Character Catalog

A foundational political pamphlet in which Gandhi criticises Western industrial civilisation and proposes an Indian path to self-rule based on tradition, simplicity, and non-violence.

An autobiographical account in which Gandhi traces his spiritual and political evolution, from his humble origins to leading the Indian independence movement.

A non-violent act of civil disobedience that became a global symbol of peaceful resistance; it broke the British monopoly on salt and galvanised the Indian independence movement.

A sweeping boycott movement targeting British institutions, schools, courts, and goods — Gandhi's first major nationwide campaign, which partially paralysed the colonial administration.

The final major resistance movement, launched during the Second World War to demand the immediate departure of the British, which led to Gandhi's last imprisonment.

The first large-scale application of non-violent resistance, developed by Gandhi to defend the rights of Indians in South Africa against the government's discriminatory laws.

I have no other ambition than to annihilate myself through absolute devotion to non-violence, truth, and purity.

We beg you, in the name of humanity, not to unleash a war that would reduce Europe to barbarism.

I want to purify my nation and myself through this march. We will march until the British withdraw the salt tax or imprison us all.

It is not without deep sadness that I contemplate the gulf that separates you from me. I salute in you not the representative of the Crown but the human being, and I invite you to listen to the voice of justice.

True civilization is that which awakens the noble instincts of man. If Indians imitate the English, it is their own ruin they are preparing.

Gandhi's birthplace, where he was born on October 2, 1869. The family home, modest and white, is today a commemorative museum.

Community founded by Gandhi in 1917 on the banks of the Sabarmati River, which served as the base for his activist activities for many years. It was from here that the famous Salt March departed in 1930.

Small seaside beach where Gandhi arrived at the end of his Salt March on April 6, 1930, and symbolically picked up a handful of salt to defy British law.

Residence where Gandhi stayed and was assassinated on January 30, 1948. The garden where he was killed is today a national memorial called Gandhi Smriti.

Agricultural community founded by Gandhi in 1904 near Durban, the first experiment in his vision of a simple communal life based on manual labor and non-violence.

Gandhi spun his own yarn every day on this small portable spinning wheel, a symbol of the boycott of British textile products and Indian economic self-sufficiency. The charkha appeared at the center of the Indian National Congress flag.

Gandhi used a simple bamboo staff to walk during his long activist marches, most notably the Salt March. This staff symbolized the strength of the humble in the face of the powerful.

A traditional Indian garment that Gandhi adopted in the 1920s as a sign of solidarity with the poorest peasants. He permanently gave up Western clothing to wear only this simple cotton loincloth, which he spun himself.

Gandhi's metal-rimmed glasses became one of his most recognizable attributes, a symbol of his clear-eyed vision and voluntary simplicity.

Gandhi made his own sandals, a skill he learned during his imprisonment in South Africa. He offered a pair to General Smuts who, moved by the gesture, returned them decades later, admitting he felt unworthy of wearing them.

Gandhi ate from a simple metal bowl, in keeping with his ideal of voluntary poverty and frugality. His diet, essentially vegetarian and often reduced to bare essentials, was inseparable from his spiritual philosophy.