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Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an extremely spiritual man. He described himself as a seeker of truth, which could not be found by violence. Gandhi led millions of people, and showed them the way to achieve freedom from the monarchy of Great Britain. Mohandas achieved his goals by doing what he thought was right, and accepting the consequences. He was a well-known man inside India and out. This man was very well taught, and he took his education everywhere he went. Gandhi influenced so many people in his life. While fasting, he would speak to people, and see people come from all over just to see him. Mohandas is known to Indians as the founder of the Indian nation. It all started when Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in Porbandar, India, which is today the state Gujarat, on October 2, 1869. He attended a school outside Rajkot, and as a schoolboy, his greatest fear was telling a lie. His father served as the Prime Minister of Porbandar. At age 13, Gandhi’s father died, before he could finish his schooling. At that time, he was married to Kasturbai, who was younger than he was. Following his father’s death and marriage to Kasturbai, in September 4, 1888, he sailed to England to study law, leaving his wife and son, Harilal, behind. His mother told him if he wanted to be a barrister, he would have to go to England for three years. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, to win his mother’s approval, took a solemn vow not to touch wine, women and meat, and that he did. Gandhi encountered problems, but his determination and single-minded pursuit of his purpose, and accomplished his objective of finishing his degree from the Inner Temple in 1891. He was called to the bar in 1891, and even enrolled in the High Court of London. Immediately following, he left for India. Gandhi attempted setting up a law practice in Bombay, but it did not work out. After an unsuccessful law practice, Gandhi decided to accept a job offer from an Indian businessman in South Africa to join him as a legal adviser. Mohandas seized the opportunity, and sailed onward to South Africa. When he arrived in Durban, he began to realize what he got himself into. After a week stay in Durban, he headed toward Pretoria, the capital of Transvaal, with a lawsuit. While riding a train, he encountered a white man complaining about being in the presence of a “colored” man in the compartment. Gandhi was ordered by a railway official to head to a third class. After refusing to do so, he was pushed by a constable, and his luggage was taken by the railway officials. This experience changed Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s life forever. He decided to change his goal in life to fight for Indian rights. Mohandas organized the Indian community in South Africa, and asked them to forget all the distinctions between religion and caste. He suggested the idea of forming an association to look over the Indian settlers. While in South Africa, Gandhi’s life changed, and he developed most of his political views. He decided to devote himself completely to the service of humanity. Gandhi realized that absolute self-restraint was unavoidable for the purpose as one could not live both after the flesh and the spirit. In 1906, Gandhi took a vow of self-restrain. In the struggle in South Africa, Mohandas, developed the idea of Ahimsa or non-violence and Satyagraha or holding fast to truth or firmness in a righteous cause. Gandhi’s struggle was all worth while when, in an agreement between Gandhi and the South African Government, the main Indian demands were conceded. Following this event, Gandhi continued back to India in 1915. On the advice of his political guru, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, he spent the first year touring the country inside and out to find the real India. After a year of touring, Gandhi settled down on the bank of the river, Sabarmati. His first satyagraha in India was in Champaran, in Bihar. In 1917, at the request of a poor peasant, he went to inquire into the sufferings of the peasants of that district, who were forced by the British indigo planters, to grow indigo on 15 percent of their land and part with the whole crop for rent. Gandhi’s satyagraha forced the British Government to set up a questioning for the condition of these farmers. The report of the committee, which Gandhi was a member of, went in favor of the farmers. This success of his first experiment in satyagraha in India improved Gandhi’s reputation in the country. In 1921, Mohandas called for a non-cooperation movement against the ills of British rule. Many Indians came from all over, leaving their work and school, to join this movement. It also brought women into the domain of freedom struggle for the first time. This movement severely jolted the British Government. Before the movement ended in February 1922, a mob went on killing British officials in Chauri Chaura. It shocked Gandhi so much that he refused to continue the campaign and undertook a fast for five days for a crime by others in a mob. Gandhi was sentenced for six years in prison, but was released in 1924 on medical grounds. For the next five years, Gandhi retired from politics and devoted himself to the basic national needs. On March 12, 1930, Gandhi started the Dandi March to break the law which made people in India have to buy salt from Great Britain. So on April 6, 1930, Mohandas broke the Salt law at the sea beach at Dandi. This movement came to be known as the “Civil Disobedience Movement”. After a few weeks, about a hundred-thousand men and women were thrown into jail, throwing machinery of the British Government out of gear. This then forced Lord Irwin to call Gandhi for a talk. On March 5, 1931, the Gandhi Irwin Pact was signed. Soon after signing, he went to England to attend the First Round Table Conference, and following his return from England, he was arrested without trial. After the start of the Second World War in 1939, the British Government wanted India to help in the war, but they would not do it unless they were guaranteed independence from the British Government. Great Britain refused, and soon after, Gandhi called for a quit in the India movement. Following this, Mohandas was arrested, along with other top leaders of Congress. While Gandhi was in jail, his wife, Kasturbai, passed away. Gandhi, too, had a severe attack of Malaria. Because of his horrible health, he was released from jail in May 1944. This book helped me learn more about Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. His views, that the only way to fight this injustice was of nonviolence and civil disobedience to win his country’s freedom, made me realize everything he did was for his people. He sacrificed everything for a cause. Gandhi did what he thought was right and accepted the consequences. He fought against British rule, all of his life, hoping to free India. All he has done and all I know and have read and learned about from Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi has made me really look up to him and makes me want to learn more about Gandhi. This was a great book, and I think if anyone has the opportunity to read it, they should. It is a great way to learn about one of the great leaders in history. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is definitely one of my favorite people in history to read about.