Mahatma Gandhi – The Anti-War Activist With A Global Legacy

Mahatma Gandhi – The Anti-War Activist With A Global Legacy

Mahatma Gandhi left his mark on the world in more ways than one.

The leader of India’s independence movement achieved remarkable feats through a form of non-violent civil disobedience that would inspire millions around the world, including many of the people on this list.

World leaders, scientists, philosophers and even entrepreneurs have drawn inspiration from Gandhi, whose spiritual significance was just as profound as his role in liberating India.

Gandhi was born in India in 1869, a country that was then part of the British Empire. His youth was perhaps uncharacteristic of the Gandhi the history books remember.

After an arranged marriage at the age of 13, Gandhi rebelled against his deeply religious upbringing by smoking, eating meat and even stealing. By age 18, he set sail to London to study law.

A fledgling law career in India would eventually send the 24-year-old Gandhi to South Africa. It was here that he witnessed the deep-seated discrimination and racial segregation of South African society.

Perhaps the biggest turning point in young Gandhi’s life occurred on June 7, 1893, where he was thrown off a train station by a white man after he refused to move to the back of the car. That would prove to be Gandhi’s first, but certainly not last, act of civil disobedience.

By 1906, Gandhi had organized his first mass civil disobedience campaign in South Africa. He would spend the next 9 years fighting for Indian rights in the country before returning home to fight for Indian liberation.

Over the years Gandhi would become a leading figure in the liberation movement. After years of struggle and multiple arrests, Gandhi’s “Quit India” movement in 1942 paved the way for Britain’s eventual withdrawal from the country.

Although a pacifist, Gandhi was murdered by a Hindu extremist who resented the leader’s tolerance of Muslims following the declaration of Indian independence.

A man who had spent his life preaching nonviolence was killed by a semiautomatic pistol at point-blank range.

Gandhi is today remembered for his commitment to pacifism, peaceful protest and simple living. He single-handedly inspired millions of people to action, preaching a message of love, tolerance and avoiding greed.

For those reasons he inspired civil rights movements from Apartheid South Africa to the United States and is today remembered as one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century.