Karamchand

Karamchand Gandhi, commonly known simply as Karamchand, was an Indian administrator who served as the diwan (chief minister) of Porbandar State in the Kathiawar peninsula, present-day Gujarat. He belonged to the Modh-Bania community and held a senior position within the state’s administration, aligning with the ruling rulers of Porbandar during the mid- to late-19th century.

Karamchand is best known as the father of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who would become Mahatma Gandhi, the leading figure of the Indian independence movement. He was married to Putlibai, and together they raised several children, including Mohandas. The elder Gandhi’s career and his family environment provided Mohandas with early exposure to governance, law, and social issues within a princely state under British suzerainty, elements that influenced Gandhi’s later development of his philosophy of nonviolence, civil disobedience, and social responsibility.

Biographical details of Karamchand’s life are comparatively sparse, and much of what is known about him comes from biographical sources focused on his son. Historians note that his position within Porbandar’s administration and his family background helped shape the circumstances in which Mohandas Gandhi grew up, contributing to the values and perspectives that would later inform his public life.