Mahatma Gandhi

1869 – 1948

British troops open fire on an unarmed crowd at Jallianwala Bagh, killing at least 379 (Indian estimates put the toll far higher). The massacre radicalizes I…

• 1919 CE

  Amritsar Massacre shocks India

  British troops open fire on an unarmed crowd at Jallianwala Bagh, killing at least 379 (Indian estimates put the toll far higher). The massacre radicalizes Indian opinion, accelerating demands for independence and transforming Gandhi into a mass leader.

• 1930 CE

  Gandhi leads Salt March

  Mahatma Gandhi walks 240 miles to the sea to make salt in defiance of British salt laws. The act of civil disobedience galvanizes millions and demonstrates a new model of nonviolent resistance that inspires independence movements worldwide.

• 1947 CE

  India gains independence; Partition begins

  After two centuries of British rule, India and Pakistan become independent on August 15—but Partition divides the subcontinent along religious lines. Up to 2 million die in communal violence; 15 million flee across borders in one of history's largest mass migrations.