Remarkably, in the midst of our most violent century, he prevailed in battle without guns and swords.

His title Mahatma (Great Soul) connotes his spiritual reputation. The Mahatma used his religious power for social reforms and the abolition of the caste system.

Gandhi was born in India but studied law in London, and in 1893 went to South Africa, where he spent 20 years opposing discriminatory legislation against Indians.

In 1914 he returned to India, where he supported the Home Rule movement and where he organized nonviolent civil disobedience campaigns as a means to gain Indian independence.

In 1930 he led a 200 miles march to the sea to collect salt in defiance of the government monopoly. In 1931 he attended the London Round Table Conference on Indian constitutional reform.

After independence (1947), he tried to stop the Hindu--Muslim conflict in Bengal, a policy which led to his assassination in Delhi by a Hindu fanatic.