Mahatma Gandhi

Born: 02/10/1869

Died: 30/01/1948

Birthplace: Porbandar, Gujarat, India

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, more commonly known as Mahatma (meaning
Great Soul) was born in Porbandar, Gujarat, in North West India, on 2nd
October 1869, into a Hindu Modh family. His father was the Chief Minister of
Porbandar, and his mothers religious devotion meant that his upbringing was
infused with the Jain pacifist teachings of mutual tolerance, non-injury to living
beings and vegetarianism.

Born into a privileged caste, Gandhi was fortunate to receive a comprehensive

education, but proved a mediocre student. In May 1883, aged 13, Gandhi was married to
Kasturba Makhanji, a girl also aged 13, through the arrangement of their respective
parents, as is customary in India. Following his entry into Samaldas College, at the
University of Bombay, she bore him the first of four sons, in 1888. Gandhi was
unhappy at college, following his parents wishes to take the bar, and when he was
offered the opportunity of furthering his studies overseas, at University College London,
aged 18, he accepted with alacrity, starting there in September 1888.

Determined to adhere to Hindu principles, which included vegetarianism as well as

alcohol and sexual abstinence, he found London restrictive initially, but once he had
found kindred spirits he flourished, and pursued the philosophical study of religions,
including Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism and others, having professed no particular
interest in religion up until then. Following admission to the English Bar, and his return
to India, he found work difficult to come by and, in 1893, accepted a years contract to
work for an Indian firm in Natal, South Africa.

Although not yet enshrined in law, the system of apartheid was very much in evidence
in South Africa at the turn of the 20th century. Despite arriving on a years contract,
Gandhi spent the next 21 years living in South Africa, and railed against the injustice of
racial segregation. On one occasion he was thrown from a first class train carriage,
despite being in possession of a valid ticket. Witnessing the racial bias experienced by
his countrymen served as a catalyst for his later activism, and he attempted to fight
segregation at all levels. He founded a political movement, known as the Natal Indian
Congress, and developed his theoretical belief in non-violent civil protest into a tangible
political stance, when he opposed the introduction of registration for all Indians, within
South Africa, via non-cooperation with the relevant civic authorities.

On his return to India in 1916, Gandhi developed his practice of non-violent civic
disobedience still further, raising awareness of oppressive practices in Bihar, in 1918,
which saw the local populace oppressed by their largely British masters. He also
encouraged oppressed villagers to improve their own circumstances, leading peaceful
strikes and protests. His fame spread, and he became widely referred to as Mahatma or
Great Soul.
As his fame spread, so his political influence increased: by 1921 he was leading the
Indian National Congress, and reorganising the partys constitution around the principle
of Swaraj, or complete political independence from the British. He also instigated a
boycott of British goods and institutions, and his encouragement of mass civil
disobedience led to his arrest, on 10th March 1922, and trial on sedition charges, for
which he served 2 years, of a 6-year prison sentence.

The Indian National Congress began to splinter during his incarceration, and he
remained largely out of the public eye following his release from prison in February
1924, returning four years later, in 1928, to campaign for the granting of dominion
status to India by the British. When the British introduced a tax on salt in 1930, he
famously led a 250-mile march to the sea to collect his own salt. Recognising his
political influence nationally, the British authorities were forced to negotiate various
settlements with Gandhi over the following years, which resulted in the alleviation of
poverty, granted status to the untouchables, enshrined rights for women, and led
inexorably to Gandhis goal of Swaraj: political independence from Britain.

Gandhi suffered six known assassination attempts during the course of his life. The first
attempt came on 25th June 1934, when he was in Pune delivering a speech, together
with his wife, Kasturba. Travelling in a motorcade of two cars, they were in the second
car, which was delayed by the appearance of a train at a railway level crossing, causing
the two vehicles to separate. When the first vehicle arrived at the speech venue, a bomb
was thrown at the car, which exploded and injured several people. No investigations
were carried out at the time, and no arrests were made, although many attribute the
attack to Nathuram Godse, a Hindu fundamentalist implacably opposed to Gandhis
non-violent acceptance and tolerance of all religions, which he felt compromised the
supremacy of the Hindu religion. Godse was the person responsible for the eventual
assassination of Gandhi in January 1948, 14 years later.

