«I do dimly perceive that whilst everything around me is ever changing, ever dying. There is underlying all that change a living power that is changeless, that holds all together, that creates, dissolves and recreates. That informing power of spirit is God, and since nothing else that I see merely through the senses can or will persist, He alone is. And is this power benevolent or malevolent? I see it as purely benevolent, for I can see that in the midst of death life persists, in the midst of untruth truth persists, in the midst of darkness light persists. Hence I gather that God is life, truth, light. He is love. He is the supreme Good». On the 2nd of October 1869 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born to the trader caste of the Modh Bania. His family worshipped Vishnu, who personifies the blessed and loving aspect of God in Hindu philosophy. The Gandhi's played an important role in the political life of the then miniature state of Porbandar. Just like the grandfather, Gandhi's father was also dewan (a sort of prime minister of the state). Grandfather and father were men of firm principles and had a great love for truth. They were renowned for their courage and for their hot temperament and their sensuality. His mother Putlibai was described by Mohandas as a saint of deep religiousness. She was a strong personality with much self-discipline. A strict vows as well as her regular fasts left a deep impression on Gandhi. After the family moved to Rajkot in 1876, Mohandas at the age of seven attended primary school, which he completed at the age of 12 with average success. He developed a strong sense of pride during this time and attached great importance to developing his character. He was deeply impressed by the plays Harish Chandra and Shravana, which highlighted the unconditional search for truth and the devotion of a son to his blind parents. Shortly after he changed to the Katya Ward high school. At the age of 13 Gandhi was married to Kasturbai Makhanji of Porbandar, who was the same age. After his schooling Gandhi wanted to study medicine, which was refused by his family due to religious reasons. Since the dissection of flesh, was forbidden by his caste. He then decided to study law in England. Although he took a vow to his mother not to touch meat, wine or women, he was expelled by the head men of the caste. Since it was forbidden for members of his caste to travel over the "black waters" as the Arabian Sea was then called. At first in London, Gandhi strove to live like an Englishman which he had to give up soon due to financial reasons. After he started his studies he invested instead in books which he read eagerly. He even learned Latin in order to study Roman law. He lived modestly in a small room and cooked for himself. He became a member of the vegetarian society, where he met a lot of interesting people who made him aware of his own Indian roots. Consequently, he read the Bhagavad Gita for the first time - one of the holy Hindu scriptures, which was an Enlightenment for him. Above all, the statement "abstention and renunciation", reflect the highest form of religion, left a lasting and deep impression on him. For Gandhi the Bhagavad Gita became the book par excellence for the recognition of truth and was for him all through his life a source of optimism and hope. As Secretary of the vegetarian society, Gandhi wrote articles about Indian customs and eating habits. In June 1891, at the age of 21 years, he successfully completed his studies of British law and received the degree barrister of law. The joy of his return to India was clouded. When upon his arrival at Mumbai he learnt of the death of his beloved mother. Only after he took the ritual baths of atonement, necessary because of the expulsion from his caste, and paid the demanded fine was he accepted back into the caste as a full member. His stay in India was a short one, because in 1893 Gandhi received an offer to represent an Indian businessman in South Africa in a lawsuit. Shortly after his arrival in Durban, Gandhi personally experienced racist humiliation in the form of insult and violence, which Indians or coolies, as they were called by the colonial masters, were generally exposed to. In the lawsuit Gandhi achieved a satisfactory settlement for both parties. During his farewell reception, he learnt that Indians in South Africa were to be subjected to further disadvantages, and he decided to stay and support his countrymen in their struggle. The struggle for national self-esteem and against racial discrimination began. To this end, Gandhi along with his fellow supporters founded the Natal Indian Congress. In the following months an organizational structure was set up, and Gandhi came into contact with public relations for the first time. He wrote his first political articles about the situation of the Indian in South Africa and gave speeches. As the first Indian lawyer in Natal, he had a lot of work. Simultaneously he pursued his spiritual development. He read innumerable Hindu and other religious scriptures, as well as many works of Tolstoy. He deepened his medical knowledge, which he would soon bring into practice in various ways. During the Boer War in 1899 Gandhi formed an ambulance corps, which was active on the front for a month. At the birth of his fourth son, Gandhi assisted as Midwife. The wish to devote his life to the service of his fellow human beings grew increasingly stronger, and further changed his lifestyle. The