I am touched by Godshe's verdict and surprised that there are many who share the same or similar views about Gandhi. Once I did write a paper praising Gandhi however my views are different now. Who gave Gandhi the title of "mahatma" and why he called himself a "mahatma"? I asked this question to Indian scholars and no one could give me a clear answer. Most of them said that Rabindra Nath Tagore called him "mahatma' once and then he started calling himself "mahatma". There are no criteria for calling anyone "mahatma" or "saint" unlike Roman Catholic Church. The Mahatma title for Gandhi means nothing.. People say he lived simple life which is questionable because he was always escorted by two virgins, which was infamous at that time and were called "gandhi ke do lathi" he ignored the public cry of virgin escorts and used them all along anyway. He did have two favorite "virgins" among many others. Even though his biography seems impressive I was turned off when I read that he ignored his fathers request to see him from death bed and saw him the next day after his death. I do not consider Gandhi a "mahatma" nor a person who brought freedom to India. Sir Winston Churchill once said "if there were more people like Gandhi we would have ruled India for hundreds of years". Gandhi was used by the British media and hyped to hide their defeat they were facing almost everywhere among their colonies..