Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was a leader of nationalism in British-ruled India. He is more commonly called Mahatma Gandhi; "mahatma" is an honorific meaning "great-soul" or "venerable" in Sanskrit. He was first called this in 1914 in South Africa. He is also called "Bapu" in India (Gujarati endearment for "father", "papa"). 