Mahatma Gandhi is a world famous person known for ruling by peaceful methods and securing India’s independence from the British. Gandhi was a serious advocate of the home economy or ‘œswadeshi,’ by which  power would be re-designated back to local villages.

Fact 1. Mohandas Gandhi, his birth name, was born on October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, India.  Ghandi became a lawyer and later became symbolized as a fighter for Indian rights at home and in South Africa. Gandhi became the leader of India’s independence movement against the British. He was given the name ‘œMahatma’ which means ‘œgreat soul.’

Fact 2. In 1914, Gandhi returned to India from South Africa. He was involved in reform movements to alleviate poverty, liberate women, and end caste discrimination.

Fact 3. Gandhi’s main aim was to restore and revitalize India’s rural communities as he believed that the source of India’s spirit and soul was in the rural heartland. To quote Gandhi, ‘œThe true India is to be found not in its few cities but in its 700,000 villages. If the village will perish, India will perish too.’

Fact 4.    The people of India have lived independent lives in their homesteads for centuries in relative harmony with their environment,. Gandhi’s philosophy was to revert India to self-rule and independence based on this environment.

Fact 5.  Gandhi’s slogan of ‘œswadeshi’ refers to being independent of external market forces that could make villages vulnerable, thereby avoiding unnecessary, unhealthy, and wasteful resources.

Fact 6. Ghandhi’s racial views on the caste system was mixed with a sense of approval  during his early years which was replaced with disapproval during the latter years when he advocated marriages between the highest caste Brahmins with the lowest untouchable caste.

Fact 7.   Gandhi’s vision for an independent India was a confederation of self-governing, self-reliant, self-employed people deriving their livelihood from products of their village.

Fact 8.  Gandhi did not favor a mechanized society dependent on manufacturing resources as it was deemed unsustainable in the long run.

Fact 9. Gandhi  made famous the act known as Satyagraha or resistance through mass non-violent disobedience. Satyagraha is one of the  most potent philosophies in resistance movements and freedom struggles.

Fact 10. After his death, Gandhi’s commitment to non-violence and living in humility have been revered and respected to this date.