Gandhi's Arrival — Champaran, Kheda & Ahmedabad

§1 — Gandhi in South Africa (1893–1914)

Gandhi in South Africa (1893–1914)

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (born 2 October 1869 at Porbandar, Gujarat) qualified as a barrister in London (1888–91). He went to South Africa in May 1893 on a brief contract for an Indian Muslim trading firm (Dada Abdulla & Co. of Pretoria). The "brief contract" turned into a 21-year stay.

The Pietermaritzburg Incident (7 June 1893)

On the night of 7 June 1893, Gandhi was thrown off a first-class compartment at Pietermaritzburg railway station for being non-white. The shock of this racial humiliation, he later said, was the moment that determined his future course.

South African Campaigns

Gandhi led three major campaigns for Indian rights in South Africa:

• 1894: Founded the Natal Indian Congress to fight discriminatory laws.
• 1903: Started Indian Opinion newspaper.
• 1904: Founded Phoenix Settlement (Durban) — first ashram-like community.
• 1906: Launched the first satyagraha against the Asiatic Registration Act ("Black Act"). The term "satyagraha" ("truth-force/truth-insistence") was coined; suggested by Gandhi's cousin Maganlal as "sadagraha"; Gandhi modified.
• 1910: Founded Tolstoy Farm near Johannesburg with Hermann Kallenbach.
• 1913–14: Final campaign — protests against the £3 head tax on ex-indentured Indians and the invalidation of non-Christian marriages. Settled by the Smuts-Gandhi Agreement (1914) — the head tax was abolished, marriage law amended.

Influences on Gandhi's Thought

While in South Africa, Gandhi developed his political philosophy under the influence of:

• Bhagavad Gita — central spiritual text (he later wrote a translation/commentary).
• Henry David Thoreau — "Civil Disobedience" (1849).
• John Ruskin — "Unto This Last" (1862) — Gandhi translated as Sarvodaya (Welfare of All).
• Leo Tolstoy — correspondence; "The Kingdom of God Is Within You" (1894).
• Raychandbhai Mehta (Shrimad Rajchandra) — Jain layman, Gandhi's spiritual mentor.

In 1909 Gandhi wrote "Hind Swaraj" (Indian Home Rule), in Gujarati — his foundational political-philosophical text articulating non-violent resistance and a critique of Western industrial civilisation.

§2 — Return to India (1915)

Return to India (January 1915)

Gandhi returned to India on 9 January 1915, landing at Bombay (Apollo Bunder). The day is now observed as Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (NRI Day) in his honour.

Gokhale's Advice

Gandhi's political mentor was Gopal Krishna Gokhale, founder of the Servants of India Society. Gokhale (who died on 19 February 1915, just five weeks after Gandhi's return) advised Gandhi to:

• Spend one full year travelling across India with eyes open and mouth shut, before joining politics.
• Visit ashrams, peasants, mill workers, princes — to understand the country.

Gandhi obeyed. He travelled extensively (third-class railway compartments) for over a year, attending the Lucknow Congress (December 1916) but largely staying out of politics. Gandhi called Gokhale his "political guru" and Tolstoy his "spiritual guru".

§3 — Ashrams

Kochrab and Sabarmati Ashrams

On 25 May 1915, Gandhi founded the Satyagraha Ashram (Kochrab Ashram) at Kochrab, near Ahmedabad. In 1917, due to plague, the ashram shifted to a new site on the banks of the Sabarmati river — the Sabarmati Ashram (also called Harijan Ashram). Sabarmati would be Gandhi's headquarters from 1917 to 1933.

Ashram inhabitants took eleven vows (ekadasha vrata): Truth, Non-violence, Brahmacharya, Aparigraha (non-possession), Asteya (non-stealing), Sharir Shram (bread labour), Aswad (control of palate), Sarvatra Bhayavarjana (fearlessness), Sarva Dharma Samanatva (equality of religions), Swadeshi, Sparshabhavana (anti-untouchability).

