Mahatma Gandhi | Biography, Education, Religion, Accomplishments, Death, & Facts

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border-right-sm border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mahatma-Gandhi">Mahatma Gandhi</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/biography/Mahatma-Gandhi">Introduction & Top Questions</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref22631"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Mahatma-Gandhi#ref22631">Youth</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref22632"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Mahatma-Gandhi/Sojourn-in-England-and-return-to-India">Sojourn in England and return to India</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref22633"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Mahatma-Gandhi/Sojourn-in-England-and-return-to-India#ref22633">Years in South Africa</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref326032"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Mahatma-Gandhi/Sojourn-in-England-and-return-to-India#ref326032">Emergence as a political and social activist</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref22634"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Mahatma-Gandhi/Resistance-and-results">Resistance and results</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref22635"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Mahatma-Gandhi/Resistance-and-results#ref22635">The religious quest</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref326033"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Mahatma-Gandhi/Resistance-and-results#ref326033">Return to India</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref22636"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Mahatma-Gandhi/Emergence-as-nationalist-leader">Emergence as nationalist leader</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref326034"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Mahatma-Gandhi/Emergence-as-nationalist-leader#ref326034">Return to party leadership</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref22637"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Mahatma-Gandhi/Emergence-as-nationalist-leader#ref22637">The last phase</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref22638"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Mahatma-Gandhi/Place-in-history">Place in history</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li></ul> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/quotes/Mahatma-Gandhi">Quotes</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mahatma-Gandhi/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/Mahatma-Gandhi">Quick Facts & Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mahatma-Gandhi/images-videos">Images & Videos</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/91/82291-050-EB7A276A/Mohandas-K-Gandhi-leader-Mahatma-Indian.jpg" data-href="/media/1/225216/92087" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/91/82291-004-B396E162/Mohandas-K-Gandhi-leader-Mahatma-Indian.jpg" alt="Mahatma Gandhi" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/88/75588-050-12B8CE3E/Mohandas-K-Gandhi-Salt-March-Sarojini-Naidu-March-1930.jpg" data-href="/media/1/225216/138308" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/88/75588-004-85068793/Mohandas-K-Gandhi-Salt-March-Sarojini-Naidu-March-1930.jpg" alt="Photo of Gandhi and Sarojini Naidu on the Salt March" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/43/76643-050-F1A2EB59/Mohandas-K-Gandhi-Round-Table-Conference-delegates-1931.jpg" data-href="/media/1/225216/109403" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/43/76643-004-2244C387/Mohandas-K-Gandhi-Round-Table-Conference-delegates-1931.jpg" alt="Round Table Conference" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/72/200572-050-448D5045/Mahatma-Gandhi-1930.jpg" data-href="/media/1/225216/251392" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/72/200572-004-9D88087B/Mahatma-Gandhi-1930.jpg" alt="Mohandas K. Gandhi" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/73/200573-050-194DB760/Mahatma-Gandhi-1931.jpg" data-href="/media/1/225216/251393" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/73/200573-004-F9236C6B/Mahatma-Gandhi-1931.jpg" alt="Mahatma Gandhi" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/69/146869-050-676DD6B7/Aga-Khan-Palace-Pune-India.jpg" data-href="/media/1/225216/154944" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/69/146869-004-2E4F0894/Aga-Khan-Palace-Pune-India.jpg" alt="How the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand sparked World War I" height="50" /> </a> <a href="/video/Funeral-procession-Jawaharlal-Nehru-quote-Mohandas-Gandhi-February-2-1948/13198" data-href="/media/1/225216/13198" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <div class="position-relative --aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/91/23191-138-AE12413F/Funeral-procession-Jawaharlal-Nehru-quote-Mohandas-Gandhi-February-2-1948.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Witness the funeral procession for Mahatma Gandhi, February 2, 1948" class="col-100" /> <div class="btn btn-sm btn-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="top: 50%; left:50%; transform: translate(-50%, -50%)"> <em class="material-icons font-14" data-icon="play_arrow" > </em> </div> </div> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/68/146868-050-5BA70CD6/Gandhi-Memorial-Stone-National-Pune-India-Maharasthra.jpg" data-href="/media/1/225216/196647" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/68/146868-004-C9388229/Gandhi-Memorial-Stone-National-Pune-India-Maharasthra.jpg" alt="Pune, Maharasthra, India: Gandhi Memorial Stone" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/21/171921-050-CFD0520E/Image-Mohandas-Gandhi-Cyprus-postage-stamp.jpg" data-href="/media/1/225216/196648" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/21/171921-004-7C7A7029/Image-Mohandas-Gandhi-Cyprus-postage-stamp.jpg" alt="Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi: postage stamp" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/70/146870-050-DFFF153B/Raj-Ghat-Mohandas-Gandhi-India-Delhi.jpg" data-href="/media/1/225216/206610" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/70/146870-004-1695D5D4/Raj-Ghat-Mohandas-Gandhi-India-Delhi.jpg" alt="Delhi, India: Raj Ghat" height="50" /> </a> </div> <button disabled class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-blue " aria-label="Previous"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span> </button> <button disabled class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-blue " aria-label="Next"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span> </button> </div> </div> <div class="mb-30 tlr-student-links"> <div class="text-gray-900 p-5 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-10 mb-10"> For Students </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/summary/Mahatma-Gandhi"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/images/shared/default3.png?v=3.130.14" class="default " height="200" width="200"/> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/summary/Mahatma-Gandhi" >Mahatma Gandhi summary</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/summary/Mahatma-Gandhi-Timeline"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/66/194466-050-CD294675/Mahatma-Gandhi-1931.