Introduction;
Before leading the Indian
freedom movement, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi used to live in South Africa to
fight against injustice and class division. Within 10 years, Gandhi propagated
the philosophy of Satyagraha there and propelled the country towards a no class
or ethnic discrimination society. Gandhi arrived in Durban aboard SS Safari in
1893. In no time, Gandhi became the leader of the South African Indian
community. His involvement in the non-violent movement in South Africa had made
such an impact that even now, he is looked up to as a leader there. From 1893
to 1914, Gandhi worked as an attorney and a public worker. In a meeting in New
Delhi, Gandhi said he was born in India but was made in South Africa. So, what
are all the things he did there that created such huge impact?
Here is a list of 10 things what Gandhi did in South Africa:
1. While he was travelling by train to Pretoria, Gandhi, despite
carrying first class ticket, was thrown out of the train by the authorities
because a white man complained of an Indian sharing the space with him.
2. As a response, Gandhi formed the Natal Indian Congress in 1894.
This organisation led non-violent protests against the oppressive treatment of
the white people towards the native Africans and Indians.
3. In 1896, he came to India for a short time and gathered 800
Indians to serve along with him in South Africa. They were welcomed by an irate
mob and Gandhi was injured in the attack.
4. During the outbreak of the Boer War in 1899, Gandhi gathered
around 1,100 Indians and organised the Indian Ambulance Corps for the British
but the ethnic discrimination and torture continued on Indians.
5. English artist John Ruskin's book Unto This Last inspired
Gandhi and he set up Phoenix Farm near Durban. Here, Gandhi would train his
cadres on non-violent Satyagraha or peaceful restraint. Phoenix Farm is
considered as the birthplace of Satyagraha. However, it was at the Tolstoy
Farm, Gandhi's second camp in South Africa, where Satyagraha was molded into a
weapon of protest.
6. In September 1906, Gandhi organised the first Satyagraha
campaign to protest against the Transvaal Asiatic ordinance that was
constituted against the local Indians. Again in June 1907, he held Satyagraha
against the Black Act.
7. In 1908, he was sentenced to jail for organising the non-violent
movements. But, after his meeting with General Smuts, a British Commonwealth
statesman, he was released. However, he was later attacked for this and was
again sentenced to jail against which he organised Satyagraha again.
8. In 1909, he was sentenced to a three-month jail term in
Volkshurst and Pretoria. After his release, Gandhi went to England to seek the
assistance of the Indian community there.
9. He also fought against the nullification of non-Christian
marriages in 1913.
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