Category Personalities

          Gandhiji was a popular figure when he returned to India from South Africa. He returned along with his family in 1915. He received a warm welcome from his people.

          Gandhiji was not aware of the existing conditions and key problems in India. So, he was certain to not to campaign for the rights of Indians until he got to know the context clearly. Gandhiji built an ashram at Sabarmati in the heart of Ahmadabad. About 200 people including men and women promised to live in the ashram, according to the principles of Gandhiji. They had to follow a simple vegetarian diet, with prayer and social service. There were no luxuries. Weaving was their major vocation. Gandhiji encompassed the castaways also. This caused great disapproval among the inhabitants of the ashram itself.

          Even in the contemporary world, there are ashrams around India, where people still follow the Gandhian philosophy of life. 

               John Ruskin and his magnum opus ‘Unto This Last’ was an influential force in Gandhiji’s life. Ruskin argued in his writing that true wealth is not earning more and more money but accustomed more to peace in one’s life. He also held that being peaceful is more imperative than being powerful.

               Motivated by this idea, Gandhiji began a farm outside Durban -the Phoenix settlement. It was Gandhiji’s first experimental ashram. In the ashram, Gandhiji and his supporters lived a life of no luxuries. They cultivated and ran a printing press for the Indians to express their opinions. They published a weekly journal founded by Gandhiji. It featured informative articles on various topics like politics, diet, health and sanitary habits. 

               The Tolstoy Farm was another community started by Gandhiji near Johannesburg. Gandhiji urged proper hygiene in his ashrams, as he believed that being hygienic is important for a healthy spiritual life. 

             Gandhiji was an ardent believer of Satyagraha as a powerful weapon. The word Satyagraha means truth-force. It embraces civil disobedience and a relentless pursuit for truth and peace. This inspirational concept, which completely changed the face of Indian struggle for independence, was first tested in South Africa. Gandhiji proposed certain rules for satyagrahis to follow. He trained the Indians during the South African passive resistance campaign. In short, this was a trial run for his future campaigns.

            No worship of violence and belief in suffering the insults patiently etc. are the mottos of a satyagrahi. Satyagraha does not aim at humiliating rivals, but aims to soften their heart by peace. Satyagraha was fruitful in South Africa and along with this, Gandhiji practiced self-reliance. It was compulsory for him that his family should also be self-reliant. He used to wash his cloths by himself. He cut his own hair and that of his children as well.

            In short, it is clear that the Indian freedom struggle was a much bigger test for Gandhiji and his idea of Satyagraha. 

            Gandhiji raised an ambulance corps during the Boer War. The corps comprised of 1,100 volunteers, out of them, 300 were free Indians and the rest were bonded labourers. It was a heterogeneous group that included barristers, accountants, artisans and workers. They were used as stretcher bearers. Indians were of great support to the British. The service they delivered in the Battle of Spion Kop was laudable.

            It was Gandhi’s mission to instigate in them the essence of service mindedness to their oppressors. In the Zulu campaign also, Gandhiji helped the government by organizing another Indian ambulance corps. They had to parade up to 64 kilometres a day to nurse a chain of beaten and injured Zulus. Many Indian leaders were awarded the Queen’s South Africa medal for their selfless service in the Boer War. 

        Do you know who the Boers are? ‘Boer’ is the Dutch word for farmer. It was used to designate the progenies of the Dutch speaking settlers of the Eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century.

          Boer War was fought between the British and Boers. This war was a symbol of the imperialistic greed of the British over its colonies. The British decided to mine gold and diamonds in the land of Boers. The Boers became so offended by this decision, that they declared a war against the British. Eventually, the Boers lost the war against the British.

          Surprisingly, the Indians in South Africa, along with Gandhiji, supported the British, during the war, though they sympathized with the condition of the Boers.

          This was because they believed that only then could they survive or earn their rights in the territory of Britain. The services provided by the Indians in the Warfield were appreciated by the British officers. 

            Gandhiji while living in a place called Natal in South Africa, founded an organization known as the Natal Indian Congress. He was a tireless secretary of the congress. The prime aim of the congress was to unify Indians and make them aware of their rights. They struggled against the discrimination Indians faced at the hands of British. The constitution of the organization was officially launched on 22nd August,1894.

            In its infant years, the Natal Indian Congress submitted many petitions for changes in the discriminatory laws. Gandhiji imparted a harmonious spirit in the diverse Indian community. He plied all the government offices, legislature and the media with logical statements of the grievances of the Indian community. Gandhiji and his organization stood for the cause of the upliftment of the Indian working class. Thus it became a burning issue in newspapers like ‘The Times of London’ and ‘Englishman’ of Calcutta.