Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi worked as an attorney and public servant from 1893 to 1914 in South Africa before leading the Indian freedom movement to fight injustice and class division. Within ten years, Gandhi had spread the Satyagraha philosophy throughout the country, propelling the country toward a society free of class and ethnic discrimination. In 1893, Gandhi arrived in Durban aboard the SS Safari. Gandhi quickly rose to prominence as the leader of the South African Indian community. His involvement in the nonviolent movement in South Africa had such an impact that he is still regarded as a leader there. Gandhi stated at a meeting in New Delhi that he was born in India but raised in South Africa. In this article, we will discuss the contributions of Gandhi while he was in South Africa which will be helpful for UPSC exam preparation.

Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa

Gandhi’s association with South Africa

• As Gandhi himself stated, South Africa was critical to his personal success.
• This timid young man who had just passed the bar examination became the man who would lead India to independence and instigate the global decolonization movement during the 21 years he spent in South Africa, from 1893 to 1914, interrupted by a few visits to India and England.
• Gandhi's arrest for defending his right to travel in the whites-only waggon at the Pietermaritzburg train station – a routine procedure at the time – would later change the world.
• This event sparked Gandhi's interest in racial discrimination and marked the beginning of his philosophy of nonviolent protest and numerous arrests in defence of the Indian people.

Gandhi’s Contribution to South Africa

• Despite having a first-class ticket, Gandhi was thrown off a train to Pretoria by authorities because a white man complained about an Indian sharing the space with him.
  • It was this incident that marked the beginning of active non-violence by Gandhi.
• It is fair to say that at the time, Indians in South Africa were primarily concerned with their status as traders, and many lacked not only education but also political sophistication.
  • Gandhi raised political awareness through regular comments in Indian Opinion (his newspaper) and petitions to the governments of Natal, India, and Britain.
• Gandhi formed the Natal Indian Congress in response in 1894. This organisation led nonviolent protests against white people's oppressive treatment of native Africans and Indians.
• In 1896, he visited India briefly and gathered 800 Indians to serve alongside him in South Africa. An enraged mob greeted them, and Gandhi was injured in the attack.
• During the outbreak of the Boer War in 1899, Gandhi gathered approximately 1,100 Indians and organised the Indian Ambulance Corps for the British, but ethnic discrimination and torture against Indians persisted.
• Gandhi was inspired by English artist John Ruskin's book Unto This Last, and he established Phoenix Farm near Durban.
  • Gandhi would come here to train his cadres in nonviolent Satyagraha, or peaceful restraint. Satyagraha is said to have begun at Phoenix Farm.
• Satyagraha, on the other hand, was shaped into a weapon of protest at the Tolstoy Farm, Gandhi's second camp in South Africa.
• Gandhi organised the first Satyagraha campaign in September 1906 to protest the Transvaal Asiatic ordinance, which was enacted against the local Indians. In June 1907, he held another Satyagraha against the British.
• He was imprisoned in 1908 for organising nonviolent movements. He was released, however, after meeting with General Smuts, a British Commonwealth statesman.
• However, he was later attacked for this and sentenced to prison again, prompting him to organise Satyagraha once more.
• He was also in long-term negotiations with the Attorney-General of Transvaal, Jan Smuts, first on behalf of Indians in that Province, and later, after the Union was established in 1910, on behalf of all South African Indians.
• He was sentenced to three months in prison in Volkshurst and Pretoria in 1909. Following his release, Gandhi travelled to England to seek the help of the Indian community there.
• In 1913, he also fought against the nullification of non-Christian marriages.
• Gandhi organised yet another peaceful resistance campaign in Transvaal against the oppression of Indian minorities. He led a group of approximately 2,000 Indians across the Transvaal border.
• Gandhi spent a total of 21 years in South Africa. By the end of his stay, the government had passed the Indian Relief Act, which granted many of Gandhi's and his colleagues' demands.
• For the first time in the 1950s, all racial groups banded together to protest the apartheid government through the Defiance Campaign, which was also the largest nonviolent resistance movement ever seen in South Africa.
• This historic campaign also saw the emergence of a new generation of African National Congress leaders, including Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, and Oliver Tambo.

Natal Indian Congress (NIC)

• The Natal Indian Congress (NIC), founded by Gandhi in 1894 in South Africa, was the dominant political organisation among Indians throughout the twentieth century.
• It campaigned against discrimination against Indians.
• On August 22, 1894, a constitution was drafted and later the NIC formed an alliance with the African National Congress (ANC), breaking the mould of racially exclusive mobilizations.
• Since the 1920s, the organisation has operated under the auspices of the SAIC (South African Indian Congress).
• However, when Dr G.M. Naicker arrived on the scene in the 1930s-1940s, the NIC experienced more radical leadership.
• In 1945, Dr Naicker was elected to the organization's leadership.
• Because of more militant protests, several NIC leaders were imprisoned by the 1950s and 1960s.
• Although the NIC was not outright banned, the harassment of its leaders, combined with the repressive conditions of the time, forced a halt to its operations.
• The NIC was only resurrected in 1971, with a focus on civic work.
• In the mid-1980s, the organisation was instrumental in the formation of the United Democratic Front (UDF).

