Gandhi and the Freedom Struggle: The Early Phase – NDA History Notes

On 12 March 1930 CE, a 61-year-old man left his ashram on the banks of the Sabarmati River with 78 followers and began to walk. He walked for 24 days across the plains of Gujarat, covering 240 miles on foot, to the sea at Dandi. There, on 6 April 1930 CE, he bent down and picked up a small handful of salt from the beach. By this simple act, he violated British law, defied the most powerful empire in the world, and set in motion a mass political campaign that would eventually, seventeen years later, end 190 years of British rule in India.

The man was Mahatma Gandhi. The Salt March is his most iconic act. But it was not his first act of courage, his first campaign, or his first satyagraha. It was the culmination of a political education that had begun in South Africa in 1893 CE, been tested in the villages of Bihar and Gujarat from 1917 CE onward, and expanded into the first all-India mass movement with the Non-Cooperation Movement of 1920 CE.

Gandhi transformed Indian nationalism in a way that no one before him had managed. The moderate Congress leaders had petitioned. The extremists had mobilised the educated middle class. Neither had brought the vast majority of India’s population, the peasants, the workers, the women, the untouchables, the Pashtun tribesmen of the Northwest Frontier, into the political struggle. Gandhi did. He did it through a political method that was entirely his own, Satyagraha — which he described as simultaneously a political force, a philosophy of life, and an ideology of action. [NDA 2013-II]

NDA has tested this chapter on 17 separate facts, the highest of any chapter in the entire library. Hind Swaraj’s authorship and its railway critique, the Passive Resistance Association in South Africa, the Champaran Satyagraha’s significance and its associates, the four elements of Satyagraha strategy, Satyagraha’s threefold description, the Bardoli Satyagraha’s leader and specific demand, the Pledge of Independence, the Civil Disobedience Movement’s massive response from business groups and the peasantry, the tribal participation in Chota Nagpur, G.D. Birla’s phrase and role, and Lord Willingdon’s remark have all appeared in past papers.

Master Gandhi Timeline

1893 CE       →  Gandhi arrives in South Africa
1906 CE       →  Passive Resistance Association formed in South Africa [NDA 2009-II]
1909 CE       →  Hind Swaraj written [NDA 2009-I, NDA 2010-I]
1915 CE       →  Gandhi returns to India
1917 CE       →  Champaran Satyagraha — Gandhi’s first satyagraha in India [NDA 2009-II]
1918 CE       →  Kheda Satyagraha
1918 CE       →  Ahmedabad Mill Strike — Gandhi’s first Indian fast
1919 CE       →  Rowlatt Satyagraha — 6 April hartal
13 Apr 1919   →  Jallianwala Bagh massacre — Brigadier General Dyer
1920 CE       →  Non-Cooperation Movement begins
1922 CE       →  Chauri Chaura — movement called off
4 Feb 1928    →  Bardoli Satyagraha launched — Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel [NDA 2017-I]
26 Jan 1930   →  Pledge of Independence [NDA 2011-I]
12 Mar 1930   →  Salt March begins — Sabarmati Ashram — 78 followers
5 Apr 1930    →  Arrive at Dandi
6 Apr 1930    →  Gandhi picks up salt — Civil Disobedience Movement launches
1930–34 CE    →  Civil Disobedience Movement [NDA 2014-I, NDA 2016-II]
1931 CE       →  Gandhi-Irwin Pact
1932 CE       →  Poona Pact

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1. Gandhi’s Four Phases — Overview

Gandhi’s political career in its early phase divides into four clearly defined periods, each with its own geography, its own methods, and its own historical importance.

Phase	Period	Key Events
Phase 1 — Formation	1893–1914 CE	South Africa. Passive Resistance Association 1906. Hind Swaraj 1909. Satyagraha developed.
Phase 2 — Learning India	1915–1919 CE	Return to India. Champaran 1917. Kheda 1918. Ahmedabad 1918. Rowlatt 1919. Jallianwala Bagh 1919.
Phase 3 — Mass Mobilisation	1920–1922 CE	Non-Cooperation Movement. Khilafat alliance. Chauri Chaura. Withdrawal.
Phase 4 — Civil Disobedience	1928–1934 CE	Bardoli 1928. Pledge of Independence 1930. Salt March 1930. Civil Disobedience Movement. Gandhi-Irwin Pact. Poona Pact.