teachings of non-possession of renunciation and of equanimity, as formulated in the Bhagavad-Gita, took hold of him. And forth he always endeavored to implement these yoga teachings in his daily life. He renounced every worldly possession and gave all his earnings to society. To cleanse his body he read about naturopathy. He refused medicines and fasted, and experimented with different diets. Gandhi had great belief in earth and water treatments, and discovered the therapeutic value of mud packs. Shortly after the turn of the century, he summarized his medical experiences in a volume «Guide to Health», which would become his most widely read book. The increasing public work necessitated a newspaper as a mouthpiece of the Indians in South Africa. Starting July 1903, the weekly «Indian Opinion» appeared in four languages. During a train journey, Gandhi read John Ruskin's book «Unto This Last», which captivated him. Immediately he applied the ideas, described in the book, and in 1904 founded the Phoenix settlement — a community village with strict rules and a Spartan lifestyle. This community was to a large extent self-sufficient and reduced its material needs to a minimum. In 1906 as Gandhi once again formed an Indian and villains core during the zulu rebellion. His belief in the British Empire was shaken for the first time when he learnt that this campaign was predominantly a tax expedition by the British. To dedicate himself to the Indian situation without distractions, Gandhi took the brahmacarya vow. He realized, that abstinence in every way and the control of the senses make it easier to dedicate one's life to the service of humanity. A normal family life would demand too much energy in the interest of only a few people. In September 1906 the government of Transvaal passed a law, according to which the fingerprints of every Indian man, woman and child above the age of 8 had to be registered. During a mass meeting Gandhi vowed that he would rather die, than obey such a law. In the course of this struggle the concept was born which would become the epitome of Gandhi's life — «satyagraha», which means upholding truth. With this concept of active resistance, Gandhi distanced himself from passive resistance in the sense of weakness or helplessness. Later, in the campaign, Gandhi, his wife Kasturba and other fellow supporters were arrested, some under hard conditions. For Gandhi satyagraha and, in particular, civil disobedience was the moral equivalent to war and civil war. He was convinced, that prison was the appropriate place for just people under an unjust government. In the same year 1909 Gandhi wrote his book «IND Swaraj or Indian Home Rule». His work contains the essence of his criticism of society and civilization. He speaks out against materialism and the structured violence of modern Western society, and wounds Indians against emulating their example. In 1910 Gandhi founded another Association, in which various experiments in self-discipline, education, nutrition and other spiritual, moral and economic aspects were performed. He named it «Tolstoy farm». Situated at around thirty five kilometers from Johannesburg, the farm was given to Gandhi and his people by the Jewish architect dr. Herman Kallenbach. Kallenbach also lived on the farm and became a close friend and co-worker during the last phase of Gandhi's stay in South Africa. After the government of Transvaal passed a law, according to which the marriages of Hindus, Muslims and Parsees were invalid without a marriage registration, a practice unusual in India, massive campaigns of civil disobedience resulted in protest against the new law. Strikes paralyzed production in many places. Kasturba Gandhi was arrested as the leader of a satyagraha group, and was sentenced to three months hard labor in prison. On the 6th of November 1913 Gandhi, marched with more than two thousand men, women and children from Natal to transfer, to publicize the situation in Natal and to bring about the abolition of the new law as well as the three-pound poll tax. They were arrested for illegal immigration. After a long and tough trial the civil rights movement of the Indians won. Gandhi and his supporters were released from prison. All their demands were met by the government. After over a 20-year stay Gandhi, his family and some close co-workers returned to India in 1915 to continue their struggle against injustice there. They were received by a huge crowd, since their activities in South Africa were followed in India with great interest and sympathy. Gandhi was greeted as Mahatma, which means «great soul». This title remained with him throughout his life, even though he never laid claim to it. In fact at best he tolerated it. To begin with he embarked on a year of political silence to journey across his country and to get to know it better. He founded the Satyagraha Ashram on the banks of the Saburo mati Nia Ahmedabad, which he moved to a nearby place two years later, in 1917, due to an outbreak of the plague. It was here that Gandhi began to dedicate himself to the cause of the untouchables, whom he called Harry Jones «Children of God». As he accepted a hydrogen family into the ashram, many of Gandhi's friends and co-workers turned away from him. In fact some of his own relatives, at least temporarily, left together with other ashram members as a protest against the revolutionary behavior of Gandhi in society. In the first campaign of nonviolent resistance in India, Gandhi