The correct answer is (c), Rabindranath Tagore.
Rabindranath Tagore, a Bengali polymath who reshaped Bengali literature and music, as well as Indian art with Contextual Modernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was the first to call Mohandas Gandhi “Mahatma” (Sanskrit: “high-souled”).
Tagore first met Gandhi in 1915, and the two men quickly became friends. Tagore was impressed by Gandhi’s commitment to non-violence and his work to improve the lives of India’s poor. In 1919, Tagore wrote a letter to Gandhi in which he addressed him as “Mahatma.” This was the first time that Gandhi had been called by this title, and it quickly became a popular way to refer to him.
Gandhi was initially reluctant to accept the title of Mahatma, but he eventually came to see it as a way to honor his commitment to non-violence and social justice. He used the title to describe himself in his writings and speeches, and it became a symbol of his lifelong struggle for peace and equality.
Jawaharlal Nehru, Madan Mohan Malviya, and Subhash Chandra Bose were all prominent Indian leaders who were also friends of Gandhi. However, it was Tagore who first called Gandhi “Mahatma,” and this title came to be associated with Gandhi’s lifelong commitment to non-violence and social justice.