Gandhi family
An Indian family whose history includes princely-state administration, the life and legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, and later public service, scholarship, science, and civic work across several countries.
Last updated August 21, 2026
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Overview
The Gandhi family described here is the family of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, widely known as Mahatma Gandhi, rather than the separate Nehru–Gandhi political family. Its documented history reaches back through Gujarati administrators associated with the princely state of Porbandar. Uttamchand Gandhi, remembered within the family as Ota, served as Diwan of Porbandar and later Junagadh after a political dispute at Porbandar. His sons Karamchand and Tulsidas also held senior administrative office in Porbandar, while Karamchand later served as Diwan of Rajkot and as a member of the Rajasthanik Court. Karamchand Gandhi and his wife Putlibai were the parents of Mohandas, together with Laxmidas, Raliatbehn, and Karsandas. Mohandas was born in Porbandar on 2 October 1869. He studied law in London, was called to the bar in 1891, and developed his political and ethical ideas during legal and political work in South Africa. He subsequently became the most internationally recognized leader of India's independence movement, promoting nonviolent resistance, mass political mobilization, religious pluralism, and campaigns against discriminatory rule. The honorific Mahatma, meaning approximately “great-souled” or “venerable,” became associated with him during his South African period. In India he is also commonly called Gandhiji or Bapu. Mohandas married Kasturbai Kapadia, later known as Kasturba Gandhi, in 1883. Their first child died shortly after birth; their four surviving sons were Harilal, Manilal, Ramdas, and Devdas. Kasturba was an important participant in the family's political and social work and in campaigns connected with Gandhi's movements. She died in 1944, while Mohandas was detained at the Aga Khan Palace. Mohandas was assassinated in New Delhi on 30 January 1948. Later generations have included photographers, scientists, writers, philosophers, academics, legislators, diplomats, governors, university leaders, and organizers of Gandhi-related institutions. Examples include photographer Kanu Gandhi; Arun Manilal Gandhi, a journalist and activist; historian Rajmohan Gandhi; philosopher Ramchandra Gandhi; South African parliamentarian Ela Gandhi; Gopalkrishna Gandhi, a former Governor of West Bengal and diplomat; Tushar Gandhi, associated with the Gandhi Research Foundation; and Leela Gandhi, an academic in the United States. Members of the wider family have lived and worked in India, South Africa, the United States, and elsewhere. The family should not be conflated with the Nehru–Gandhi family. Indira Nehru married Feroze Gandhi, whose surname had earlier been spelled Ghandy; the two families are not biologically related and did not become related through that marriage. The Gandhi family is therefore best understood as a historical and living kinship network centered on Mahatma Gandhi's lineage, not as a corporation, consumer brand, or single political organization.
History
The family lineage presented in the reference article begins with Gujarati officials connected to Porbandar. Lalji Gandhi is identified as an early ancestor associated with the office of Naib Diwan, followed by several generations in administrative service. Uttamchand Gandhi became the first member of the immediate line to hold the full Diwan office in Porbandar. After a principled dispute with a royal faction, he served in Junagadh and later returned to Porbandar. His sons included Karamchand and Tulsidas, both of whom continued the family's relationship with princely-state administration. Karamchand Uttamchand Gandhi, also known as Kaba, served as Diwan of Porbandar and Rajkot and was connected with the Rajasthanik Court. With his fourth wife, Putlibai, he had Mohandas, the youngest of their children, as well as Laxmidas, Raliatbehn, and Karsandas. Mohandas's childhood in a politically connected Gujarati household was followed by legal study in London. His professional and political formation took place largely through his experiences in South Africa, where he developed methods of organized nonviolent resistance and challenged racial discrimination. Mohandas returned to India and became a central figure in the independence movement against British rule. His public work combined political campaigns with experiments in communal living, self-discipline, religious dialogue, economic self-reliance, and social reform. Kasturba Gandhi participated in many aspects of this life and became a recognized figure in her own right. The couple's four surviving sons formed the principal line of later descendants: Harilal, Manilal, Ramdas, and Devdas. Their descendants followed varied paths rather than forming a single institutional or commercial enterprise. The fourth through sixth generations include people active in photography, science, writing, philosophy, education, government, diplomacy, medicine, and civil society. Kanu Gandhi's photographs became an important visual record of Mahatma Gandhi's life. Manilal's descendants included Arun Manilal Gandhi and Ela Gandhi. Devdas's descendants included Rajmohan Gandhi, Ramchandra Gandhi, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, and Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee. Ramdas's descendants included Sumitra Kulkarni. Later descendants have continued work in Gandhi studies, public education, social development, higher education, and other professional fields. The family's public identity is inseparable from the memory of Mahatma Gandhi, who was described in India as Bapu and later widely honored as the Father of the Nation. That symbolic status has generated museums, foundations, research centers, educational programs, commemorations, and continuing debate about Gandhi's political and social legacy. It has also produced recurring confusion with the Nehru–Gandhi family. The latter acquired the Gandhi surname through Feroze Gandhi's change from Ghandy to Gandhi and Indira Nehru's marriage to him; it is not the same biological family as Mahatma Gandhi's family.
- 2004
Gopalkrishna Gandhi becomes Governor of West Bengal
[3]Gopalkrishna Gandhi served as Governor of West Bengal from 2004 to 2009.
- 1994
Ela Gandhi enters South African Parliament
[4]Ela Gandhi began service as a Member of Parliament in South Africa, a role she held until 2004.
- 1948
Death of Mahatma Gandhi
[2]Mohandas Gandhi was assassinated in New Delhi on 30 January.
- 1944
Death of Kasturba Gandhi
[5]Kasturba Gandhi died on 22 February while imprisoned with Mohandas at the Aga Khan Palace.
- 1891
Gandhi called to the bar
[2]Mohandas Gandhi was called to the English bar after studying law in London.
- 1883
Marriage of Mohandas and Kasturba
[1]Mohandas Gandhi married Kasturbai Kapadia, later known as Kasturba Gandhi.
- 1869
Birth of Mohandas Gandhi
[1]Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in Porbandar on 2 October, becoming the best-known member of the family.
Products and positioning
A historical family and public legacy associated with Indian independence, nonviolent politics, public service, scholarship, and civic institutions; it is not a commercial brand.
Sources5 sources
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