January 30, 1948 - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the political and spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement, is assassinated in New Delhi by a Hindu fanatic. Born in 1869, Gandhi was raised as a follower of the Hindu God Vishnu. Educated in England, he practiced his trademark satyagraha, or mass civil disobedience first in South Africa and then his native India. He worked for equality and Indian independence from 1914 until 1947. After India won independence he continued to fight the religious strife between Hindus and Muslims in India by conducting fasts and visits to the troubled areas. He was on one such vigil in New Delhi when Nathuram Godse, a Hindu extremist who objected to Gandhis tolerance for the Muslims, fatally shot him. Known as Mahatma, or the great soul, during his lifetime, Gandhis persuasive methods of civil disobedience influenced leaders of civil rights movements around the world, especially Martin Luther King Jr.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 15:49:34 +0000