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Memoirs
of the Mahatma
Mohandas was the
name given to the
youngest child of Karamchand and Putlibai
Gandhi, a highly respectable and prominent
family of Porbandar. A product of the Alfred
High School in Rajkot, Mohandas later joined
Shamaldas College, at Bhavnagar. In 1888, he
sailed for London to study Law and
returned in 1891 to start practice in Bombay
and Rajkot. Hardly anyone could visualize
then that this young man was going to guide
the destiny of this vast country.
The Watershed in
Gandhiji's Life
Gandhiji left India for South Africa to
take up a job as a legal advisor. However,
destiny had charted a different course for
him. His sensitive mind repelled the
subhuman treatment meted out to the Indians
and the blacks. He decided to protest
against this and launched a Satyagraha.
It was then that Satyagraha, became his
novel method of peaceful agitation.
A Transition from
Mohandas to Mahatma
 On
his return from South Africa to India.
Gandhiji immediately plunged himself into
the freedom struggle setting up a
Satyagraha Ashram in Kochrab, a suburb in
Ahmedabad. The Ashram was later shifted to
Sabarmati in 1917. It was from here that the
Mahatma and his band of followers led
various Satyagrahas, the most notable being
the historic Dandi March in 1930. a
journey that ultimately culminated in the
ending of the British rule.
Gandhiji was the man who stirred to action
three hundred million people and unfettered
the shackles of the British imperialism.
The Indian
Renaissance
The Satyagraha Ashram at Ahmedabad was the
Mahatama's experimental design for putting
his theory into practice. Gandhiji's freedom
movement was not merely a fight for
political freedom, but included a
constructive program to purify national
life, to alleviate in some measure the
poverty of the masses and spread among the
rich a feeling of concern for the poor. His
program included moral, religious &
social reforms, eradication of
untouchability, propagation of Swadeshi
& Khadi and the revival of cottage
industries to make India self-reliant in
every sphere.
Places Associated
with the Father of the Nation are
Ahmedabad
Gandhi Ashram that was the base of
implementing Gandiji's ideals and
principalities is an important historical
remnat. Also visit Siddi Saiyad's Mosque,
Calico Museum of Textiles, Hatheesing Jain
Temple and Lothal, a place of archaeological
significance.
How to Reach
By Air: - Ahmedabad is linked by
International and various domestic airlines
connecting Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Calcutta,
Bangalore & other major centers of India
and abroad.
By Rail: - Ahmedabad is well connected to
most major cities of India.
By Road: - Private and State Transport buses
from all major cities to Ahmedabad are
available.
Porbandar
 This
place is famous as the birthplace of Mahatma
Gandhi. Kirti Mandir, the place where
Gandhiji was born, today houses a photo
exhibition on the life and times of the
Mahatma, a library, and a prayer hall are
other memorabilia. Gandhiji's wife Kasturba
was also born in Porbandar.
How to Reach
By Air: The domestic airlines connect Bombay
& Ahmedabad.
By Rail: Porbandar is a rail terminus on the
Western Railway network.
By Bus: Gujarat State Transport buses and
private buses are available from Ahmedabad.
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