Freedom Struggle & Gandhi
Gujarat GK · स्वतंत्रता संग्राम और गांधी · 18 facts
Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Gujarat; his birthday is celebrated as Gandhi Jayanti and International Non-Violence Day.
Gandhi established the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad in 1917, which became the headquarters of the Indian independence movement.
The Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 was Gandhi's first major civil disobedience movement in India, fighting for rights of indigo farmers in Bihar.
Gandhi launched the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920, calling on Indians to boycott British institutions, courts, schools, and goods.
The Dandi March (Salt March) began on March 12, 1930, from Sabarmati Ashram; Gandhi walked 241 miles (388 km) to Dandi to protest the salt tax.
Gandhi reached Dandi on April 6, 1930, and made salt from seawater, symbolically breaking the British salt law and triggering mass civil disobedience.
Gandhi launched the Quit India Movement on August 8, 1942, at Bombay, giving the slogan 'Do or Die' demanding immediate British withdrawal.
Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated on January 30, 1948, at Birla House, New Delhi, by Nathuram Godse; the day is observed as Martyrs' Day.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was born in Nadiad, Gujarat, on October 31, 1875; he is called the 'Iron Man of India' and 'Bismarck of India'.
Sardar Patel served as India's first Home Minister and Deputy PM; he integrated 562 princely states into the Indian Union after Independence.
The Statue of Unity, the world's tallest statue (182 m), was built in honor of Sardar Patel at Kevadiya, Gujarat, and inaugurated in 2018.
Morarji Desai, born in Bhadeli, Valsad district of Gujarat on February 29, 1896, became India's Prime Minister from 1977 to 1979.
Morarji Desai was the first non-Congress Prime Minister of India and was also awarded Pakistan's highest civilian honor, Nishan-e-Pakistan.
The Bardoli Satyagraha (1928) was led by Sardar Patel in Gujarat against an unfair tax hike by the British; its success gave him the title 'Sardar'.
Gujarat's Kheda Satyagraha (1918) was led by Gandhi to support peasants who demanded revenue relief due to crop failure and plague.
Kasturba Gandhi, Gandhi's wife, was also born in Porbandar, Gujarat in 1869; she was an active participant in the freedom struggle.
Gandhi's concept of 'Satyagraha' (truth-force) and 'Ahimsa' (non-violence) originated partly from the Jain influence prevalent in Gujarat.
The Gujarat Vidyapith was established by Gandhi in 1920 in Ahmedabad as a national university to promote education in the spirit of independence.