Gandhi succeeded in doing what the moderate and extremist Congress leaders had not fully achieved: mobilising the mass of ordinary Indians beyond the educated middle class. He did this through accessible language (Hindi and Gujarati, not just English), personal sacrifice (he consistently put himself at physical risk), concrete local issues (real, immediate problems in people’s daily lives), and inclusion of marginalised groups (peasants, workers, women, and untouchables).

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2. Gandhi’s Philosophy — Satyagraha

Satyagraha is Gandhi’s most important intellectual and political contribution. The word means truth-force or soul-force — and it describes a method of political resistance that is unlike anything that had come before in world history.

Satyagraha as a Threefold Concept

For Mahatma Gandhi, Satyagraha was simultaneously three things. [NDA 2013-II]

First, a political force — Satyagraha could move governments, change laws, and end unjust systems.

Second, a philosophy of life — Satyagraha was not just something Gandhi did in public campaigns. It was a way of living based on truth, non-violence, and self-discipline.

Third, an ideology of action. Satyagraha was a systematic approach to the problem of injustice, with clear principles, clear methods, and a clear understanding of what constituted success.

Satyagraha was not only a political tactic or only a philosophical concept. For Gandhi, Satyagraha was simultaneously a political force, a philosophy of life, and an ideology of action — all three descriptions are correct. [NDA 2013-II]

The Four Elements of Satyagraha Strategy

The Gandhian strategy of Satyagraha required four specific elements. [NDA 2010-II]

Non-violent resistance — the satyagrahi resists unjust laws and practices without using physical force against the opponent.

Readiness to suffer — the satyagrahi accepts punishment, imprisonment, and physical suffering without retaliation. The willingness to suffer demonstrates the depth of commitment and places moral pressure on the opponent.

Willingness to convert the opponent through love — the goal of Satyagraha is not to defeat or humiliate the opponent but to change their heart. The satyagrahi appeals to the opponent’s conscience through the example of patient suffering.

Adherence to truth — the cause must be genuinely just, and the satyagrahi must be completely truthful in all actions and statements. A Satyagraha founded on a false claim cannot succeed morally. [NDA 2010-II]

All four elements must be remembered together. [NDA 2010-II]

★ IMPORTANT Two of this chapter’s most tested facts concern Satyagraha’s definition. Satyagraha as threefold — political force + philosophy of life + ideology of action — all three simultaneously. [NDA 2013-II] Satyagraha’s four strategic elements — non-violent resistance + readiness to suffer + convert opponent through love + adherence to truth. [NDA 2010-II] Not three elements. Not two. All four. The most common error is to identify Satyagraha as only one or two of these things.

Tool	What It Is	Key Example
Satyagraha	Non-violent resistance based on truth and willingness to suffer	Champaran, Bardoli, Salt March
Hartal	General strike — complete cessation of economic activity	6 April 1919 Rowlatt protest
Boycott	Refusal to use British goods, courts, schools, or titles	Non-Cooperation Movement
Swadeshi	Use of Indian-made goods — particularly khadi	Civil Disobedience Movement
Fast	Personal fast as moral pressure	Ahmedabad Mill Strike 1918. Poona Pact 1932.
Civil Disobedience	Deliberate, open, non-violent violation of unjust laws	Salt March 1930

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3. Phase 1 — Formation in South Africa (1893–1914 CE)

Gandhi’s political education happened not in India but in South Africa, where he lived and worked as a lawyer for over twenty years. In South Africa, Indians faced systematic racial discrimination. They were denied basic civil rights, subjected to special registration requirements, and treated as inferior by the colonial government and by white society.

Gandhi built a political movement to defend Indian rights in South Africa. His method, non-violent organised resistance, was tested and refined in this context before he brought it to India.

The Passive Resistance Association — 1906 CE

In 1906 CE, the South African government introduced the Asiatic Registration Act — known as the Black Act — which required all Indians to register with the authorities and carry registration documents at all times.

Gandhi formed the Passive Resistance Association in South Africa in 1906 CE to organise resistance against this Act. [NDA 2009-II] This was the first organised Satyagraha campaign in history. Indians publicly burned their registration certificates, refused to register, and accepted imprisonment rather than comply. Gandhi himself was imprisoned multiple times.