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Mahatma Gandhi" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/summary/Mahatma-Gandhi-Timeline" >Mahatma Gandhi Timeline</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/summary/Mahatma-Gandhis-Achievements"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/73/200573-050-194DB760/Mahatma-Gandhi-1931.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Mahatma Gandhi" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/summary/Mahatma-Gandhis-Achievements" >Mahatma Gandhi’s Achievements</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mb-30 tlr-related-quizzes"> <div class="text-gray-900 p-5 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-10 mb-10"> Quizzes </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/quiz/who-said-it-famous-quotes-quiz"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/32/232632-131-A2DB4925/King-Speech-at-Sproul-Plaza-in-Berkeley.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Civil rights leader Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers a speech to a crowd of approximately 7,000 people on May 17, 1967 at UC Berkeley's Sproul Plaza in Berkeley, California." width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/quiz/who-said-it-famous-quotes-quiz" >Who Said It? 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Gandhi</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.mapsofindia.com/personalities/gandhi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">MapsofIndia.com - Mahatma Gandhi Biography</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://southasia.ucla.edu/history-politics/gandhi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">UCLA Social Sciences - Mahatma Gandhi</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/mohandas-karamchand-gandhi" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">South African History Online - Biography of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/themes/mahatma-gandhi-the-missing-laureate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">The Nobel Prize - Mahatma Gandhi, the missing laureate</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/india/gandhiji.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">GlobalSecurity.org - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-title">Britannica Websites</div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-subtitle">Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.</div> <ul class="list-unstyled bps-topic-web-sites lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Mahatma-Gandhi/353163" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mahatma Gandhi - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Mahatma-Gandhi/274487" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mahatma Gandhi - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="toc-header-marker"></div> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 js-header-ai-ask-button d-none btn-sm btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 mr-0 mr-lg-10 ml-5 ml-sm-10 ml-lg-0 p-10"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> <div class="caption alternate-titles">Also known as: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi</div> <div class="md-byline module-spacing "> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/BR-Nanda/2111" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">B.R. Nanda</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Former Director, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi. Author of <i>Mahatma Gandhi: A Biography </i>and others.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> B.R. Nanda</span></div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-11-23T00:00:00CST" >Nov 23, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mahatma-Gandhi/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="qf-title font-weight-bold font-14 mb-10 text-center"> Quick Facts</div> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Byname of: </dt> <dd>Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Born: </dt> <dd>October 2, 1869, <a href="/place/Porbandar">Porbandar</a>, <a href="/place/India">India</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Died: </dt> <dd>January 30, 1948, <a href="/place/Delhi">Delhi</a> (aged 78)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Also Known As: </dt> <dd>Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Political Affiliation: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/Indian-National-Congress">Indian National Congress</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-item-none d-none"> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Notable Family Members: </dt> <dd>spouse <a href="/biography/Kasturba-Gandhi">Kasturba Gandhi</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-item-none d-none"> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Role In: </dt> <dd><a href="/event/British-raj">British raj</a></dd> <dd><a href="/event/Jallianwala-Bagh-Massacre">Jallianwala Bagh Massacre</a></dd> <dd><a href="/event/Poona-Pact">Poona Pact</a></dd> <dd><a href="/event/Round-Table-Conference">Round Table Conference</a></dd> <dd><a href="/event/Salt-March">Salt March</a></dd> <dd><a href="/event/noncooperation-movement">noncooperation movement</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Mahatma-Gandhi"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> <button class="facts-list-show-more-btn mt-15 p-0 mx-auto btn font-14 d-block font-weight-normal"> <span class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></span> <span class="show-more-label">Show More</span> </button> </div><script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>What did Gandhi try to accomplish with his 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Many of the beliefs that characterized Gandhi\u2019s spiritual outlook later in life may have originated in his upbringing. However, his understanding of faith was constantly evolving as he encountered new belief systems. