The Life of Mohandas Gandhi Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) was a genious, spiritual leader and humanitarian who introduced a concept of nonviolent civil disobedience to the political world. He was to become the leader of one of the century's major advances in his struggle for Indian rights and independence (Ahmedabad 97). Gandhi was born into a powerful family which belonged to the Hindu merchant caste Vaisya (Gandhi The End of an Empire). For several generations members of his family had served as Prime Ministers of Indian states. Gandhi's parents were devoutly religious, part of a sect of Hinduism that worshipped Vi