stood up against the suppression of farmers in the North Indian province of Bihar. Initially he carried out an independent survey of the farmers situation who were driven to the edge of starvation by the British through the compulsory cultivation of indigo at low prices and high taxes. As Gandhi was ordered by the district officials to leave the district. He refused and expressed his determination to continue the survey in the interest of the public. He argued in court, that his civil disobedience was not based on the lack of respect for the authority of the law but his subservience to the higher law of conscience. Gandhi was acquitted and he continued the survey. The report of the investigation Commission finally led to the abolition of the compulsory cultivation of indigo and to the reduction of taxes. In the following two campaigns of civil disobedience it was possible for Gandhi to achieve an improvement in the situation of the textile workers and weavers in Ahmedabad, as well as of the peasants in kara Nia and Ahmad, who because of a drought were not able to pay their taxes. As a result Gandhi discovered the instrument of fasting not to put the opponents under pressure but for his own meditation and inner cleansing as well as for solidarity with the starving workers. After the end of the first world war the Indians hoped for the restoration of civil liberties which were restricted in accordance with martial law. When however in 1919 martial law was extended through the Rowlett act a wave of indignation spread throughout the masses. For the first time Gandhi called for a nationwide strike for a day, which he wanted to be seen as a day spent in prayer and fasting as well as self purification. This general strike was a prelude to a further campaign of civil disobedience. Huge masses of people participated in these actions and committed themselves to abstain from violence against people and property. The whole economy came to a standstill, and the country was in turmoil. Countless numbers of people were arrested and sentenced. A ban on public gatherings was imposed as two thousand people in the North Indian city of Amritsar gathered at a public meeting place for a protest demonstration. British troops pulled up and without any warning - came at the people and began to shoot. The massacre claimed 400 victims and around three times as many wounded. As rioting of the people occurred ever more frequently, Gandhi realized his «Himalayan blunder», as he called it. He had called upon his countrymen to rise up in civil disobedience too early, before they were mature enough, and hence he ended the countrywide satyagraha campaign. In his weekly papers «Nava Jeevan» and «Young India» Gandhi now concentrated on social awareness, before he brought into being the non-cooperation movement in 1920. In a letter he explained to the Viceroy that he can neither maintain his respect nor his loyalty for such a government which proceeds from one atrocity to the next to defend its immorality. Gandhi gave back his war decorations, which he had received for his medical service in South Africa and encouraged his countrymen to boycott foreign clothing all British goods British schools and jobs and appointments in the British administration. He propagated the production of one's own clothing and pledged in August 1922 always wear cardi a cloth of hand-spun and hand woven cotton. Shortly thereafter Gandhi reduced his clothing to just a loincloth of Cathy out of sympathy for the poor people of the country and to demonstrate that he had taken up their cause by setting an example. To become independent of British cloth, spinning wheels were distributed in the whole country. At a demonstration in 1921 more than 150,000 pieces of foreign cloth were burned at a public burning in Mumbai. The spinning wheel was described by Gandhi as the sacrament of India. The Indian National Congress incorporated it in the independence flag. It became a symbol for Swadeshi economic independence, which Gandhi and his co-fighters strove for parallel to Swaraj political independence. In Ahmedabad Gandhi founded the University Gujarat Vidyapeeth in 1920, which was to help in preparing the youth for independence and to raise self-confidence among the people. Within the scope of the nonviolent movement repeated clashes occurred, to which the British reacted with violent measures and arrests. In the small town of Chauri Chaura the police ill-treated the demonstrators of a protest rally whereupon the furious masses killed 21 policemen. As a reaction to this orgy of violence Gandhi ended the campaign for non-cooperation and went on a five-day atonement fast. He was subsequently arrested and sentenced to six years imprisonment on the grounds that he was responsible for the uprising and for agitating the masses against the British government. In February in 1924 however Gandhi was released from prison due to poor health resulting from an appendix operation. Since his countrymen had proved themselves to be not yet mature enough for the nonviolent resistance movement on a mass scale, Gandhi now dedicated himself to spreading the usage of the spinning wheel and the abolition of the concept of untouchability. Although the British Empire was Gandhi's principle opponent, he continuously strove to reform his own society and to abolish its injustices. Gandhi perceived untouchability as an inhuman sin and a flaw in the Indian society. In his commitment to the origins he achieved their free