I found this location to be extremely humbling as well as incredibly sad. For a man like Gandhi to be assasinated is nothing short of appalling. The man lived his life in service of others. His life’s choices were always for the betterment of others. He was incredibly noble, very modest and humility was his very core.
Born, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi,on the 2nd of October 1869 and raised in a Hindu family in coastal Gujarat, Gandhi lived until the 30th January 1948. He spent his early years studying to become a lawyer at the Inner Temple of London, achieving bar recognition by 22. Unable to succeed in starting his own practice in India, he travelled to South Africa to assist a fellow Indian merchant in a lawsuit. South Africa became his home for the next 21 years. During his life and career, he saw the evils of colonialisation, white supremacy and apartheid rule. Watching the ill treatment of the blacks, together with his experience of what was happening in India under the British led him to become a staunch anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist. In line with his Hindu upbringinging, he employed nonviolent resistance. His activism was heavily contributary to the successful campaign for India’s independence from British rule.
He inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Mohandas, (his correct name) in 1914 South Africa, was first given the honored title “Mahātmā”, a Sanskrit word, meaning great-souled, or venerable. Mahatma is now used throughout the world and is believed by most to be his name. In 1915, aged 45, he returned to India and soon set about organising peasants, farmers, and urban labourers to protest against discrimination, resource control and excessive land tax.
This location was where Mahatma Ganghi lived his final 144 days. Following the division of India into Muslim Pakistan and Hindu India in 1947, riots and instability spread throughout the country, including Delhi. On September 9th, 1947, Gandhi arrived in Delhi to try to help create cohesion and settle the riots. Gandhi was advised by the then Home Minister, Sardar Patel, that due to “Security Reasons” he should stay here at what was then known as Birla House (Now Gandhi Smriti).
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Mahatma Gandhi held inter-faith prayer meetings each evening on these lawns
