History · Modern History
Gandhi's political apprenticeship in South Africa shaped the non-violent Satyagraha technique that he then deployed across Champaran, Ahmedabad and Kheda before the Rowlatt Act crisis and Jallianwala Bagh massacre irreversibly radicalised India's nationalist movement.
The First World War ended in 1918, but instead of bringing promised rewards, it deepened India's economic wounds and political frustrations. Post-war India was a tinderbox — impoverished peasants, unemployed workers, disillusioned soldiers, and a politically aware middle class — all waiting for a spark. That spark came in the form of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, returning to India in 1915 armed with a tested philosophy and technique of resistance.
Understanding Gandhi's emergence requires understanding three overlapping narratives: (1) the structural grievances that fuelled nationalist resurgence, (2) Gandhi's political schooling in South Africa, and (3) his early Indian campaigns that built mass confidence before the climactic Rowlatt crisis of 1919.
The British response to nationalist demands came in two contradictory forms: limited reform as carrot, and repression as stick.
Provincial Level — Introduction of Dyarchy
Subjects were divided into two lists:
The Governor retained overriding power over both lists. Ministers could be bypassed; the Governor could take over transferred subjects if "constitutional machinery failed."
Central Level — No Responsible Government
Other Provisions
Gandhi arrived in South Africa in 1893 for a legal case involving Dada Abdullah. Witnessing systematic racial discrimination against Indians — who could not vote, were restricted to insanitary locations, and faced humiliation daily — he decided to stay and organise resistance.
Indian immigrants in South Africa fell into three groups:
Gandhi used petitions and memorials to British authorities, hoping that once informed of Indian grievances, the authorities would act. He founded the Natal Indian Congress and launched the newspaper Indian Opinion to unite different sections of Indians.
Satyagraha against Registration Certificates (1906): A new law required all Indians to carry registration certificates with fingerprints at all times. Gandhi formed the Passive Resistance Association and led Indians in defying this law. After arrests and deceit by the government, Indians publicly burned their registration certificates — a dramatic act of protest. This was the first instance of Satyagraha (devotion to truth).
Campaign against Migration Restrictions: Indians defied laws restricting movement between provinces; many were jailed.
Campaign against Poll Tax and Marriage Invalidation: A poll tax of three pounds was levied on ex-indentured workers. Simultaneously, a Supreme Court ruling invalidated non-Christian marriages, rendering Hindu, Muslim, and Parsi marriages illegal and their children illegitimate. Women were drawn into the movement in large numbers because of this indignity.
Protest against the Transvaal Immigration Act: Indians illegally crossed from Natal into Transvaal. Miners and plantation workers went on a lightning strike. In India, Gokhale mobilised public opinion; even Viceroy Lord Hardinge condemned the repression.
Tolstoy Farm (1910): Gandhi established this commune (named by associate Herman Kallenbach after the Russian writer) to house families of satyagrahis. It followed the earlier Phoenix Farm (1904, inspired by John Ruskin's Unto This Last). Both farms combined manual labour with education, instilling values of dignity, service, and community.
Compromise (1914): Negotiations involving Gandhi, Lord Hardinge, C.F. Andrews, and General Smuts produced an agreement abolishing the poll tax, recognising Indian marriages, and addressing registration certificates.
Gandhi synthesised elements from Indian tradition, Christian ethics (turning the other cheek), and Tolstoyan philosophy (countering evil through non-violent resistance) to create Satyagraha.
Core Principles:
Gandhi returned to India in January 1915. He toured the country for a year, observing conditions without taking political positions — as advised by his mentor Gokhale. He was critical of moderate politics and also wary of the Home Rule agitation (then led by Tilak and Besant) as untimely given the ongoing war.
Background: European indigo planters in Bihar's Champaran district forced peasants to grow indigo on 3/20th of their land under the tinkathia system. When synthetic German dyes replaced indigo, planters extracted high rents and illegal dues to maximise profits before peasants could switch crops.
Course: Rajkumar Shukla invited Gandhi to investigate. Gandhi, accompanied by Rajendra Prasad, Mazhar-ul-Haq, Mahadeo Desai, Narhari Parekh, and J.B. Kripalani, reached Champaran. The authorities ordered him to leave; Gandhi defied the order and was prepared to face punishment. This act of civil disobedience was novel and forced the government to back down. A committee was formed; Gandhi was made a member. The tinkathia system was abolished and peasants received partial compensation (25% of illegal dues). Within a decade, planters left the region.
Other key figures: Brajkishore Prasad, Anugrah Narayan Sinha, Ramnavmi Prasad, Shambhusharan Varma.
