Mohandas Gandhi
Out of the Indian independence movement arose a figure few will ever forget: Mohandas 'Mahatma' Gandhi. While working as a lawyer in South Africa, he pioneered the concept of satyagraha, or, civil disobedience in response to tyranny, helping Indians there campaign for civil rights. His peaceful acts of protest abroad and his anti-poverty campaigns at home helped him become the spiritual heart of the Indian independence struggle. Working with Jawaharlal Nehru, the nation's future prime minister, Gandhi led the country in peaceful protest against foreign domination, exemplified by the 1930 Salt March in protest to a British salt tax. His rise paved the way for India's independence in 1947. Though the country was later divided (and Gandhi himself assassinated), his role in the bloodless revolution earned him the title "Father of India" and paved the way for other social movements, including America's struggle for civil rights.