access to Hindu temples and their participation in elections. Gandhi's struggle against violence even in his own ranks continued in the Indian National Congress. In 1928 a group of young radicals, among them the later Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, demanded immediate independence from the British, if necessary with violence. They drafted a model of self-government and a constitution for an independent India. Gandhi achieved a compromise with his suggestion that the British be given a year's time to agree to the demands and to release India step-by-step into independence. The British however had their own time schedule and did not accept these demands. Consequently in January 1930 the Indian National Congress passed a resolution on independence, which resulted in the Salt March, the most famous campaign of civil disobedience of the Indian independence movement. Gandhi had at this point of time reached the zenith of his popularity and knew that the masses were behind him, when in March 1930 he took the pledge not to return to his Ashram in Hamada bod before the achievement of complete freedom for India. On the 12th of March 1930 Gandhi together with 79 soldiers of his nonviolent army began the Salt Satyagraha. His urgent objective was to break the salt law, which was so important to the Indian people, and to demand complete independence from the British Empire. During the march Gandhi spoke at the halts in the villages. But above all he spoke about the importance of the reform of Indian society: child marriages should be abolished as well as the consumption of alcohol. He highlighted the meaning of the spinning wheel, spoke about village hygiene, the necessity to abolish untouchability as well as to increase tolerance among religions. He summarized his demands in a constructive program, the realization of which would have led to serve out there the well-being of everybody. Gandhi and his co-fighters covered around 15 kilometers daily. They reached Dandy on the 5th of April 1930 with worldwide publicity. The mood in the country had sharpened, particularly as the British gave no indication of dealing with Gandhi's demands. They allowed the situation to escalate. As Gandhi picked up a handful of salt after morning bath in the Indian Ocean and with an act broke the British salt monopoly a fire was kindled countrywide. In all the coastal regions of India salt was now peacefully but determinately harvested, refined by the simplest methods and sold. The women had a special role in this mass campaign of civil disobedience. During this decisive time they left in large numbers the seclusion of their houses and threw themselves into the struggle. To that Gandhi remarked: «In this nonviolent warfare women's contribution should be much greater than men's. To call women the weaker sex - is a libel, it is man's injustice to woman. If non-violence is the law of our being, the future is with woman.» The people fought on resolutely. The police carried out mass arrests. 60,000 political prisoners filled the prisons. And even then the people remained peaceful this time. And were ready to continue the campaign. After Gandhi was also arrested, 2,500 satyagraha tried to peacefully occupy the Saltworks of Dharasana. All over the nonviolent protesters were knocked down, although not resisting, seriously injured and even killed. The government retaliated with more repression and brutal violence. Every new repressive measure offered however yet another opportunity to disobeyed. The boycott of foreign clothing the pickets in front of the alcohol shops were strengthened. The farmers refused to pay taxes. The whole of India rebelled and several provinces were put under martial law. India became a gigantic prison. The course of events gave the masses self-confidence and the power to persevere. When Gandhi was released from prison, on the 26th of January 1931 (the day of Indian Independence, which he had proclaimed a year earlier) he said: «I am hankering after peace, if it can be had with honor». After tough negotiations with the Indian Viceroy Lord Irwin the so called Ganthier win pact was signed in March 1931. It left the demand for independence untouched. However permission for the production and sale of salt was granted. Further to that, all the prisoners of the Salt Satyagraha were freed, and the suspension of the activities of the civil disobedience movement was agreed upon. To create the basis for further negotiations, Gandhi travelled to London in September 1931 with a team as the official representative of the Indian National Congress to attend the second roundtable conference. The primary objective of the conference was the withdrawal of the ban on export of Indian fabrics to England as well as the return of confiscated land to the farmers. Furthermore a modus vivendi for the communal problem was to be found as well as the position of the princely states in the future constitution. The Indian population naturally also hoped that the independence of India would also be negotiated. During the crossing on the SS Rajputana, Gandhi slept on the sundeck, spun his daily quantity of yarn and lectured on non-violence. In London he lived in Kingsley Hall which was the Quaker Centre for Social Work in the slums of East London. Many people gathered in front of the house to welcome Gandhi. Although Gandhi represented the Indian position very clearly at the roundtable conference, the hoped for assurances were not forthcoming. And