Special Sub-Topic: Mahatma Gandhi, father of the Indian nation Click Here To Play: Mahatma Gandhi, father of the Indian nation

"The story of my Experiments with Truth" is the autobiography of renowned political leader Mahatma Gandhi. It was originally written in Gujarati. Who is the co-author and translator of the book into English?

Mahadev Desai. Mahatma Gandhi started writing his autobiography in his 50s. He wrote it in his mother tongue Gujarati. His companion and follower, Mahadev Desai, completed it and translated it in English.

Gandhiji is often referred to as Mahatma or "Great Soul", an honorific title. Who glorified him by this term?

Rabindranath Tagore. Rabindranath Tagore had the utmost reverence for Gandhiji. He was the first person to address him as "Mahatma" or "Great Soul".

On March 12 1930, Gandhiji launched his historic "Salt March" from his ashram at Sabarmati in Ahemedabad to the seaside hamlet of Dandi. He and his 78 Volunteers had to cover a distance of 241 miles. How many days did they require to complete this Salt March?

24. At the age of 61, the Mahatma, taking nothing but a bamboo staff in hand, launched a march to Dandi, the seaside 'salt-hamlet', with 78 young followers. He reached Dandi on April 6 1930, marching a distance of 241 miles (390 km) in 24 days. By doing so, Gandhiji broke the British Salt Laws and expressed the protest of the Indian Mass people against British rule. Gandhiji held this Salt March to be more than a mere mass political action. To him it was a pilgrimage, an attempt to liberate India from British rule, a living sermon.

In 1908, Gandhiji coined a term meaning 'Universal Upliftment' as a title for his translation of John Ruskin's 'Unto this Last'. In the 1970s, non-violent leaders like Acharya Vinoba Bhave and Joy Prakash Narayana launched a mass agitation under the banner of that same term. Which of the following terms did Gandhiji coin?

Sarbodaya. The non-violent movement led by Bhave and Narayan was targeted at the Indian Government to ensure equality and power of self-determination among all sections of the Indian Populace including the extremely downtroddens. They were popularly called Sarbodaya leaders.

'Gandhi' is a famous film on the life of Mahatma Gandhi, directed by Sir Richard Attenborough. The film received various national and international recognitions and is considered one of the best films on Gandhiji. But the question is: who played the role of Gandhiji in that film?

Ben Kingsley. The film 'Gandhi' tells how the young Indian lawyer became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British rule through his philosophy of non-violence. It was written by John Briley and directed by Sir Richard Attenborough. The film received both national and international recognition.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi has become the iconic symbol of non-violence in the modern world. Many thinkers felt that the Indian national leader should have been awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize for Peace as a recognition for his achievements. He was never awarded the prize although nominated many times. But the question is, how many times Gandhiji was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize?

Five. Gandhiji was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize altogether five times, in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947 and finally a few days before his death in January 1948. However,he was never awarded the coveted prize as a recognition of his service to mankind in general and to Indian masses in particular. Some members of the Nobel comittee, however, regretted the matter in later occasions. At the time of awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to the Dalai Lama in 1989, the chairman of the committee said that "this was in part a tribute to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi".

Gandhiji married in May 1833. Although a strong voice against child marriage, he married a girl of 14. He himself was just 13 at that time. What was the name of his wife?

Kasturbai Makhanji. In May,1833, Gandhiji weded a girl of 14 named Kasturbai Makhanji at the age of only 13. Her first name was usually shortened to "Kasturba", and even affectionately to "Ba". It was an arranged child marriage, according to the prevalent custom of the region at that time.

"Like the historic march of Ramachandra to Lanka, the march of Gandhi will be memorable." Who made this prophetic comment on Gandhi's Salt March to Dandy?

Pt. Motilal Nehru. The Salt March was an important part of the Indian independence movement. It was a campaign against unjust tax imposition on the Indian Mass by the British rulers. This 'Salt March' ultimately triggered the wider Civil Disobedience Movement. This was the most significant and organized challenge to the British authority since the Non-cooperation movement of 1920-22, and directly followed the Purna Swaraj declaration of the Indian National Congress on January 26, 1930. The comment of Pt. Motilal Nehru proved to be correct.

Who was the political Guru of Mahatma Gandhi?

Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Gandhiji expressed his free and frank confession regarding the man behind the awareness of his political consciousness and guidance as Guru in an article titled ' Gokhale: My Political Guru' published in February 1918. Although on many occasions he had to contradict the political philosophy of Gopal Krishna Gokhale, still he was deeply respectful to his Guru all through his life.

Gandhiji was shot to death by a religious fanatic on the 30th January 1948 while he was walking to a platform from which he had to address a prayer meeting. The name of his assassinator was Nathuram Godse. What were the last words of the Mahatma?

Hey Ram (meaning O God ! ). Nathuram Godsey was once a follower of Gandhiji. But some of the political steps taken by Gandhiji towards the end of his career made followers like Godse frustated and disillutioned about him. Nathram thought that Gandhiji had become the puppet at the hands of some post-Independence political leaders.