Indian Independence
At midnight on 15th August 1947, India became an independent nation. Although there had been uprisings against colonial rule for more than 400 years, it was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, commonly known as Mahatma Gandhi, who is widely credited with leading India towards independence.

Gandhi, born a Hindu in Gujurat, pioneered a policy of non-cooperation and non-violent resistance – in his words using "patience and sympathy" to "wean one's opponent from error". In one campaign, Gandhi led thousands of Indians in a 250-mile march to the sea at Dandi to make salt as a protest against salt taxes imposed by the British. Although Gandhi urged the Indian National Congress to reject Britain's proposals for independence in 1946 because he feared they would lead to partition, Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel approved the plan. More than two million people were killed in the violent clashes between Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs that followed.