* Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948), also known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent civil disobedience to lead the Indian independence movement against British rule.
* Gandhi's birth anniversary, 2 October, is celebrated in India as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday, and world-wide as the International Day of Nonviolence.
* He is also called Bapu (father) in India.
* In India, he is also called Mahatma, and started to be called so in 1914 in South Africa.
* In 1930, Time called him the "Man of the Year".
* He was nominated five times for the Nobel Peace Prize, but never won.
* The United Nations General Assembly declared 2 October to be the International Day of Non-Violence.
* The Government of India instituted the Gandhi Peace Prize in 1995 to honor Mahatma Gandhi's memory and his lifelong dedication to peace and nonviolence.