Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in the coastal town of Porbandar in the Indian state of Gujarat on October 2, 1869 into a Vaishnava Hindu family. His father Karamchand Gandhi was the dewan (Chief Minister) of Porbandar. In 1887 Gandhi passed his matriculation examination of the University of Bombay and entered Samaldas College in Bhavnagar. So that he could follow in the family tradition of holding high office in the state, it was proposed that he study to qualify as a barrister in England. Gandhi agreed to the suggestion, but his mother resisted the idea: for her, going overseas involved corruption of both body and soul. It was only after much persuasion and his taking a vow to abstain from meat, wine and women that Gandhi was allowed, in September 1888, to go to London, where he…

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Citation: Aikant, Satish. "Mahatma Gandhi". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 July 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5030, accessed 19 March 2024.]

5030 Mahatma Gandhi 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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