Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi's journey from a lawyer to becoming the face of India's fight for independence is known to all and has been covered by many. In this journey, the one integral part, or rather, companion, of the Mahatma was his wife, Kasturba Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi spoke on many occasions about the influence Kasturba had on his life and his journey. She was a strong-willed woman who fought alongside the Mahatma and, when he was in prison, stood in his place to lead the people. She was his wife, his companion, and his caretaker.
Childhood and Marriage
Kastubra Mohandas Gandhi was born on April 11, 1869, to Gokuldas Kapadia and Vrajkunwerba in the city of Porbandar, which is now part of Gujarat state. Her father was a leading merchant dealing in grains, cloth, and cotton markets in Africa and the Middle East. She also had two brothers.
Kasturba's family was close friends with the Gandhi family, who cemented their friendship by marrying their children. She was engaged at the age of seven and was married at the age of 13 in 1882.
After her marriage, she moved to Rajkot to live in the Gandhi home. She gave birth to their first child in 1885, but the child died shortly after birth. Six years after their marriage, they had Harilal, who was born in 1888. Shortly after the birth of their first child, Mohandas left to study in London, while Kasturba stayed back in India. She gave birth to three more sons: Manilal in 1892, Ramda in 1897, and Devdas in 1900. It was in 1897 that the family moved to South Africa, but they returned to India in 1901. In 1903, the Gandhi family decided to move back to South Africa, where they would both be involved in social activism and politics.
In 1904, she, along with Mohandas Gandhi and others, established the Phoenix Settlement near Durban, a cooperative village where residents shared chores and grew their own food.
Education
She never attended school but was educated by Gandhi, who took it upon himself to give her an elementary education.
Politics and social activism
Karturba was arrested and sentenced to three months in prison in 1913 for participating in a protest against the treatment of Indian immigrants in South Africa. The family moved back to India in early 1915 after Kastura started facing serious medical problems. After moving to India, she continued to participate in the increasing number of civil actions and protests, she often took the Mahatma's place when he was sent to prison. She also spent most of her time helping to manage various ashrams that she helped build with Mohandas.
She always had love for everyone and was soon called "Ba" or mother.
She also worked for the welfare of women in Champaran and Bihar.
In 1922, she was part of the civil disobedience movement in Borsad, Gujarat, and many other places in the 1930s. She was arrested and jailed several times for being a part of these protests. She protests against the British in Rajkot after the women in the city request that she join them in their fight. She was arrested and moved to solitary confinement for a month near the city when her health began to deteriorate.
Death
In 1942, she was again arrested in Pune for participating in the Quit India movement. While she was at the Aga Khan Palace, her chronic bronchitis became more severe, she contracted pneumonia, and she suffered from two heart attacks, after which she was confined to her bed most of the time. She passed away on February 22, 1944, at the Aga Khan Palace in Pune.
