There are many descriptions of the man that many have viewed as the savior of the Indian race, a man whose coming in life is so uncommon that it has the ability to restore faith in the hearts of so many. His name “Mahatma” means great soul, and it is a name that lies alongside the likes of such heroic and model human beings as Mother Theresa and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Perhaps none of these descriptions of Mohandas Karamanchand Gandhi are as all encompassing as a true "scholar, student, cultured Indian Gentleman, and the leader of the Indian people.” Gandhi was described as a man who “placed honor before comfort or even life itself.” He was a man who obeyed the dictates of conscience. Gandhi was the change and love he wished to see in the world. He not only embodied these principles, but he also inspired millions of others to do so in the arena of social justice. Gandhi's vision of the application and achievement of justice inspired a remarkable groundswell of activism and unstoppable social movements which scored historic civil rights victories for Indians in South Africa in the early 1900's, as well as inspiring the early stages of the African National Congress' anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. This brief biographical sketch will hopefully show how Mohandas Gandhi can be considered a New African Intellectual as well as give credit to his global accomplishments. Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2nd 1869 in what is now Gujarat, “to an old Bania family resident in Kathiawar .” He had his schooling in nearby Rajkot , where his father served as the adviser or prime minister to the local ruler. Mahatma Gandhi's father was (like Gandhi) a man who was loved and respected by all with whom he came into contact with. He was a man who would not hesitate to oppose the will of the Rana of Porbandar and of the political agent, when he thought that they were adopting a wrong or unworthy line of conduct. This particular trait was undoubtedly passed on to his youngest son, which is demonstrated through Gandhi's willingness to stand for his beliefs. Mahatma Gandhi's mother was an orthodox Hindu who was extremely rigid in her observance of religious obligations. However it was this coupled with another characteristic, the stern determination that her children should grow up to be good and honest men and women, that would greatly influence Mr. Gandhi. At the age of 13 Gandhi married his wife, Katsurba who was even younger than him, yet stood as a rock by Gandhi's side nearly all his life, and proved to be one of his greatest followers. The beliefs of Mahatma Gandhi's family undoubtedly left a lasting impression upon his character. In fact after Gandhi decided to leave Kathiawar and continue his educational pursuit in London, it was only after promising to obey a threefold vow to his mother, administered by a Jain priest stating that he would abstain from flesh, alcohol and women, that she would allow him to go. Gandhi's character showed that a promise like this could be whole-heartedly kept amidst the temptations of student life in London . In London , “Gandhi encountered theosophists, vegetarians, and others who were disenchanted not only with industrialism, but with the legacy of Enlightenment thought. Gandhi was powerfully attracted to these people, as well as to the texts of the major religious traditions;” where he claims to have found his faith in times of struggle. Gandhi achieved such accomplishments as passing the Bar in 1891, and even enrolling in the High Court of London; but part of Gandhi always seemed to be missing while he was away and later that year he left for India . Through the acceptance of a proposal in 1893 to travel to South Africa as a legal advisor to an Indian businessman, Mr. Dada Abdulla, Mahatma Gandhi would unknowingly begin his ties to the struggle for equal rights among Indians in South Africa , and start his legacy as a New African intellectual. Upon Mahatma Gandhi's shoulders laid one of the "greatest and noblest" protests the world has ever seen. A protest that would take over 20 years of stay in South Africa to accomplish. In June of that year, Gandhi was asked by Dada Abdulla to undertake a trip to Pretoria in the Transvaal , a journey which first took Gandhi to Pietermaritzburg. It was at Pietermaaritzburg where Gandhi was violently removed from a train for being a colored man in a first class seat. Even after producing his first class ticket which he had purchased, he was told to comply and move back to second class. After his refusal to cooperate he was consequently pushed out of the train and his luggage was thrown onto the platform. This would spark a change in Gandhi and awaken him to the prejudices occurring in Africa at the time. “ Gopalkrishna Gandhi , India 's High Commissioner to South Africa and Gandhi's grandson noted that Gandhi's experience at the railway station was something like a second birth: ‘When Gandhi was evicted from the train, an Indian visiting South Africa fell but when Gandhi rose, an Indian South African rose." When Gandhi reached South Africa , Apartheid was thriving; anybody who was not white was treated as inferior, second class citizens. Instead of standing idly by, Gandhi decided to do something about this problem and began his method of passive resistance and non-cooperation, drawing on the likes of Tolstoy and Jesus as his inspirations. His methods however were not easy ones. He used hunger strikes, and regularly endured terms of imprisonment, and was harshly beaten several times. Yet it was in South Africa where Gandhi coined the term Satyagraha to signify his theory and practice of non-violent resistance. “Gandhi was to describe himself preeminently as a votary or seeker of satya (truth), which could not be attained other than through ahimsa (non-violence, love) and brahmacharya (celibacy, striving towards God).” This method of “killing your enemy with kindness” was not a new way of thinking but it was a method of non compliance which Gandhi tried to instill on a mass scale. It was a belief that Gandhi felt should not only be used by Indians, but as a way of empowering all peoples, including African citizens, and this is why no one should hesitate to consider Gandhi a New African intellectual. Not only did Gandhi assist in teaching the world a way of fighting without the need for bloodshed, but he also helped spread knowledge in South Africa by being involved in South African political activities and media outlets. In 1894, on the urgent invitation of the Natal Indian Community, "he decided to remain in the colony, in order that he might be of service in the political troubles that he foresaw in the near future.” In that year, one of his great triumphs occurred. Along with other prominent members of the community, he founded the Natal Indian Congress, “being for some years its honorary secretary, in which he drafted a number of petitions and memorials admirable in construction." He also took a leading part in the successful attempt to defeat the Asiatics exclusion act passed by the National Parliament. In the middle of 1903 Gandhi found it imperative that if South Africans were to be in closer connection to each other and with their fellow European colonialists, as well as ensure the goal of becoming politically and socially educated, it would be extremely necessary to have a newspaper where they could voice their opinions. With much of the capital coming out of his own pockets, and his selection of Mr. M. H. Nazar as editor, the inauguration of the Indian Opinion newspaper took place. And one of Gandhi's major accomplishments for his time spent in Africa had been realized.

