Which Indian leader led a nonviolent independence movement against British rule, assassinated in 1948? The answer is Mahatma Gandhi, a central figure in India’s struggle for independence.
Gandhi developed and promoted satyagraha, a philosophy of nonviolent resistance grounded in truth, civil disobedience, and moral persuasion. He helped lead major campaigns against British rule, including the Non-Cooperation Movement, the Salt March of 1930, and the Quit India Movement launched in 1942. His methods influenced civil-rights leaders around the world.
India became independent on August 15, 1947, but independence was accompanied by Partition and devastating communal violence. Gandhi spent his final months encouraging peace between Hindus and Muslims. Nathuram Godse assassinated him by shooting him at Birla House in New Delhi on January 30, 1948. Bhagat Singh and Subhas Chandra Bose were also important anti-colonial figures, but neither is the leader described here.