GANDHI JAYANTI 2023: Gandhi Jayanti is an event celebrated in India to mark the birthday of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi. It is celebrated annually on 2 October. He was certainly the most prominent individual in the Indian Independence struggle. Mahatma Gandhi has the honour of the title of “father of the nation” because of his leadership during the freedom struggle that led to India’s independence from the British in 1947.On 2nd October’2023, Monday, we will celebrate the 154th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
Gandhi Jayanti is an occasion celebrated on the 2nd of October every year in India to mark the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. It was officially announced as one of India’s national holidays. The nonviolent movement is one of the most significant acts of Mahatma Gandhi’s life. It is made sure that it is implemented and rewarded to celebrate Mahatma Gandhi’s effort in the Indian independence movement. Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite Bhajan, Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram, is usually sung in his memory.
The UN General Assembly announced on 15 June 2007 that it adopted a resolution which declared that 2 October will be celebrated as the International Day of Non-Violence as he was a non-violent freedom fighter. He is also known as the “Father of The Nation” and this title was given to him by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose for his relentless struggles for independence.
It is a national holiday in India, observed in all of its states and territories. Gandhi Jayanti is marked by prayer services and tributes all over India, including at Gandhi’s memorial, Raj Ghat, in New Delhi where he was cremated.
On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi started the Swachh Bharat Mission. Its second phase started on Gandhi Jayanti 2021.
Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi with the birth name Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869 into a Gujarati Hindu family in Porbandar ( in Gujurat, India ), a coastal town on the Kathiawar Peninsula and then part of the small princely state of Porbandar in the Kathiawar Agency of the British Raj.
His father’s name was Karamchand Gandhi and mother’s name was Putlibai Gandhi.
At age 9, Gandhi entered the local school in Rajkot, near his home. There, he studied the rudiments of arithmetic, history, the Gujarati language and geography. At the age of 11, he joined the High School in Rajkot, Alfred High School.
In May 1883, the 13-year-old Mohandas was married to 14-year-old Kasturbai Makhanji Kapadia ( Kasturba Gandhi ). Kasturba Gandhi died in the year 1944.
In late 1885, Gandhi’s father Karamchand died. Gandhi, then 16 years old, and his wife of age 17 had their first baby, who survived only a few days. The two deaths anguished Gandhi. The Gandhi couple had four more children, all sons: Harilal, born in 1888; Manilal, born in 1892; Ramdas, born in 1897; and Devdas, born in 1900.
In November 1887, the 18-year-old Gandhi graduated from high school in Ahmedabad.
On 10 August 1888, Gandhi aged 18, left from Porbandar for Mumbai, then known as Bombay, and on 4 September, he sailed from Bombay to London to pursue LAW. Gandhi attended University College, London. He also enrolled at the Inns of Court School of Law in Inner Temple with the intention of becoming a barrister.
Gandhi, at age 22, was called to the bar in June 1891 and then left London for India, where he learned that his mother had died while he was in London and that his family had kept the news from him.
Soon after Bapu Ji completed his graduation from London, he went to South Africa for practicing law. After observing the miserable treatment which the Indian peasants were receiving in South Africa, Gandhi implemented nonviolent Civil Disobedience Movement against the African officials.
In 1915, Gandhi returned to India & observed that the British government has imposed an excessive tax on Indian workers and began protesting against it. In 1921, Mohandas became the leader of the Indian National Congress & thereon he led multiple campaigns for attaining ‘Swaraj’ (self-rule).
Throughout the protest against British rule in India, Gandhi’s major ideologies were Ahimsa and Satyavad (non-violence and truthfulness). In 1930, he led to the 400-km long Dandi Salt March for ending the salt-tax. Later, he initiated the Quit India Movement for ending the British rule in 1942.
With his persistent efforts, Gandhi finally pushed the foreign rulers out of India. In the year 1947, the last viceroy of pre-independent India, Lord Mountbatten declared India as a sovereign nation and divided it into two independent countries: India and Pakistan. And since then, Gandhi’s birthday is celebrated as a National Festival of India.
Life in South Africa
In 1893, a Muslim merchant in Kathiawar named Dada Abdullah contacted Gandhi. Abdullah owned a large successful shipping business in South Africa. His distant cousin in Johannesburg needed a lawyer, and they preferred someone with Kathiawari heritage. Gandhi inquired about his pay for the work. They offered a total salary of £105 (~$17,200 in 2019 money) plus travel expenses. He accepted it, knowing that it would be at least a one-year commitment in the Colony of Natal, South Africa, also a part of the British Empire.
In April 1893, Gandhi aged 23, set sail for South Africa to be the lawyer for Abdullah’s cousin. He spent 21 years in South Africa, where he developed his political views, ethics and politics.
After arriving in South Africa, Gandhi faced discrimination because of his skin colour and heritage. He was not allowed to sit with European passengers in the stagecoach and told to sit on the floor near the driver, then beaten when he refused; elsewhere he was kicked into a gutter for daring to walk near a house, in another instance thrown off a train at Pietermaritzburg after refusing to leave the first-class. He sat in the train station, shivering all night and pondering if he should return to India or protest for his rights.
