Mahatma Gandhi: Key Facts & Movements Full Name: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Born: October 2, 1869, Porbandar, Gujarat Died: January 30, 1948, Delhi (assassinated by Nathuram Godse) Father: Karamchand Gandhi (Dewan of Porbandar) Mother: Putlibai Wife: Kasturbai Mohandas Gandhi Political Guru: Gopal Krishna Gokhale Autobiography: My Experiments with Truth (Originally written in Gujarati) Philosophy: Satyagraha (Truth-force/Soul-force), Ahimsa (Non-violence) Early Life & South Africa (1893-1915) 1893: Went to South Africa as a lawyer for Dada Abdullah & Co. Incident: Thrown off a train at Pietermaritzburg for being an Indian. Natal Indian Congress: Founded in 1894 to fight discrimination. Phoenix Settlement: Established in 1904 near Durban (first Ashram). Tolstoy Farm: Established in 1910 near Johannesburg (second Ashram). Indian Opinion : Newspaper started in 1903 in South Africa. Satyagraha in SA: Against Asiatic Registration Act (1906), Black Act. Gokhale's Visit: Gokhale visited SA in 1912, invited Gandhi to India. Return to India: January 9, 1915 (celebrated as Pravasi Bharatiya Divas). Early Satyagraha in India (1917-1918) Champaran Satyagraha (1917): Cause: Against 'Tin Kathia' system (forced indigo cultivation). Location: Champaran, Bihar. Key Figures: Rajendra Prasad, J.B. Kripalani, Mahadev Desai, Narhari Parikh. Result: British agreed to abolish the system and compensate farmers. Significance: Gandhi's first civil disobedience movement in India. Ahmedabad Mill Strike (1918): Cause: Dispute between mill owners and workers over plague bonus and wages. Location: Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Method: First hunger strike by Gandhi in India. Result: Workers received a 35% wage hike. Significance: Gandhi's first use of hunger strike. Kheda Satyagraha (1918): Cause: Demand for remission of land revenue due to crop failure. Location: Kheda, Gujarat. Key Figures: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (emerged as a leader), Indulal Yagnik. Method: Non-cooperation/No-tax campaign. Result: Government agreed to suspend tax collection for the year. Significance: First non-cooperation movement led by Gandhi. Major National Movements Rowlatt Satyagraha (1919): Cause: Protest against the Rowlatt Act ('Black Act' - no dalil, no vakil, no appeal). Method: Nationwide Hartal (strike), civil disobedience. Outcome: Led to Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (April 13, 1919). Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-1922): Reason: Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Khilafat issue, Rowlatt Act. Resolution: Adopted at Nagpur session (1920) of INC. Program: Boycott of foreign goods, government schools, courts, titles, legislative councils. Promotion of Swadeshi, Charkha, Khadi. Withdrawal: Chauri Chaura incident (Feb 5, 1922) – violent mob clash. Gandhi's Arrest: March 1922, sentenced to 6 years (released 1924 due to appendicitis). Dandi March / Salt Satyagraha (1930): Cause: British monopoly on salt production and tax. Start: March 12, 1930, from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi (Gujarat). Participants: 78 followers, covered ~240 miles in 24 days. Breaking Salt Law: April 6, 1930, at Dandi. Significance: Launched the Civil Disobedience Movement. Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-1934): Phases: First phase (1930-31), Second phase (1932-34). Key Events: Peshawar (Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan - Frontier Gandhi), Sholapur, Dharasana Salt Works (Sarojini Naidu). Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931): Ended the first phase. Gandhi agreed to attend Round Table Conference. Second Round Table Conference (1931): Gandhi attended as sole INC representative, failed due to Communal Award. Resumption: CDM resumed after Gandhi's return, faced harsh repression. Withdrawal: Officially suspended in 1933, formally withdrawn in 1934. Quit India Movement (1942): Cause: Failure of Cripps Mission, fear of Japanese invasion. Resolution: Passed at Bombay session of AICC (August 8, 1942). Slogan: "Do or Die" (Karo Ya Maro). Arrests: All major leaders, including Gandhi, arrested on Aug 9, 1942 (Operation Zero Hour). Nature: Spontaneous, leaderless mass uprising. Underground Activities: Aruna Asaf Ali, Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia. Gandhi's Role in Indian National Congress Only INC Session Presided: Belgaum Session, 1924. Important Works & Journals Books: Hind Swaraj (1909), My Experiments with Truth (Autobiography). Journals: Indian Opinion (English & Gujarati, South Africa, 1903) Young India (English, 1919-1931) Navjivan (Gujarati, 1919-1931) Harijan (English, 1933-1948) Titles & Epithets Mahatma: By Rabindranath Tagore (1915). Father of the Nation/Bapu: By Subhas Chandra Bose (1944). Half-naked Fakir: By Winston Churchill. One-man Boundary Force: By Lord Mountbatten. Key Events (Chronology) 1869: Born 1893: To South Africa 1894: Natal Indian Congress 1903: Indian Opinion 1904: Phoenix Settlement 1906: First Satyagraha in SA 1909: Hind Swaraj 1910: Tolstoy Farm 1915: Return to India 1916: Sabarmati Ashram established 1917: Champaran Satyagraha 1918: Ahmedabad Mill Strike, Kheda Satyagraha 1919: Rowlatt Satyagraha, Jallianwala Bagh 1920: Non-Cooperation Movement launched 1922: Chauri Chaura & NCM withdrawal 1924: Presided Belgaum INC Session 1930: Dandi March, Civil Disobedience Movement 1931: Gandhi-Irwin Pact, Second RTC 1932: Poona Pact (between Gandhi and Ambedkar) 1933: Started Harijan journal 1942: Quit India Movement, "Do or Die" 1948: Assassinated