gandhi

1917 – Champaran Satyagraha, Bihar

Significance: Gandhi’s First Civil Disobedience in India (Localized movement).

● The Issue: The Tinkathia System

• Legal Obligation: Peasants were forced by European planters to grow Indigo on $3/20$ of their land.
• The Global Shift: During WWI, the German synthetic dyes market collapsed. This made natural indigo unprofitable for planters.
• The Trap: Planters agreed to release peasants from the indigo contracts only if they paid illegal dues (Sharahbeshi or high rents) to compensate for the planters’ lost profits.

● Context & Trigger

• The Request: Rajkumar Shukla, a local cultivator, spent months pursuing Gandhi to visit Champaran and witness the exploitation.
• The Trigger: When Gandhi arrived, the British Commissioner ordered him to leave the district. Gandhi defied the order, declaring he would face imprisonment rather than obey an “unjust” law.

● The Three Parties Involved

1. Peasants: Seeking freedom from debt and the forced cultivation of Indigo.
2. European Planters: Seeking to extract maximum exit fees/rents before abandoning indigo.
3. British Government: Initially backed the planters but was forced to act as a mediator to prevent a mass revolt.

● Key Associates

• Rajendra Prasad (Future 1st President of India)
• J.B. Kripalani (Met Gandhi at Muzaffarpur)
• Mahadev Desai (Gandhi’s personal secretary)
• Narhari Parikh & Braj Kishore Prasad

● Action & Inquiry

• The Method: Gandhi conducted a massive “fact-finding mission,” recording the testimony of thousands of peasants.
• The Inquiry: Faced with rising public pressure, the government formed the Champaran Agrarian Committee. Gandhi was appointed as a member.

● Result: The Strategic Victory

• Tinkathia Abolished: The committee recommended the total end of the forced indigo system.
• The 25% Refund: Gandhi accepted a refund of only 25% of the illegal dues.
• The Reasoning: Gandhi prioritized Prestige over Money. By accepting 25%, he forced the planters to admit their illegal actions and surrender their authority.
• Long-term Impact: Within a decade, the “prestige-hit” planters left the district entirely.

1918 – Ahmedabad Mill Strike (Gujarat)

Significance: Gandhi’s First Hunger Strike in India. An industrial/urban conflict.

● The Issue: Plague Bonus & Inflation

• The Bonus: Mill owners wanted to withdraw the “Plague Bonus” once the epidemic subsided.
• The Demand: Workers, hit by high World War I inflation, demanded a 50% hike as a “Dearness Allowance” (DA) to survive.
• The Offer: Owners offered only a 20% hike and threatened to sack workers who did not accept.

● Leadership & Social Dynamics

• Anasuya Sarabhai: A social worker and labor leader who sought Gandhi’s help.
• The Irony: She was the sister of Ambalal Sarabhai, the President of the Mill Owners’ Association. Gandhi was a close family friend of the Sarabhais, creating a unique situation where he mediated between friends.

● Gandhi’s Action

• Scientific Study: Gandhi first calculated the cost of living and advised workers to lower their demand from 50% to 35% (a fair compromise).
• The Strike: Workers pledged to strike until the 35% was met.
• The Fast: As the strike dragged on, workers began to lose heart and return to work. Gandhi began a Hunger Strike to boost worker morale and show his commitment to their pledge.Note: He clarified that the fast was not to coerce the mill owners, but to strengthen the “weak” workers.

● Result & Resolution

• Tribunal: The pressure of the fast forced the owners to submit the case to an arbitration tribunal.
• Victory: The tribunal ultimately awarded the workers the full 35% hike.

● Legacy

• Institutional Growth: This led to the formation of the Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association (also known as Majoor Mahajan Sangh) by Anasuya Sarabhai and Gandhi.
• Philosophy: It established Gandhi’s theory of Trusteeship—the idea that owners should act as “trustees” of the workers’ interests.

1918 – Kheda Satyagraha, Gujarat

Significance: Gandhi’s First Non-Cooperation movement in India (Rural/Peasant based).

● Context: The Agrarian Crisis

• Natural Calamities: Kheda was hit by a severe drought resulting in crop failure, followed by outbreaks of plague and cholera.
• The Legal Trigger: According to the Revenue Code, if the crop yield was less than 25% (one-fourth) of the normal produce, farmers were legally entitled to a total remission (waiver) of land revenue.
• Government Stance: Despite the yield being far below 25%, the British government refused any relief and insisted on full tax collection, even increasing the tax rate by 23% in some areas.

● Leadership & Organization

• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel: This movement was Patel’s “political baptism.” He acted as the key organizer, traversing villages to build a grassroots network.
• Other Leaders: Indulal Yagnik, Mahadev Desai, Narhari Parikh, and Mohanlal Pandya (known as “Onion Thief” for a symbolic act of defiance).
• The Gujarat Sabha: Led by Gandhi, this body provided the formal platform for the struggle.

● Action: Non-Cooperation

• The Pledge: Gandhi urged the peasants to sign a pledge to withhold all tax payments.
• The Discipline: Farmers were instructed to remain non-violent even when the government began confiscating property (cattle, household goods, and land).
• Social Pressure: Those who tried to buy confiscated lands at government auctions were met with social boycott.

● Result: The “Secret” Instructions

• The Turning Point: Realizing the movement was not breaking, the government issued secret instructions to its collectors.
• The Agreement: It was decided that revenue should be recovered only from those who could afford to pay, while the poor were granted a full waiver.
• Successes:
  • Suspension of land tax for the current and following year (1919-20).
  • Reduction in the proposed rate increases.
  • Restoration of all confiscated properties and lands.

● Significance & Legacy

• The Rise of the Sardar: Established Vallabhbhai Patel as a national leader and the “Sardar” of the peasants.
• Peasant Awakening: It shattered the “fear of the official” among the rural masses of Gujarat.
• Unity: It brought together various caste groups (like the Patidars and Baraiyas) under a single nationalist banner.

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Revision Tip: The “CAKE” Acronym

To remember Gandhi’s early movements in chronological order:

1. C – Champaran (1917)
2. A – Ahmedabad Mill Strike (1918)
3. KE – Keda Satyagraha (1918)