§4 — Champaran Satyagraha (April 1917)

Champaran Satyagraha — First Indian Satyagraha (April 1917)

Background: The Tinkathia System

In Champaran district, Bihar, European planters had operated indigo plantations since the 1810s. Under the tinkathia system (Hindi "three-twentieths"), each tenant of the planter's raiyats was required to grow indigo on 3 katha out of every 20 katha (3/20 = 15%) of his holding, at fixed prices that did not cover even the cost of cultivation. Failure to grow indigo or attempt to commute indigo cultivation for cash payment (tawan) resulted in oppressive penalties and forced eviction.

The system survived even after synthetic indigo (from German chemical industry) had collapsed natural indigo prices around 1900 — planters extorted "tawan" payments from peasants seeking release from indigo cultivation.

Raj Kumar Shukla's Approach

Raj Kumar Shukla, a Champaran indigo cultivator, met Gandhi at the Lucknow Congress (December 1916) and persistently requested him to come to Champaran. Gandhi initially put him off, but Shukla followed Gandhi to Calcutta, Kanpur, and Ahmedabad. Eventually, Gandhi agreed.

Gandhi's Investigation (April–November 1917)

Gandhi reached Motihari (Champaran headquarters) on 15 April 1917. He ignored the District Magistrate's order to leave; was arrested but the case was dropped (the Lt. Governor of Bihar overruled local officials). Gandhi's team — including Brij Kishore Prasad, Rajendra Prasad, Mahadev Desai, J.B. Kripalani, Anugrah Narayan Sinha, Acharya Kripalani, and Mazharul Haque — recorded statements from about 8,000 cultivators.

Champaran Agrarian Inquiry Committee (June 1917)

The Bihar Government appointed a committee with Gandhi as a member. After exhaustive investigation, the committee recommended:

• Abolition of the tinkathia system.
• Refund of 25% of the illegal tawan exactions.
• Increase in indigo prices.

Champaran Agrarian Act (November 1917)

The Champaran Agrarian Act was passed in November 1917 implementing the recommendations. The tinkathia system was abolished. By 1920, indigo cultivation in Champaran had effectively ended.

Significance

• Gandhi's first satyagraha in India.
• Established Gandhi as a national leader (newspapers across India followed the campaign).
• Demonstrated the satyagraha method for Indian conditions.
• Brought Rajendra Prasad, Brij Kishore Prasad, J.B. Kripalani into the freedom movement.
• For the first time, a peasant grievance became a national issue.

§5 — Ahmedabad Mill Strike (February–March 1918)

Ahmedabad Mill Strike (February–March 1918) — Second Satyagraha

Background

The textile mills of Ahmedabad employed about 50,000 workers (in 65 mills). During WWI, mill owners had given workers a "plague bonus" (12.5%–80% of wages) to retain them during a 1917 plague. As prices rose with wartime inflation, the mill owners (led by Ambalal Sarabhai) wanted to withdraw the bonus; workers demanded a 50% wage rise.

The dispute came to Gandhi through Anasuya Sarabhai — a labour activist and the sister of mill owner Ambalal Sarabhai (Gandhi's friend and benefactor of Sabarmati Ashram). Gandhi mediated; he ordered an arbitration board, which the mill owners initially accepted but then dissolved.

The Strike (February 1918)

Gandhi advised the workers to:

• Strike peacefully.
• Demand 35% increase (mid-point between owners' 20% and workers' 50%).
• Maintain non-violence.

For three weeks, the workers held out. As morale flagged in early March 1918, Gandhi began his first hunger strike in India — declaring that he would fast until the dispute was resolved. The fast was directed at the workers (to maintain their resolve) but indirectly pressured the mill owners.

Settlement (18 March 1918)

After three days of Gandhi's fast, an agreement was reached. The mill owners accepted arbitration. The arbitrator awarded a 35% wage increase — exactly Gandhi's recommendation. The workers donated some funds to begin Anasuya Sarabhai's Majoor Mahajan Sangh (Textile Labour Association) — founded 25 February 1920, India's oldest organised trade union.