He chose to protest and was allowed to board the train the next day. In another incident, the magistrate of a Durban court ordered Gandhi to remove his turban, which he refused to do. Indians were not allowed to walk on public footpaths in South Africa. Gandhi was kicked by a police officer out of the footpath onto the street without warning.
The Abdullah case that had brought him to South Africa concluded in May 1894, and the Indian community organized a farewell party for Gandhi as he prepared to return to India.
However, a new Natal government discriminatory proposal led to Gandhi extending his original period of stay in South Africa. He planned to assist Indians in opposing a bill to deny them the right to vote, a right then proposed to be an exclusive European right. He asked Joseph Chamberlain, the British Colonial Secretary, to reconsider his position on this bill. Though unable to halt the bill’s passage, his campaign was successful in drawing attention to the grievances of Indians in South Africa.
He helped found the Natal Indian Congress in 1894, and through this organisation, he moulded the Indian community of South Africa into a unified political force. In January 1897, when Gandhi landed in Durban, a mob of white settlers attacked him and he escaped only through the efforts of the wife of the police superintendent. However, he refused to press charges against any member of the mob.
Upon return, he joined the Indian National Congress and led nationwide campaigns for farmers, peasants, and labourers. He also fought against caste discrimination and fought for expanding women’s rights.
He led some of the most historic movements in India’s freedom struggle. He led Indians to break the salt law, through the Dandi March in 1930, which helped Indians believe that they can challenge the might of the British. He also led the Quit India movement in 1942.
Mahatma Gandhi believed in religious pluralism. He wanted India to be a secular nation and he fought to make it a reality. But his vision was hindered by Muslim nationalists led by the Muslim league on one side and the Hindu Mahasabha and the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak on the other side leading the Hindu nationalists. Gandhi, who opposed the Partition, could not prevent the partition of India into a Hindu majority India and Muslim majority Pakistan.
When he was in South Africa, he observed that Indianswere treated poorly and belonged to a lower section of people along with the other people of color. In 1915, he joined the Indian National Congress. During this time, he started various movements to fight against British rule in India which affected the nation severely. The various movements include Quit India Movement, the Dandi March, and the Non-cooperation Movement. He was known as ‘Bapu’. He chooses the path of non-violence to fight against the injustice of the British government. He also opposed the partition of India.
Gandhiji is universally revered as an apostle of peace and non-violence. The jewel of India’s freedom movement was an embodiment of selfless service, kindness and compassion. In fact, not just India, but leaders across the world adhere to his teachings, ideals and values. Even today, his noble principles are globally relevant and give strength to millions.
Fondly known as Bapu, his unwavering belief in ‘Swaraj’ (self-governance) and ‘Ahimsa’ (non-violence) won him accolades across the world. Globally, Gandhi’s birth anniversary is celebrated as the International Day of Non-Violence. Several events are being held in India and across the world to mark the occasion.
Gandhi was killed by Hindu nationalist Nathu Ram Godse on January 30, 1948.
Here are some important facts about Gandhi.
Unknown Facts About Mahatma Gandhi ( The Father of Nation )
Gandhi studied law in London
In June 1891, Gandhi was called to the bar at age the age of 22, having studied law at the Inner Temple, one of the four law colleges of London. Prior to moving to South Africa, Gandhi tried to start a successful law practice in India.
Gandhi was married at a young age
Gandhi was married to Kasturba Gandhi when he was 13 years old. His bride was 14 years. Together, they had four sons before he took a vow of celibacy for a lifetime.
Gandhi’s parents and siblings
Gandhi’s father Karamchand Uttamchand Gandhi hailed from a Hindu Modh Baniya family. He married four times. His first two wives died young and his third wife remained childless. His fourth wife Putlibai gave birth to three sons and one daughter. Gandhi was the youngest son in the family.
Gandhi loved football
Gandhi was a football aficionado even though he never played the game professionally. While in South Africa, Gandhi formed two football clubs in Johannesburg and Pretoria. The two clubs were named the Passive Resisters – a name inspired by the political philosophy of Henry Thoreau and Leo Tolstoy.
Getting the name Mahatma
It is widely believed that poet Rabindranath Tagore gave Gandhi the title Mahatma. Explaining this, Tagore wrote that Gandhi approached people dressed like one of their own and spoke to them in their own language.
“Here was living truth at last, and not only quotations from books. For this reason, the ‘Mahatma’, the name given to him by the people of India, is his real name,” Tagore wrote.
The one without a shirt
A child once approached Gandhi and asked him why he did not wear a shirt. To this Gandhi replied that he did not have the money. The boy then told him that his mother made clothes for him and would be able to stitch one for Gandhi too. However, Gandhi said that he had a large family of 40 crore brothers and sisters. “Till every one of them has a kurta, how can I wear one?” he said.
Gandhi’s diet plan for Netaji
Gandhi experimented with food and also wrote books on food and health such as The Moral Basis of Vegetarianism and Key to Health. In 1936, Gandhi drafted a diet plan for his political opponent Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. In the diet plan, he asked Bose to take leafy vegetables and less of potatoes and starchy tubers. He recommended the use of garlic and onion in the raw state. Gandhi said he took raw garlic regularly for blood pressure as it was the best antitoxin for internal use. He also suggested the use of dates and raisins. “Tea and coffee I do not consider essential to health,” he said.
