Mohandas Karamchand 'Mahatma'

The Multiple Agendas of MK Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand ‘Mahatma’ Gandhi, the father of India, was the greatest freedom fighter the world ever witnessed. His entire life revolved around truth, non violence, and equality for all.

Gandhi, over the course of his chequered life, founded several new philosophies and ideologies, that mobilized the people of India to seek freedom as one single nation, rather than as individuals pursuing their own demands.

Gandhi's journey as a freedom fighter began in Durban, in the late 19th century. He actively fought for Indians living in Johannesburg who had been subjected to racist discrimination. Upon his return to India, Gandhi’s main focus was to lead India to freedom from the British Raj. His medium of resistance continued to be non violent protests, or 'Satyagraha', as he called it. In 1919, he led a series of protests in parts of British India against the Rowlatt Act, a

The movement boosted India’s economy to new heights, allowing several native Industries to establish themselves as competitors to the imported British goods. Further, it showed the British colonials that the citizens of India had the resolve and determination to come together as one, and fight for their freedom. They realized that their earlier plans would no longer work, and it would be near impossible to break their unity. Unfortunately, there was a major pitfall in Gandhi’s plan. In 1922, an angry mob in the Chauri Chaura district of Gorakhpur burned down a police station, killing about 26 people. This violated the very essence of Gandhi’s campaign. He himself had to call of the programme. This showed that the people of India were not ready for a non violent protest. Once again, the British were able to use this weakness to reestablish their control on