Significance

• Gandhi's second satyagraha; first in urban industrial setting.
• Gandhi's first hunger strike as a political tool.
• Showed satyagraha worked between Indian capital and Indian labour, not just Indian peasants vs. British planters.
• Founded the foundation for organised textile trade unionism in India.

§6 — Kheda Satyagraha (March–June 1918)

Kheda Satyagraha — Third Satyagraha (March–June 1918)

Background

Kheda district in Gujarat (Patidar peasant heartland) was hit by:

• Severe drought in 1918 destroying crops.
• Plague and rising prices from WWI inflation.
• Bombay Government's refusal to suspend land revenue collection — despite Gujarat Sabha petitions.

Under Bombay revenue regulations, when crop yield fell below 25% of normal, revenue collection should be suspended. Despite cultivator surveys showing yield below this threshold, the Government insisted on full payment.

Launch of Satyagraha (March 1918)

The Gujarat Sabha (formed earlier with members like Vallabhbhai Patel) approached Gandhi. On 22 March 1918, Gandhi launched the satyagraha at Nadiad. Peasants pledged not to pay revenue, even if their lands and cattle were seized.

Vallabhbhai Patel's Emergence

Vallabhbhai Patel (the future "Iron Man" — given the title Sardar by women of Bardoli in 1928) was already a successful Ahmedabad lawyer. He gave up his practice and became Gandhi's chief lieutenant in Kheda — touring villages, organising the satyagraha, encouraging peasants to face cattle confiscation. Indulal Yagnik and Mohanlal Pandya were other organisers. Pandya defied government orders by "selling" onion crops seized by the government — earning the title "Dunglichor".

Settlement (June 1918)

After about three months of peasant resistance and government confiscations, the Government privately ordered local officials to collect revenue only from those peasants who could afford to pay. The poor were exempted. Gandhi accepted this as a face-saving compromise — the Government had not formally conceded, but in practice the satyagraha had won.

Significance

• Gandhi's third satyagraha; first against a provincial Indian government on a peasant revenue issue.
• Brought Sardar Patel into the national movement.
• Established the Patidar caste of Gujarat as a Congress base.
• Set the template for later peasant satyagrahas (Bardoli 1928, Civil Disobedience 1930).

§7 — Rowlatt Act and Satyagraha (1919)

Rowlatt Act and Rowlatt Satyagraha (1919)

The Rowlatt Act (March 1919)

The Rowlatt Act (officially: Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act 1919) was passed by the Imperial Legislative Council on 21 March 1919 based on the report of the Rowlatt Committee (led by Justice Sidney Rowlatt). Provisions:

• Authorised the government to imprison without trial anyone suspected of "terrorism."
• Allowed secret trials by 3-judge benches without jury and without right of appeal.
• Empowered government to require security from suspects, restrict their movements.

Indians called it the "Black Act". The slogan: "Na vakeel, na daleel, na appeal" (no lawyer, no argument, no appeal).

Gandhi's Response

Gandhi formed the Satyagraha Sabha (24 February 1919, Bombay). On 6 April 1919, he called for an all-India hartal (general strike). The hartal was widely observed across the country — especially in Bombay, Delhi, Punjab, and Ahmedabad.

Violence broke out in Punjab (where Sir Michael O'Dwyer was Lt. Governor) — railway lines cut, Europeans attacked. The Government responded with mass arrests, deportations, and martial law in Punjab.

Withdrawal (18 April 1919)

Gandhi himself was barred from entering Punjab and Delhi. Witnessing the violence, Gandhi declared a "Himalayan blunder" — he had launched satyagraha among masses untrained in non-violent discipline. He called off the satyagraha on 18 April 1919.