The Passive Resistance Association was formed in South Africa — not in India. It was formed in 1906 CE — against the Asiatic Registration Act (Black Act). [NDA 2009-II]

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4. Hind Swaraj — Gandhi’s Foundational Text

Gandhi wrote Hind Swaraj in 1909 CE during a voyage from London to South Africa, writing so rapidly that when his right hand tired he switched to his left. He wrote it in Gujarati, and it was later translated into English.

Hind Swaraj is Gandhi’s foundational critique of modern industrial civilisation. It argues that modern civilisation, with its railways, factories, courts, and hospitals, is not progress but a form of enslavement. It proposes an alternative vision of India based on self-reliance, village communities, hand-spinning, and non-violence.

The author of Hind Swaraj was Mahatma Gandhi. [NDA 2009-I]

Gandhi’s Critique of Railways in Hind Swaraj

Gandhi’s specific critique of railways in Hind Swaraj is directly tested by NDA. In the book, Gandhi described railways as problematic for three specific reasons. [NDA 2010-I]

First, railways spread plague — by rapidly transporting people across large distances, railways spread epidemic diseases faster than they could naturally travel.

Second, railways increase moral degradation — by destroying the self-sufficient village communities and creating dependence on distant industrial centres.

Third, railways serve British rather than Indian interests — colonial railways were designed to connect raw material areas to export ports, not to connect Indian communities for Indian benefit. [NDA 2010-I]

Gandhi did not praise railways in Hind Swaraj. In Hind Swaraj, Gandhi argued railways were problematic because they spread plague, increase moral degradation, and serve British rather than Indian interests. [NDA 2010-I] All three reasons. Not two.

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5. Phase 2 — Learning India (1915–1919 CE)

Gandhi returned to India in 1915 CE. His political mentor Gopal Krishna Gokhale advised him not to enter politics immediately but to travel across India for a year, to see and understand the country whose freedom he intended to seek. Gandhi followed this advice. He established the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad and undertook journeys across India, experiencing firsthand the poverty, the caste discrimination, and the conditions of ordinary Indian life.

Satyagraha	Year	Location	Issue	Result
Champaran	1917 CE	Bihar	Tinkathia system — forced indigo cultivation	Tinkathia system abolished. Gandhi’s first Indian satyagraha.
Kheda	1918 CE	Gujarat	Crop failure — peasants demanded revenue suspension	British partially conceded — suspended collection for poorest.
Ahmedabad	1918 CE	Gujarat	Mill workers demanded 35% wage increase	Workers received 35% increase. Gandhi’s first Indian fast.

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6. The Champaran Satyagraha — 1917 CE

The Tinkathia system in Bihar’s Champaran district forced indigo farmers to grow indigo on three-twentieths of their land as a condition of their tenancy. The system was coercive and kept farmers in perpetual poverty. A farmer named Raj Kumar Shukla approached Gandhi and persuaded him to visit Champaran.

Gandhi arrived in Champaran, was ordered by the British to leave, refused, was arrested, and turned his trial into a public platform for the farmers’ grievances. He organised a systematic investigation of conditions, collecting thousands of testimonies from farmers.

A commission of inquiry was established. The Tinkathia system was abolished. The farmers received partial compensation.

The Champaran Satyagraha marked Gandhi’s first appearance in Indian politics as a leader of the masses. [NDA 2009-II] Young nationalists like Rajendra Prasad and J.B. Kripalani worked with Gandhi at Champaran — helping organise the investigation and providing legal and political support. [NDA 2009-II]

Both Rajendra Prasad and J.B. Kripalani worked with Gandhi at Champaran. [NDA 2009-II] Both names are tested together. Neither should be omitted. And Champaran (1917 CE) was Gandhi’s first satyagraha in India — not the Rowlatt Satyagraha or Kheda.

[Image Suggestion: A photograph of Gandhi in Champaran in 1917 — showing him speaking with indigo farmers or conducting the investigation of farm conditions — representing his first satyagraha in India and his emergence as a mass leader]

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7. The Rowlatt Satyagraha and Jallianwala Bagh — 1919 CE

The Rowlatt Act (1919 CE) permitted detention without trial for up to two years. Gandhi called it the Black Act and organised a hartal (general strike) on 6 April 1919 CE — the first all-India political action in Indian history.

