MAHATMA GANDHI
(Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi | Gandhi)
With the partition of India forming an independent Pakistan, ethnic riots broke out and millions of people were killed. This joint statement was issued to try and quell the violence but it had progressed too far. Jinnah as a political ploy to obtain the partition organized Muslims and threatened violence—see {627153} and {627169}. Things got out of hand with ethnic cleansing being an objective in many localities—see {627146} and {627149}.
The actual quote, referring to Gandhi, is from Sarojini Naidu (President of the Indian National Congress), “It costs a lot of money to keep this man in poverty.” She was pointing out the high logistical costs of his austere lifestyle, such as reserving entire third-class train cars for his staff and entourage. Over time, internet memes and quote lists adapted Naidu's observation into a witty first-person statement ("I am a poor man...") and mistakenly credited it to Gandhi himself.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist, who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule, and in turn inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The honorific Mahātmā (Sanskrit: "great-souled", "venerable"), first applied to him in 1914 in South Africa, is now used throughout the world.
