Gandhi and his Early Movements (Part-I)

Satyagraha is a term comprising two words; Satya or truth, and Agrah or insistence. Hence, in its loose English interpretation, Satyagraha means ‘insistence on truth’. The Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 was Mahatma Gandhi’s first successful Satyagraha in India.

Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 was the first Civil Disobedience Movement led by Gandhiji in India. In 1917, in the Champaran of Bihar, farmers were protesting against having to grow indigo with barely any payment for it from British. On the invitation of Raj Kumar Shukla, Gandhiji went there and started non-violent protest against this, which eventually led to acceptance of the demands of farmers. This was the first victory of Satyagraha in India.

During the Champaran Satyagraha, the cultivation of Indigo was known as the Tinkathia system. Tinkathia was the most prevalent system in Champaran. According to it, the factory owners convinced the tenant to grow indigo in a specific area of his holding for which a fixed price was paid. In this, the ryot was under an obligation to cultivate three kathas per beegha of his land with indigo i.e. 3/20th of his landholding.

Struggle done by Gandhi in South Africa was termed as 'Inactive resistance' but later Gandhi chose the word 'Satyagraha' in place of inactive resistance. Satyagraha was the term, which was used most during the freedom struggle. But Gandhi differentiated between Satyagraha and inactive resistance. As per him, inactive resistance is a political tool, whereas Satyagraha is moral power. He differentiated Inactive Resistance and Satyagraha by comparing it with the north and the south pole.

The chronological sequence of the political life of Mahatma Gandhi is as follows: