Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in Porbandar, western India, and studied law in London. In 1893 he went to South Africa to work on a legal case, and after being thrown off a train for sitting in a first-class carriage reserved for whites, he began organizing the Indian community against discriminatory laws. There he developed satyagraha, meaning holding firmly to truth: resisting unjust laws openly and nonviolently, and accepting the punishment. Returning to India in 1915, he became the leader of the Indian National Congress. He lived simply, spun his own cloth, and urged Indians to boycott British goods. In 1930 he led the Salt March to the sea to make salt in defiance of a British tax. He was jailed many times and fasted to call for peace between Hindus and Muslims and an end to the mistreatment of the people called untouchables. India won independence in 1947 but was divided into India and Pakistan amid terrible violence. In January 1948 a Hindu extremist shot Gandhi dead in Delhi.

Faith: Born and raised a Hindu; his faith shaped his practice of nonviolence. Source: Wikipedia