*For detailed notes on this topic, click on the link Natal Indian Congress (1894)

Indian Opinion - The Newspaper

• Mohandas Gandhi ("Mahatma"), M.H. Nazar, and Madanjit Viyavaharik founded and published Indian Opinion, a weekly newspaper, in Natal Province in 1903.
• The newspaper focused on Indian rights, indentured labourer living conditions, and racial discrimination.
• It served as an important historical record of the social and political lives of the Indian community in South Africa, as well as disseminated information about Indians in the colonies to India.
• Articles in four different languages were included in the paper: English, Hindi, Gujarati, and Tamil.
• The majority of the writing was done by Gandhi, and the first editor was Mansukhlal Hiralal Nazar.
• Indian Opinion was published at the Phoenix Settlement's printing press, which Gandhi established in 1904.
• When Manilal Gandhi (Gandhi's son) took over as editor in the 1950s, the newspaper's focus shifted to human rights in general (rather than just Indian rights).
• Other people who have served as the editor of the Indian Opinion newspaper over the years include:
  • Hebert Kitchin
  • Henry Polak
  • Albert West
  • Manilal Gandhi
  • Sushila Gandhi
• It played an important role in the civil rights movement and evolved into a tool for political activism. Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolent resistance, Satyagraha, was encouraged.
• After Manilal's death in 1957, Indian Opinion was renamed "Opinion" and was edited by Sushila Gandhi (Manilal's wife). This was done to promote nationalism and to symbolise the "oneness of man."
• After 58 years of publication, this newspaper published its final issue in August 1961.
• It was revived 39 years later in October 2000. It is now run by a trust and published in English and Zulu.

Conclusion

Satyagraha was born and evolved in South Africa before spreading to India and, eventually, the rest of the world. When Gandhi left the country at the age of 46, he left behind a way of thinking and acting that has found resonance in many of the country's struggles, most notably Nelson Mandela's. Even though Gandhi's journey in South Africa began in Durban, it is in Johannesburg that he faces his most difficult challenges.

FAQs

MCQs

1. In which year did Mahatma Gandhi arrive in South Africa?

A) 1890
B) 1893
C) 1896
D) 1900

2. Which law did Gandhi oppose through the Satyagraha movement in 1906?

A) The Salt Law
B) The Black Act
C) The Arms Act
D) The Vernacular Press Act

3. What was the name of the community established by Gandhi in South Africa in 1910?

A) Sabarmati Ashram
B) Phoenix Settlement
C) Tolstoy Farm
D) Sevagram Ashram

4. Which of the following organizations was founded by Gandhi in South Africa?

A) Indian National Congress
B) Natal Indian Congress
C) Home Rule League
D) South African National Congress

5. What was the primary method Gandhi used to protest against the Pass Laws?

A) Armed rebellion
B) Hunger strike
C) Satyagraha
D) Petition to the British government

GS Mains Questions and Model Answers

Q1: Discuss the significance of Mahatma Gandhi's experience in South Africa and how it shaped his philosophy of Satyagraha.

Answer: Mahatma Gandhi's experience in South Africa was crucial in shaping his philosophy of Satyagraha. Faced with systemic racial discrimination, Gandhi realized the power of non-violent resistance as a tool for social and political change. His campaigns against the Pass Laws and Black Act, as well as the establishment of communities like Tolstoy Farm, allowed him to refine his techniques of peaceful protest. These experiences in South Africa laid the foundation for Gandhi’s later leadership in India’s independence movement, where he applied Satyagraha on a much larger scale to challenge British colonial rule.

Q2: Analyze the role of the Natal Indian Congress in the Indian community's struggle for rights in South Africa under Gandhi's leadership.

Answer: The Natal Indian Congress (NIC), founded by Gandhi in 1894, played a pivotal role in organizing the Indian community in South Africa. It provided a platform for Indians to voice their grievances and demand civil rights in a racially segregated society. The NIC facilitated legal action, petitions, and peaceful protests against discriminatory policies such as the Pass Laws and Black Act. Under Gandhi’s leadership, the NIC employed Satyagraha as a key strategy, emphasizing non-violent resistance to injustice, which helped strengthen the Indian community's resolve and unity in the face of oppression.

Q3: Evaluate the impact of Gandhi’s leadership in South Africa on the global civil rights movement.

Answer: Gandhi’s leadership in South Africa had a profound impact on the global civil rights movement. His successful use of Satyagraha to challenge racial discrimination set a precedent for non-violent resistance worldwide. Gandhi’s approach influenced key figures in the 20th-century civil rights movement, including Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela, who adopted non-violent methods to fight for equality and justice in their respective countries. Gandhi’s philosophy demonstrated that non-violence could be a powerful tool for oppressed communities to assert their rights and challenge systemic injustices globally.

Previous Year Questions on Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa

1. UPSC CSE Mains 2016 (GS Paper 1)

Question: Discuss the significance of Mahatma Gandhi’s experience in South Africa in the development of his political ideology.

Answer: Mahatma Gandhi’s experiences in South Africa between 1893 and 1914 were crucial in shaping his political ideology, particularly his philosophy of Satyagraha. Faced with racial discrimination and injustice, Gandhi realized that non-violent resistance could be an effective tool for challenging oppressive systems. His campaigns against the Pass Laws and Black Act demonstrated the potential of civil disobedience to bring about social and political change. These experiences formed the foundation of Gandhi’s later work in India, where he employed Satyagraha on a national scale to fight for independence from British rule.