Charles Freer Andrews

Charles Freer Andrews 

1-Charles Freer Andrews was an English priest of the Church of England.

2-He was an educator and participant in the campaign for Indian independence, and became Mahatma Gandhi's closest friend and associate.

3-Andrews greatly admired the philosophy of the young Mohandas Gandhi, and was instrumental in convincing him to return to India from South Africa, where Gandhi had been a leading light in its Indian civil rights struggle.

4-Andrews was affectionately dubbed Christ's Faithful Apostle by Gandhi, based on his initials.

5-Also, for Andrews' contributions to the Indian Independence Movement, Gandhi and his students at St. Stephen's College, Delhi named him  Deenabandhu,  or "Friend of the Poor",and CHARLIE.

6-Andrews was deeply impressed with Gandhi's knowledge of Christian values, and his espousal of the concept of ahimsa,non-violence - something that Gandhi mixed with inspiration from elements of Christian anarchism. He helped Gandhi organize an Ashram in Natal and publish his famous magazine, The Indian Opinion.

7-Later Andrews was elected President of the All India Trade Union in 1925 and 1927.

8- He accompanied Gandhi to the secondRound Table Conference in London, helping him negotiate with the British government on matters of Indian autonomy and devolution.

9- He spent a lot of time at Santiniketan in conversation with the poet and philosopher, Rabindranath Tagore. He also supported the movement to ban the ‘untouchability of outcastes’.

10- In 1925, he joined the famous Vaikom Satyagraha, and in 1933 assisted B.R. Ambedkar in formulating Dalit demands.