Martyrs’ Day or Shaheed Diwas
Martyrs’ Day or Shaheed Diwas: 30 January is observed as Martyrs’ Day or Shaheed Diwas to mark the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. On this day, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated at Gandhi Smriti in Birla house. and in India, mainly it is observed on two dates. First on 30 January and also on 23rd March. The day is observed to pay homage to freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the motherland.
He was the youngest child of his parents. He had 2 brothers and 1 sister.
Gandhi Ji set up a small colony, Tolstoy Farm at an 1100 acre site, 21 miles from Johannesburg, South Africa for his colleagues in the Satyagraha struggle.
In 1930, he led the Dandi Salt March, and in 1942, he launched the Quit India Movement during the freedom struggle.
He not only fought for Independence but also demanded fair treatment for the untouchables, lower caste, and also did several fasts in support of them. He also called untouchables Harijans meaning “children of God”.
Gandhi in 1982 is an epic historical drama film based on Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi won the Academic Award for the best motion picture.
In 1930, he was the Time Magazine Man of the Year. He was a great writer and the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi have 50,000 pages.
Do you know how many times Mahatma Gandhi was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize? Gandhi ji was nominated in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947, and, finally, a few days before he was murdered in January 1948.
The country against whom he fought for India’s Independence, Great Britain, released a stamp honouring him, 21 years after his death.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was not born with the title Mahatma. He was given the title to him by the Nobel Prize-winning Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore, according to some authors.
It is said that Mahatma Gandhi’s funeral procession was 8 kilometers long.
Reserve Bank of India issued The Gandhi series banknotes by displaying a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi since its introduction in 1996. The series issued in 1996 is of 10 and 500 rupee banknotes.
In 1959, Gandhi Memorial Museum was established. It is located in the city of Madurai in Tamil Nadu, India. It is also known as the Gandhi Museum. It consists of a blood-stained garment that was worn by Mahatma Gandhi when he was assassinated by the Nathuram Godse.
Gandhi followed a vegetarian diet. He wrote a book titled ‘The Moral Basis of Vegetarianism’. Gandhi limited his diet to raw vegetables, curd, fruits, seeds and nuts. He is also known to have favoured goat milk.
He was a big football fan and had also formed two football clubs- one each in Johannesburg and Pretoria.
There are around 48 roads outside India named after Mahatma Gandhi.
Gandhi was incredibly meek and shy by nature. During one debate at the London Vegetarian Society, he felt such stage fright that somebody else had to read out his arguments on his behalf. It was a serious stumbling block for his burgeoning career as a barrister. The first time he tried to cross-examine a witness, he got so nervous that he flopped back into his chair and simply gave up the case, returning his fee to his (presumably disgruntled) client.
Gandhi was assassinated as his country grappled with the bloody aftermath of Partition (when India and Pakistan formed separate nations). But it was a fellow Hindu, rather than a Muslim, who murdered the father of the nation. Nathuram Godse, a Hindu nationalist, was incensed that Gandhi was ‘too soft’ on Pakistan, and – following several failed attempts – fatally shot Gandhi on 30th January 1948.
Gandhi’s children and grandchildren live in India and other countries. Grandson Rajmohan Gandhi is a professor in Illinois and an author of Gandhi’s biography titled Mohandas, while another, Tarun Gandhi, has authored several authoritative books on his grandfather. Another grandson, Kanu Ramdas Gandhi (the son of Gandhi’s third son Ramdas), was found living in an old age home in Delhi despite having taught earlier in the United States.
There are three temples in India dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi. One is located at Sambalpur in Odisha and the second at Nidaghatta village near Kadur in Chikmagalur district of Karnataka and the third one at Chityal in the district of Nalgonda, Telangana. The Gandhi Memorial in Kanyakumari resembles central Indian Hindu temples and the Tamukkam or Summer Palace in Madurai now houses the Mahatma Gandhi Museum.
Mahatma Gandhi’s image also appears on paper currency of all denominations issued by Reserve Bank of India, except for the one rupee note.
At 5:17 pm on 30 January 1948, Gandhi was with his grandnieces in the garden of Birla House (now Gandhi Smriti), on his way to address a prayer meeting, when Nathuram Godse, a Hindu nationalist, fired three bullets into his chest from a pistol at close range. According to some accounts, Gandhi died instantly. In other accounts, such as one prepared by an eyewitness journalist, Mahatma Gandhi was carried into the Birla House, into a bedroom. There he died about 30 minutes later as one of Gandhi’s family members read verses from Hindu scriptures.
Raj Ghat Memorial, New Delhi, India
The Birla House site where Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated is now a memorial called Gandhi Smriti. The place near Yamuna river where he was cremated is the Raj Ghat memorial in New Delhi. A black marble platform, it bears the epigraph “He Rama” (Devanagari: हे ! राम or, Hey Raam). These are said to be Gandhi’s last words after he was shot.