During the first years of the Second World War, Gandhis mission to achieve
independence from Britain reached its zenith: he saw no reason why Indians should
fight for British sovereignty, in other parts of the world, when they were subjugated at
home, which led to the worst instances of civil uprising under his direction, through his
Quit India movement. As a result, he was arrested on 9th August 1942, and held for
two years at the Aga Khan Palace in Pune. In February 1944, 3 months before his
release, his wife Kasturbai died in the same prison.

May 1944, the time of his release from prison, saw the second attempt made on his life,
this time certainly led by Nathuram Godse, although the attempt was fairly half-hearted.
When word reached Godse that Gandhi was staying in a hill station near Pune,
recovering from his prison ordeal, he organised a group of like-minded individuals who
descended on the area, and mounted a vocal anti-Gandhi protest. When invited to speak
to Gandhi, Godse declined, but he attended a prayer meeting later that day, where he
rushed towards Gandhi, brandishing a dagger and shouting anti-Gandhi slogans. He was
overpowered swiftly by fellow worshippers, and came nowhere near achieving his goal.
Godse was not prosecuted at the time.

Four months later, in September 1944, Godse led a group of Hindu activist
demonstrators who accosted Gandhi at a train station, on his return from political talks.
Godse was again found to be in possession of a dagger that, although not drawn, was
assumed to be the means by which he would again seek to assassinate Gandhi. It was
officially regarded as the third assassination attempt, by the commission set up to
investigate Gandhis death in 1948.

The British plan to partition what had been British-ruled India, into Muslim Pakistan
and Hindu India, was vehemently opposed by Gandhi, who foresaw the problems that
would result from the split. Nevertheless, the Congress Party ignored his concerns, and
accepted the partition proposals put forward by the British.

The fourth attempt on Gandhis life took the form of a planned train derailment. On
29th June 1946, a train called the Gandhi Special, carrying him and his entourage, was
derailed near Bombay, by means of boulders, which had been piled up on the tracks.
Since the train was the only one scheduled at that time, it seems likely that the intended
target of derailment was Gandhi himself. He was not injured in the accident. At a prayer
meeting after the event Gandhi is quoted as saying:

I have not hurt anybody nor do I consider anybody to be my enemy, I cant understand
why there are so many attempts on my life. Yesterdays attempt on my life has failed. I
will not die just yet; I aim to live till the age of 125.

Sadly, he had only eighteen months to live.

Placed under increasing pressure, by his political contemporaries, to accept Partition as

the only way to avoid civil war in India, Gandhi reluctantly concurred with its political
necessity, and India celebrated its Independence Day on 15th August 1947. Keenly
recognising the need for political unity, Gandhi spent the next few months working
tirelessly for Hindu-Muslim peace, fearing the build-up of animosity between the two
fledgling states, showing remarkable prescience, given the turbulence of their
relationship over the following half-century.

Unfortunately, his efforts to unite the opposing forces proved his undoing. He
championed the paying of restitution to Pakistan for lost territories, as outlined in the
Partition agreement, which parties in India, fearing that Pakistan would use the payment
as a means to build a war arsenal, had opposed. He began a fast in support of the
payment, which Hindu radicals, Nathuram Godse among them, viewed as traitorous.
When the political effect of his fast secured the payment to Pakistan, it secured with it
the fifth attempt on his life.

On 20th January a gang of seven Hindu radicals, which included Nathuram Godse,
gained access to Birla House, in Delhi, a venue at which Gandhi was due to give an
address. One of the men, Madanla Pahwa, managed to gain access to the speakers
podium, and planted a bomb, encased in a cotton ball, on the wall behind the podium.
The plan was to explode the bomb during the speech, causing pandemonium, which
would give two other gang members, Digambar Bagde and Shankar Kishtaiyya, an
opportunity to shoot Gandhi, and escape in the ensuing chaos. The bomb exploded
prematurely, before the conference was underway, and Madanla Pahwa was captured,
while the others, including Godse, managed to escape.

