Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in 1869 in Gujarat. He completed his education in India, and then went to England to study law. He returned to India, and practiced as a Barrister at the Mumbai courts.
Later, Gandhi joined the Indian freedom movement and guided the Indian National Congress. He applied his unique policy of non-violence in non-cooperation movement. He knew that the Indians were not equipped with adequate arms to fight the mighty British armed forces.
He asked his countrymen to boycott British goods, and use instead only country made goods. He himself used a primitive wooden spinning wheel for making cotton to weave cloth for his own use. His example was followed by millions of Indians. The wheel later became the symbol of the Indian National Flag.
In 1942, Gandhi gave the ‘Quit India’ slogan to his countrymen. In 1946, communal riots broke out in Bengal. Gandhi visited villages and towns, preaching peace among people.
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India won freedom in 1947. In 1948, Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu fundamentalist, named Nathuram Godse, for the former’s too much support for the Muslims.