#6: Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
Before becoming a spiritual and political leader, Mahatma Gandhi trained as a lawyer in India and later in London, where he picked up the legal grounding that would shape his future strategies. Over time, he became a central figure in India’s struggle for independence from British rule, organizing mass movements built on non-cooperation with colonial laws and a strict commitment to nonviolence. In 1930, he led the Salt March, a symbolic protest against British taxation that drew global attention to the independence movement. His approach to civil resistance reshaped political activism far beyond India. Gandhi was assassinated in 1948, but his philosophy of nonviolent protest continues to echo in movements around the world.
