My Favourite Hero in History:
Mahatma Gandhi is my favourite hero in history. His full name was Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi (M. K. Gandhi). He was born on 2nd October 1869 at Porbandar in Kathiawar Gujarat. He belonged to a well-to-do family. His father was the Diwan of Bhavanagar. His mother was a pious lady. She taught him to be fearless and speak the truth from his very early childhood.
At school, he was a very good student. But there was one good quality in him. He never told a lie. Unfortunately, he was married early and was the father of a child at eighteen. He wrote his autobiography, My Experiments With Truth. Here he described frankly his strong and weak points.
After passing his Matriculation Examination he went to England to study law. He promised his mother that he would not touch wine, woman and meat in England. He kept his promise.
On his return to India, he started as a barrister in Bombay. After some time he went to South Africa. There he took up the cause of the Indian settlers, fought and braved all dangers for their sake and in the end succeeded in improving their lot.
Then he returned to India and joined the Indian National Congress.
At the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, the Britishers killed many patriots. So Gandhiji started the Non-cooperation Movement on a large scale. His sincerity, simplicity and earnestness won many admirers and followers. His word acted like a magic wand.
For the sake of the freedom of his motherland, Gandhiji courted imprisonment several times. Under his leadership, the Congress grew in strength and influence. He became the president of the Indian National Congress in 1924.
He taught and practized truth and non-violence. He believed in the unity of all people. He believed in simple living and high thinking. He put on pure khaddar made by hand. He was deadly against untouchability. He called untouchable Harijans, the men of God.
He laid down his life for the cause of Hindu-Muslim unity. On January 30, 1948, he was shot dead in New Delhi for preaching communal harmony. The whole of the country was filled with grief. His loss was irreparable. His death was mourned by the people of the various countries of the world.
Gandhiji was the father of the nation. He believed in Ahimsa (non-violence) in thought, word and deed. He was a man of peace and a true lover of humanity. He depended mostly on his soul force. Soul force, according to him, knows no defeat. “Swaraj can be got by soul force only,” he said. Moreover, he hated the evil but not the evil-doer. His ashram is still visited by thousands of people. In short, Mahatma Gandhi was the greatest Indian and one of the greatest men that the world has ever produced.
