Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869 - 1948) was the preeminent leader of the Indian independence movement in British-ruled India. Employing nonviolent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The honorific Mahatma (Sanskrit: "high-souled", "venerable") applied to him first in 1914 in South Africa is now used worldwide. In India, he is also called Bapu and Gandhiji. He is unofficially called the Father of the Nation.