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Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2nd, 1869 as the third son of his Hindu family.
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Against the wishes of his family, Gandhi goes to England to study law, but is exposed to the culture and society of Britain. In 1891, he became officially liscensed to practice law in court, so he returned home .
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In 1893, Gandhi traveled to South Africa after being unsuccessful in India. The inequality and discrimination presented to him were crucial for his political standpoint and started his beliefs on anti-Britain/colonial rule.
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In 1894, Gandhi helped found the Natal Indian Congress in the South African colony of Natal, which gives Indians a voice in South African Politics.
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Sometime in 1899, Gandhi organized the Indian Ambulance Corps at the beginning of the second Boer War to help British Soldiers.
Even though Gandhi didn't support the war, he created the IAC to show the British that Indians deserved the same rights as the British. -
In 1904, Gandhi organized his first peaceful-protest, which is against the Transvaal Asiatic Amendments Act, which required many Indians in South Africa to have them give their fingerprints to the government. It was only repealed in 1911, but Gandhi continued fighting until then.
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Gandhi return to India sometime in 1914. He continued to develop strategies to protest from what he did in South Africa.
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By 1915, people had heard about his fight for Indian equality and is welcomed as a hero.
Also, Gandhi established the Satyagraha Ashram, a "spiritual retreat" for his followers, a lot like the Pheonix Settlement.
Gandhi also campainged for the rights of untouchables, and even invited a family of them to live on his farm. -
In 1919, Gandhi helped organize protests against the Rowlatt Acts, which were designed to put and end to Indian nationalism and activism, especially public protests.
Also, in 1919, British soldiers killed more than 350 unarmed Indians at the Sikh religious celebration. This became known as the "Armritsar Massacre," and Gandhi tried to accelerate his resistance of colonial rule. -
The "Great Trial" Speech
In 1922, British authorities arrested Gandhi. His trial, which took place on March 18, 1922, was known as the "Great Trial." Gandhi admitted guilty, but argued that he had done it only to protest for the inequalities of the Indian People. He was sentenced to 6 years in prison, but was let out after 2 years for fear of the public's response to Gandhi's illness. -
Michael King, or Martin Luther King Jr. is born in Atlanta Georgia on January 15th, 1929.
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Gandhi led a 200-mile march from his ashram (spiritual retreat) in Ahmedabad to a costal town, also in Gujarat, to protest the Salt Acts (1882). When he got to the coast, he picked up a piece of unprocessed salt, and violated the British Law.
His march inspired thousands of Indians to follow his example of non-violent protests. -
In 1932, Gandhi began his fast to protest the British proposal to create a separate electorate for the untouchable cast. He was criticized by some, but inspired many to become sympathetic to that caste.
The fast ended when Indian and British leaders came together to make all Indians be included in the same electorate, regardless of their caste. -
Great Britain had involved India in World War II without its consent, and British authorities began to be harsher for criticism of the war. In response, Gandhi lanched another satyagraha campgain, but resulted in the arrest of thousands of protesters.
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The Indain National Congress passed the "Quit India" resolution, demanding that Great Britain should give India Independence. In support of the resolution, Gandhi launched his last nationwide satyagraha campaign, but was arrested.
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After World War II, there was an uncertainty of India being independent. But this caused tension between Hindus and Muslims who both wanted to make sure they got an adequate representation in the government. They couldn't compromise, and Gandhi, who had been urging the Indian people to be in unity, no matter religion, worried about an India with religious boundaries.
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The Atlanta Constitution publishes King's letter that black people are "entitled to the basic rights and opportunities of American citizens."
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On August 14, 1947, India declared their independence from Great Britain. Gandhi's life-long goal was complete!
But, the country ended up being divided into a Hindu area (India) and a Muslim area (Pakistan). Because of this, there was one of the largest migrations in history, with 10 million people forced to move. -
On January 30th, 1948, Gandhi was killed at the hands of a Hindu Nationalist who opposed Gandhi's view on equalism for Hindus and Muslims. He died at the age of 78.
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Martin Luther King Jr. Marries Coretta Scott.
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While King was speaking at a mass meeting, his house was bombed. Luckily, his wife and daughter were not injured. Even then, when he was outside the house, he urged people for non-violence.
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King is elected as the chairman of the Southern Negro Leaders Conference on Transportation and the Nonviolent Integration (later known as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference).
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King goes to India to meet with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and many of Gandhi’s followers.
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King meets with President Kennedy and urges him to issue a second emancipation proclamation to end racial segregation.
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King presents his most famous speech, his "I have a dream..." speech.
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King recieves the Nobel Piece Prize, which he says he will use for the ongoing civil rights struggle.
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James Earl Ray assassinates King on April 9th, 1968. King was only 39, a little more than half the age of Gandhi when he died.
