A House of a Mahatma<\/p>\n
The crowds that congregated in Gandhi Ashram on Ashram Road in
\nAhmedabad, Gujarat, on Oct. 2, had just left the ashram complex.
\nHowever, many people from different walks of life continued to
\nflock to the ashram. They paid a visit to Gandhi's museum and
\nhouse on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti -- Gandhi's birthday.<\/p>\n
The enthusiastic visitors were not only from Ahmedabad, but
\nalso from other Indian cities like Delhi, who came with families.
\nThe passion of the visitors is no surprise considering the non-
\nviolent struggle Gandhi had led to set India free from British
\noccupation.<\/p>\n
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on Oct. 2, 1869 in the
\nharbor town of Porbandar, Gujarat. He pursued studies in law at
\nUniversity College in London, England, which brought him to
\nDurban, South Africa in 1893, where an Indian firm employed him
\nas a legal adviser.<\/p>\n
The unjust and discriminatory treatment he experienced in
\nSouth Africa because of his skin color spurred him to fight
\nagainst injustice. His political ideology developed and he was
\ninfluenced by the writings of Thoreau, Tolstoy and Ruskin. Gandhi
\nlaunched the satyagraha movement (non-violent resistance) against
\nthe discrimination of colored people. Because of his ceaseless
\nstruggle, he spent much time in and out of prison.<\/p>\n
Gandhi returned to India at age 45 after the South African
\ngovernment granted his demands to recognize Indian marriages and
\nabolish the tax poll imposed on them.<\/p>\n
In 1917, Gandhi established the ashram, meaning a place of
\npeace and knowledge in Sanskrit, by the Sabarmati River in
\nAhmedabad. Today, Gandhi's house is much like it was then. But,
\nmost of his belongings in the house were moved to Delhi.<\/p>\n
Gandhi fought relentlessly against the British that occupied
\nIndia. He became a populist leader and satyagraha spread
\nthroughout India. He organized a non-cooperation campaign, where
\nIndians in public office resigned, government agencies were
\nboycotted and people blocked the street by squatting even though
\nthe police beat them.<\/p>\n
In order to make Indians economically independent, he
\ncompletely boycotted British goods and began to use a spinning
\nwheel to make his own cloth. In the house, visitors can see the
\nroom where Gandhi used to make hand-spun cotton cloth known as
\nkhadi.<\/p>\n
With his wife Kasturba, Gandhi led a spiritual and ascetic
\nlife by praying, fasting, and meditating. He refused earthly
\npossessions, wearing only a dhoti and shawl of the lowliest
\nIndian, lived as vegetarian and drank only goat's milk. The
\nMaharaja of Gondal, one of kingdoms in Gujarat, revered him as a
\nsaint or a mahatma (a great soul). People called him \"Bapu\"
\n(father).<\/p>\n
At the age of 61, Gandhi called on the Indians to refuse to
\npay taxes, particularly on salt, levied by the British colonial
\ngovernment. He led a 165-mile march in 24 days from Ahmedabad to
\nDandi, on the Gujarat Coast, and produced salt from seawater.<\/p>\n
Gandhi earliest followers were India's lowest caste the
\n\"untouchables\" whom he called Harijans, meaning children of God.
\nWhen he was imprisoned in 1932, he began to fast unto death to
\nprotest against the treatment of Harijans. After six days of
\nfasting, he obtained an accord that improved the status of the
\n\"untouchables\". Carrying on his struggle, he traveled across
\nIndia, teaching ahimsa (non-violence) -- a way of life implicit
\nin Hindu doctrine.<\/p>\n
Gandhi was not only concerned about human rights issues in
\nBritish-ruled India. One of the museum's collections displays a
\nletter he wrote to Adolf Hitler requesting him to end the war.<\/p>\n
When Britain finally granted India independence in 1947, India
\nwas separated into two states, India and Pakistan. Unrest
\nfollowed the separation and Gandhi, who did not claim to adhere
\nto any religion, appealed to the Hindus and Muslims to live
\ntogether peacefully. He fasted until the conflict ceased.<\/p>\n
Gandhi's life ended on Jan. 30, 1948 when Nathuram Godsen, a
\nfanatic Hindu, assassinated him when Gandhi was on his way to an
\nevening prayer meeting. India honors him as the Father of the
\nNation and his birth anniversary is a national holiday. Gandhi's
\nteachings have been spread beyond India making him one of the
\ngreatest leaders the world has ever had. -- Wahyuni Kamah<\/p>",
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