Pahwa admitted the plot under interrogation, but Delhi police were unable to confirm
the participation and whereabouts of Godse, although they did try to ascertain his
whereabouts through the Bombay police.

After the failed attempt at Birla House, Nathuram Godse and another of the seven,
Narayan Apte, returned to Pune, via Bombay, where they purchased a Beretta automatic
pistol, before returning once more to Delhi.

On 30th January 1948, whilst Gandhi was on his way to a prayer meeting at Birla House
in Delhi, Nathuram Godse managed to get close enough to him in the crowd to be able
to shoot him three times in the chest, at point-blank range. Gandhis dying words were
claimed to be H Rm, which translates as Oh God, although some witnesses claim
he spoke no words at all.

When news of Gandhis death reached the various strongholds of Hindu radicalism, in
Pune and other areas throughout India, there was reputedly celebration in the streets.
Sweets were distributed publicly, as at a festival. The rest of the world was horrified by
the death of a man nominated five times for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Godse, who had made no attempt to flee following the assassination, and his co-
conspirator, Narayan Apte, were both imprisoned until their trial on 8th November
1949. They were convicted of Gandhis killing, and both were executed, a week later, at
Ambala Jail, on 15th November 1949. The supposed architect of the plot, a Hindu
extremist named Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, was acquitted due to lack of evidence.

Gandhi was cremated as per Hindu custom, and his ashes are interred at the Aga Khans
palace in Pune, the site of his incarceration in 1942, and the place his wife had also died.
Gandhi's memorial bears the epigraph H Rm (Oh God) although there is no
conclusive proof that he uttered these words before death.

Although Gandhi was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times, he never
received it. In the year of his death, 1948, the Prize was not awarded, the stated reason
being that there was no suitable living candidate that year.

Gandhi's life and teachings have inspired many liberationists of the 20th Century,
including Dr. Martin Luther King in the United States, Nelson Mandela and Steve Biko
in South Africa, and Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar.

His birthday, 2nd October, is celebrated as a National Holiday in India every year.

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Quotes:

When it (violence) appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is
permanent.

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."

"Hate the sin, love the sinner."

"I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers."

"You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean
are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty."

"Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary."

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

http://www.history.co.uk/biographies/mahatma-gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi

Nacido: 02/10/1869

Muri: 30/01/1948

Lugar de nacimiento: Porbandar, Gujarat, India

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, ms conocido como 'Mahatma' (que significa

'Gran Alma') naci en Porbandar, Gujarat, en el noroeste de la India, el 2 de
octubre de 1869, en una familia hind Modh. Su padre era el Ministro Principal de
Porbandar, y la devocin religiosa de su madre hizo que su educacin fue
infundida con las enseanzas pacifistas Jain de la tolerancia mutua, la no lesin a
los seres vivos y el vegetarianismo.

Nacido en una casta privilegiada, Gandhi tuvo la suerte de recibir una educacin
integral, pero result ser un estudiante mediocre. En mayo de 1883, 13 aos, Gandhi se
cas con Kasturba Makhanji, una chica tambin de 13 aos, a travs de la disposicin
de sus respectivos padres, como es habitual en la India. Despus de su entrada en
Samaldas College, en la Universidad de Bombay, ella le dio el primero de cuatro hijos,
en 1888. Gandhi era infeliz en la universidad, siguiendo los deseos de su padre para
tomar el bar, y cuando se le ofreci la oportunidad de promover su estudios en el
extranjero, de la Universidad College de Londres, de 18 aos, acept con presteza, a
partir de all en septiembre 1888.

Decidido a que se adhieran a los principios hindes, que incluan el vegetarianismo, as

como el alcohol y la abstinencia sexual, encontr Londres restrictiva al principio, pero
una vez que haba encontrado almas gemelas que floreci, y persigui el estudio
filosfico de las religiones, incluyendo el hinduismo, el cristianismo, el budismo y otras
, habiendo profesado ningn inters particular en la religin hasta entonces. Tras la
admisin a la barra de Ingls, y su regreso a la India, encontr trabajo difcil de
conseguir y, en 1893, acept el contrato de un ao de trabajar para una empresa de la
India en Natal, Sudfrica.

