasturba sailed for India. VOLUME - IX, ISSUE - III, MARCH 2020 Page No : 73 Mukt Shabd Journal ISSN NO : 2347-3150 After the death of freedom fighter and congress leader Bal Gangadhar Tilak on August, 1920, Gandhi became virtually the sole navigator of the ship of the congress. Gandhi had whole heartedly supported the British during the 1st World War (1914-1919). The end of war, however, did not bring the promised freedom for India. So Gandhiji launched many movements to force the British to concede India its Independence. The well known being: Non Co-operation Movement (1920), Civil Disobedience Movement (1930) and Quit India Movement (1942). The British passed the Rowlett Act in 1919 to deal with the revolutionaries. Gandhi made the Rowlett Act an issue and appealed to the people to observe peaceful demonstration on April 6, 1919. Gandhi's call for peaceful demonstration met with tremendous response. It led to mass demonstrations in Punjab and Delhi. The Jallianwala Massacre (1919) was a sequel of this agitation. The Indian people were shocked by the way the British conducted themselves. Gandhi them launched a non-co-operation in 1920 against the British rule. On 12th March 1930, Gandhi started his Civil Disobedience with his famous 'Dandi March' to break the salt laws. Many leaders and persons courted arrest. Then followed the Gandhi-Irwin Pact for the participation of the congress in the Second Round Table Conference in 1931. On March 1942, Sir Stafford Cripps came to India with his proposals which were rejected by all political parties. The failure of the Cripps Mission led to unprecedented disturbances. Disillusioned and disappointed, the congress passed at Bombay the Quit India Resolution (August 8, 1942). The British were asked to leave India forthwith. The moving spirit behind the resolution was Gandhiji. The Quit India Movement was the greatest challenge to the British empire.Gandhi was a great leader, a saint and a great social reformer. He was pious, truthful and religious. He believed in simple living and high thinking. Every body who came in contact with him were so deeply influenced by his personality. He was a Champion of democracy and was deadly opposed to dictatorial rule. Gandhi showed India and the World the path of truth and non-violence. He believed that it was truth alone that prevailed in the end. Gandhi believed that real India lived in more than five lakhs villages uplift. According to him India's real emancipation depended on Swadeshi i.e. boycott of foreign goods, use of khadi encouragement to village and cottage industries.Gandhi began to work day and night for the freedom of his country. He and his brave followers went to jail again and again, and suffered terrible hardships. Thousands of them were starved, beaten, ill treated and killed, but they remained true to their master. At last his noble efforts bore fruit and on August 15,1947, India became free and independent. Gandhi defeated the mighty British empire not with swords or guns , but by means of strange and utterly new weapons of truth and Ahimsa. He worked all through his life for Hindu- Muslim Unity and the abolition of untouchability. Gandhi worked hard for the upliftment of the Harijans, the name given by him to the untouchables. Gandhi declared untouchability a sin against God and Man.Gandhi wrote his famous autobiography under the title 'My Experiments with Truth'. Gandhi always stood for communal harmony, but he himself was shot dead by a religious fanatic Nathuram Godse on 30th January, 1948. The whole World mourned his death. Concluding Remarks: Some one had quipped: "If they had not thrown Gandhi out of the train in South Africa, the English would not have too much trouble from him." Gandhi, the young Attorney, vowed to oppose such unfair treatment- through non-co-operation and other nonviolent means.Gandhi's ultimate search was for righteous conduct. The means are more important than the end, he maintained; with the right means, desired ends will follow. In time, he was proven right- almost always. His struggles and actions were but external manifestations of his struggle to evolve his own value system. Mahatma Gandhi better known as the father of Nation because it was he who got freedom for us. He was the maker of Modern India. Keyw Abstract : Problem Statement: in twenty first century change is considered key element and makes lots of challenges for individuals' life which most imposed in result of technology influe nce. Education is one of areas that have been affected form technology. In recent years, by development of information and communication technologies, new forms of education appeared named web or online learning. VOLUME - IX, ISSUE - III, MARCH 2020 Page No : 74 Mukt Shabd Journal ISSN NO : 2347-3150 Purpose of Study: The aim of this paper is to review digital libraries' role in supporting e-learning.