Ahmedabad Mill Strike and Kheda Satyagraha, 1918

At a Glance

• Ahmedabad March 1918; mill owners and workers; first fast unto death
• Kheda 1918; Gujarat; revenue remission after crop failure
• Associates Anusuya Sarabhai in Ahmedabad; Vallabhbhai Patel in Kheda
• Outcome 35 per cent wage rise; tax suspended
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Modern History: Emergence of Gandhi

Where Does It Fit?

This is the fourth topic of the category on the emergence of Gandhi. The previous topic covered the Champaran Satyagraha. This topic describes his two struggles in Gujarat in 1918. The next topic covers the Rowlatt Act and the satyagraha against it. Previous topic: Champaran Satyagraha, 1917.

What Was the Ahmedabad Mill Strike, 1918?

In March 1918 Gandhi intervened in a dispute between cotton mill owners of Ahmedabad and the workers over the discontinuation of the plague bonus. The mill owners wanted to withdraw the bonus. The workers demanded a 50 per cent rise in wages to manage in wartime inflation, which had doubled the prices of foodgrains, cloth and other necessities. The mill owners were ready to give only 20 per cent, and the workers went on strike.

Relations worsened as striking workers were arbitrarily dismissed and the mill owners decided to bring in weavers from Bombay. The workers turned to Anusuya Sarabhai, a social worker and the sister of Ambalal Sarabhai, one of the mill owners and the president of the Ahmedabad Mill Owners Association, which had been founded in 1891. Anusuya Behn asked Gandhi, who was respected by both sides, to intervene.

How Did Gandhi Handle the Strike?

Though Gandhi was a friend of Ambalal, he took up the workers’ cause. He asked the workers to strike and demand a 35 per cent increase instead of 50 per cent, and advised them to remain non-violent. When negotiations with the owners did not progress, he undertook a fast unto death, his first, to strengthen the workers’ resolve. The fast also put pressure on the mill owners, who agreed to submit the issue to a tribunal. The strike was withdrawn, and the tribunal awarded the workers a 35 per cent wage rise.

What Was the Kheda Satyagraha, 1918?

Because of drought in 1918, crops failed in Kheda district of Gujarat. According to the Revenue Code, if the yield was less than one-fourth of the normal produce, farmers were entitled to remission. The Gujarat Sabha, consisting of peasants, petitioned the highest authorities of the province to suspend the revenue assessment for 1919. The government remained adamant and said that the property of the farmers would be seized if the taxes were not paid.

Gandhi asked the farmers not to pay the taxes. He was mainly the spiritual head of the struggle. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and a group of devoted Gandhians, Narahari Parikh, Mohanlal Pandya and Ravi Shankar Vyas, went around the villages, organised the villagers and gave political leadership. Different ethnic and caste communities of Kheda supported the tax revolt.

How Did the Kheda Revolt End?

The revolt was remarkable for discipline and unity. Even when the government seized the farmers’ personal property, land and livelihood for non-payment, a vast majority of Kheda’s farmers did not desert Patel. Gujaratis in other parts sheltered the relatives and property of the protesting peasants. Those who sought to buy the confiscated lands were socially ostracised.

Ultimately the government sought an agreement. It agreed to suspend the tax for the year in question and for the next, to reduce the increase in the rate, and to return all the confiscated property. The struggle brought a new awakening among the peasantry, who became aware that they would not be free of injustice and exploitation until their country achieved complete independence.

What Did These Struggles Give Gandhi?

Taken with Champaran, the three struggles gave Gandhi three gains. He demonstrated to the people the efficacy of satyagraha. He found his feet among the masses and gained a surer understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. And he won the respect and commitment of many, especially youth.

As an analytical point, the three campaigns covered a different class each, peasants of Bihar, industrial workers of Ahmedabad and peasants of Gujarat, which meant that by 1918 Gandhi had tested satyagraha across the main groups that a mass movement would need. Champaran is described as the first civil disobedience, Ahmedabad as the first hunger strike and Kheda as the first non-cooperation. The first of these is in Champaran Satyagraha, 1917. The movement that followed, against the Rowlatt Act, is covered in Rowlatt Act and the Satyagraha Against It.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Firsts in Gandhi’s methods First fast unto death and first non-cooperation; stock Prelims facts
• Class dimension Workers and peasants joined the national movement
• Leaders emerged Sardar Patel rose to prominence in Kheda

What Came Next?

The next topic covers the Rowlatt Act and the satyagraha launched against it in 1919. Next topic: Rowlatt Act and the Satyagraha Against It.

Key People and Terms

• Anusuya Sarabhai Social worker who sought Gandhi’s help for the Ahmedabad workers
• Ambalal Sarabhai Mill owner and president of the Ahmedabad Mill Owners Association
• Plague bonus The bonus whose withdrawal started the dispute
• Gujarat Sabha Body of peasants that petitioned the government in Kheda
• Vallabhbhai Patel Leader who organised the Kheda tax revolt
• Remission Waiver of revenue when yield fell below one-fourth of normal

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask about the significance of these struggles. These points add depth.

• Different classes Workers and peasants
• Techniques Fast and non-cooperation with tax payment
• Leaders Patel and Anusuya Sarabhai