The body of Mahatma Gandhi is drawn by Indian naval ratings on the way to the pyre on the banks of the Jumna for his funeral in 1948. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2 October 1869 - 30 January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule, and to later inspire movements for civil rights and freedom across the world