MAHATMA GANDHI AND THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT: CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE AND BEYOND
After spending around two decades in South Africa, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (often referred to as Mahatma Gandhi) returned to India in January 1915.
1.Role: Gandhi initially went to South Africa as a lawyer but over time, he emerged as a leader of the Indian community there.
2.Significance: South Africa was crucial in Gandhi’s evolution as a leader. Historian Chandran Devanesan even claimed that South Africa was “the making of the Mahatma”.
3.Satyagraha: It was in South Africa that Gandhi formulated the technique of non-violent protest called ‘satyagraha’.
4.Social Reforms: In South Africa, Gandhi began promoting religious harmony and also worked on addressing caste-based discrimination and gender inequities prevalent among Indians.