with that the conference ended, from the Indian point of view without result. But Gandhi used his stay in England to gain sympathy amongst the population for the situation of his countrymen which he achieved totally. As Gandhi was asked why he appeared at the reception of the British king in his usual Spartan clothing he replied his Majesty was wearing enough for us both. Charlie Chaplin was so impressed by his meeting with Gandhi, that Gandhi's «Criticism of civilization» became the starting point of the script of the film modern times. Gandhi was given a warm send-off from London. «(inaudible) that brought me to London I know that I shall carry with me the this presentest memories of my stay in the midst of the four people of this London». On the return journey Gandhi also visited France, Switzerland and Italy. An audience with the Pope was refused due to his insufficient clothing. After his meeting with the Italian dictator Mussolini, Gandhi said: «His face was like a butcher's, his eyes never stood still». The roundtable conference could not fulfill the hopes of the masses. Since a flare-up of resistance was to be expected. Gandhi was arrested on the 4th of January in 1932 as a dangerous public enemy and imprisoned for an unspecified time in the Year owada jail in Pune. The calculation of the British succeeded largely because it was also Gandhi's concern - first of all restore calm to the population. When however the British in a new draft of the Constitution for India wanted to demonstrate their «divide and rule» policy once more in an impressive manner, it was almost a duty for Gandhi to intervene. The British wanted to segregate the horizon's from the higher caste Hindus and have them participate in separate elections. Gandhi's disappointment of these proceedings were met with wide acclaim from his countrymen. To divert the British from their separatist efforts and to convince the higher caste Hindus of the necessity of social integration of the untouchables Gandhi began a fast unto death on the 20th of September 1932. When an independent commission decided to strive towards common elections and an improvement in the social situation of the origins, Gandhi ended his fast after six days. After his release in November 1933, Gandhi led a several months Hourigan tour through the whole of India, on which he tried to convince his countrymen that: «India can become independent only when the curse of untouchability is lifted from it». With that he achieved that many temples and wells, were made accessible to the her regions. Many of Gandhi's party members were meanwhile disappointed in his truthful and nonviolent politics, since the desired independence seemed to be pushed further away. As a result Gandhi withdrew from party politics and dedicated himself to Hajin work as well as village development. Having been without a fixed residence since the Salt March, Gandhi founded at the end of 1934 a new ashram in the heart of India. He closed down the ashram in Ahmedabad and built the Satyagraha ashram with his co-workers and other inhabitants of the community in the Indian central provinces near Wertha. The ashram function mainly as a laboratory for the further development of village industry, to which Gandhi attached great importance. He was concerned that the locally available raw material, talent and tools were fully utilized. With regard to machines and foodstuffs, Gandhi said: «From time immemorial the rice is crushed in the Indian villages. Unpolished rice and hand-ground whole wheat flour are not only nutritious, but also create jobs in the rural area». He pleaded for mechanization where, there were not enough hands to do the work. However he felt mechanization was wrong, if there were more hands available than necessary as was the case in India then and now. Gandhi regarded suitable village schools as a basic prerequisite for a healthy village structure. Since the educational system, made compulsory by the British, completely ignored the needs of the village population, Gandhi developed an educational model which took into account the economic, political and cultural situation of India. Parallel to the economic independence of the schools, it was of importance to Gandhi that the intellect and the feelings of the children were as equally encouraged as their manual capabilities. The idea of Natal eeeem the new education left a lasting impression on the educational system of India. In 1939, at the outbreak of the Second World War, Gandhi chose Vinoba Bhave as his ideal student to act as an individual satyagraha against the participation of India in the war. Earlier two that Gandhi sent a letter to Adolf Hitler, in which he questioned the value of a victory in war and appealed to Hitler to end the war. The letter was unanswered. The Indian National Congress condemned the aggressions of the Nazis it assigned Gandhi to work out a new resistance campaign. He opted for individual civil disobedience. Since Gandhi wanted to keep out of the campaign, he nominated Vinoba Bhave as the first satyagraha who would then publicly announce his non cooperation with the British war effort. Bhave was arrested and sentenced to three months in prison. Other resistance fighters followed and in this way the protest assumed vast proportions. As the British forbad the Indian press to report about the progress of the satyagraha campaign Gandhi retaliated with the closure of his newspapers and urged that every person should be his own newspaper