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Leo-Tolstoy\">Leo Tolstoy<\/a>\u2019s analysis of Christian theology, for example, came to bear heavily on Gandhi\u2019s conception of spirituality, as did texts such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Bible\">Bible<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Quran\">Qu\u02BEr\u0101n<\/a>, and he first read the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Bhagavadgita\"><em>Bhagavadgita<\/em><\/a>\u2014a Hindu epic\u2014in its English translation while living in Britain. 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He brought them to South Africa in 1897, where Kasturba would assist him in his activism, which she continued to do after the family moved back to India in 1915." } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>What were contemporary opinions of Gandhi?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "As lauded a figure as Gandhi has become, his actions and beliefs didn\u2019t escape the criticism of his contemporaries. Liberal politicians thought he was proposing too much change too quickly, while young radicals lambasted him for not proposing enough. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Islamic-world\">Muslim<\/a> leaders suspected him of lacking evenhandedness when dealing with Muslims and his own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Hinduism\">Hindu<\/a> religious community, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Dalit\">Dalits<\/a> (formerly called untouchables) thought him disingenuous in his apparent intention to abolish the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/caste-social-differentiation\">caste system<\/a>. He cut a controversial figure outside India as well, although for different reasons. The English\u2014as India\u2019s colonizers\u2014harboured some resentment toward him, as he toppled one of the first dominoes in their global imperial regime. But the image of Gandhi that has lasted is one that foregrounds his dogged fight against the oppressive forces of racism and colonialism and his commitment to nonviolence." } } ] } </script> <div class="top-questions qa-accordion d-flex flex-column module-spacing"><div class="font-weight-bold font-14 mb-5"> Top Questions </div><div id="intent-accordion" class="md-intent-accordion"><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="1"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What did Gandhi try to accomplish with his activism?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Initially, Gandhi’s campaigns sought to combat the second-class status Indians received at the hands of the British regime. Eventually, however, they turned their focus to bucking the British regime altogether, a goal that was attained in the years directly after World War II. The victory was marred by the fact that sectarian violence within India between Hindus and Muslims necessitated the creation of two independent states—India and Pakistan—as opposed to a single unified India.</p><div class="continue-reading"> Read more below: <a href="/biography/Mahatma-Gandhi/Sojourn-in-England-and-return-to-India#ref326032">Years in South Africa: Emergence as a political and social activist</a></div></div><div class="connections border-top mt-15"><a href="/place/India/The-transfer-of-power-and-the-birth-of-two-countries" class="d-flex mt-15">India: The transfer of power and the birth of two countries</a>Read more about the partition of India and Pakistan.</div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="2"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What were Gandhi’s religious beliefs?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Gandhi’s family practiced a kind of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Vaishnavism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Vaishnavism</a>, one of the major traditions within <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hinduism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Hinduism</a>, that was inflected through the morally rigorous tenets of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Jainism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Jainism</a>—an Indian faith for which concepts like asceticism and nonviolence are important. Many of the beliefs that characterized Gandhi’s spiritual outlook later in life may have originated in his upbringing. However, his understanding of faith was constantly evolving as he encountered new belief systems. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leo-Tolstoy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Leo Tolstoy</a>’s analysis of Christian theology, for example, came to bear heavily on Gandhi’s conception of spirituality, as did texts such as the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bible" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Bible</a> and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Quran" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Quʾrān</a>, and he first read the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bhagavadgita" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Bhagavadgita</em></a>—a Hindu epic—in its English translation while living in Britain. </p><div class="continue-reading"> Read more below: <a href="/biography/Mahatma-Gandhi/Resistance-and-results#ref22635">Years in South Africa: The religious quest</a></div></div><div class="connections border-top mt-15"><a href="/topic/Vaishnavism" class="d-flex mt-15">Vaishnavism</a>Read more about Vaishnavism, the faith of Gandhi’s family.</div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="3"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What other social movements did Gandhi’s activism inspire?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Within India, Gandhi’s philosophy lived on in the messages of reformers such as social activist <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vinoba-Bhave" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Vinoba Bhave</a>. Abroad, activists such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Martin-Luther-King-Jr" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Martin Luther King, Jr.</a>, borrowed heavily from Gandhi’s practice of nonviolence and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/civil-disobedience" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">civil disobedience</a> to achieve their own social equality aims. Perhaps most impactful of all, the freedom that Gandhi’s movement won for India sounded a death knell for Britain’s other colonial enterprises in Asia and Africa. Independence movements swept through them like wildfire, with Gandhi’s influence bolstering existing movements and igniting new ones.