Gandhi was Indian, but he did in fact have a strong connection to Africans and could identify with their struggles as well. “In 1909, on a trip back to India, Gandhi authored a short treatise entitled Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule, where he all but initiated the critique, not only of industrial civilization, but of modernity in all its aspects” Much like all New African intellectuals at the time Gandhi was deeply connected to questions about the inevitability of modernity. It is without doubt that issues concerning Africans at the time rubbed off into the consciousness of Gandhi through the time that he spent there. The friendship of his African contacts was always very dear to him. In a communication to the Indian Opinion on the 15 th of December, 1917 Mahatma Gandhi goes into detail of his appreciation of being accepted by South Africans.

My South African friends will, I hope, forgive me for my apparent neglect of them. Let me assure them that not a day has passed but I have thought of them and their kindness. South African associations can never be effaced from my memory.

The Indians in South Africa wanted Gandhi to stay until all their demands were met, but Gandhi felt he had done all he could. After twenty years in South Africa it was time to return to India in 1913. He had gained specific relief for the Indians and had gotten rid of many of the laws imposed by the British in order to do nothing but embarrass the Indians, but more important, he had evolved a new means for dealing with evil. “He had proved that under certain circumstances the force of truth, or Satyagraha, was a priceless and matchless weapon. In South Africa it had eliminated the worst of the anti-Indian abuses. In India it was to crumble an empire and create a new nation.”

On the morning of January 30 1948, as was his custom, Gandhi held his outdoor prayer meeting. In the front row of spectators sat Nathuram Vinayak Godse, a member of a fanatic Hindu group, who wished total war upon Muslims. He felt that killing Gandhi was the only way to accomplish this feat. “As Gandhi walked through the crowd toward the platform where he would sit, he raised his hands to his forehead in the traditional Hindu blessing. It was about 5:10 P.M. when suddenly Godse rose in front of him and rapidly fired three times.”

After Mahatma Gandhi's death in 1948, Dr. Yusuf Mohammed Daddoo gave a tribute on the occasion the following year. The excerpt details Mahatma Gandhi's connection to the New African Movement, and easily explains why Mahatma Gandhi deserves a place among all New African intellectuals.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mahatma Gandhi, G.A. NATESAN & CO., Madras , 8 th edition October, 1930
http://www.ceeby.com/people/mahatmagandhi.cfm India Crossroads Accessed 11/21/05 Mahatma Gandhi, G.A. NATESAN & CO., Madras , 8 th edition October, 1930
http://www.gandhiserve.org/whos_gandhi.html Mahatma Gandhi Research and Media Service Accessed Nov 20 2005
http://www.gandhiserve.org/whos_gandhi.html Mahatma Gandhi Research and Media Service Accessed Nov 20 2005
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Gandhi/Pieter.html Social Sciences Department UCLA Accessed Nov 21 2005
Mahatma Gandhi, G.A. NATESAN & CO., Madras , 8 th edition October, 1930
http://wa.essortment.com/mahatmagandhi_rarr.htm Essortment: Mahatma Gandhi Biography Accessed Nov 20 2005
http://www.geocities.com/ganesha_gate/bapu.html Mahatma Gandhi Accessed Nov 21 2005
Op.Cit., Mahatma Gandhi.
Ibid.
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Gandhi/Pieter.html Social Sciences Department UCLA Accessed Nov 21 2005
http://www.geocities.com/ganesha_gate/bapu.html Mahatma Gandhi Accessed Nov 21 2005
http://www.progress.org/gandhi/gandhi07.htm Gandhi's Life Part 7 Accessed Nov 21 2005
http://www.progress.org/gandhi/gandhi14.htm Gandhi's Life Part 14 Accessed Nov 21 2005
16 Dr Yusuf Mohamed Dadoo: His Speeches, Articles And Correspondences With Mahatma Gandhi [1939-1983] ). <Online> http://www.pitzer.edu/new_african_movement/newafrre/writers/gandhi/gandhiW.htm 11/22/05