Biography of Mohandas Gandhi

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Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “If humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable… We may ignore him at our own risk.” King cited Gandhi as one of his biggest inspirations, which should come as no surprise, as Gandhi helped end racism towards as many if not more people than King himself. Gandhi pioneered the use of what he called satyagraha, or political change through nonviolence, and helped bring millions of India’s oppressed to equality. Lord Mountbatten, the last British ruler of India, is quoted as saying, “Mahatma Gandhi will go down in history on a par with Buddha and Jesus Christ.” There is no denying the truth in this statement because of the way he had a profound impact on the lives of those around him, just like these other two famous figures of history. Gandhi may have been very small man, relatively speaking, but he grew to be a giant in the eyes of the world. Mohandas Gandhi began life as the fourth son in his family— hardly the child typically expected to bring about greatness, even though his father was the small state’s Diwan, or prime minister. He was born on October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, India. From an early age, he exhibited the gentleness and compassion that he would come to cherish later in life. One story about him says that he loved nature enough to climb a mango tree and bandage its branch. Like the vast majority of Indian families, Gandhi’s was a member of the Hindu religion and its associated culture. As was tradition for many at the time, he was wed at the age of thirteen to Kasturba, another child of the same age. A few years later, when he was sixteen, Gandhi’s father passed away. This left a deep impression on the boy, and he would always remember him with fondness, as we can see from his later ... ... middle of paper ... ...e or stopped fighting for justice as Gandhi wanted them to. Tragically, Gandhi was assassinated on January 30th, 1948 at the age of 78. The killer was a radical Hindu named Nathuram Godse, who believed that his support of peace with the Muslims was traitorous. Through his long and loving life, Gandhi proved that the most powerful instigator of change doesn’t have to be bloodshed. He accomplished much more than any of history’s most violent revolutionaries, and he didn’t need to throw a single punch to do it. Although Gandhi himself drew inspiration from other famous spreaders of peace like Jesus and the Buddha, people hundreds of years from now will still probably know about his remarkable existence, just as they’ll still remember the lives of his own influences. Works Cited Lambilly-Bresson, Élisabeth de. Gandhi. New York: Enchanted Lion Books, 2010. Print.

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