Interesting facts about Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation

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Mahatma Gandhi Interesting Facts – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, also known as Bapu (means father) or Gandhiji, was born on 2 October 1869. He was a lawyer, and political ethicist, an anti-colonial nationalist who believed in non-violence for India’s independence from the British Rule. Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, has been a subject of deep study in India and outside. Here are interesting facts about Mahatma Gandhi.

Interesting facts about Mahatma Gandhi

Early life and education – Mahatma Gandhi Interesting Facts

• Gandhiji was born and raised in a Hindu family in Porbandar, Gujarat.
• He had one elder sister and 2 elder brothers.
• Gujarati was his mother tongue.
• He did his schooling from Alfred High School, Rajkot and then completed his higher education in law from the Inner Temple, London.
• He later started working in the Bar Council of England. And then he went to South Africa, where he faced racism.

Mahatma Gandhi Interesting Facts

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Struggle for Indian independence

• The word Mahatma which means venerable was first applied to him in 1914 in South Africa, now used throughout the world. The title, Mahatma was given by the Nobel Prize-winning Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore.
• In 1915, at the request of Gopal Krishna Gokhale, he returned to India.
• Mahatma Gandhi won his first battle at Champaran after civil disobedience in India.
• In 1920, Gandhi took leadership of the Congress and on 26 January 1930, Indian National Congress declared the independence of India. The British did not recognize the declaration but did some negotiations, with the Congress taking a role in provincial government in the late 1930s.
• In 1930, Gandhi led the famous salt march to Dandi. He marched 388 kilometers from Ahmedabad to Dandi, in Gujarat, to produce salt from seawater.
• Gandhi joined the Indian National Congress (INC) and was introduced to Indian issues, politics and the Indian people primarily by Gokhale.

Mahatma Gandhi Interesting Facts

• Mahatma Gandhi’s personal secretary was Mahadev Desai.
• In 1942, he launched the quit India movement demanding the end of British rule.
• Gandhi fought not only for independence but also for civil rights for women, the abolition of the caste system, and the fair treatment of all people regardless of religion.
• He demanded equal treatment for the untouchables, lower caste people. He called untouchables as Harijans which means “people of God”.
• Gandhi believed that if everyone adopts nonviolence they could be self-governing.
• Gandhi wrote a book named, “The Moral Basis of Vegetarianism”.
• Winston Churchill was one of Gandhiji’s most outspoken political critics.
• Mahatma Gandhi was nominated 5 times for the Nobel Peace Prize.
• He was the Time Magazine Man of the Year in 1930.

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Interesting facts about Mahatma Gandhi

Personal life

• Gandhi married Kasturbai Makhanji Kapadia, known as “Kasturba” when he was 13. The couple has had their first child when he was 16 years old. But a few days later the baby died. But the couple did have four sons.
• In 1944, Gandhi’s wife died while being imprisoned in the Aga Khan Palace. February 22, the day of her death, is remembered and celebrated as Mother’s Day in India. At the time of her death, Gandhiji was also imprisoned, but he was released from prison as he contracted malaria, and British officials feared an uprising if he had also died in prison.

Mahatma Gandhi Interesting Facts

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Death

• On 30 January 1948, Gandhi was killed by a fellow Hindu who shot him three times at the point-blank range. More than two million people attended his funeral.
• “Gandhi” is an epic historical drama film based on the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

After death – Mahatma Gandhi Interesting Facts

• Since 1996, Mahatma Gandhi’s image has appeared on all Indian rupees.
• Britain released a stamp honoring him 21 years after his death.
• An urn that once contained Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes is now at a shrine in Los Angeles, California.
• In 1959, Gandhi Memorial Museum was established in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. It is also known as Gandhi Museum. It consists of a blood-stained piece of clothing worn by Mahatma Gandhi when he was killed by the Nathuram Godse.
• Birthday of Gandhiji is also commemorated as International Day of Nonviolence.
• UAE released postage stamps in August 2019 on Mahatma Gandhi to commemorate his 150th Birth Anniversary in UAE.

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