Hindustan Times/Getty Images
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birthday on Wednesday.
- Wednesday marks what would have been Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birthday - Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869.
- Gandhi was revered during his lifetime (and after his assassination) for his views on nonviolence and for his belief in secular democracy.
- Although his early writing reveals his racism towards black people, Gandhi's views evolved to focus more on peace, and his activism, including hunger strikes, eventually led to India's independence in 1946.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
To celebrate Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birthday, India is praying for peace.
On Wednesday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi payed tribute to Gandhi at an event at Parliament House in New Delhi. Gandhi's birthday - October 2, 1869 - is a national holiday in India called Gandhi Jayanti, where events and prayers are taking place all over the country.
Mohandas Gandhi (or as India knows him, the "father of the nation,") wasn't given the name "Mahatma" (great soul) until 1914, after he had built a reputation as a lawyer and social activist.
From then on, Gandhi dedicated himself to Indian independence through nonviolence. His philosophy would eventually lead to India gaining independence from Britain in 1946. Although Gandhi was assassinated two years later by a Hindu extremist who opposed Gandhi's idea of secular Indian democracy, his beliefs would live on in leaders like Martin Luther King Jr, and Nelson Mandela.
As history's perception of Gandhi evolves (some of his opinions have been considered racist by today's standards), his most well-regarded views - nonviolence, civil disobedience, secular democracy - have held up much better with time.
Here are some of Gandhi's most thought-provoking quotes from letters, speeches, interviews, and his own writing.