Gandhi Jayanti is celebrated on 2nd October to mark the birth anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, famously known as Mahatma Gandhi. He was born on 2 October, 1869 in Porbandar, Gujarat. A lawyer by profession, Gandhi quit law to adopt a nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India’s independence from British Rule.

Among the many peaceful civil rights movements he initiated was the Dandi March where he protested against the salt tax imposed by the British in the year 1930. He also protested during the Quit India movement in 1942 calling for the British to leave India. He assumed leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921 and led nationwide campaigns for various social causes and for achieving Swaraj or self-rule.

The most well-known contributions of Mahatma Gandhi in India’s non-violent civil rights movement to attain freedom were the Champaran and Khdea Satyagrah. Non-cooperation movement, Salt Satyagrah and Quit India movement.

Fondly called father of the nation, Gandhi’s birthday is known in India as Gandhi Jayanti. It is a national holiday in the country and is celebrated as the International Day of Nonviolence across the world. This day is marked by prayer services and tributes all over India, including at Gandhi’s memorial Raj Ghat in New Delhi where he was cremated. Colleges, government and political institutions celebrate it through prayer meetings and commemorative ceremonies.

Famous Mahatma Gandhi quotes:

  • “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
  • “Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.”
  • “Non-violence is not a garment to be put on and off at will. Its seat is in the heart, and it must be an inseparable part of our being.”
  • “Nearly everything you do is of no importance, but it is important that you do it.”
  • “The spirit of democracy is not a mechanical thing to be adjusted by abolition of forms. It requires change of heart.”
  • “I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and Non-violence are as old as the hills. All I have done is to try experiments in both on as vast a scale as I could.”
  • “Those who say religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion is.”
  • “Let us all be brave enough to die the death of a martyr, but let no one lust for martyrdom.”