Kheda Satyagraha 1918):A Landmark in India’s Freedom Struggle
Introduction
Kheda Satyagraha in 1918 was one of the earliest major movements of India’s freedom struggle.
It was a non-violent agitation of the peasantry in Kheda district led by Mahatma Gandhi.
The campaign was part of a wider campaign by Gandhi in the campaign to popularize the adoption and actualization of satyagraha, or truth-force, or nonviolent resistance, towards ending social, economic, and political injustice.
Background of the Kheda District
Kheda was an agrarian district in Gujarat.
Local economy was based on agriculture and the major crops that dominated the produce were wheat, cotton, and rice.
Most peasants in Kheda were small landholders already suffering under severe taxation and abnormal monsoon patterns.
Agrarian Distress
By 1918, the Kheda district was badly distressed because of the crop failure that occurred following heavy rains and floods.
The farmers of the district suffered heavily at the hands of the crop.
Official statistics show that the crop yield in Kheda had diminished to less than a quarter of the crop yield for normal years.
The British colonial rule had to collect a certain amount of land revenue regardless of the yield of the crop.
Colonial Tax Policies
The most oppressive method during the British time was the system of land revenue.
Farmers were required to pay taxes based on estimated land productivity rather than calculated based on actual yield.
Even natural calamities such as floods and droughts never found reprieve at the hands of the colonial government.
Despite the crop failure in Kheda, the British government demanded full revenue.
Initial Appeals
The farmers of Kheda appealed for the first time to the British government to remit taxes due to crop failure.
In addition to that, other leaders and public figures raised petitions before the authorities stating that severe hardship was faced by the farmers.
However, these appeals were either ignored or rejected, and the government kept insisting on the full revenue.
Role of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who later would be one of India’s prominent freedom fighters and the first Deputy Prime Minister, also played an important role in the Kheda Satyagraha.
Local Leaders like Shankarlal Banker and Indulal Yagnik under their arms and set organizing the farmers and the movement.
He toured several villages in Kheda, explaining to them the unfair tax rates and urging the farmers to raise their voice against this and fight for their rights.
Mahatma Gandhi’s Leadership
Mahatma Gandhi had come to India from South Africa in 1915 and was gaining momentum within the political horizon of India.
After the success of the Champaran Satyagraha during 1917, it was another good opportunity for proving his ideas of nonviolent resistance in Kheda.
For Gandhi, it was a mass movement, and he personally led the Kheda Satyagraha himself.
He directed the farmers not to pay taxes until their demands about tax remission were fulfilled.
Satyagraha Principles
The Kheda movement was influenced by Gandhi’s principle of satyagraha which means resisting oppression without any violence.
Gandhiji believed in the power of truth and moral force to defeat unjust laws through non-cooperation.
Farmers were told to be non-violent and not resist the government through aggressive confrontation even when they were being arrested and persecuted
Movement focused more on the collective’s power and their self-acquisition of dignity rather than any help from someone outside.
Non-Cooperation with the British
Refusal to pay taxes was the core strategy of the Kheda Satyagraha. It forms civil disobedience.
Gandhi and his members motivated the farmers to stick on their decision of refusing to pay the taxes, and whether that led them to lose their freedom or any other form of legal punishment was immaterial.
The British government withdrew their land, cattle, and valuables of those farmers also who refused to pay the taxes.
Many families were left without homes and all the rest people were evicted of their belongings through public auction by the government.
Unity and Mass Mobilization
Another important aspect of the Kheda Satyagraha was the farmers’ unity and their devotion to the cause.
The leadership of Gandhi played a very crucial role in generating this sense of solidarity among farmers.
Village communities were mobilized to look out for each other, and relief funds were set up for those who were losing financially because of participating in the movement.
Even women who were not involved in political struggle made their contribution to Satyagrah by appealing to their relatives to reject tax demands.
National Leadership Support
Kheda Satyagrah received strong support from other national leaders and freedom fighters of India’s independence movement.
National leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, who eventually became India’s first Prime Minister, visited Kheda and went on to pledge support to the farmers.
Many intellectuals, lawyers, and social reformers from all over the country also participated in the movement.
The Kheda Satyagraha of 1918 became a symbolic feature of resistance against economic exploitation and colonial rule.
Negotiations and Partial Success
Months of relentless struggle passed, and it was now evident that the movement was getting momentum and the situation in Kheda was becoming unbearable for the authorities.
As a retaliation, the government started negotiating with Gandhi and other leaders of the movement.
Sometime later, it agreed to accept no charge for the collection of revenues for the year. It was a great solace to the cultivators.
Though this movement resulted in no remission of revenues altogether, it was considered to be a big victory considering the circumstance under which farmers were operating and satyagraha principles.
Role in the Indian Freedom Movement
The Kheda Satyagraha was one of the most crucial milestones in the journey of India towards freedom.
The Kheda Satyagraha proved to be an excellent example of the power of non-violent resistance and mass mobilization against colonial rule.
It further strengthened Gandhi’s position as a national leader and established the Indian National Congress as the only political body struggling for the country’s independence.
Kheda also threw up the problem of India’s rural masses as well as needed agrarian reforms-the issues that were to remain at the heart of freedom movement.
Consolidation of Satyagraha Technique
The victory of Kheda Satyagraha only reinforced in Gandhi’s mind the effectiveness of satyagraha.
It also formed a template for later movements-that of the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-1922) and of the Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-1934).
The philosophy of nonviolence by Gandhi was well resorted to by the masses, inspired by the nonviolent but forceful stand taken in Kheda.
Lessons Learnt
Kheda Satyagraha was not only a witness to the power that comes with unity and determination but also to the fact that commoners could fight exploitation through non-violent means.
The movement also emphasized the need for moral leadership, as it was Gandhi who made sure that the movement was accomplished without violence and within discipline.
The Kheda movement became an example for other satyagrahas and enhanced the tactics of the Indian independence movement.
Legacy of the Kheda Satyagraha
Kheda Satyagraha had lived on its history as one of the very first successful experiments in civil disobedience that happened in modern India.
The spirit of truth, nonviolence, and justice motivated successive generations of freedom fighters and activists to take up the cause.
Kheda thus finds a pride of place in Indian history as an epitomized expression of strength in unity which the weak everywhere can muster against oppression.
The movement still reminds us how much importance nonviolent resistance assumes in attaining social and political rights.
Conclusion:-
The 1918 Kheda Satyagraha is regarded as one of the turning points of the Indian Independence Movement-a movement that would shortly show the world the importance of non-violent resistance and mass struggle.
Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel spearheaded this series of farmer successes who defied an arbitrary tax proposal by the British colonial government.
It not only brought relief to the distressed farmers but also revitalized the national freedom movement, leaving marks in India’s history.
Kheda reminds the world of the bravery that was brought out here, all round unity for justice through peaceful means.
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