On 13 April 1919 CE — Baisakhi day — a large crowd gathered at Jallianwala Bagh, a walled public garden in Amritsar, Punjab, for a public meeting. Many were pilgrims who had come to Amritsar for the Baisakhi festival and were unaware that public meetings had been banned under martial law. Brigadier General Reginald Dyer arrived with troops, blocked the main exit, and ordered his soldiers to open fire without any warning or any order to disperse. The firing continued for approximately ten minutes until the ammunition was nearly exhausted. Hundreds were killed and thousands wounded. Those who could not escape jumped into a well within the garden and drowned.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre ended any remaining Indian willingness to trust British justice. For Gandhi, it made the Non-Cooperation Movement inevitable.

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8. Phase 3 — The Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–22 CE)

The Non-Cooperation Movement was Gandhi’s first attempt at organising a nationwide mass movement against British rule, a call for every Indian to withdraw cooperation from every institution of British India.

Background — The Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the British government’s failure to adequately punish General Dyer. The Khilafat Movement — Muslim outrage at the dismemberment of the Ottoman Caliphate after World War I. Gandhi recognised the Khilafat issue as an opportunity to forge Hindu-Muslim unity and merged his Non-Cooperation programme with the Khilafat Movement.

The Non-Cooperation programme called for the surrender of British titles and honours, boycott of government schools and colleges, boycott of government courts, boycott of foreign cloth and promotion of khadi, non-payment of taxes in selected areas, and eventually mass civil disobedience.

The movement achieved unprecedented mass participation. But on 5 February 1922 CE, a crowd of peasants at Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur district, Uttar Pradesh, attacked and set fire to a police station, killing 22 police officers. Gandhi called off the entire Non-Cooperation Movement immediately.

Gandhi’s withdrawal after Chauri Chaura shocked many nationalists who felt the movement was succeeding. But it reflected his absolute commitment to non-violence. He believed that a movement that abandoned non-violence had lost its moral foundation. Gandhi did NOT call off the Non-Cooperation Movement because of government pressure, political failure, or the moderates’ opposition. He called it off because of the Chauri Chaura violence.

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9. The Bardoli Satyagraha — 1928 CE

The British authorities in the Bardoli taluka of Gujarat had imposed a 22% increase in land revenue on the peasants — widely seen as unjust, excessive, and imposed without proper consultation.

The Bardoli Satyagraha was launched on 4 February 1928 CE by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. [NDA 2017-I] Patel organised a systematic campaign of non-payment of the enhanced revenue, building remarkable organisational cohesion among the peasants, preventing any individual from breaking the campaign by paying.

The major demand of the Bardoli Satyagraha was the rollback of the 22% increase in land revenue imposed by the British on Bardoli peasants. [NDA 2011-I]

The Bardoli Satyagraha was launched on 4 February 1928 CE by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel — not Gandhi. [NDA 2017-I] The demand was the rollback of a 22% increase in land revenue — specifically 22%, not 20%, not 25%. [NDA 2011-I]

The British government conceded. The revenue increase was withdrawn. An independent inquiry vindicated the peasants’ position. The grateful Bardoli peasants gave Vallabhbhai Patel the title Sardar — meaning Leader. The satyagraha’s success directly inspired the larger Civil Disobedience Movement that Gandhi was preparing.

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10. The Pledge of Independence — 26 January 1930 CE

The Congress at its Lahore session in December 1929 CE — under President Jawaharlal Nehru — declared Purna Swaraj (complete independence) as the Congress’s goal. As a public declaration, the Congress called on Indians across the country to publicly take the Pledge of Independence on 26 January 1930 CE.

The specific statement from the Pledge that NDA has tested is:

“We believe that it is the inalienable right of the Indian people to have freedom…” [NDA 2011-I]

The word inalienable is specific — it means a right that cannot be taken away or transferred. 26 January was later chosen as the date for India’s Constitution coming into effect in 1950 CE, which is why India celebrates Republic Day on 26 January.

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11. The Salt March and the Civil Disobedience Movement

Gandhi chose the salt tax — a tax on a basic necessity of life that affected every Indian regardless of wealth, caste, or region, as the concrete act of civil disobedience to launch a mass movement.

The Salt March

Gandhi left Sabarmati Ashram with 78 chosen followers on 12 March 1930 CE and walked to Dandi on the Gujarat coast — a distance of approximately 240 miles — arriving on 5 April 1930 CE. On 6 April 1930 CE, Gandhi picked up a handful of salt from the beach at Dandi, technically manufacturing salt in defiance of the British monopoly.

