Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869–1948) was a pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement, who has grown to become the world's icon of peaceful resistance and nonviolent revolution, resistance to tyranny through mass civil protest. His philosophy and leadership helped India gain independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom all across the world. The Story of My Experiments with Truth is the autobiography of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, covering his life from early childhood through to 1920. It was initiated at the insistence of Swami Anand and other close co-workers of Gandhi to explain the background of his public campaigns for justice. In 1999, the book was designated as one of the "100 Most Important Spiritual Books of the 20th Century" by HarperCollins publishers.