Advent of Gandhi

Early Life
 Birth at Porbandar in Gujarat
2 October 1869
(Sudamapuri, Kathiawad)

1876 Beginning of Education at Rajkot

Married with Kasturba 1883

4th September 1888 Left for London to study law

Representing a firm and set sail for

April 1893
South Africa
 Formative Influences
• Acquired the traits of resistance and protest against injustice from the
mercantile community.

• Fasting and self-suffering from his mother Putlibai.

• Stood for himself and convinced his community elders for his London trip.

• Tolstoy’s “the Kingdom of God is within you”: Emphasised on morality,

truthfulness and simplicity.
• John Ruskin’s “Unto the Last” – Ideas of simple, self sufficient community
living.

• Ralph Waldo Emerson’s work on individualism.

• Henry David Thoreau – Resistance through disobedience.

South Africa Experience
 Background of South Africa
Superior feeling among
Whites.

Discrimination of Indians at
all levels.
 Founded Natal Moved a resolution
Indian Congress to on South Africa at
fight colour Calcutta Congress

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prejudice. session.

June 1893 1903

1 2 3 4

22 August 1894 27 December 1901

Incident Founded Transvaal

at Pietermaritzburg British India
station. Association.

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Took over entire
management Wrote 'Hind Swaraj'
responsibility of

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in Gujarati on board
'Indian Opinion’. S.S. Kildonan Castle
on the way to South

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Africa from London.
Founded Phoenix September
settlement 1906
5
6 7 8
1 October Nov.-Dec. Started Passive 13-22 November
1904 1904 Resistance 1909
Movement.
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 The Moderate Phase of Gandhi
He believed that if all the facts of
During this phase, he concentrated the case were presented to the
Gandhiji’s political activities from
on petitioning and sending Imperial Government, the British
1894 to 1906 may be classified as
memorials to the South African sense of justice and fair play would
the ‘Moderate’ phase of the
legislatures, the Colonial Secretary be aroused and the Imperial
struggle of the South African
in London and the British Government would intervene on
Indians.
Parliament. behalf of Indians who were, after
all, British subjects.

But, by 1906, Gandhiji, having fully

This he tried to do through the
His attempt was to unite the tried the ‘Moderate’ methods of
setting up of the Natal Indian
different sections of Indians, and to struggle, was becoming convinced
Congress and by starting a paper
give their demands wide publicity. that these would not lead
called Indian Opinion.
anywhere.
 Satyagraha Phase
• The second phase of the struggle in South Africa, which began in 1906, was
characterized by the use of the method of passive resistance or civil
disobedience, which Gandhiji named Satyagraha.

• It was first used when the Government enacted legislation making it

compulsory for Indians to take out certificates of registration which held their
finger prints.

• It was essential to carry these on person at all times.

At a huge public meeting held on 11
September, 1906, in the Empire
Theatre in Johannesburg, Indians
resolved that they would refuse to
submit to this law and would face
the consequences.
In August 1908, a number of
prominent Indians from Natal
crossed the frontier into Transvaal to
defy the new immigration laws and
were arrested. The more committed
Satyagrahis continued to go in and
out of jail, but the majority were
showing signs of fatigue.
The Government remained
The Government brought in new
adamant, and so did the Indians.
legislation, this time to restrict
Gandhiji formed the Passive
Indian immigration. The campaign,
Resistance Association to conduct
widened to oppose this.
the campaign.
At this point, Gandhiji set up Tolstoy
Farm, made possible through the Tolstoy Farm was the precursor of
generosity of his German architect the later Gandhian ashrams that
friend, Kallenbach, to house the were to play so important a role in
families of the Satyagrahis and give the Indian national movement.
them a way to sustain themselves.
 Poll tax of 3 pounds was
Campaign against Poll Tax imposed on all ex-indentured
Indians

