M K Gandhi, pioneer of the SA Passive Resistance movement and leader who led India to Independence, is born

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born into a Hindu Modh family in Porbandar, India. In 1893 he accepted a year-long contract from an Indian law firm work in Natal, South Africa. His time in South Africa was a turning point in his career and changed him dramatically. Gandhi extended his original period of stay in South Africa to assist Indians in opposing a bill to deny them the right to vote. He became the political leader and pioneer of the Passive Resistance movement (satyagraha) against the South African government and was also the co-founder of the Natal Indian Congress (NIC). On his return to India, he became the pre-eminent political and spiritual leader of India during the Indian independence movement and used satyagraha - resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience, firmly founded upon ahimsa or total non-violence - which led India to Indian independence and has inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. During his later years Gandhi became known as mahÁƒÂ„tmÁƒÂ„ meaning 'Great Soul'. In 2004 Ghandi was voted amongst the top ten Great South Africans from a list of 2000 people.