It is true and well-documented that Gandhi wrote letters to Hitler: one was written on July 23, 1939, and the other on December 24, 1940.īut the letters in no way suggest that Gandhi and Hitler were friends. Letters written by Gandhi to Hitler, addressing him as 'Dear Friend' and ending with 'Your sincere friend,' are referenced as proof of the friendship. Was Gandhi friends with Adolf Hitler?Ĭlaim: There's a myth circulating on the internet that Mahatma Gandhi and German dictator Adolf Hitler were friends. But his attitudes toward some issues like sexuality and race have come under scrutiny. Gandhi is still deeply revered worldwide, especially for his philosophy of nonviolence. Almost six months after India gained its independence in August 1947, Gandhi, 78 years old at the time, was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic. Gandhi - better known as 'Mahatma' ('great soul' in English) - was one of the leaders of India's struggle for freedom from British colonial rule. Widely revered before and after his death, he was known as the Mahatma (Sanskrit, ‘Great Soul’).January 30 marks the 75th anniversary of the assassination of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. One such, Nathuram Godse, assassinated him in Delhi. His acceptance of partition and concern over the treatment of Muslims in India made him enemies among extremist Hindus. In intellectual terms his emphasis was upon the force of truth and non-violence ( ahimsa) in the struggle against evil. In political terms Gandhi's main achievement was to turn the small, upper-middle-class Indian National Congress movement into a mass movement. As independence for India drew near, he cooperated with the British despite his opposition to the partition of the sub-continent. The Salt March to Dandi (1930) was followed by a campaign of civil disobedience until 1934, individual satyagraha, 1940–41, and the ‘Quit India’ campaign of 1942. The President of the Indian National Congress (1925–34), he never held government office, but was regarded as the country's supreme political and spiritual leader and the principal force in achieving India's independence. After early civil-rights activities as a lawyer in South Africa, in 1914 Gandhi returned to India, where he became prominent in the opposition to British rule and was frequently imprisoned.

Mahatma gandhi