Gandhi - an NRI child's perspective by Ashley Raina

Once upon a time, an ordinary person by the name of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi didn’t know that his name would be known all over the world, and also changed by his people. He was born as a little spoiled kid because of the way his mother, nanny, and three elder sisters would treat him. However he soon had to become mature because he got married as a young teenager, which Gandhi wasn’t pleased with for many reasons. He couldn’t focus much on his studies but gradually he got better at concentrating on one of his favorite subjects: Law. So he was sent to London and there he was trained as a lawyer.

He learnt a lot in London, especially about the different religions of the world. These new ideas mixed with his law education made his brain run later on when troubles came ahead. Finally his course was finished and he could practice his law by looking for a job. In South Africa he gets a nice decent job, and his eyes open wide from the point when he was in the train going to his destination in South Africa. Gandhi had a first-class ticket, but the mean ticket collector and officers threw him out of that compartment, for that part of the train was for all whites. This discrimination against Indians was too much, Gandhi would think. So he would try to make the English change their own mindset, so that everyone could be equal. Peacefully this was all done, and the name of this peaceful protest was known as Satyagraha. Believe it or not Gandhi was sent to jail just because he would hold those protests. However, over time the English probably got a little scared because of all the Indians/blacks who stood up against their discrimination. So the condition of South Africa changed quite a bit, and Gandhi was content enough to go back to India for good.

In India many of the people had heard of the great things that he did in South Africa. Gandhi didn’t know that South Africa’s original plight would be the same in India, but even worse. So Gandhi gets to work immediately by the same old ways. He even started fasting whenever the Indians got restless. Gandhi once made a march to the sea to collect salt, so that salt wouldn’t have to be bought (it was taxed those days). Along with other movements held like this, he and his close friends (who were leaders) would end up in jail all the time. They didn’t mind going in jail, because they knew that India would rise together against the British, and ultimately all the British would get out. This is exactly what happened, and India was a free country! The people changed Gandhi’s first name “Mohandas”, to “Mahatma”, which means Great Soul. Mahatma Gandhi died 5 months after the independence, when he was 79 years old.

78-year old Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (known as Mahatma Gandhi) died by three bullets in the evening of January 30th, 1948. This happened around five p.m., when Gandhi was working across the grass near the Birla House, supported by Manu and Abha, his walking sticks. Suddenly a man comes right up to him with a gun hidden in his hands, and he fires three bullets into the chest of Gandhi. His last words as he falls were “Hey Ram” (Oh God Ram). This man, Nathuram Godse was a newspaper editor, who didn’t like some of Gandhi’s views.

Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, and his father Karamchand Gandhi was the Prime Minister of where Mohandas/Mahatma was born. He attended the Alfred’s High School and later trained as a barrister in London. To practice law he shifted to South Africa. There he noticed the discrimination held against the Indians, and so he started his peaceful protests. He held these same peaceful protests in India when the British were taking a deeper mode of control of India. The British were forced to get out in 1947, and thanks to Mahatma Gandhi, India became a free nation.

He was survived by his three sons: Manilal, Ramdas, and Devdas. These three sons didn’t have much care for his parents because of their rebellious nature since when they were in their teenage years. Mahatma Gandhi’s dear wife had unfortunately died before he did.

At the holy waters of the Yamuna, Gandhi was about to be cremated. Because the son is always supposed to conduct the cremation, around 4:45 p.m. Ramdas, the third eldest son, was chosen to set fire to the logs. Almost a million people were there to watch the cremation. As the smoke rose in the air, many moans and cries were heard because one of the fathers of the nations was now in heaven, not down on Earth to help them in the future.

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