The inclusion of demands for

the abolition of poll tax (which
was too much for the poor ex-
indentured Indians who earned
less than 10 shillings a month) in
the ongoing struggle further
widened the base of the
campaign.
 Further fuel was added to the
already raging fire by a
judgement of the Supreme
Court which invalidated all
marriages not conducted
according to Christian rites and
registered by the Registrar of
Marriages.
Gandhiji decided that the time
had now come for the final
struggle into which all the
resisters’ resources should be
channelled.
By implication, Hindu, Muslim
and Parsi marriages were illegal
and the children born through
these marriages illegitimate.
Eventually, through a series of
negotiations involving Gandhiji,
the Viceroy, Lord Hardinge, C.F.
Andrews and General Smuts, an
agreement was reached by
which the Government of South
Africa.
The Indians treated this
judgment as an insult to the
honor of their women and many
women were drawn into the
movement because of this
indignity.
It conceded the major Indian
demands relating to the poll tax,
the registration certificates and
marriages solemnized according
to Indian rites, and promised to
treat the question of Indian
immigration in a sympathetic
manner.
 Concept of Satyagraha
• Satya – Truth; Non-violence and truthfulness.

• Agraha – Firm grasping. A way of life.

A political expression and a weapon.

• 1906 – Origin of this concept in a speech
Like the passive resistance of the extremists.
at Johannesburg.
Conditions for resistance:
1. People should remain United.
• Initially, he coined it as passive
resistance, later he changed it to 2. Must be ready to experience hardships.

Satyagraha. 3. Use it only at proper occasions.

 Important Events
• 1893: Gandhi arrives in South Africa to provide legal support.
• 1894: The Natal Indian Congress is founded
• 1896: Gandhi is attacked by a mob after his ship, the SS Courtland, docks in
Durban when he returns to South Africa with his family after a home visit
• 1899: Gandhi organises the Indian Ambulance Corps to serve the British in
the South African War (Second Anglo-Boer)
• 1900: The Indian Ambulance Corps assists at the Battle of Spioenkop
• 1903: Gandhi founds the weekly Indian Opinion
• 1904: The Phoenix Settlement is established
• 1906: A meeting at the Empire Theatre in Johannesburg sows the seeds for satyagraha movement.

• 1908: Gandhi is imprisoned at the Old Fort in Johannesburg for the 1st time

• 1908: A crowd, led by Gandhi, burn their passes outside the Hamidia Mosque in Fordsburg

• 1909: Gandhi publishes the book Hind Swaraj (Indian Home Rule)

• 1910: Tolstoy Farm is established outside Johannesburg

• 1913: Gandhi leads a march of 2k Indian coal miners & sugar-plantation workers across the border
to the Transvaal

• 1914: Gandhi & Smuts reach an agreement to relax certain restrictions on Indians in return for
ending the satyagraha campaign. Gandhi & Kasturba leave South Africa for good
Advent of Gandhi

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 The Sabarmati Ashram
• Founded in May 1915 in Ahmedabad.

• Objective - ‘To create a religious community on the traditional Hindu pattern’.

• Stressed on simplicity of life, truthfulness, celibacy.

• Encouraged practise of manual labour, hand spinning, use of indigenous

products.
 His Stand
• Returned to India on 9th January 1915.
• His efforts in South Africa were well known not only among the educated
but also among the masses.
• He decided to tour the country the next 1 year & see for himself the
condition of the masses.
• He also decided not to take any position on any political matter for at least
one year.
• As for the political currents prevalent at that time in India, he was convinced
about the limitations of moderate politics & was also not in favor of Home
Rule agitation which was becoming popular at that time.
The Three Interventions
 thewire.in
Champaran
Satyagraha

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Ahmedabad
Satyagraha
Kheda
Satyagraha

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 Champaran
• Peasant discontent against the European planters since 1860s.

• Forceful production of indigo under the tinkathia system (bound peasants to

produce indigo in 3/20th part of their land).

• Significant role of local middle and rich peasant leaders.

 Agreement to cultivate
indigo on 3/20th of land

By end of 19th century, To release this deal,

Synthetic dyes in Germany European planters tried to
put illegal due as price
 Bihar Provincial Conference
1915
decides to take up the issue
to the annual session of INC.