with authentic news. When 200,000 resistance fighters were arrested, Gandhi called for the end of civil disobedience without withdrawing the permanent demand for self-government. The increasing tension in the country invited the danger of massive eruptions of violence. In 1942 the British War Cabinet sent a delegation to India to discuss independence after the war. The proposals were however rejected as not acceptable by all parties and groups. With that the prospects for freedom appeared gloomy and pushed further away. In the course of war the Japanese threatened an invasion, and the «Quit India» movement took shape in Gandhi's mind. The Working Committee of the Indian National Congress agreed at a meeting on the 7th of August 1942 in Mumbai with Gandhi's opinion that India's dependence on the British weakened its defense and announced that the British rule in India now finally had to end. In a long speech, Gandhi urged the British to leave India now in an orderly fashion and gave his nonviolent freedom fighters the slogan «Do or die». In spite of the press censorship the slogans spread like wildfire and it resulted in revolts all over the country. The Committees of the Indian National Congress were declared illegal and their members arrested. Gandhi, his wife Kasturba, his secretary Mahadev Desai, his English coworker Madeleine Slade, who got the name Mihriban from Gandhi, were also arrested and imprisoned in Pune without trial. During the nearly two-year long custody Mahadev Desai as well as Kasturba died. To the death of his life partner Gandhi responded with the words: «I cannot imagine life without Baja». After his release from prison in May 1944 he was drawn here. Suffering from mental and physical exhaustion, Gandhi recuperated with long walks on the beach and prayers in which thousands of people participated. The dropping of the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 touched Gandhi most deeply and prompted him to say: «There have been cataclysmic changes in the world. Do I still adhere to my faith in truth and non-violence? Has not the atom bomb exploded, that faith not only has it, not done so but it has clearly demonstrated to me, that the twins truth and non-violence constitutes the mightiest force in the world. Against them the atom bomb has no effect. The two opposing forces are wholly different in kind the one moral and spiritual the other physical and material. The one is infinitely superior to the other which by its very nature has an end. The force of the Spirit is ever progressive and endless. It's full expression makes it unconquered belen the world». The Second World War was over, and the british empire crumbled. In march 1946 a british government delegation arrived in india to negotiate the conditions of the transfer of power. The proposals made by then found agreement with the Indian National Congress, but not with the Muslim League, whose president Muhammad Ali Jinnah called for a «Day of direct action» without determining the objective or the content of the action clearly. Consequently in Calcutta an orgy of violence resulted more than 4,000 Hindus were killed and more than 15,000 injured. Due to revenge by the Hindus the whole country was soon ablaze with unrest which escalated into a situation similar to civil war with mass murder, arson, rape, pillage and religious evils. Gandhi travelled to the worst hit areas and through a fast he succeeded in getting Hindus and Muslims to lay down their weapons. During a march, lasting several months, Gandhi endeavoured to bring about peace and reconciliation. He described his peace mission as the most difficult and complicated of his life. Without tiring he was on the road, consoling and encouraging the despairing and admonishing those who caused this dreadful damage. He requested them to atone for their sins and urged them to rebuild the destruction and live together like a family. He reminded them of Buddha's teachings, who there in Bihar 2,500 years ago proclaimed the eternal law that violence can never be conquered by violence, but that hate must be overcome by love. To stop the genocide, Gandhi and the Muslim leader Jinnah made a joint statement, condemning the most recent acts of anarchy and violence which brought disgrace to the name of India and rejecting for all times the use of violence for political purposes. During a prayer meeting Gandhi stressed the Equality of all religions and remarked: «I believe in the message of truth in the way it is propagated by all religious teachers of the world». He was successful in classifying the mood in the country. The eminent partition of India into a Muslim Pakistan and a Hindu India worried him deeply, since he saw it as his life's work to lead India unitedly into independence. But the chasm between Hindus and Muslims was too wide and even his closest party friends finally agreed to the suggestion of the new British Viceroy Lord Mountbatten to divide the country. Gandhi described this decision as a spiritual tragedy. The midnight hour of the 14th of august 1947 symbolized the rebirth of a country after a century long sleep and a long liberation struggle. The independence, announced by the first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru, was enthusiastically celebrated throughout the country. «(inaudible) substantially at the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom». Ganghi, however, spent this day praying and fasting in seclusion. He had all the reasons to