Gandhi’s Return to India

Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa on January 9, 1915—a date now commemorated as Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. Upon his arrival, India was deeply entangled in World War I (1914–1918) as a British colony.

Initial Political Strategy and Mentorship

• Gokhale’s Advice: Gopal Krishna Gokhale, whom Gandhi acknowledged as his political guru, advised him to spend the first year traveling across India to understand the socio-political landscape without taking any public stance on political issues.
• The Shantiniketan and Sabarmati Phase: Gandhi briefly stayed at Rabindranath Tagore’s Shantiniketan before establishing the Satyagraha Ashram on the banks of the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad in May 1915.
• Support for British War Efforts: During World War I, Gandhi supported the British war effort, believing that wartime loyalty would earn India self-government (Swaraj) post-war. He actively acted as a recruiting agent for the British army, which earned him the moniker “Recruiting Sergeant” from critics and the Kaisar-i-Hind gold medal from the colonial government in 1915.

Localized Experimental Satyagrahas (1917–1918)

Before leading the national freedom struggle, Gandhi successfully applied his philosophy of Satyagraha—honed in South Africa—to three localized agrarian and industrial labor crises.

Champaran Satyagraha (1917) – First Civil Disobedience

• The Issue: European planters forced peasants in Bihar to cultivate indigo on 3/20th of their land under the exploitative Tinkathia System. When synthetic dyes reduced indigo profits, planters demanded high illegal rents to release peasants from the contracts.
• Action: Persuaded by an agrarian leader named Raj Kumar Shukla, Gandhi reached Champaran. Ordered by the commissioner to leave, Gandhi defied the order, choosing imprisonment over compliance.
• Outcome: The government formed the Champaran Agrarian Committee, making Gandhi a member. The Tinkathia system was abolished, and planters agreed to refund 25% of the extorted money to the peasants.
• Key Associates: Rajendra Prasad, J.B. Kripalani, Mazhar-ul-Haq, Mahadev Desai, Narahari Parikh, and Anugrah Narayan Sinha.

Ahmedabad Mill Strike (1918) – First Hunger Strike

• The Issue: A dispute arose between industrial workers and mill owners in Gujarat over the withdrawal of the “Plague Bonus.” Workers demanded a 50% wage increase to offset wartime inflation, whereas mill owners offered only 20%.
• Action: Gandhi guided the workers to strike peacefully and undertook his first hunger strike in India to boost the workers’ resolve and morally pressure the mill owners.
• Outcome: The matter went to an arbitration tribunal, which awarded the workers a 35% wage hike.
• Key Associates: Anasuya Sarabhai, sister of mill owner Ambalal Sarabhai.

Kheda Satyagraha (1918) – First Non-Cooperation

• The Issue: Crops failed in Kheda, Gujarat, due to drought. According to the Revenue Code, if the harvest was less than one-fourth of the normal yield, peasants were entitled to a total remission of land revenue. The administration ignored this rule and demanded full payment.
• Action: Gandhi organized a Non-Cooperation movement, advising peasants to withhold tax payments despite facing asset seizures and arrests.
• Outcome: The government eventually ordered revenue officials to collect tax only from those peasants who could afford to pay.
• Key Associates: Vallabhbhai Patel (who abandoned his legal practice to join the cause) and Indulal Yagnik.

Post-WWI Disillusionment and Nationwide Mobilization (1919)

The end of World War I did not bring Swaraj. Instead, the British introduced repressive legislation to crush the rising nationalist tide, shifting Gandhi from a British loyalist to a non-cooperator.

The Rowlatt Act (1919)

• Officially named the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act (1919), it allowed the colonial state to detain any political suspect for up to two years without trial, suspended Habeas Corpus, and barred public appeals. It was widely condemned as a law with “No Dalil, No Vakil, No Appeal”.

The Rowlatt Satyagraha

• The Strategy: Gandhi established the Satyagraha Sabha in Bombay and called for a nationwide hartal (strike) based on fasting and prayer on April 6, 1919. This was Gandhi’s first nationwide mass protest.
• Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (April 13, 1919): Massive protests in Punjab led to the arrest of Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satyapal. A peaceful crowd gathered at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar to protest these arrests and celebrate the Baisakhi festival. Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer blocked the exit and ordered troops to fire on the unarmed gathering.
• The Aftermath: In protest, Rabindranath Tagore renounced his British Knighthood, and Gandhi surrendered his Kaisar-i-Hind medal. Stunned by the ensuing violence, Gandhi suspended the Rowlatt Satyagraha on April 18, 1919, calling it a “Himalayan Blunder” because the masses were not yet adequately trained in non-violence.

The Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movement (1920–1922)

The structural combining of the Khilafat grievance (the humiliation of the Ottoman Caliph by the British after WWI) and the Punjab wrongs culminated in the first formal pan-India mass movement.

Merger of Khilafat and Non-Cooperation

• Gandhi was elected president of the All India Khilafat Conference in November 1919. He viewed the Khilafat issue as an opportunity to unify Hindus and Muslims under a single platform.
• The Indian National Congress approved the Non-Cooperation program at a Special Calcutta Session (September 1920) and formally ratified it at the Nagpur Session (December 1920).

Structural Overhaul of Congress at Nagpur (1920)

• The goal of Congress shifted from achieving self-government through constitutional means to attaining Swaraj through peaceful and legitimate means.
• A 15-member Congress Working Committee (CWC) was formed to handle day-to-day affairs, making Congress a functional political entity year-round.
• Provincial Congress Committees were restructured based on linguistic regions.
• The membership fee was slashed to 4 annas annually to make it accessible to rural masses.

Program of Action

• Boycotts: Total boycott of British courts, government educational institutions, foreign-made cloth, and the upcoming legislative council elections.
• Constructive Work: Establishing national institutions (e.g., Kashi Vidyapith, Gujarat Vidyapith, Jamia Millia Islamia), popularizing the Charkha and Khadi, and eradicating untouchability.

Suspension via Chauri Chaura (1922)

• On February 5, 1922, a violent clash occurred at Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur district (United Provinces), where a crowd locked and set fire to a police station, killing 22 policemen.
• Adhering strictly to his principle of non-violence (Ahimsa), Gandhi unilaterally called off the entire movement via the Bardoli Resolution on February 12, 1922.

Essential Prelims Facts and Trivia

• Origin of the term Satyagraha: Gandhi initially used the term “Passive Resistance” in South Africa, but to highlight its moral basis, he held a competition in his journal Indian Opinion. Maganlal Gandhi suggested ‘Sadagraha’ (firmness in a good cause), which Gandhi modified to ‘Satyagraha’ (insistence on truth).
• The Title of ‘Mahatma’: Popular historical consensus attributes the conferring of the title “Mahatma” (Great Soul) to Rabindranath Tagore during the early years of the Gandhian Era in India.
• The Ideological Split (1922): The suspension of the Non-Cooperation movement led to a division within Congress. The Pro-changers (C.R. Das, Motilal Nehru) wanted to enter the legislative councils to wreck the government from within, forming the Swaraj Party. The No-changers (C. Rajagopalachari, Vallabhbhai Patel) favored continuing Gandhi’s constructive work.