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Mahatma Gandhi Essay in English: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi who is known by the name, Mahatma Gandhi is popularly called as Father of Nation. His contributions towards the freedom struggle and to making India free from the rule of the British Raj are immense and could not be put into simple words. To pay tribute to his efforts in the freedom struggle and to his ideologies we celebrate Gandhi Jayanti on the 2nd of October every year. Schools and colleges celebrate and commemorate this special day by conducting competitions on writing Gandhi Jayanti Essay and arranging a patriotic Gandhi Jayanti speech. This day is declared to be a Public and Bank Holiday across the Nation. In this essay, you can find information on his contribution and legacy.
Mahatma Gandhi Essay in English
In this essay, we have provided insights into Gandhiji’s birth, movements and campaigns led by him, his contributions to the freedom struggle, ideologies and principles followed by him and much more. He has great thoughts, ideologies and principles and so people called him Mahatma which means ‘great soul’ in Sanskrit. He always followed the principle of ‘Ahimsa’ which is non-violence in attaining freedom from British reign.
Read ahead to this essay on Mahatma Gandhi to gather more information on our father of the nation.
Gandhiji’s Childhood
Mahatma Gandhi was born on 2nd October 1869 in Porbandar, Gujarat. He was raised in an affluent Hindu Family. He was interested in pursuing law and therefore he went to England to study the same and soon became a Barrister. He was born to Karamchand Gandhi (Father of Mahatma Gandhi), the dewan of Porbandar. Growing up with principles of dharma and ahimsa (non-violence) helped Gandhi to walk on the emergence of freedom. To practise the law, he went to South Africa where he was deeply annoyed by the Europeans’ rule against South Africans where there were racial and colour discrimination issues.
Campaigns and Movements led by Gandhiji
Gandhiji developed a concept of a Non-violent Movement called ‘Satyagraha’ and he united Indians who had settled in South Africa from different religions, communities or languages. When he returned to India, he saw British people dominating Indians, cruelly. But Gandhiji followed a non-violent method in uprooting Britishers from Indian soil. His concept of ‘Ahimsa’, not to injure anyone is highly appreciable.
Therefore he started several movements such as the Khadi movement to make use of fibres such as Jute or Khadi and weaved the same using a chakra. He started with the Non-Co-operation movement to make use of Indian Swadeshi goods and stopped the use of foreign goods. A major breakthrough movement is the ‘Quit India Movement’ to put an end to the British Colonial rule in India.
Dandi March or Salt Satyagraha: This is a non-violent civil disobedience campaign led by Gandhiji in the year 1930 to resist the payment of taxes levied on salt which was available free of cost to the common people. He led a campaign starting from Sabarmati Ashram along with his followers to reach Dandi and there at a seashore he took a lump of salty mud and boiled it, thereby, producing illegal salt.
Mahatma Gandhi in Freedom Struggle
Mahatma Gandhi Ji played a major and very important role in the freedom struggle of India. He was imprisoned several times but he didn’t give up the efforts and pace of freedom fighting. He had driven off the ‘Untouchability’ issue while he got imprisoned in Yerwada Jail and went on fast for several days. He also stressed the need and importance of education, cleanliness, health and equality in society.
In the year 1915, Mahatma Gandhi returned back to India and joined the Indian National Congress Party and demanded ‘Purn Swaraj’, which means complete independence from British rule. Satyagraha was announced by him, which created a major revolt which was the massacre of Amritsar. He also started the Civil disobedience Movement which involved the oppression of British rule by strictly not adhering to the laws and orders imposed by the Britishers. Then Martial law was imposed, which was an important aspect of the Indian Independence movement.
Principles of Gandhiji
Gandhiji was a great soul of ethics, values, self-discipline and simplicity. He was a great motivator of younger minds and practised ahimsa, a non-violent method to eradicate the miserable British rule. He is a great supporter of Indian Agriculture and motivated farmers to do field and agricultural work. Though he was insulted, and ridiculed several times his perseverance in the freedom struggle is remarkable. He fought with a strong and powerful British army without the use of weapons and shedding a single drop of blood. All these qualities and his ideologies have attracted people from each and every corner of the world.
Conclusion
On the whole, Mahatma Gandhi ji was a man of simplicity but his ideologies had no boundaries. He is highly revered and respected even now after a number of decades because of his fame, ethics and values. As Indians, let us all try to follow the principle of Mahatma Gandhi and enlighten our lives to achieve bigger goals.