mourn, since the joy of Independence would not last long. Soon whole regions would be ravaged by unrest and the minorities tyrannize and persecuted. Hindus left Muslim Pakistan and Muslims left Hindu India. During this mass exodus more than twelve million people changed their abodes. In the whole country massacres occurred, resulting in the death of more than half a million people. As Gandhi's words were not sufficient anymore to halt the violence between Hindus and Muslims, he decided in September 1947 in Calcutta, where the massacres were at their worst, to go on a fast for as long as the unrest continued. Gandhi was successful. After four days peace returned to Calcutta and some troublemakers in fact gave up their weapons to Gandhi. From Calcutta Gandhi travelled to New Delhi. When there too clashes started again, Gandhi began a new fast on the 12th of January in 1948. He felt very alone and his life's work seemed to be slipping through his fingers. As he said: «Death would be a glorious release for me. I would have preferred death than to be a helpless witness to the destruction of India». He added: «I pray incessantly that I will in no way feel any hatred towards my enemy. In fact when I fall victim to the bullet of my assassin my soul should breathe out its last with the name of God on my lips». After five days Gandhi ended his last fast in Birla house in New Delhi. The clashes had stopped, and the governments of India and Pakistan had assured him increased protection of the minorities. Gandhi, weakened by the fasts, gathered new strength to be able to continue with his mission. After the daily evening prayer meetings in the garden of Birla house, Gandhi spoke to the hundreds present on the 20th of January 1948. During his speech, a bomb, laid by one of the Hindu refugees, exploded nearby. Fortunately, injuring no one. Gandhi remained calm and urged the public to continue listening to him: «(unaudible) really I screamed as I talk you see how could I forget (inaudible) Sonu Sonu Sonu subchannel you hear something». Even after that he refused to have a bodyguard and prayed that the assassin would not be punished. However Gandhi criticized the religious fanatics amongst the people as well as the politicians of the Congress party, which in the meantime had emerged from the Indian National Congress. The autocracy of the Congress party in the Indian Union did not offer to the nonviolent anarchist Gandhi enough safety against the misuse of power and corruption. In a draft towards a change of party statutes he therefore suggested that the party be dissolved and transformed into a loose union of peace workers. They should then stay away from party and power politics and above all dedicate themselves to the social, economic and moral aspects of constructive work in the villages. This political testament of Gandhi was however rejected by the members of the Congress party. On Friday the 30th of January 1948, shortly after 17-00 hours, Gandhi, supported by his companions, went into the garden of build a house for a prayer meeting. 500 people were already waiting for him. Nathuram Godse killed him with three shots. Gandhi died with the name of God on his lips. The murderer was immediately arrested and months later sentenced to death in a sensational trial. With a troubled face, the Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said: «(inaudible) The light have gone and there is darkness everywhere. And I do not quite know what to tell me and how to say it. The leather bleeder Babu, as we called him, the father of the nation, is no more. Perhaps I'm wrong to say that nevertheless we will not see him again as we have seen him for these many years we will not run to him for advice and seek solace from him. And that is the terrible blow not to me only but the millions and millions in this country. And it is a little difficult to soften the blow by any advice that I or anyone else can give you. The light have gone out I said and yet I was wrong for the light that shone in this country was no ordinary light the light that is in this country for these many years for many more here and a thousand years later that light will still be seen in this country and the world will see it and it will give solace to innumerable hearts for that light represented something more than the immediate present it represented the living truth. And the eternal men were with us with his eternal truths reminding us of the right path drawing us from error taking this ancient country to freedom». Gandhi’s body was initially laid out in the rooms and later on the roof of Birla house. The next day, on the 31st of January, he was driven around Delhi for five hours passed millions of people. On the banks of the Jamuna River Gandhi's body was then burned, according to Hindu rites, on a funeral pyre of sandalwood. Still shocked by the assassination of Gandhi, the whole world took its leave of the prophet of non-violence. After 13 days of mourning, the urn with the remains of Gandhi was brought in a special train to Allahabad to the confluence of Ganges, Jamuna and Saraswati. Gandhi's ashes was strewn by his sons over the holy waters which make beggar and King, sinner and Saint equal. Mahatma Gandhi was in a world, full of evil, an apostle of tolerance, of non-violence and of belief. The strength of his intellect was the most powerful weapon of peace. The ethics of non-violence, of which he was a living example, live on without boundaries in time or in space.