How Mahatma Gandhi’s Wife Kasturba Gandhi Contributed to India’s Freedom Struggle

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the father of the nation, left no stone unturned to ensure India got freedom from the British Raj. We all are aware of his life story. But only a few are familiar with his wife Kasturba Gandhi, lovingly known as ‘Baa’. As goes the adage, “Behind every successful man, there’s a woman.” It is believed that Gandhiji became a lawyer because of his wife’s unwavering support and efforts. On the occasion of Baa’s death anniversary, let’s delve deep into knowing her.

Nobody can imagine a marriage without differences and fights between a husband and wife. But is the married life of such great personalities, who are considered ideals of society, always very good? What better way to know this than through the life of Mahatma Gandhi, who has always set examples of ideals and made everyone bow down to his ideals? But apparently, his married life was typical rather than ideal, with only Kasturba reaching the pinnacle of ideals in many cases. The country recognises Kasturba’s contribution to freedom too. This is because of her spirit and the way she stood beside Gandhiji. But she, too, like any normal couple, had differences with him. But the world believes that Kasturba has proved herself an ideal wife.

Kasturba was born in Porbandar (Gujarat) on April 11, 1869. His father, Gokuldas Kapadia, was a well-known grain, cloth, and cotton merchant, who was close to Karamchand, the father of Gandhiji, who was the Diwan of Porbandar at the time. Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba were engaged when they were just seven years old and married when they were thirteen. Because they married at a very early age, both of them needed time to mature. They became friends, but it took time for both of them to realise the importance of their marriage. It took some time for them to get used to each other.

Bapu stated in his autobiography that initially, he was very attracted to Kasturba. He had written that even in school, he thought only about Kasturba. Gandhiji was upset that Kasturba was uneducated, so he decided to teach her himself. But due to household responsibilities, Baa did not feel like studying.

Kasturba travelled to South Africa with Mahatma Gandhi in 1897, as he went to study law there. She helped with Gandhi’s work and followed him everywhere he went. Here, both got a chance to understand each other more, and Kasturba became a follower of her husband’s views. Baa was also frequently seen arguing with Bapu about the education of the children. But in public, Baa always supported Bapu.

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