The role of Mahatma Gandhi in the struggle for Indian independence “The strongest physical force bows before moral force when used to defend the truth. » - Mahatma Gandhi (Bondurant). Mahatma Gandhi was the main leader who helped India become independent through the principles of non-violence, self-reliance and unity of Hindus and Muslims. His full name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, but he was given the name Mahatma later in his life. He wanted to see a united India without the domination of the British Empire. He achieved this through passive resistance or non-violence, because he wanted to show that violence is not always the best response. India has not been a free and independent country for a long time. It was under British rule from 1858 to 1947. India finally became independent on August 15, 1947 (Trueman). Many people attribute India's independence to Mahatma Gandhi because of the important role he played in helping India in its freedom struggle. Alongside Mahatma Gandhi, Muhammed Jinnah and Jawaharlal Nehru helped make India an independent country. Gandhi's main principle in India's freedom struggle was based on non-violence, which he called satyagraha, meaning clinging to the truth, the force of truth or the force of soul (Bondurant). Along with non-violence, Gandhi believed in passive resistance and swaraj or self-reliance. Gandhi believed that being violent would only elicit a bad response from the British, but passive resistance caused the British to do something that would make them look bad. To achieve swaraj or self-reliance (Bondurant), Gandhi believed that India needed 3 essential ingredients. The first thing India needed was to unify Indians of different religions, especially Hindus and Muslims. Second, India had to remove its...... middle of paper ......ck.org/20-5-GandhiandIndia1919-33.html>.Bondurant, Joan V. « Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand (1869 - 1948). EncyclopediaAmericana. Grolier online, 2014. Web. February 6, 2014. “British Raj.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia.Web Foundation. February 2, 2014. “Indian History: British Colonial Period 1919-1947.” Gateway to India.GatewayToIndia.com, 2005. Web. February 12, 2014..Trueman, Chris. “Mahatma Gandhi.” History learning site. HistoryLearningSite.co.uk, 2000-2013. Internet. February 8, 2014. “Role of Mahatma Gandhi in the freedom struggle. » iloveindia.com. iloveindia.com. Internet. February 12 2014 .