Mohandas Karamashand Gandhi (1869-1948) was the unique charismatic leader of India, who led his country to a final breakaway from British imperialism. He became known as “Mahatma”, which means “Great Soul” Gandhi.   The monument underlines the universality of his message.

In resisting British rule, Gandhi’s major tactics were non-co-operation and civil disobedience on a massive scale. A firm advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity, he campaigned against “untouchability”.  He urged the emancipation of women and called for a national system of public education. On the eve of independence, an alternative proposal for a centralized government with India as a Federation of States was rejected.  A limited form of independence arrived in 1947 after a countrywide strike against British domination.  However, many problems of poverty and unemployment and the tensions between Pakistan and India remained unresolved at the time of his assassination the following year.