Return of Mahatma Gandhi, 1915

In January 1915, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi returned to India after two decades of residence abroad. These years had been spent for the most part in South Africa, where he went as a lawyer, and in time became a leader of the Indian community in that territory.

 It was in South Africa that Mahatma Gandhi first forged the distinctive techniques of non-violent protest known as satyagraha, first promoted harmony between religions, and first alerted upper-caste Indians to their discriminatory treatment of low castes and women.

On Gokhale’s advice, Gandhiji spent a year travelling around British India, getting to know the land and its peoples. His first major public appearance was at the opening of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in February 1916.

At the annual Congress, held in Lucknow in December 1916, Gandhiji was approached by a peasant from Champaran in Bihar, who told him about the harsh treatment of peasants by British indigo planters. Mahatma Gandhi spent much of 1917 in Champaran, seeking to obtain for the peasants security of tenure as well as the freedom to cultivate the crops of their choice.

The following year, in 1918, Gandhiji was involved in two campaigns in Gujarat. First, he intervened in a labour dispute in Ahmedabad, demanding better working conditions for the textile mill workers. Then, he joined peasants in Kheda in asking the state for the remission of taxes following the failure of their harvest.

These initiatives in Champaran, Ahmedabad and Kheda marked Gandhiji as a nationalist with a deep sympathy for the poor.