gandhi era — BSSC History

Gandhi went to South Africa in 1893 to handle a legal case for Dada Abdulla and was thrown out of the train at Pietermaritzburg station.

• He was travelling from Durban to Pretoria when this incident of racial discrimination occurred.

• This incident profoundly impacted Gandhi, eventually leading him to establish the Natal Indian Congress in 1894 to combat discrimination against Indians in South Africa.

• Durban and Pretoria were his departure and destination points, respectively, and Johannesburg is where he settled later, making A, B, and D incorrect.

• Pietermaritzburg starts with P, remember it as the Point where Gandhi's Political journey truly ignited.

• Gandhi returned to India permanently on 9th January 1915, aged 46, a day now celebrated as Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (NRI Day).

The correct sequence is: Kochrab Ashram (1915) → Champaran Satyagraha (1917) → Ahmedabad Mill Strike (1918) → Kheda Satyagraha (1918).

• Kochrab Ashram was founded shortly after his return to India, and he later founded the Sabarmati Ashram in 1917.

• Champaran was his first civil disobedience movement, Ahmedabad was his first hunger strike, and Kheda was his first non-cooperation movement in India.

• Any sequence placing Kheda before Ahmedabad or Champaran before Kochrab Ashram contradicts the documented historical timeline.

• Remember the acronym CAK: Champaran (1917), Ahmedabad (1918), Kheda (1918).

• Before all these movements, Gandhi made his first public appearance in India at the inauguration of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in 1916.

Champaran Satyagraha (1917) was Gandhi's First Civil Disobedience Movement.

• The Ahmedabad Mill Strike (1918) was his First Hunger Strike, and the Kheda Satyagraha (1918) was his First Non-Cooperation Movement.

• Each movement targeted a different demographic: Champaran for indigo farmers, Ahmedabad for industrial mill workers, and Kheda for peasant-Patidars facing crop failure.

• Options mixing Kheda as hunger strike or Ahmedabad as civil disobedience are historically incorrect as per Gandhi's specific methods used in each.

• Link the action to the place: Champaran = Civil Disobedience; Ahmedabad = Appetite (Hunger strike); Kheda = non-Kooperation (Cooperation).

• In Kheda, peasants refused to accept a 23% tax increase imposed on them despite a devastating crop failure and plague outbreak.

The Champaran Agrarian Act (1918) was passed as a result of the Satyagraha, successfully abolishing the Tinkathia system. Thus, Assertion A is true.

• Reason R is false because the Tinkathia system forced farmers to cultivate Indigo (नील), not wheat, on 3/20th of their land.

• The illegal 'Abwab' tax was also suspended as a direct consequence of this movement.

• Options A and B are wrong because the Reason statement contains a factual error regarding the crop type (wheat instead of indigo).

• Always read the specific crop in Champaran questions—it is always Indigo (नील), tied to the 3/20 ratio.

• Raj Kumar Shukla and Brajkishore Prasad met Gandhi at the 1916 Lucknow session of the INC to invite him to witness this plight.

Gandhi wrote 'Hind Swaraj' (also known as 'Indian Home Rule') in 1909, stating that British rule survived due to Indian cooperation.

• This core philosophy laid the intellectual foundation for the Non-Cooperation Movement launched later in 1920.

• 'The Story of My Experiments with Truth' is his autobiography, covering his life from childhood to 1921.

• Indian Opinion was a newspaper he founded in South Africa in 1903 (with M.H. Nazar), and Glimpses of World History was written by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1934.

• Remember the year 1909 is specifically tied to 'Hind Swaraj' (Indian Home Rule).

• Upon returning to India, Gandhi published newspapers like 'Young India' and 'Navajivan'.

All three statements are factually correct according to the source text on the Rowlatt Act (1919).

• The act was suggested by British Judge Sydney Rowlatt and was an extension of the Defence of India Act, 1915, a World War I time law.

• To protest this act, Gandhi called for an all-India Hartal (strike) on 6th April 1919, marking a new method of struggle through the Satyagraha Sabha formed in Bombay.

• No options are wrong as all the provided statements accurately describe the provisions, official name, and Gandhi's reaction to the Act.

• 'Rowlatt' = 'No trial for 2 years' = 'Black Act'. This direct association is frequent in exams.

• The protests against the Rowlatt Act culminated tragically in the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre on 13th April 1919.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale advised Gandhi to tour British India to understand the land and its people.

• Because of this profound guidance, Mahatma Gandhi regarded Gopal Krishna Gokhale as his 'Political Guru'.

• Following this advice, Gandhi roamed around India's every nook and corner to understand the country better before launching his major satyagrahas.

• Tilak, Naoroji, and Tagore were prominent contemporaries, but it was exclusively Gokhale who served as Gandhi's mentor and gave this specific travel advice.

• 'Guru Gokhale' gave the 'Go' advice to Gandhi to travel India.

• Gokhale was also the founder of the Servants of India Society in 1905 in Pune to build a dedicated group of people for social service.

In response to the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, Mahatma Gandhi returned his 'Kaisar-i-Hind' medal.

• Rabindranath Tagore returned his 'Knighthood' title in protest against the very same massacre.

• Gandhi had originally received the Kaisar-i-Hind medal from Governor-General Lord Hardinge in 1915 for organizing a volunteer ambulance corps during the Boer Wars.

• Options A and B swap the titles of Gandhi and Tagore. Option D is incorrect because Tagore did not return 'Desh Nayak'; in fact, Tagore bestowed the title 'Desh Nayak' upon Subhas Chandra Bose.

• Gandhi = Kaisar-i-Hind (Service in Africa); Tagore = Knighthood (Literature/Arts). Both returned them in 1919.

• The Hunter Commission was appointed by the British in 1919 (under William Hunter) specifically to investigate this massacre.

Dandi March (1930) is the odd one out because it was a nationwide mass civil disobedience movement targeting a British law (Salt Law), while the others were early localized, regional struggles.

• Champaran, Ahmedabad, and Kheda occurred in the 1917-1918 period right after Gandhi's return and were focused on resolving specific local grievances (indigo farming, mill bonuses, land tax).

• Dandi March, starting from Sabarmati to Dandi (241 miles), signaled the start of the Civil Disobedience Movement on a national scale.

• Options A, B, and C are logically grouped together historically as Gandhi's "Early Movements in India" serving as his political testing grounds.

• Always classify Champaran, Kheda, and Ahmedabad as the "Initial Phase" or "Regional struggles" of Gandhi, separating them from the Pan-India mass movements (NCM, CDM, Quit India).

• In Kheda, Gandhi was aided by Vallabhbhai Patel and Indulal Yajnik who organized village tours to urge peasants to stand firm against the government.

Anusuya Sarabhai invited Mahatma Gandhi to intervene in the Ahmedabad Mill Strike of 1918.

• The conflict arose because the mill owners stopped the Plague Bonus, prompting workers to demand a 50% hike due to the rising cost of living, while owners offered only 20%.

• After Gandhi utilized his first hunger strike as a weapon, the wage hike dispute was successfully settled at a 35% increase.

• Raj Kumar Shukla invited Gandhi to Champaran (not Ahmedabad). Indulal Yajnik and Vallabhbhai Patel assisted Gandhi during the Kheda Satyagraha.

• Associate names with locations: Shukla = Champaran (Bihar); Sarabhai = Ahmedabad (Gujarat); Patel/Yajnik = Kheda (Gujarat).

• This movement is historically significant as it marked the very first time Mahatma Gandhi used a 'Hunger Strike' (Fast unto death) as a political weapon in India.