Lucknow Congress Raj Kumar

1916
Shukla approached Gandhi.

Gandhi arrived at Champaran

with a band of lawyers, including
1917 Dr. Rajendra Prasad, to fight it
out with the British.
When the authorities
Gandhi convinced the
ordered him to leave, Gandhi was arrested
ryots to adopt non-
Gandhi defied the but then later released
violence and passive
order & preferred to by the magistrate.
resistance.
face the punishment.

The peasants soon

The peasants of Villagers of the Belwa
realized that passive
Dhokraha plantation plantation refused to
resistance was more
started a no rent carry out their carting
expedient and
campaign. work.
comparatively safe.

This passive resistance of an
unjust order was a novel
method at that time
Gandhi was able to convince
the authorities that tinkathia
should be abolished & that
the peasants should be
compensated for the illegal
dues extracted from them.
The government appointed a
committee(Indigo
commission) to go into the
matter & nominated Gandhi
as a member.
As a compromise with the
planters, he agreed that only
25 % of the money taken
should be compensated.
 The Gandhian Leaders

Rajendra Mazhar-ul- Narahari

JB Kriplani
Prasad, Haq, Parekh,

Anugrah
Mahadev Brajkishore Ramnavmi
Narayan
Desai, Prasad, Prasad
Sinha,

Shambhu
Sharan Varma.
 Kheda
A no rent campaign was started
by local leaders Mohanlal
Drought of 1918 - failure of crops. 1917 Pandya and Shankarlal Parikh.

Rise in agricultural wages.

The Gujarat Sabha
Bubonic plague outbreak. January 1918
requested Gandhi to join.
Government refused to provide a
remission a per the revenue code.
Gandhi decided to
Farmers were entitled to remission if the launch a satyagraha
March 22, 1918 campaign. He asked
yield falls below 1/4th of the produce.
farmers not to pay taxes.
The Bombay government threatened
confiscation of property.
• Sardar Vallabhai Patel, Ravi Shankar Vyas, Narhari Parikh did the
groundwork for the movement.

• The peasants refused to submit even though their lands were confiscated.

• Those who bought the confiscated properties were ostracised.

Government’s Response

By April 1918, the government came out with concessions.

Increased Taxes were suspended.

Confiscated lands were returned to the peasants.

By June, Gandhi called off the movement.

 Ahmedabad
• Ahmedabad had transformed into a leading industrial town.

• The mill owners often faced scarcity of labourers.

• During the 1917 plague outbreak, a plague bonus was introduced to dissuade
the workers from leaving the town.

• After the epidemic, the bonus was discontinued.

• Workers opposed this move and demanded continuation of bonus owing to war
time inflation.

• Mill owners were ready to give 20% hike, but the workers demanded a 50% hike.
• Amabala Sarabhai, one of the mill owners, was Gandhi’s friend.

• Anushya Sarabhai, sister of Ambalal had a great respect for Gandhi.

• Gandhi proposed that the workers must demand 35% instead of

50%. Beginning of satyagraha - organized worker meetings,
delivered lectures, issued pamphlets.
 Gandhi’s Fast
• The millowners opened the mills in March 1915 and announced that they
were ready for a 20% hike.

• Gandhi went on a fast to pressurise the mill owners.

• The fast of Gandhi compelled the Mill owners to start negotiations.

• A settlement was reached and 35% hike was agreed.

 Champaran Satyagraha Kheda Satyagraha Ahmedabad Satyagraha
• Proved that an organised • Satyagraha can be used as
• Demonstrated the
political campaign could a weapon against all forms
effectiveness of a non-
weaken the resolve of the of injustice not only for
violent movement.
government. political purposes.
• Importance on the need for
cooperation with the
British.
 His initial Approach
• Considered Gokhale as Guru.

• Travelled extensively throughout India in 1916 & 1917.

• Used religious idioms to mobilise the masses.

• Referred to religious morality, not history.

• No vested interest in the political status quo.

• Prepared to welcome a shift of power from the Western-educated elites to

the hands of masses.
• Clear vision of pluralist society.

• Dedicated to the ideal of a united India.

• Promised a political programme that was also spiritually noble.

• Swaraj as political goal.

• Combined the goal of the moderates with the means of the extremists.

• First time united the Hindus and Muslims in a combined battle against
the British.
Summary
Summary
Summary
Summary