Mahatma Gandhi
1869–1948. મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી
4 genuine quotes, each found in the text, and 8 wrongly credited to Gandhi.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, called Mahatma, an Indian lawyer who led the Indian community’s campaigns of nonviolent resistance (satyagraha) in South Africa and then the movement for India’s independence; he was assassinated in January 1948. He wrote mostly in Gujarati and also in English, chiefly as a journalist (Indian Opinion, Young India, Harijan), and his words fill the hundred-volume Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. Many of the most shared ‘Gandhi quotes’ are not in his writings, or are later condensations of longer and more specific passages.
EndpaperAn AI‑generated pattern made for this page, in the manner of Santiniketan and Bengal School graphics (1905–1954).
Genuine Gandhi quotes
- Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.
Articles in Indian Opinion, Young India and Harijan (1920), ‘The Doctrine of the Sword’, Young India, 11 August 1920 (Young India 1919–1922, Madras: S. Ganesan, 1924, p. 260).
- The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
Articles in Indian Opinion, Young India and Harijan (1931), Interview to the press, Karachi, 26 March 1931, as reported in Mahadev Desai’s “Weekly Letter”, Young India, 2 April 1931 (Collected Works, vol. XLV, item 398, p. 345).
- Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err and even to sin.
Articles in Indian Opinion, Young India and Harijan (1931), Statement to the Press, Delhi, 5 March 1931; Young India, 12 March 1931, p. 31; Collected Works, vol. XLV, item 325, p. 253.
- My nationalism, fierce though it is, is not exclusive, is not devised to harm any nation or individual.
Articles in Indian Opinion, Young India and Harijan (1931), The Giant and the Dwarf, Young India, 26 March 1931; Collected Works, vol. XLV, item 397, p. 343.
Quotes wrongly credited to Gandhi
- Be the change you wish to see in the world.
Misattributed. Arleen Lorrance wrote it, not Gandhi.
- An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.
Not found. It is not in Gandhi’s works, and who first wrote it is not known.
- Asked what he thought of Western civilization, Gandhi replied: “I think it would be a good idea.”
Not found. It is not in Gandhi’s works, and who first wrote it is not known.
- A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is a part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.
Not found. It is not in Gandhi’s works, and who first wrote it is not known.
- First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
Not found. It is not in Gandhi’s works, and who first wrote it is not known.
- There is no way to peace; peace is the way.
Misattributed. A. J. Muste wrote it, not Gandhi.
- Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
Not found. It is not in Gandhi’s works, and who first wrote it is not known.
- The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
Not found. It is not in Gandhi’s works, and who first wrote it is not known.
Paraphrased: Gandhi’s thought, in other words
- Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the State becomes lawless or corrupt.
Paraphrase. The idea is in Articles in Indian Opinion, Young India and Harijan (1922), The Immediate Issue, Young India, 5 January 1922, p. 5; Collected Works, vol. XXII, item 65, p. 143.
- God himself dare not appear to a hungry man except in the form of bread.
Paraphrase. The idea is in Articles in Indian Opinion, Young India and Harijan (1931), Interview to Unemployed Workers’ Deputation, West Bradford, 27 September 1931; reported in Young India, 15 October 1931; Collected Works, vol. XLVIII, item 51, p. 74.
The works we hold
Quotes are looked up word for word in these texts. The number is how many genuine quotes here come from each.
| Work | Year | Genuine quotes |
|---|---|---|
| Articles in Indian Opinion, Young India and Harijan Indian Opinion, Young India, Harijan | 1903 | 4 |