Mahatma Gandhi

The lawyer-turned-ascetic who led India to independence through mass nonviolent resistance — and gave the 20th century its template for moral political struggle.

Origin

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869–1948) trained as a barrister in London, spent two decades organizing Indian laborers in South Africa, and returned to India in 1915 to lead the independence movement. His method — satyagraha, 'truth-force' — combined mass civil disobedience with personal asceticism: the loincloth, the spinning wheel, the hunger strikes. The 1930 Salt March crystallized the movement globally. India won independence in 1947 alongside the partition with Pakistan, an outcome that killed hundreds of thousands. A Hindu nationalist shot him in 1948 for being too accommodating to Muslims.

Modern usage

Cited in every modern protest movement that wants moral high ground — MLK, the Czech Velvet Revolution, Occupy. 'Be the change you wish to see in the world' is everywhere as a quote, although the exact wording is not actually his. 'A Gandhi figure' means a leader of saintly authority who refuses to fight on the opponent's terms.

Martin Luther King Jr.

The Baptist minister who led the American civil rights movement and gave it its most quoted speech before he was assassinated at thirty-nine.

character

Politics & Statecraft

Nelson Mandela

The South African anti-apartheid leader who spent twenty-seven years in prison and then became his country's first Black president — without revenge.

character

Biblical & Christian

Mother Teresa

The Albanian nun who became the 20th century's mascot for selfless charity — and whose name now stands in for that role itself.

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