Mohandas Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was the preeminent spiritual and political leader of the Indian independence movement. Born in 1869 in western India, he became a lawyer and found employment in South Africa, where discrimination compelled him to organize fellow Indians against British-controlled South African government repression. Upon returning to India, Gandhi rapidly rose to national prominence as the icon of the Indian National Congress after convincing it to adopt non-violent non-cooperation against British rule. Despite numerous imprisonments, he led successful non-violent campaigns against both unjust British Raj policies and social prejudices within Indian society itself, such as unequal treatment of Untouchables and women. Even after Indian independence in 1947, he continued his work for peace with a “fast-unto-death” for an end to Hindu-Muslim violence and justice in India’s relations with Pakistan. He was assassinated in 1948 by a Hindu radical.