</p><div class="continue-reading"> Read more below: <a href="/biography/Mahatma-Gandhi/Place-in-history">Place in history</a></div></div><div class="connections border-top mt-15"><a href="/topic/civil-disobedience" class="d-flex mt-15">civil disobedience</a>Read more about civil disobedience.</div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="4"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What was Gandhi’s personal life like?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Gandhi’s father was a local government official working under the suzerainty of the British Raj, and his mother was a religious devotee who—like the rest of the family—practiced in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Vaishnavism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Vaishnavist</a> tradition of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hinduism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Hinduism</a>. Gandhi married his wife, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kasturba-Gandhi" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Kasturba</a>, when he was 13, and together they had five children. His family stayed in India while Gandhi went to London in 1888 to study law and to South Africa in 1893 to practice it. He brought them to South Africa in 1897, where Kasturba would assist him in his activism, which she continued to do after the family moved back to India in 1915.</p><div class="continue-reading"> Read more below: <a href="/biography/Mahatma-Gandhi#ref22631">Youth</a></div></div><div class="connections border-top mt-15"><a href="/biography/Kasturba-Gandhi" class="d-flex mt-15">Kasturba Gandhi</a>Read more about Kasturba Gandhi.</div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="5"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What were contemporary opinions of Gandhi?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>As lauded a figure as Gandhi has become, his actions and beliefs didn’t escape the criticism of his contemporaries. Liberal politicians thought he was proposing too much change too quickly, while young radicals lambasted him for not proposing enough. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Islamic-world" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Muslim</a> leaders suspected him of lacking evenhandedness when dealing with Muslims and his own <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hinduism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Hindu</a> religious community, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dalit" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Dalits</a> (formerly called untouchables) thought him disingenuous in his apparent intention to abolish the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/caste-social-differentiation" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">caste system</a>. He cut a controversial figure outside India as well, although for different reasons. The English—as India’s colonizers—harboured some resentment toward him, as he toppled one of the first dominoes in their global imperial regime. But the image of Gandhi that has lasted is one that foregrounds his dogged fight against the oppressive forces of racism and colonialism and his commitment to nonviolence.</p><div class="continue-reading"> Read more below: <a href="/biography/Mahatma-Gandhi/Place-in-history">Place in history</a></div></div><div class="connections border-top mt-15"><a href="/topic/untouchable" class="d-flex mt-15">None</a>Read more about the Dalits.</div></div></div><button class="show-more-button js-toggle-top-questions btn btn-unstyled font-14 d-flex pr-10 rounded-sm"><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></button></div></div><div class="bg-gray-50 p-15 rounded module-spacing recent-news d-flex flex-column float-false"> <div> <h2 class="font-weight-bold font-14 m-0 d-inline"> News <span class="text-gray-600">•</span> </h2> <div class="recent-news-item first-recent-news-item d-inline"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="https://www.newsweek.com/minnesota-teen-buddhist-lama-himalayan-monastery-1987464" rel="nofollow">Minnesota Buddhist Lama Celebrates 18th Birthday Before Himalayan Journey</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 19, 2024, 2:02 AM ET (Newsweek) <button class="btn btn-link d-inline p-0 font-12 js-toggle-recent-news"> <span class="text-gray-500">...</span><span>(Show more)</span> </button> </span> </div> </div> <div class="rest-of-recent-news-items"> <div class="recent-news-item mt-5"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/i-did-not-come-alone-brought-with-me-fragrance-of-indian-soil-pm-modi-in-nigeria-9675000/" rel="nofollow">I did not come alone… brought with me fragrance of Indian soil: PM Modi in Nigeria</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 18, 2024, 2:19 AM ET (The Indian Express) </span> </div> <div class="recent-news-item mt-5"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/kharge-attacks-pm-bjp-leaders-for-targeting-gandhi-family-9670785/lite/" rel="nofollow">Kharge attacks PM, BJP leaders for targeting Gandhi family</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 14, 2024, 4:35 PM ET (The Indian Express) </span> </div> <div class="recent-news-item mt-5"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/cyberabad-four-arrested-for-vandalising-gandhi-statue/article68841244.ece" rel="nofollow">Cyberabad | Four arrested for vandalising Gandhi statue</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 8, 2024, 6:51 AM ET (The Hindu) </span> </div> <div class="recent-news-item mt-5"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/s-jaishankar-inaugurates-new-indian-consulate-brisbane-homage-gandhi-9652646/" rel="nofollow">Jaishankar inaugurates new Indian consulate in Brisbane, pays homage to Gandhi</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 4, 2024, 7:57 AM ET (The Indian Express) </span> </div> <button class="js-toggle-recent-news d-flex btn btn-unstyled font-14 pr-10 rounded-sm mt-10" aria-label="Toggle additional news items"> Show less <em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_less"></em> </button> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref386180"></span>Mahatma Gandhi</strong> (born October 2, 1869, Porbandar, India—died January 30, 1948, Delhi) was an <span id="ref386181"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-India" class="md-crosslink ">Indian</a> lawyer, politician, social activist, and writer who became the leader of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Indian-Independence-Movement" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Indian Independence Movement</a> against <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/British-raj" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">British rule</a>. As such, he came to be considered the father of his <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/nation-state" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">country</a>. