HUDA HIGH SCHOOL

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MAHATMA GANDHI BIRTHDAY – October 2, 2021

HISTORY OF MAHATMA GANDHI BIRTHDAY

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Gujarat. In 1930, he led the Dandi Salt March. Also known as the Salt Satyagraha, the Dandi March was a nonviolent civil disobedience movement. The march lasted from March 12 to April 6 as a campaign against the British salt monopoly. Gandhi left his Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad for Dandi, a village situated on the western coast, with 78 other Ashram members.

They marched for about 240 miles. As an act of defiance towards the government, Gandhi picked up a handful of salt that had formed at Dandi by the evaporation of the sea. This was the beginning of a chain of civil disobedience movements across India, which included boycotts of foreign goods, refusal to pay taxes, and more.

On August 9, 1942, during WWII, Mahatma Gandhi launched the Quit India Movement, which demanded the end of British rule in India. It was a ‘do or die’ call for the British to leave. What followed were widespread movements directed at railway stations, government buildings, telegraph offices, and other bodies of British rule. This movement played a crucial role in uniting the Indians against the British.

As a social reformer, Gandhi was instrumental in abolishing the age-old practice of untouchability and racial discrimination. He wanted India to be a secular country and believed in religious pluralism. He also took a stand for women’s rights. His satyagraha deeply influenced personalities from other parts of the world like Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

Gandhi Jayanti is celebrated on October 2 to mark the birth anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. One of India’s three national holidays, it celebrates one of the leaders of India’s freedom movement against the British.

HOW TO OBSERVE MAHATMA GANDHI BIRTHDAY

  1. Read books by Mahatma Gandhi

    Read books written by Gandhi and find out more about him, his life, and his ideas. Some famous books written by him include: “All Men are Brothers” (1953), “The Story of my Experiments with Truth – An Autobiography” (1927), “Satyagraha in South Africa” (1928), and “The Gospel of Selfless Action: Or, The Gita According to Gandhi” (1946).

  2. Read books on Mahatma Gandhi

    Find out more about Gandhi and his life from books by various famous authors. Some of the most famous books on him include “Mahatma Gandhi: The Father of the Nation” by Subhadra Sen Gupta, “Mahatma Gandhi: His Life and Ideas” by Charles F. Andrews, and “Arun Gandhi and The Life of Mahatma Gandhi” by Louis Fischer.

  3. Watch movies and documentaries on Mahatma Gandhi

    Gandhi was a very famous topic for movies and documentaries, as many filmmakers have tried to showcase his life on screen. Some must-watch movies and documentaries include “Gandhi” (1982), “Mahatma: Life of Gandhi” (1968), “The Making of the Mahatma” (1996), and “Nine Hours to Rama” (1963).

5 FACTS ABOUT MAHATMA GANDHI
  1. The Mahatma

    The title of ‘Mahatma’ (Sanskrit for ‘great soul’) was given to him by world-famous Bengali poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

  2. Father of the Nation

    The title of ‘Father of the Nation’ was given to him by world-renowned Indian nationalist and freedom fighter ‘Netaji’ Subhas Chandra Bose.

  3. Letters to Leo

    Mahatma Gandhi and famous author Leo Tolstoy regularly interacted with each other through letters.

  4. Man of the year

    In 1930, he was nominated for “Time” magazine’s Man of the Year.

  5. Numerous Nobel Peace Prizes

    Mahatma Gandhi was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947, and, in January 1948, a few days before his assassination.