Kasturba Gandhi’s 79th death anniversary: Lesser-known facts about India’s ‘Ba’

India will be witnessing the 79th death anniversary of Kasturba Gandhi and here is the lesser-known fact about her.

Kasturba Gandhi would often address the masses, encouraging them to fight for their freedom. 

(Photo courtesy: Pinterest)

We all know that ‘Bapu’ is popular as one of the freedom fighters of the Indian freedom struggle and very few people are aware about ‘Ba’. But as the old and famous saying goes, “Behind every successful man, there stands a woman.” It is believed that it was the unconditional support and efforts of Kasturba Gandhi that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi became a law practitioner.

A lot of people might think that Kasturba Gandhi might have spent all her life under the shadow of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi but that is not true. Today, on her death anniversary, we will share a few lesser known facts about the nation's Ba.

Kasturba Gandhi’s 79th Death Anniversary 2023: Lesser Known Facts

• Kasturba Gandhi was born to Gokuladas Kapadia and Vrajkunwerba Kapadia on 11 April 1869 and she was married to Mohandas at the age of 14. very few people know that Gandhi was one year younger than her and it was an arranged marriage.

• Kasturba did not attend school in her life but after she got married, Gandhi was extremely enthusiastic about education and taught her how to read and write.

• Gopalkrishan, the grandson of Ba and Bapu had once revealed that Kasturba had to sell off her jewelry to put together the funds for Gandhi's law education in England.

• Kasturba had also gone to South Africa with Bapu where he practiced law. She also participated in agitations against the mistreatment of Indian immigrants along with Gandhi. For this, she was arrested and handed out the sentence of hard labor.

• While she was serving the sentence in the South African prison, she encouraged educated inmates to teach uneducated ones.

• She returned to India with Gandhi on 9 January 1915 and joined the Indian freedom movement. She took part in various agitations across the country and replaced Gandhi when he was imprisoned. As a result, she was also arrested and jailed numerous times.

• While Gandhi was working for the oppressed peasants in Bihar's Champaran, Kasturba spent most of her time educating the women of Bihar about hygiene and health. She also took initiative to help them learn to read and write.

• She spent a lot of time serving in ashrams and from there they were called Ba, meaning mother.

• Kasturba had two heart attacks in January 1944 which forced her to spend most of her time in bed. Initially, her health saw a marginal improvement but it later worsened. She breathed her last at the Aga Khan Palace in Pune at 7:35 PM on 22 February 1944.