Image: Gandhi after returning to India, historical archive.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi returned to India on 9 January 1915 after spending more than two decades in South Africa. The return marked the beginning of a new phase in his public life.
A different Gandhi came back
In South Africa, Gandhi had developed experience in community organisation, journalism and nonviolent resistance. In India, he initially avoided immediately taking over the national political movement.
Gokhale’s advice
Gopal Krishna Gokhale became an important political guide. Gandhi later recalled that Gokhale advised him to travel around India and understand the country before taking major political positions.
The year of travel
Gandhi travelled extensively, meeting farmers, workers, students, political leaders and ordinary citizens. These journeys helped him understand conditions beyond the major cities.
From South Africa to India
Gandhi gradually adapted the methods he had developed in South Africa to Indian conditions. His first major Indian campaign came at Champaran in 1917.
Read the Gandhi Heritage Portal and NewsNationOnline’s South Africa Satyagraha feature.
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