An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth About the Author Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948) was the preeminent political and spiritual leader of India during the movement to free India from British rule. He was the pioneer of satyagraha, resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience, a philosophy founded upon total nonviolence, which led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.