Mahatma Gandhi

About Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) stands as one of history's most pivotal figures, ranked #7 globally by the MIT Pantheon project for his unparalleled cultural influence. As the primary leader of the Indian independence movement, his philosophy of Satyagraha-nonviolent civil disobedience-mobilized millions and ultimately forced the end of British imperial rule in India. His principled resistance, rooted in deep spiritual and political convictions, profoundly shaped 20th-century struggles for civil rights and freedom across the globe, making his historical importance virtually unmatched.

Despite this towering historical status, the digital attention Gandhi receives is notably less commensurate with his importance. In 2025, his Wikipedia pages garnered 4.6 million views. This places him in an overattention bracket of +3x relative to his historical ranking, suggesting a strong baseline of recognition. However, a more striking comparison arises when contrasting him with contemporary figures like Bob Dylan (#736 importance) who attracted 12.0M views, or Joe Biden (#329 importance) with 10.6M views. Even Gautama Buddha, ranked the #2 most important figure, only achieved 410K views, highlighting a massive gap in attention paid to foundational religious and philosophical figures versus modern political or cultural icons.

Furthermore, the trend data indicates a slight disengagement from his narrative; Gandhi's 2025 Wikipedia views saw a year-over-year decline of -19.3%, coupled with a -16% drop in engagement momentum between Q1 and Q3, suggesting that while his historical relevance is immense, current internet attention may be slowly receding.