Presenting a short photo biography of Mahatma Gandhi and the places associated with him as a tribute to the “Father of the Nation”.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was born in the coastal city of Porbandar in Gujarat. Below is an inside view of Kirti Mandir–Gandhi’s birthplace and ancestral house.
Gandhi attended school in the city of Rajkot. This is where he finished his high school.
At the age of 13, Gandhi got married to Kasturbai Makhanji, affectionately called Kasturba, in an arranged child marriage.
Gandhi’s father, Karamchand Uttamchand Gandhi, served as a diwan (prime minister) to the king in Rajkot. This is the house where Gandhi lived for about 7 years before he departed for London to study law.
At the age of 18, in 1988, Gandhi sailed for England to study law and jurisprudence at the University College London.
After passing his law exam, he came back to India and practiced as a barrister in the Bombay High Court, but wasn’t very successful. He accepted a year long contract to practice in South Africa. Below is the law court where Gandhi made his professional appearances.
His stay in South Africa exposed him to a lot of different intellectual influences. That along with his personal experiences let him to establish the “Phoenix Settlement” in Natal. It was a working farm for the natives and Indians, where discrimination based on colour, race or nationality was completely banned.
It was at the Tolstoy Farm that Gandhi evolved his ideas on non-violence and social services.
After he returned to India, he continued his efforts to end the plight of the Indians settled abroad and to spread his ideas on non-violence and human kindness through social service. It was at the Sabarmati Ashram that his ideas on “Satyagraha” matured and started catching the attention of the masses.
Formerly known as the Satyagraha Ashram, Sabarmati Ashram is commonly associated with Mahatma Gandhi, and has become one of the well known tourist spots in Ahmedabad. Gandhi resided here with his wife, Kasturba Gandhi, for 12 years.
Sabarmati also served as a base or the starting point of the famous “Salt March” to Dandi. This is one of the majoy milestones in the biography of Mahatma Gandhi
After leaving Sabarmati for the Dandi March and subsequently getting arrested, Gandhi had decided to make Sewagram Village in Maharashtra his base till India regained its independence.
Gandhi made several visits to the temple city of Madurai. He refused to enter the Meenakshi Amman Temple till all the classes were allowed to enter the premises. Madurai also marks the place where he embraced the khadi cloth.
In 1942, when the “Quit India Movement” became a major force, Gandhi and the entire Congress Committee were arrested in Bombay and taken to the Aga Khan Palace in Pune.
By this time, the struggle for independence was at its peak. Gandhi was released from jail in 1944. The British gave strong indications that power would be handed over to Indians.
The above picture marks the exact spot where Gandhi was assassinated in January 1948. His final footsteps have been preserved on the pavement.
Gandhi’s last spoken words were “Hey Ram!”. On 15 June 2007, the United General Assembly announced that 2nd October will be celebrated as the “International Day of Nonviolence”.
