3 Questions
What year did Gandhi return to India?
1915
What did Gandhi attempt to achieve through his leadership of the Indian National Congress?
To expand women's rights
What was the indirect goal of Gandhi's last hunger strike?
To pressure India to pay out some cash assets owed to Pakistan
Study Notes
- Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 in Gujarat, India.
- He trained as a lawyer and was called to the bar in 1891.
- After two uncertain years in India, Gandhi moved to South Africa in 1893 to represent an Indian merchant in a lawsuit.
- In 1915, aged 45, Gandhi returned to India and soon set about organizing peasants, farmers, and urban labourers to protest against excessive land-tax and discrimination.
- Gandhi assumed leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921 and led nationwide campaigns for easing poverty, expanding women's rights, building religious and ethnic amity, ending untouchability, and, above all, achieving swaraj or self-rule.
- In August 1947, Britain granted independence to India and the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two dominions, a Hindu-majority India and a Muslim-majority Pakistan.
- Gandhi visited the affected areas following independence, attempting to alleviate distress.
- In the months following, he undertook several hunger strikes to stop the religious violence.
- The last of these, begun in Delhi on January 12, 1948, had the indirect goal of pressuring India to pay out some cash assets owed to Pakistan.
- Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse on January 30, 1948.
Test your knowledge of Mahatma Gandhi's life, from his early years in Gujarat to his leadership in India's independence movement and his advocacy for social justice. Learn about his experiences in South Africa, his role in the Indian National Congress, and his efforts to promote peace amidst religious tensions.
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