Aunque todava no est consagrado en la ley, el sistema de 'apartheid' fue muy evidente
en Sudfrica a comienzos del siglo 20. A pesar de llegar en el contrato de un ao,
Gandhi pas los siguientes 21 aos que vive en Sudfrica, y arremeti contra la
injusticia de la segregacin racial. En una ocasin fue arrojado desde un primer vagn
de tren de clase, a pesar de estar en posesin de un billete vlido. Presenciar el sesgo
racial experimentada por sus compatriotas sirvi como catalizador de su activismo ms
tarde, y l trat de luchar contra la segregacin en todos los niveles. Fund un
movimiento poltico, conocido como el Congreso Indio de Natal, y desarroll su
creencia terica en protesta civil no violenta en una postura poltica tangible, cuando se
opuso a la introduccin de inscripcin para todos los indios, en Sudfrica, a travs de la
no cooperacin con las autoridades civiles pertinentes.

A su regreso a la India en 1916, Gandhi desarroll su prctica de la desobediencia civil

no violenta an ms, dar a conocer las prcticas opresivas en Bihar, en 1918, que vio la
poblacin local oprimidos por sus amos en gran medida britnicas. Tambin alent a los
aldeanos oprimidos para mejorar sus propias circunstancias, lo que lleva huelgas y
protestas pacficas. Su fama se extendi y se convirti ampliamente conocidos como
'Mahatma' o 'Gran Alma'.

A medida que su fama se extendi, por lo que su influencia poltica aument: en 1921
fue lder del Congreso Nacional Indio, y la reorganizacin de la constitucin del partido
en torno al principio de 'Swaraj', o la independencia poltica completa de los britnicos.
Tambin promovi un boicot a los productos y las instituciones britnicas, y su fomento
de la desobediencia civil masiva llev a su detencin, el 10 de marzo de 1922, y el
juicio por cargos de sedicin, por la que sirvi de 2 aos, de una pena de prisin de 6
aos.

El Congreso Nacional de la India comenz a dividirse durante su encarcelamiento, y se

mantuvo en gran medida fuera del ojo pblico tras su salida de prisin en febrero de
1924, regresando cuatro aos ms tarde, en 1928, para hacer campaa por la concesin
de 'estatus de dominio' a la India por el britnico. Cuando los britnicos introdujeron un
impuesto sobre la sal en 1930, famoso encabez una marcha de 250 millas hacia el mar
para recoger su propia sal. Reconociendo su influencia poltica a nivel nacional, las
autoridades britnicas se vieron obligados a negociar diversos acuerdos firmados con
Gandhi en los aos siguientes, lo que result en el alivio de la pobreza, concedi el
estatuto de los, derechos de los intocables 'consagrados para las mujeres, y condujeron
inexorablemente a la meta de Gandhi de 'Swaraj': la independencia poltica de Gran
Bretaa.

Gandhi sufri seis intentos de asesinato conocidos durante el curso de su vida. El primer
intento fue el 25 de junio de 1934, cuando estaba en Pune pronunciar un discurso, junto
con su esposa, Kasturba. Viajar en una caravana de dos coches, que estaban en el
segundo coche, que se retras por la aparicin de un tren en un paso a nivel ferroviario,
haciendo que los dos vehculos se separen. Cuando el primer vehculo lleg a la sede del
habla, una bomba fue arrojada en el coche, que explot e hiri a varias personas. No hay
investigaciones se llevaron a cabo en el momento, y no se hicieron arrestos, aunque
muchos atribuyen el ataque a Nathuram Godse, un fundamentalista hind implacable
oposicin a la aceptacin no violenta de Gandhi y la tolerancia de todas las religiones,
que se senta en peligro la supremaca del Hindu la religin. Godse era la persona
responsable del eventual asesinato de Gandhi en enero de 1948, 14 aos ms tarde.
Durante los primeros aos de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, la misin de Gandhi para
lograr la independencia de Gran Bretaa alcanz su cenit: no vea ninguna razn por la
que los indios deben luchar por la soberana britnica, en otras partes del mundo,
cuando fueron subyugados en casa, lo que llev a los peores casos de levantamiento
civil bajo su direccin, a travs de su movimiento 'Quit India'. Como resultado, fue
detenido el 9 de agosto de 1942, y se mantuvo durante dos aos en el palacio de Aga
Khan en Pune. En febrero de 1944, 3 meses antes de su liberacin, su esposa Kasturbai
muri en la misma prisin.

