Gandhi in South Africa and His Early Struggles in India (1893 to 1918)
Mahatma Gandhi developed satyagraha in South Africa and then tested it in India at Champaran, Ahmedabad and Kheda between 1917 and 1918, before leading the national movement.
Gandhi in South Africa (1893 to 1914)
- Born 2 October 1869, Porbandar. He went to South Africa in 1893 for a legal case (Dada Abdullah). The Pietermaritzburg incident (7 June 1893), when he was thrown off a train, changed his life.
- Natal Indian Congress (1894); journal Indian Opinion (1903); Phoenix Settlement near Durban (1904); Tolstoy Farm near Johannesburg (1910).
- First satyagraha (11 September 1906) at the Empire Theatre, Johannesburg, against the Asiatic Registration Ordinance (the "Black Act"). The word satyagraha was coined in 1908.
- 1913: campaign against the £3 tax on ex-indentured labour and the invalidation of non-Christian marriages, and the march from Newcastle to Transvaal.
- Gandhi-Smuts Agreement (1914) and the Indian Relief Act (1914) ended the main grievances.
- He returned to India on 9 January 1915, and accepted Gokhale's advice to travel across India for a year. He set up the Sabarmati Ashram (Ahmedabad, 1917).
Gandhi's three early struggles in India
| Movement | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Champaran | April 1917 | Bihar. At the request of Rajkumar Shukla, Gandhi investigated the plight of indigo peasants forced to grow indigo on 3/20 of their land (tinkathia). With Rajendra Prasad, Mazharul Haque, J.B. Kripalani, Mahadev Desai. Gandhi's first civil disobedience in India. The Champaran Agrarian Act (1918) removed tinkathia. |
| Ahmedabad Mill Strike | February to March 1918 | A dispute between mill owners and workers over a plague bonus. Gandhi's first hunger strike. The workers (led with Anasuya Sarabhai) got a 35 per cent rise. |
| Kheda Satyagraha | 1918 | Gujarat. Peasants asked for a revenue remission after crop failure. Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel led the campaign. The government gave relief to the poor. |
Gandhian ideas
- Satyagraha: insistence on truth through non-violent resistance.
- Ahimsa (non-violence), sarvodaya (welfare of all), swadeshi, trusteeship, and constructive work (khadi, village industries, removal of untouchability, communal harmony).
- Gandhi called himself a disciple of Gokhale. The title "Mahatma" is popularly credited to Tagore. Subhas Chandra Bose called him "Father of the Nation" (1944).
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Prepared for exam revision from standard sources such as NCERT, Bipan Chandra, Spectrum and official records. Historians differ on some dates, figures and interpretations, so check your exam syllabus and a standard textbook. Found a mistake? Tell us.