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gandhi" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Gandhi</a> is internationally esteemed for his <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="doctrine" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/doctrine" data-type="EB">doctrine</a> of <span id="ref386182"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/nonviolence" class="md-crosslink ">nonviolent protest</a> (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/satyagraha-philosophy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">satyagraha</a>) to achieve political and social progress.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In the eyes of millions of his fellow Indians, Gandhi was the Mahatma (“Great Soul”). The unthinking adoration of the huge crowds that gathered to see him all along the route of his tours made them a severe ordeal; he could hardly work during the day or rest at night. “The woes of the Mahatmas,” he wrote, “are known only to the Mahatmas.” His fame spread worldwide during his lifetime and only increased after his death. The name Mahatma Gandhi is now one of the most universally recognized on earth.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h2"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref22631"> <h2 class="h1">Youth</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Gandhi was the youngest child of his father’s fourth wife. His father—Karamchand Gandhi, who was the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/divan-Islamic-government-unit" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>dewan</em></a> (chief minister) of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Porbandar" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Porbandar</a>, the capital of a small principality in western <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/India" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">India</a> (in what is now <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Gujarat" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Gujarat</a> state) under British suzerainty—did not have much in the way of a formal education. He was, however, an able administrator who knew how to steer his way between the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="capricious" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/capricious" data-type="MW">capricious</a> princes, their long-suffering subjects, and the headstrong British political officers in power.</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Gandhi’s mother, Putlibai, was completely absorbed in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/religion" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">religion</a>, did not care much for finery or jewelry, divided her time between her home and the temple, fasted frequently, and wore herself out in days and nights of nursing whenever there was sickness in the family. Mohandas grew up in a home steeped in <span id="ref386183"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Vaishnavism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Vaishnavism</a>—worship of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hinduism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Hindu</a> god <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Vishnu" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Vishnu</a>—with a strong tinge of <span id="ref386184"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Jainism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Jainism</a>, a morally rigorous Indian religion whose chief tenets are nonviolence and the belief that everything in the universe is eternal. Thus, he took for granted <span id="ref386185"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/ahimsa" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">ahimsa</a> (noninjury to all living beings), <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/vegetarianism" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">vegetarianism</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/fasting" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">fasting</a> for self-purification, and mutual tolerance between adherents of various creeds and sects.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The educational facilities at Porbandar were rudimentary; in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/primary-school" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">primary school</a> that Mohandas attended, the children wrote the alphabet in the dust with their fingers. Luckily for him, his father became <em>dewan</em> of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Rajkot" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Rajkot</a>, another princely state. Though Mohandas occasionally won prizes and scholarships at the local schools, his record was on the whole <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="mediocre" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mediocre" data-type="MW">mediocre</a>. One of the terminal reports rated him as “good at English, fair in Arithmetic and weak in Geography; conduct very good, bad handwriting.” He was married at the age of 13 and thus lost a year at school. A <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="diffident" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diffident" data-type="MW">diffident</a> child, he shone neither in the classroom nor on the playing field. He loved to go out on long solitary walks when he was not nursing his by then ailing father (who died soon thereafter) or helping his mother with her household chores.