Mayo de 1944, el momento de su salida de prisin, vio el segundo atentado contra su

vida, esta vez sin duda dirigido por Nathuram Godse, aunque el intento fue bastante
poco entusiasta. Cuando la noticia lleg a Godse que Gandhi se alojaba en una estacin
de la colina cerca de Pune, recuperndose de su terrible experiencia prisin, organiz un
grupo de personas con ideas afines que descendieron en la zona, y se mont una protesta
anti-Gandhi vocal. Cuando invitado a hablar a Gandhi, Godse se neg, pero asisti a
una reunin de oracin ms tarde ese da, donde se precipit hacia Gandhi, blandiendo
un pual y gritando consignas anti-Gandhi. l fue dominado rpidamente por los
hermanos en la fe, y lleg muy lejos de lograr su objetivo. Godse no fue procesado en el
momento.

Cuatro meses despus, en septiembre de 1944, Godse llev a un grupo de manifestantes

activistas hindes que abord a Gandhi en una estacin de tren, a su regreso de las
conversaciones polticas. Godse se encontr de nuevo para estar en posesin de una
daga que, aunque no dibuja, se supone que es el medio por el que volvera a tratar de
asesinar a Gandhi. Fue considerado oficialmente como el tercer intento de asesinato, por
la comisin creada para investigar la muerte de Gandhi en 1948.

El plan britnico para dividir lo que haba sido gobernada por la India britnica, en
Musulmana de Pakistn y la India hind, se opona con vehemencia por Gandhi, que
previ los problemas que se derivaran de la divisin. Sin embargo, el Partido del
Congreso ignor sus preocupaciones, y acept las propuestas de particin esgrimidos
por los britnicos.

El cuarto atentado contra la vida de Gandhi tom la forma de un descarrilamiento de

tren planeado. El 29 de junio de 1946, un tren llamado el 'Gandhi Especial', l y su
squito de transporte, se descarril cerca de Bombay, por medio de cantos rodados, que
haban sido amontonados en las vas. Desde el tren era el nico programado en ese
momento, parece probable que el objetivo previsto de descarrilamiento fue el propio
Gandhi. l no result herido en el accidente. En una reunin de oracin despus del
evento Gandhi es citado diciendo:
"Yo no he hecho dao a nadie ni me considere a nadie a ser mi enemigo, no puedo
entender por qu hay tantos atentados contra mi vida. El intento de ayer en mi vida ha
fracasado. No voy a morir todava; Mi objetivo es vivir hasta la edad de 125. "

Tristemente, l tena slo dieciocho meses de vida.

Colocada bajo una creciente presin, por sus contemporneos polticos, a aceptar la
particin como la nica manera de evitar una guerra civil en la India, Gandhi mala gana
estuvo de acuerdo con su necesidad poltica, y la India celebr su Da de la
Independencia el 15 de agosto de 1947. Plenamente reconociendo la necesidad de la
unidad poltica, Gandhi pas los prximos meses trabajando incansablemente por la paz
entre hindes y musulmanes, por temor a la acumulacin de la animosidad entre los dos
estados incipientes, mostrando notable presciencia, dada la turbulencia de su relacin
sobre el siguiente medio siglo.

Por desgracia, sus esfuerzos para unir las fuerzas de oposicin demostraron su
perdicin. Defendi el pago de la restitucin a Pakistn para los territorios perdidos,
como se indica en el acuerdo de reparto, que las partes en la India, por temor a que
Pakistn usara el pago como un medio para construir un arsenal de guerra, se haba
opuesto. l comenz un ayuno en apoyo de el pago, que los radicales hindes,
Nathuram Godse entre ellos, visto como traidor. Cuando el efecto poltico de su
asegurado rpido el pago a Pakistn, consigui con ello el quinto atentado contra su
vida.