Gandhi arrived at Dandi on 5 April and picked up salt on 6 April 1930 CE — not on 5 April. He arrived one day and acted the next.

Salt March Flow

Sabarmati Ashram (12 March 1930)
        ↓
78 followers — 240 miles on foot — 24 days walking
        ↓
Dandi, Gujarat coast — arrived 5 April 1930
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Gandhi picks up salt — 6 April 1930 — Civil Disobedience launches nationally

The Civil Disobedience Movement — 1930–34 CE

The Civil Disobedience Movement received massive response from business groups and the peasantry. [NDA 2016-II] Business groups, including major industrial families, provided financial support and moral endorsement. The peasantry participated through non-payment of revenue and forest dues.

In the Chota Nagpur area, tribals refused to pay forest dues and engaged in civil disobedience as part of the movement. [NDA 2014-I] This tribal participation showed that the Civil Disobedience Movement had reached communities far beyond the Congress’s urban and middle-class base.

The Civil Disobedience Movement did not have only elite or middle-class participation. It received massive response from business groups and the peasantry. [NDA 2016-II] And tribals in Chota Nagpur refused to pay forest dues and participated in civil disobedience. [NDA 2014-I]

The Gandhi-Irwin Pact — 1931 CE

The British Viceroy Lord Irwin and Gandhi reached the Gandhi-Irwin Pact in March 1931 CE — by which Gandhi agreed to suspend the Civil Disobedience Movement in exchange for the release of political prisoners, the right to make salt on the sea coast, and an invitation to the Second Round Table Conference in London.

The Civil Disobedience Movement was resumed after the pact’s breakdown and then finally suspended in 1934 CE.

[Image Suggestion: A photograph of Gandhi and the 78 marchers setting off from Sabarmati Ashram on 12 March 1930 — or Gandhi picking up salt at Dandi beach on 6 April 1930 — one of the most iconic moments in Indian nationalist history]

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12. G.D. Birla, Lord Willingdon, and Gandhi’s Associates

G.D. Birla

The Indian businessman who favoured ‘healthy capitalism’ in helping Gandhiji work towards a ‘common object’ was G.D. Birla. [NDA 2019-I] G.D. Birla, one of India’s most important industrialists, was a personal friend of Gandhi and one of the Congress’s most significant financial supporters. Both phrases — ‘healthy capitalism’ and ‘common object’ — are specifically tested and must be remembered exactly.

Lord Willingdon

The Viceroy who made the observation ‘It is a beautiful world if it wasn’t for Gandhi’ was Lord Willingdon. [NDA 2019-I] Lord Willingdon served as Viceroy of India from 1931 to 1936 CE. His remark expresses the British administration’s frustrated recognition that Gandhi was uniquely effective at disrupting their governance. NOT Lord Irwin or Lord Curzon made this remark. It was Lord Willingdon. [NDA 2019-I]

Person	Relationship to Gandhi	Key Role	NDA Tag
Gopal Krishna Gokhale	Political mentor	Advised Gandhi to travel India before entering politics	—
Rajendra Prasad	Associate at Champaran	Worked with Gandhi at Champaran 1917	[NDA 2009-II]
J.B. Kripalani	Associate at Champaran	Worked with Gandhi at Champaran 1917	[NDA 2009-II]
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel	Congress leader	Led Bardoli Satyagraha — 4 February 1928	[NDA 2017-I]
G.D. Birla	Business supporter	‘Healthy capitalism’ toward ‘common object’	[NDA 2019-I]
Lord Willingdon	British Viceroy	‘It is a beautiful world if it wasn’t for Gandhi’	[NDA 2019-I]

Feature	Non-Cooperation (1920–22)	Civil Disobedience (1930–34)
Trigger	Jallianwala Bagh + Khilafat issue	Purna Swaraj + Salt tax
Method	Boycott — withdrawal from British institutions	Active civil disobedience — breaking unjust laws
Business support	Limited	Massive [NDA 2016-II]
Peasant support	Growing	Massive [NDA 2016-II]
Tribal participation	Limited	Chota Nagpur — refused forest dues [NDA 2014-I]
Hindu-Muslim unity	Strong (Khilafat)	Weaker
Why ended	Chauri Chaura violence	Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931), final suspension 1934

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