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Emily zolten gillette biography of mahatma gandhi for kids Champaran was a district in the Indian state of Bihar, which is now divided into two districts: East Champaran and West Champaran. As Gandhi embarked on his customary walk to the evening prayer meeting in New Delhi, Godse approached and, at point-blank range, fired three fatal shots. Instead of returning to India, Mahatma Gandhi chose to stay in South Africa, determined to inspire and empower Indian communities to fight for their rights. His journey began when he encountered racial discrimination in South Africa, prompting him to develop the philosophy of Satyagraha, or "truth and firmness.

After returning to India in , Gandhi briefly worked in Rajkot, where he struggled to build a successful legal practice before moving to Bombay (now Mumbai).

However, he was not very successful and found it difficult to fit into the city's Westernised culture.

In , Gandhi accepted a one-year contract to work at Dada Abdulla & Co., a firm of Indian merchants in South Africa, as a clerk and legal representative.

As part of his job, he required to assist with a legal case involving business transactions in order to resolve disputes through arbitration.

It was here that he first experienced racial discrimination himself.

One incident in particular had a profound impact on Gandhi. In June of , he was travelling by train from Durban to Pretoria when he was ordered to move from first class to third class, purely based upon his race.

When Gandhi refused, he was thrown off the train, and had to spend a night sleeping in Pietermaritzburg train station.

This was a critical point in Gandhi's life.

He had always considered himself the equal of any other subject of the British Empire, but this event made him realise that Indians were treated as second-class citizens in South Africa.

This inspired him to begin fighting for the rights of his fellow Indians.

Emily zolten gillette biography of mahatma gandhi Gandhi strongly opposed Partition, but he agreed to it in hopes that after independence Hindus and Muslims could achieve peace internally. Last Updated : 05 Jan, Gandhiji returned back to India from South Africa in , and became actively involved in the Indian nationalist movement. Non-violence is the polar opposite of violence and represents the highest law of humankind.

The next few years were spent leading various protests and campaigns against the discriminatory laws in South Africa.

In , he was furious at the report that the Colony of Natal (which became part of South Africa) was proposing a new legislation that would prevent Indians from voting.

Gandhi immediately started a petition against the legislation and managed to get signatures from over 10, people.

Although the bill was still passed into law, Gandhi's efforts illuminated the issues of the Indian people in South Africa, and he established the Natal Indian Congress a few months later.

When the Second Boer War began in , Gandhi immediately offered to help the British army.

He recruited a group of Indian volunteers, called the Indian Ambulance Corps, to serve as ambulance drivers and stretcher-bearers to provide medical assistance to British soldiers.

This was a very dangerous job, as they were often targets of enemy fire.

However, Gandhi believed that it was important for Indians to show their loyalty to the Empire and prove that they were worthy of equality.

At the end of the conflict, the British gave medals to Gandhi and his stretcher bearers for their brave efforts on the battlefield.

However, in , Gandhi established Indian Opinion, a newspaper that published articles supporting greater civil liberties and rights for Indians in South Africa.

The newspaper's name referred to and articulated his famous idea of 'satyagraha'.

This word translates to 'the force of truth', and it emphasised the significance of non-violent resistance: a concept that would be crucial to his later efforts for Indian independence.