El 20 de enero un grupo de siete radicales hindes, que incluan Nathuram Godse, tuvo
acceso a Birla House, en Nueva Delhi, un lugar en el que Gandhi se debi de dar una
direccin. Uno de los hombres, Madanla Pahwa, lograron acceder al podio del orador, y
plant una bomba, encerrado en una bola de algodn, en la pared detrs del podio. El
plan era hacer explotar la bomba durante el discurso, causando caos, lo que dara a otros
dos miembros de la banda, Digambar Bagde y Shankar Kishtaiyya, una oportunidad
para disparar Gandhi, y escapar del caos. La bomba explot antes de tiempo, antes de la
conferencia estaba en marcha, y Madanla Pahwa fue capturado, mientras que los otros,
incluyendo Godse, lograron escapar.

Pahwa admiti la trama en los interrogatorios, pero la polica de Delhi no pudieron

confirmar la participacin y el paradero de Godse, aunque s tratar de determinar su
paradero a travs de la polica de Bombay.

Despus del intento fallido de Birla House, Nathuram Godse y otro de los siete,
Narayan Apte, volvi a Pune, a travs de Bombay, donde compraron una pistola
automtica Beretta, antes de regresar de nuevo a Delhi.
El 30 de enero de 1948, mientras que Gandhi se diriga a una reunin de oracin en
Birla House in Delhi, Nathuram Godse logr acercarse lo suficiente a l en la multitud
para poder dispararle tres veces en el pecho, por lo quemarropa . Las ltimas palabras
de Gandhi fueron reclamados para ser "H Ram", que se traduce como "Oh Dios",
aunque algunos testigos afirman que habl ninguna palabra en absoluto.

Cuando la noticia de la muerte de Gandhi lleg a las diversas fortalezas del radicalismo
hind, en Pune y otras reas en toda la India, hubo celebracin segn se dice en las
calles. Dulces se distribuyen pblicamente, como en un festival. El resto del mundo se
horroriz por la muerte de un hombre nominado cinco veces para el Premio Nobel de la
Paz.

Godse, que haba hecho ningn intento de huir tras el asesinato, y su co-conspirador,
Narayan Apte, ambos fueron encarcelados hasta su juicio el 8 de noviembre de 1949.
Ellos fueron condenados por el asesinato de Gandhi, y ambos fueron ejecutados, una
semana despus, en Crcel Ambala, el 15 de noviembre de 1949. El supuesto arquitecto
de la trama, un extremista hind nombrado Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, fue absuelto
por falta de pruebas.

Gandhi fue incinerado segn costumbre hind, y sus cenizas se enterraron en el palacio
del Aga Khan en Pune, el sitio de su encarcelamiento en 1942, y el lugar de su esposa
tambin haba muerto.

Memorial de Gandhi lleva el epgrafe "H RAM" ("Oh Dios"), aunque no hay pruebas
concluyentes de que l pronunci estas palabras antes de morir.

Aunque Gandhi fue nominado para el Premio Nobel de la Paz en cinco ocasiones, nunca
recibi. En el ao de su muerte, 1948, el premio ha quedado desierto, la razn indicada
siendo que "no haba ningn candidato vida conveniente" ese ao.

La vida y las enseanzas de Gandhi han inspirado a muchos liberacionistas del siglo 20,
entre ellos el Dr. Martin Luther King en Estados Unidos, Nelson Mandela y Steve Biko
en Sudfrica, y Aung San Suu Kyi en Myanmar.

Su cumpleaos, 02 de octubre, se celebra como una fiesta nacional en la India cada ao.

Citas:

"Cuando (la violencia) parece hacer el bien, el bien es slo temporal; el mal que hace es
permanente. "

"La felicidad es cuando lo que piensas, lo que dices y lo que haces estn en armona."
"Odia el pecado, ama al pecador."

"Creo en la igualdad para todos, excepto a los periodistas y fotgrafos."

"No hay que perder la fe en la humanidad La humanidad es un ocano. Si algunas gotas

del ocano son sucios, el ocano no se ensucie."

"La victoria lograda por violencia es equivalente a una derrota, porque es momentnea."

"Ojo por ojo hace las persianas enteras del mundo."