Born in India as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, he later was given the name Mahatma Gandhi--Mahatma meaning "great soul." Architect of Indian independence, he truly was a great soul. At a time when his country was ruled by British, he wanted to change things and did so, differently than anyone else ever had. Many consider Gandhi the most influential non-politician of the 20th century. Although he often got involved in politics, as he said: "I am not a saint who has strayed into politics. I am a politician who is trying to become a saint."
Gandhi got his first taste of racial discrimination shortly after her became a lawyer. While on his way to his job in South Africa he was removed from a train simply because he was Indian. Starting then, he decided that he would stand up for his rights. At the time, South Africa was experiencing major racial crisis: the British controlled everything and a new law was passed saying Indians were not even allowed to vote.
English: Gandhi during the Salt March, March 1930....
English: Birth place of Mahatma Gandhi, Porbandar,...
Rabindranath Tagore and Gandhi in 1940.At a trial against him later on in his life, Gandhi said: "My public life began in 1893 in South Africa in troubled weather. My first contact in that country was not of a happy character. I discovered that...I had no rights as a man because I was an Indian." His friends asked him to help the movement against the British and of course he felt he couldn't refuse. Then his battle against the British began.
Gandhi was different from other revolutionaries of the time. For one thing, he was a great leader. As a child he used to be incredibly shy and even towards the beginning of his law career he did not have the courage to speak before a courtroom. Later on, however, as his skills as a...