3 Questions
When did Mahatma Gandhi begin to lead the Indian National Congress?
1915
What did Gandhi attempt to create in India?
A religious pluralism
What was the purpose of Gandhi's last hunger strike?
To pressure India to pay out cash assets owed to Pakistan
Study Notes
- Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, in the village of Porbandar in Gujarat, India.
- He trained as a lawyer and began practicing in India in 1891 but was unsuccessful.
- In 1915, Gandhi returned to India and began to lead the Indian National Congress, a political organization which sought independence from British rule.
- Gandhi was imprisoned many times and for many years in both South Africa and India.
- Gandhi's vision of an independent India based on religious pluralism was challenged in the early 1940s by a Muslim nationalism which demanded a separate homeland for Muslims within British India.
- In 1947, British India was partitioned into two dominions, a Hindu-majority India and a Muslim-majority Pakistan.
- Gandhi visited the affected areas after the partition and attempted to alleviate distress.
- Gandhi undertook several hunger strikes in the months following the partition to stop the religious violence.
- The last of these, begun in Delhi on January 12, 1948, was also an attempt to pressure India to pay out some cash assets owed to Pakistan.
- Gandhi died on January 30, 1948, at the age of 80.
Test your knowledge of Mahatma Gandhi's life, including his early years, leadership in the Indian National Congress, role in the partition of British India, and his efforts to promote peace and religious pluralism.
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