ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi was a very important leader from India who lived a long time ago. He wanted to make India a better place for everyone to live. He believed in using peaceful ways to make a big change in society.

Gandhi was born in 1869 and grew up in a family that was important in their community. When he was a young man, he went to England and studied to be a lawyer. But when he returned to India, he saw that his own people were being treated unfairly by the British who were ruling the country at the time.

Gandhi wanted to fight for India’s independence, but he didn’t want to use violence. Instead, he used nonviolent resistance, also called civil disobedience, to challenge the British. This meant that he and his followers asked the people of India to stop buying British-made products, to stop going to work, and to go on peaceful marches.

Mahatma Gandhi inspired many people to join him in his movements, and he gained a lot of attention for his ideas about peaceful protest. Even when he was arrested, Gandhi remained calm and peaceful. Eventually, India became independent in 1947, but sadly Gandhi was assassinated just a few months after this big victory.

Many people around the world still consider Gandhi a true hero because he fought for what he believed in, and he did it without violence. He taught the world a lot about how powerful peaceful protests and civil disobedience can be.