Ramdas Mohandas Gandhi (4 May 1897 – 14 April 1969) was the third son of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

. He was a freedom activist in his own right.

Biography

Ramdas was born in the

Colony of Natal The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies t ...

, the third son of Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba Gandhi. He had two older brothers, Harilal and Manilal, and one younger brother, Devdas Gandhi. He was married to Nirmala Gandhi, and they had three children, including Kanu Gandhi and Sumitra Kulkarni. Raised in South Africa on one of his father's ashram-farms, Ramdas would, as an adult, tend to deprecate the idealistic poverty imposed by his father on all his associates. He had no taste for

asceticism Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing Spirituality, spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world ...

and considered that his father's lifestyle was nothing more than a personal fetish which caused inconvenience to others, including the Gandhi family. Nevertheless, he was a passionate nationalist and freedom fighter, and an active participant in the grueling civil protests of the 1930s which his father led. He was imprisoned numerous times by the British, and these prolonged stints in jail had serious effects on his health. At his father's funeral, Ramdas Gandhi was the one who lit the funeral pyre, as he had desired. He was joined by his younger brother Devdas Gandhi at the funeral. He died in 1969, aged 72.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gandhi, Ramdas 1897 births 1969 deaths Ramdas Prisoners and detainees of British India Indian independence activists from Bombay Presidency People from Pune Indian expatriates in the Colony of Natal