Mahatma Gandhi was the charismatic intellectual and mass-movement leader who brought the cause of independence for British colonial India to world attention. His ideas, especially the satyagraha model of non-violent protest, have influenced both nationalist and internal movements throughout the world. By means of non-violent civil disobedience, Gandhi helped bring about India's independence from British rule, inspiring other colonial peoples to work for their own independence and ultimately dismantle the British Empire and replace it with the Commonwealth. Gandhi's principle of satyagraha ('"truth force"), often roughly translated as "way of truth" or "pursuit of truth," has inspired other democratic activists, including Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela. He often stated his values were simple, drawn from traditional Hindu beliefs: truth (satya), and non-violence (ahimsa).

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1796: The capital of Upper Canada was moved from Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) to York (now Toronto), which was judged to be less vulnerable to attack by the Americans. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Canada)

1884: The first fascicle of the Oxford English Dictionary was published. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary)

1946: Norwegian politician Trygve Lie was elected the first UN Secretary-General. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trygve_Lie)

1958: Egypt and Syria merged to form the United Arab Republic. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Arab_Republic)

2003: The NASA Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere on its 28th and final mission. This was the second total loss of a Space Shuttle. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Columbia)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe... No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." -- Winston Churchill (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill)