Mahatma Gandhi Essays (2037 words) - Indian People, India

Mahatma Gandhi The future generations will scarcely believe that such a man in flesh and blood, had tread this earth. Said Albert Einstein Mahatma Gandhis real name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He was born in 1869 at Porbandar in the state of Gujarat in INDIA. His fathers name was Karamchand Gandhi and his mothers name was Putlibai. He was the youngest in the family of one sister and three brothers. His father belonged to the family of grocers but himself was a minister in the court of a local ruler. He was not very learned but his rich experience of practical affairs stood him in good stead in the solution of the most intricate questions. Both the parents were deeply religious and frequently visited temples and took their meals only after daily prayers. In school, Gandhi was a mediocre student. He did not talk to anybody and was very shy. He was afraid that other children would poke fun at him. During his first year in high school, there occurred an incident which goes a long way in showing us the honesty and truthfulness that Gandhi upheld even as a child. Once an educational inspector had come on an inspection visit. He set the students five words to write. One of the words was kettle and Gandhi mis-spelt it. His teacher prompted him to copy it from his neighbors slate but he did not and it resulted out that he was the only one who got a spelling wrong. But this incident did not diminish his respect for his teacher because as he himself said that he was blind to the faults of elders. M. K. Gandhi was married in 1882 at the age of thirteen. He passed his matriculation exam in 1887. He then joined a college but soon returned to Porbandar because the studies were too tough for him. There, one of the family friends advised him to pursue barrister ship in England. After a lot of opposition from his mother and some other people, he was allowed to go only after he vowed not to touch woman, wine and meat. In London, Gandhi joined The University of London to study law. He passed the London Matriculation at the second attempt. He was unknown of any English Laws. He bought many books and tried to understand them but it was beyond him. At last he sailed back for India on the 12th of June 1891, a day after he was enrolled into the English High Court. While in India, he went to Bombay to study Indian Laws. But even this was difficult for him. Eventually he got a case, but in the court he became so nervous that he left during the case and never went to another one until going to South Africa. Gandhi sailed for South Africa in April 1893 and reached Natal at the close of May. It was in South Africa that Gandhi had a lot of experience in laws, handling cases and many other fields. He observed the pitiful conditions of the Indians and other colored people and also experienced it when on his way to Pretoria from Natal, he was thrown out of a train because he was the only colored person in the first class compartment. The case for which Gandhi had come to South Africa was between two businessmen, Abdullah Seth and Tyeb Seth, concerning a huge amount of money. Gandhi had to defend Abdullah Seth. He worked very hard and convinced Tyeb Seth for arbitration. Abdullah Seth won the arbitration and Gandhis joy knew no bounds. He understood that the true function of a lawyer was to unite parties riven asunder. During this time Gandhi became deeply interested in religion. His Christian friends tried to convince him to convert to Christianity but he kept his faith. He helped the indentured Indian laborers and fought for their rights. After three years in South Africa, Gandhi returned to India in 1896. Gandhi had a lot of shortcomings in his personal life. He was a jealous husband. He was very suspicious and kept an eye on all the movements of his wife, Kasturbai. This resulted in bitter quarrels becoming the order of the day. But in his