Mahatma Gandhi Facts

Even though it was more of humanitarian involvement, the fact that Mahatma Gandhi - an ardent proponent of non-violence, participated in a war is bound to come as a surprise for many. Given below are some interesting facts about Gandhi which would introduce you to some of the lesser known aspects of his life.

• In the Zulu war of 1906, Mahatma Gandhi commanded the stretcher-bearer corps, which comprised of Indian volunteers formed to treat the British soldiers injured in this war.
• Mahatma Gandhi assumed the leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921, and led a nationwide campaign in support of various social issues which prevailed during that period.
• In March 1930, Gandhi launched a satyagraha (non-violent movement) against the tax levied on salt. A key component of this movement was the Dandi March, wherein he walked for a distance of 241 miles from Ahmedabad to Dandi (Gujarat) to make salt himself.
• He worked as an editor for several English, Hindi and Gujarati newspapers in India as well as South Africa, including the Harijan, Indian Opinion (South Africa) and the Young India.
• Mahatma Gandhi's autobiography titled An Autobiography of My Experiments with Truth, which gives a detailed account of his life till 1920, was published in 1927. In 1999, HarperCollins publishers declared it one of the '100 Most Important Spiritual Books of the 20th Century'.
• Such was the charisma of Mahatma Gandhi that the Time Magazine named him the Man of the Year in 1930.
• Mahatma Gandhi was chosen for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1948, but he was assassinated before it was conferred to him. In response to this, the Nobel Committee decided not to award the Peace Prize for that year.
• In 1999, Gandhi was declared the runner-up for Time magazine's 'Person of the Century' title (which eventually went to Albert Einstein.)