Gandhi and his Early Movements (Part-I)

Gandhiji told 'Self-Control' as the best means for family planning.

Gandhi’s thought has been linked to philosophical anarchism and can be compared with strands of Marxist thought. But during present circumstances, he was not in favor of abolishing the state. Human beings are not capable enough to manage their collective affairs on their own. Hence, the state and law are required in society. In addition to this, he also believed that the jurisdiction of the state should be minimal. Gandhi told Louis Fischer, "I am a true socialist. The meaning of my socialism is Sarvodaya." There is a great similarity between Gandhi and Marx. The final aim of both was to establish a stateless and classless society, but their methods were different. For Gandhi, it was through non-violence, but for Marx, it was through violent means.

The strike was the last step in the Gandhian strategy of Satyagraha while fasting was the first step in Gandhian strategy of Satyagraha. He termed fasting as "Fire Arrow."

Gandhi’s Satyagraha means non-violence as a force greater than violence. Suffering was its driving force, once let the oppressors use as much force as they can on the non-violent protesters until a stage comes when they can incur no more violence. Hence, there is no motive to defeat the enemy but to change their perception.

According to Gandhiji, the cruellest form of violence is the persistence of poverty.

Mahatma Gandhi told destruction is the best method of dealing with foreign clothes. Gandhi related this destruction with the self-respect of the Nation.

Gandhi’s boycott of British made products was effective as British considered India as a major market for manufactured goods. A boycott of British goods leads to the advancement of the market of Indian-made goods like crafts and homemade items.

Gandhi arrived in Durban, South Africa in 1893 to serve as legal counsel to the businessman Dada Abdulla. In June, he was asked by Dada Abdulla to undertake a trip to Pretoria in the Transvaal, a journey which first took Gandhi to Pietermaritzburg. There Gandhi was seated in the first-class compartment since he had purchased a first-class ticket. A European who entered the compartment was not content with Gandhi’s presence and ordered Gandhi to shift himself to the van compartment since "coolies" and non-whites were apparently not permitted in first-class compartments. Gandhi protested and produced his ticket, but was warned that he would be forcibly removed if he did not make a gracious exit. As Gandhi refused to comply with the order, he was summarily pushed out of the train, and his luggage was tossed out on the platform.

Mahatma Gandhi attended the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress in the year 1901 for the first time.

Gandhi’s Satyagraha Ashram was originally established at the Kochrab Bungalow of Jivanlal Desai, a barrister, and friend of Gandhi. At that time, the Ashram was called the Satyagraha Ashram. But Gandhi wanted to carry out various activities such as farming and animal husbandry, in addition to other pursuits which required a much larger area of usable land. So two years later, on 17 June 1917, the Ashram was relocated to an area of thirty-six acres on the banks of the River Sabarmati, in Ahmedabad and later came to be known as the Sabarmati Ashram.