Background: Mill owners of Ahmedabad wanted to discontinue the plague bonus. Workers demanded a 50% wage hike to cope with wartime inflation; owners offered 20%. Workers struck.
Course: Anusuya Sarabhai (social worker and sister of mill owner Ambalal Sarabhai) sought Gandhi's intervention. Gandhi advised workers to demand 35% and remain non-violent. When negotiations stalled, Gandhi undertook a fast unto death (his first) — not to coerce the owners but to strengthen workers' resolve. The fast also pressured owners. An arbitration tribunal was accepted; it awarded workers a 35% wage hike. Anusuya Sarabhai later founded the Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association (1920).
Background: The 1918 drought caused crop failure in Kheda, Gujarat. Under the Revenue Code, if yield fell below one-fourth of normal, farmers were entitled to remission. The government refused.
Course: Gandhi called for non-payment of taxes. But the practical leadership came from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Narahari Parikh, Mohanlal Pandya, and Ravi Shankar Vyas. Even when property was seized, the farmers' discipline held. Neighbouring Gujaratis sheltered relatives of protesters; those who bought confiscated land were socially ostracised. The government agreed to suspend taxes for the year and the next, reduce rate increases, and return confiscated property.
The Kheda struggle produced a new political consciousness among the peasantry — linking local grievances to the broader question of national independence.
Officially called the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, 1919, it was based on the recommendations of the Rowlatt Commission (headed by British judge Sir Sidney Rowlatt). The Act allowed:
All elected Indian members of the Imperial Legislative Council — including Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Madan Mohan Malaviya, and Mazhar ul Haq — voted against it. Overruled by official nominees, they resigned in protest.
Gandhi called it the "Black Act" — arguing that collective punishment for isolated political crimes was morally indefensible.
Gandhi organised a Satyagraha Sabha and planned a nationwide hartal (strike) with fasting, prayer, and civil disobedience. It was to begin on April 6, 1919.
Before it could begin, anti-British violence broke out in Calcutta, Bombay, Delhi, Ahmedabad, and especially Punjab (where wartime repression, forced recruitment, and disease had created an explosive environment). April 1919 witnessed the most intense anti-British upsurge since 1857.
Dyer arrived with troops, blocked the only exit, and opened fire on the crowd without warning and without issuing a dispersal order. 1,650 bullets were fired. British sources counted 379 dead and ~1,100 wounded; the Congress estimated ~1,000 dead and ~1,500 wounded. Dyer later stated he did not tend to the wounded as it was "not his job" and that his aim was to produce a "moral effect" throughout Punjab.
Martial law followed: public floggings, forced crawling, and humiliations were inflicted on Amritsar's inhabitants.
Announced October 14, 1919. Chaired by Lord William Hunter. Included three Indian members: Sir Chimanlal Harilal Setalvad, Pandit Jagat Narayan, and Sardar Sahibzada Sultan Ahmad Khan.
The final report (March 1920) unanimously condemned Dyer — lack of warning was an error; the length of firing was a grave error; his aim to produce a "moral effect" was to be condemned. The Indian minority report additionally stated the innocent character of the crowd and called Dyer's actions "inhuman and un-British."
No legal action was taken — the government had already passed an Indemnity Act protecting its officers. Dyer was simply relieved of command in March 1920. In England, Winston Churchill condemned the massacre in the House of Commons; H.H. Asquith called it "one of the worst outrages in our history." Yet the House of Lords passed a motion supporting Dyer, and the Morning Post raised £26,000 for him (Rudyard Kipling being a notable contributor).
The Congress formed its own inquiry committee: Motilal Nehru, C.R. Das, Abbas Tyabji, M.R. Jayakar, and Gandhi.
Next action
You can practise without an account. Sign in first if you want this chapter saved.
This chapter covers Background / Context, Causes of Nationalist Resurgence (Post-WWI), Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms and Government of India Act, 1919, Gandhi's Political Formation in South Africa (1893–1914), Gandhi's Technique of Satyagraha. It is organized as revision-ready notes followed by a linked practice quiz.
For Gandhi Arrives: From Champaran to the Rowlatt Agitation, focus on definitions, dates, places, institutions, distinguishing features, and factual comparisons in the chapter. Then use the quiz to check recall and identify gaps.
Use the Gandhi Arrives: From Champaran to the Rowlatt Agitation chapter headings to organize an answer framework. Connect causes, consequences, comparisons, examples, and evidence wherever the notes provide them instead of memorizing isolated facts.