</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/quiz/who-said-it-famous-quotes-quiz" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/32/232632-131-A2DB4925/King-Speech-at-Sproul-Plaza-in-Berkeley.jpg" alt="Civil rights leader Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers a speech to a crowd of approximately 7,000 people on May 17, 1967 at UC Berkeley's Sproul Plaza in Berkeley, California." class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-green">Britannica Quiz</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">Who Said It? Famous Quotes Quiz</div> </div> </a><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">He had learned, in his words, “to carry out the orders of the elders, not to scan them.” With such extreme passivity, it is not surprising that he should have gone through a phase of adolescent rebellion, marked by secret <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/atheism" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">atheism</a>, petty thefts, furtive smoking, and—most shocking of all for a boy born in a Vaishnava family—meat eating. His <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="adolescence" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/adolescence" data-type="EB">adolescence</a> was probably no stormier than that of most children of his age and class. What was extraordinary was the way his youthful transgressions ended.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">“Never again” was his promise to himself after each escapade. And he kept his promise. Beneath an unprepossessing exterior, he concealed a burning passion for self-improvement that led him to take even the heroes of Hindu mythology, such as <span id="ref386186"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Prahlada" class="md-crosslink ">Prahlada</a> and <span id="ref386187"></span>Harishcandra—legendary embodiments of truthfulness and sacrifice—as living models.</p><div class="module-spacing"> <DIV class="marketing-INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION"><style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; } .student-promo-banner-img-wrapper { margin-bottom: 0; margin-right: 10px; justify-content: flex-start; } .student-promo-banner-text-wrapper { text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; } .student-promo-banner-button-wrapper { margin-right: 0; } }</style> <div class="student-promo-banner-wrapper"> <div class="student-promo-banner d-flex flex-column align-items-center bg-blue rounded p-20"> <div class="student-promo-banner-img-wrapper mb-20 mr-0 d-flex justify-content-center"> <img class="rounded" style="max-width: 100px; min-width: 80px" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/BlueThistle.webp" /> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-text-wrapper ml-0 mb-10 text-center text-white"> <div class="h2 mb-10">Get Unlimited Access</div> <div class="h4 font-weight-semi-bold">Try Britannica Premium for free and discover more.</div> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-button-wrapper d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center ml-auto mr-auto"> <a class="btn btn-m btn-orange" href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=black-friday-2024">Subscribe</a> </div> </div> </div> </DIV></div><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In 1887 Mohandas scraped through the matriculation examination of the University of Bombay (now <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/University-of-Mumbai" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">University of Mumbai</a>) and joined Samaldas College in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Bhavnagar" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Bhavnagar</a> (Bhaunagar). As he had to suddenly switch from his native language—<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gujarati-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Gujarati</a>—to English, he found it rather difficult to follow the lectures.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Meanwhile, his family was debating his future. Left to himself, he would have liked to have been a doctor. But, besides the Vaishnava <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/prejudice" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">prejudice</a> against <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/vivisection" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">vivisection</a>, it was clear that, if he was to keep up the family tradition of holding high office in one of the states in Gujarat, he would have to qualify as a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/barrister" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">barrister</a>. That meant a visit to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/England" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">England</a>, and Mohandas, who was not too happy at Samaldas College, jumped at the proposal. His youthful imagination <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="conceived" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/conceived" data-type="EB">conceived</a> England as “a land of philosophers and poets, the very centre of civilization.” But there were several hurdles to be crossed before the visit to England could be realized. His father had left the family little property; moreover, his mother was reluctant to expose her youngest child to unknown temptations and dangers in a distant land. But Mohandas was determined to visit England. One of his brothers raised the necessary money, and his mother’s doubts were allayed when he took a vow that, while away from home, he would not touch wine, women, or meat. Mohandas disregarded the last obstacle—the decree of the leaders of the Modh <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bania" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Bania</a> subcaste (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Vaishya" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Vaishya</a> caste), to which the Gandhis belonged, who forbade his trip to England as a violation of the Hindu religion—and sailed in September 1888. Ten days after his arrival, he joined the <span id="ref386188"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Inns-of-Court" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Inner Temple</a>, one of the four <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/London" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">London</a> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/law" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">law</a> colleges (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Temple" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">The Temple</a>).</p><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span> </section> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":5,"pageId":225216,"pageLength":942,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"D","adLeg":"D","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"BIO_PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Mahatma Gandhi | Biography, Education, Religion, Accomplishments, Death, & Facts | Britannica