Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)

A significant part of the Indian national movement was carried out by the influence of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Recognized as the Father of the Nation and a visionary of the era, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born into a Bania (Vaishya) family in Porbandar, Gujarat. After studying law in England, he took up a job with an Indian firm in South Africa. While advocating for the rights of Indians in South Africa, Gandhi first conducted 'Satyagraha' his method of non-violent resistance in 1906. To counter the rampant racial discrimination in South Africa, he established institutions such as Phoenix Farm and Tolstoy Farm. Upon returning to India in 1914, Gandhiji emerged as the leader of a nationwide struggle for self-rule, engaging in peaceful protests against the British; this method of struggle came to be known as Satyagraha.

In 1916, Gandhiji established the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, which served as the hub for Gandhian 'Satyagraha' movements. He entered the arena of the Indian national struggle in 1917 by addressing the grievances of indigo farmers in the Champaran district of Bihar. The Satyagraha campaign he led against the exploitation by plantation owners proved successful. He also intervened successfully in the 1918 strike by Ahmedabad mill workers demanding wage increases and the Kheda Satyagraha launched by Gujarat farmers seeking tax relief that same year. With this, people began to view Gandhiji as their leader, and many across India started following Gandhian ideals.

Gandhi transformed the Indian National Congress into an effective political instrument for Indian nationalism and spearheaded major non-violent movements, launching the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920 and the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930. The later included the historic march to the seashore to collect salt in defiance of the government monopoly (the Dandi March). Although he traveled to England in 1931 for the Second Round Table Conference, the mission proved unsuccessful. During the 1930s, he also campaigned against the discrimination faced by the 'untouchables' in India. Gandhi strove to promote education and encourage cottage industries in rural India. In 1942, the Congress session held in Mumbai adopted the 'Quit India' resolution and launched the movement. While India gained independence in 1947, the partition of the country left him deeply disappointed. In 1948, a religious extremist shot and killed Gandhiji during a prayer meeting at Birla House. His autobiography is titled 'My Experiments with Truth'.