Born in India as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, he later was given the name Mahatma Gandhi--Mahatma meaning "great soul." Architect of Indian independence, he truly was a great soul. At a time when his country was ruled by British, he wanted to change things and did so, differently than anyone else ever had. Many consider Gandhi the most influential non-politician of the 20th century. Although he often got involved in politics, as he said: "I am not a saint who has strayed into politics. I am a politician who is trying to become a saint."
Gandhi got his first taste of racial discrimination sh…