Facts of Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who helped in achieving Independence for India, is well known for his principles and philosophy of non-voilence and truth. He was the inspiration for not only for the fellow mans but even today, many people follow his lessons. There are lot of facts that are widely published and we often read about him every now and then. However there are some interesting facts about him that are rarely published. Here in this post I am consolidating his facts that I have came across so far. Hope you will enjoy reading.

Gandhiji was engaged when he was of seven years, to Kasturba Makanji. They tie the knot in 1882 at the age of 14.

Bapu never left the road of honesty irrespective of any situation. During some school test, his teacher asked him to copy the word from the co student book. His teacher asked him to copy in order to receive the appreciation from the inspector for teaching so well that every student know the answer. But Gandhi was ready to take the punishment for not knowing the word rather than copying it. Though his teacher was angry on him, he did not left the road of honesty.

As a child he was a shy person. He used to run home from school because he could not bear to talk to fellow students.

He used to wear a silk hat and spats during his stay in London. While he was in Africa he used full clothing. However during the freedom struggle in India he wore traditional dhoti and shawl. In his Tamil Nadu tour in Madurai, he saw many people wearing single length dhoti as their full dress. After seeing the poor plight of Indians, he avoided rich or European dresses and used to wear single length dhoti. His simple attire and hand charka were treated as his identities.

He loved walking. Not even the single day went by without the walk. He said, "Walking is justly called the price of exercise". He used to walk 8 to 10 miles a day during his stay in London for studying Law. He said, "It was primarily those long walks that kept me practically free from illness throughout my stay in England and fave me a fairly strong body". He walked for 241 miles at the age of 60 for the movement. More Mahatma Gandhi Quotes

For our independence Gandhiji, was kept in jail for 6 years and 5 months. NethajiSubash Chandra bose used to call Gandhiji as "Desapitha" (Father of our nation).

First statement on the first radio broadcast for the US was "Do I have to speak into this thing?"

In 1931, Gandhi traveled to London for the Second Round Table Conference to discuss India’s future. He brought very little luggage, but he did pack a copy of Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience.

Gandhi was extremely punctual. One of his very few possessions was a dollar watch. Just before he was assassinated, on January 30, 1948, Gandhi was upset because he was ten minutes late getting to a regular prayer meeting.

The great Scientist Albert Einstein once said about Gandhi : "Generations to come will scarcely believe that such a one as this (Gandhi) walked the earth in flesh and blood." He also once said, " I believe that Gandhi’s views were the most enlightened of all the political men in our time. We should strive to do things in his spirit: not to use violence in fighting for our cause, but by non-participation in anything you believe is evil." More Albert Einstein Quotes

He never visited US though he had many American fans and followers. He had an Irish accent. Gandhi started his activist movement when he was in South Africa.

Bapu took the vow of celibacy in 1906 for purification and enlightenment reasons. Irrespective of his decision, his wife remained with him till her death.

He was a great writer. He wrote for decades for newspapers nad magazines like Harijan, Indian Opinion, Young India, Navjivan etc. He also wrote books including his autobiography, "An Authobiography or My Experiments with Truth"

Though he was nominated 5 times, Gandhiji has never won the Nobel Prize, though he had been an inspiration for many Noble Prize Winners like Martin Luther Kin, Dalai Lama, etc.

He used his false teeth only during the time of eating. After eating he used to remove his false teeth, clean it and keep it in the loin cloth.



Mahatma Gandhi and Indira Gandhi weren't related to each other.

The same caisson, or gun carriage, that bore Gandhi’s body during his funeral in 1948 was used in 1997 for Mother Teresa’s funeral.

Do share via comments any more facts you know about great leader Gandhiji.

Last Updated: 21st Aug, 2013.