MOHANDAS KARAMCHAND GANDHI was born on 2 October 1869 in Porbandar, a small town on the west coast of India, which was then one of the many small states of Kathiawar. He was born into a middle class family of the Vaishya caste. His grandfather had become Dewan or Chief Minister of Porbandar and was succeeded by his son Karamchand, father of Mohandas. Putlibai, Mohandas' mother, was a saintly, kind and pious character, and left a deep impression on her son's mind. Mohandas attended a primary school in Porbandar, where he found it difficult to master multiplication tables. “My mind must have been feeble and my memory raw,” he recalled candidly many years later. He was seven years old when his family moved to Rajkot, another state from Kathiawar, where his father became Dewan. There he attended elementary school and later enrolled in high school. Although conscientious he was a "poor student" and was excessively shy and timid. Although his school results gave no indication of his future greatness, there was one incident that was significant. A British school insp...