New Delhi: Satyagraha, which means ‘holding firmly to truth’, or ‘truth force’ is a form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance and was the biggest weapon of Gandhi along with Ahimsa in this fight against the British Raj in India. He coined the term ‘satyagraha’ and developed it as early as 1919. He used it during the Indian independence movement and changed the mode of protests in our country. The theory of Satyagraha influenced not just the people of India but also famous personalities abroad like Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. Interestingly, even though Satyagraha is mainly associated with our freedom struggle, it was not in India that Gandhi used it first.
Where did Mahatma Gandhi first use Satyagraha?
When Mahatma Gandhi went to South Africa during the early phase of his career where he would spend a considerable time of his life, he was subjected to racial discrimination which was rampant in the country at that time. He went there for a case but then settled down to fight the prevailing discrimination and racism and the many difficulties that those two menace brought with them. In 1894, he founded the Natal Indian Congress and through this organisation, he made South Africa’s Indian community a united political force.
Sending volunteers during the Boer War
During the Boer War in 1900, Gandhi came forward and formed the Natal Indian Ambulance Corps which was a group of stretcher-bearers. He reportedly wanted to disprove the British notions that Hindus could not do ‘manly’ works which involved danger and exertion. He sent thousands of Indian volunteers to help the British combat troops against the Boers. They served on the front lines and Gandhi and his bearers carried wounded soldiers from the front lines for miles.
Using the Satyagraha for the first time
In 1906, the Transvaal government brought a new Act which forced the colony’s Indian and Chinese populations to register for the war. On September 11, a mass protest was held in Johannesburg and after that, Gandhi adopted his Satyagraha or nonviolent protest, for the first time. At that time, his philosophy of Satyagraha was still evolving. Gandhi urged Indians not to follow the new law and to suffer the punishments peacefully. He implemented the Satyagraha in South Africa for the first time and took back what he learnt to India in 1915.
Mahatma Gandhi coined the term ‘satyagraha’ and developed it as early as 1919. He used it during the Indian independence movement and changed the mode of protests in our country. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
