Mohandas Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, Gujarat, India.[3]Several members of his family worked for the government of the state. When Gandhi was 18 years old, he went toEngland to study law.[4] After he became a lawyer, he went to the British colony ofSouth Africa where he experienced laws that said people with dark skin had worse rights than people with light skin. He decided then to become a political activist, so he could help change these unfair laws. He created a powerful, non-violent movement. During Gandhi's life, India was a colony of the United Kingdom, but wanted independence.