§8 — Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (13 April 1919)

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (13 April 1919)

Background

In Amritsar, two popular leaders — Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew (Muslim) and Dr Satya Pal (Hindu) — were arrested and deported on 10 April 1919 under the Rowlatt Act. The next day (11 April), demonstrations turned violent — banks were burned, three Englishmen killed, Marcia Sherwood (a missionary) was attacked by a mob (the Crawling Order would later be Dyer's response to this).

On 12 April 1919, military rule began in Amritsar under Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer. Public assemblies of more than 4 people were banned (this proclamation, however, was not widely publicised).

The Massacre (13 April 1919, Baisakhi Day)

On the afternoon of 13 April 1919, on Baisakhi day, about 10,000–25,000 unarmed Indians (men, women, children, including pilgrims and visitors) had gathered at Jallianwala Bagh, an enclosed walled garden in Amritsar — for political protest and Baisakhi celebration. The crowd was peaceful.

Around 5:15 pm, Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer arrived with 90 soldiers (50 armed Gurkhas/Baluchis with .303 rifles, 40 Gurkha kukri-wielders) and two armoured cars (which couldn't enter through the narrow lane). Without warning, Dyer ordered "Gora hokum, fire kar do" — fire was opened directly into the crowd at the centre of the bagh. Firing continued 10 minutes; 1,650 rounds expended until ammunition ran out. People trying to escape were shot in the back; the only narrow exits were sealed by the soldiers; many jumped into the well in the bagh (later named Martyrs' Well — 120 bodies recovered).

Casualties

• Official British figures (Hunter Commission): 379 dead, 1,200 wounded.
• Congress committee inquiry (Madan Mohan Malaviya): over 1,000 dead.
• Independent estimates: 500–1,500 dead.

Crawling Order and Martial Law

Dyer subsequently issued the notorious "Crawling Order" on Kucha Kaurianwala Street where Marcia Sherwood had been attacked: every Indian passing through had to crawl on hands and knees. He also ordered public floggings and humiliation of Indian leaders. Martial law continued in Punjab through April–May 1919.

§9 — Hunter Commission and Reactions

Hunter Commission and Reactions

Hunter Commission (October 1919 – March 1920)

British Government appointed the Hunter Commission (formally the Disorders Inquiry Committee) under Lord William Hunter to investigate. Indian members: Sir Chimanlal Setalvad, Pandit Jagat Narayan, Thomas Smith, Sahibzada Sultan Ahmed Khan. The Commission heard Dyer; its majority (British) report and dissenting Indian minority report were published in May 1920:

• Majority — Dyer's action excessive but not malicious; he was relieved of duty.
• Indian minority — Dyer's action criminal; called for prosecution.

The British Cabinet relieved Dyer of his command but allowed him to retire on full pension. The British House of Lords passed a vote of approbation for him; British public opinion (e.g., Morning Post) raised £26,000 for him. The "Butcher of Amritsar" became a hero in conservative Britain.

Indian Response — INC Inquiry (June 1919)

The Indian National Congress appointed its own inquiry committee (Madan Mohan Malaviya, Motilal Nehru, C.R. Das, Abbas Tyabji, M.R. Jayakar, Gandhi). It was much more critical than the Hunter Commission.

Tagore Renounces Knighthood

On 30 May 1919, Rabindranath Tagore wrote to the Viceroy (Lord Chelmsford) renouncing the Knighthood he had been awarded in 1915. His letter:

"The disproportionate severity of the punishments inflicted upon the unfortunate people and the methods of carrying them out... are without parallel in the history of civilised governments... The time has come when badges of honour make our shame glaring in their incongruous context of humiliation."

Aftermath

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre transformed Indian political opinion. Even moderate leaders abandoned faith in British "fair play". It directly led to:

• Gandhi's Non-Cooperation Movement (1920).
• Khilafat-Non-Cooperation alliance.
• Udham Singh's revenge — on 13 March 1940, Udham Singh shot dead Sir Michael O'Dwyer (former Lt. Governor of Punjab) at Caxton Hall, London. Hanged 31 July 1940.

§10 — Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions