Mahatma Gandhi
my freedom fighter
Lindsey Anderson
First Hour
A Fight for Freedom in India
Mahatma Gandhi
• Oct. 2, 1869
• Porbandar, India
• Gandhi was one of the foremost spiritual
and political leaders of the 1900's. He
helped free India from British control
by a unique method of nonviolent
resistance and is honored by the people
of India as the father of their nation.
Gandhi was slight in build but had
limitless physical and moral strength. He
was assassinated by an Indian who
resented his program of tolerance for all
creeds and religions.
Mahatma Gandhi
Reasons he fought for freedom…
• Guided by a search for truth through tolerance and
concern for others
• Wanted to free India from British control
• Fought against English bills that would make it unlawful to
organize opposition to the government
Gandhi’s Signature
Mahatma Gandhi
Strategies they used to fight for freedom…
• Taught others to master their fears
• Used only nonviolent methods
• developed a method of direct social action, based
upon principles of courage, nonviolence, and
truth, which he called Satyagraha. In this
method, the way people behave is more
important than what they achieve.
Mahatma Gandhi
The effect they had on
American History and Culture…
• Influenced Martin Luther King Jr.’s ideas of
nonviolence
• Advanced political freedom and prepared
Indians for self-government spreading the
ideas of democracy around the world.
• He taught that the way people behave is
more important than what they achieve.
Mahatma Gandhi
The end of the story…
On Jan. 13, 1948, at the age of 78, Gandhi began his last
fast. His purpose was to end the bloodshed among
Hindu, Muslim, and other groups. On January 18,
their leaders pledged to stop fighting and Gandhi
broke his fast. Twelve days later, in New Delhi,
while on his way to a prayer meeting, Gandhi was
assassinated. Nathuram Godse, a Hindu fanatic who
opposed Gandhi's program of tolerance for all
creeds and religions, shot him three times.
A shocked India and a saddened world mourned
Gandhi's death. The great scientist Albert Einstein
said of Gandhi:
"Generations to come will scarcely believe that
such a one as this walked the earth in flesh and
blood."