APPENDIX
The important dates and e v e n t s of Mahatma Gandhi's life
1869 October 2:
B o r n at Porbandar, Kathiawar, India,
son
of Karamchand and Putlibai G a n d h i .
1883:
Married Kasturba.
1888:
Sailed from Bombay for England to study law.
t o I n d i a after being called to
1891 Summer: R e t u r n e d
Began to
Bar.
1893 April:
practise law i n Bombay and Rajkot.
Sailed for South Africa to become lawyer
I n d i a n firm.
an
the
Found himself subjected
to
for
colour
.+
discrimir~ation
1894 May:
Oryanised the Natal I n d i a n Congress.
Organised Indian Ambulance Corps for t h e B r i t i s h in
1899:
the Boer war.
1901 :
W i t h t h e family embakked f o r India.
1901-02:
Travelled extensively in India, attended
Indian
National Congress meeting in Calcutta a n d opened
law
office i r l Bombay.
1902:
Returned
to
South ~ f r i c aat the
request
of
the
Indian community.
1904:
Established
t h e weekly journal
Organised Phoenix Farm near Durban.
'Indian
Opinion',
in
protest
proposed ~ s i a t i co r d i n a n c e directed
against
1906 September:
against
F i r s t 'satyagraha' campaign
I n d i a n immigrants in Transvaal.
1907 June:
Orjanised
'satyagraha'
against
compulsory
registration of Asiatics (The Black A c t ) .
1908 January:
and
Stood t r i a l for
sentenced
was
'satyagraha'
instigating
to two
months
imprisonment
Johannesburg j a i l (his first imprisonment).
to
consu1.t
General Smuts
at
in
Summoned
compromise
Pretoria;
reached; was released from jail.
Attacked a n d wounded by
1908 February:
extremist
Indian
for settlement with Smuts.
1908 August:
After
'satyagraha '
Smuts
broke
agreement,
campaign
began
with
second
of
bonfire
r e g i s t r a t i o n c e r l i f icates.
S e n t e n c e d to t h r e e months imprisonment
1909 February:
in
Volksrust and Pretoria j a i l s .
1909 June: S a i l e d for England to present Indians' case.
1910 May:
Established Tolstoy Farm near J o h a n n e s b u r g .
1913 September:
marriages
Helped campaign against n u l l i f i c a t i o n
not
rites.
Third
Indian
n,.iners
celeberated
according
'satyagraha'
from
New
to
campaign.
Castle
across
Christian
Led
2,000
Transvaal
border.
1913 November:
of
Arrested for third time in four d a y s .
Released unconditionally in expectation of
1913 December:
a compromise.
1914 July:
t o India, leaving S o u t h
Returned
for
Africa
ever.
1915 May:
1917:
Established S a t y a g r a h a A s h r a m near Ahmedabad.
Ashram to new site on Sabarrnati River,
Moved
'satyagraha'
successf u3.
campaign
rights
for
peasants on indigo plantations in Champaran.
order
leave
to
in
area
of
Defied
arrested
was
April,
Led
at
Motihari and t r i e d , but case was withdrawn.
1918 February:
strike of millworkers
Led
at
Ahmedabad.
Millowners agreed to arbitration a f t e r his
three-day
f a s t ( h i s f i r s t fast i n India).
Led 'satyagraha' for peasants in Kheda.
1918 March:
Organised n a t i o n w i d e
1918 A p r i l :
of
hartal--suspension
3
activity
for
a
day
against
the
Rowlatt
~ills.
at Sabarmati for three days i n penitence
Fasted
for
violence and suspended 'satyagraha' campaign which he
called
were
a 'Himalayan miscalculation'
not
English
disciplined
weekly
because
Became
enough.
'Young India' and
people
of
Editor
Gujarati
weekly
'Navajivan'.
1920 April:
League.
Elected
president of All
Successfully
urged
India
Home
resolutions
'satyagraha' campaign of non-cooperation.
Rule
for
a
1921: R e s o l v e d
homespun
to
wear only a l o i n
and to signify
cotton
his
Gandhi invested with
propagate
identification
Mass civil disobedience,
with the people.
went to jaal.
to
cloth
'sole
thousands
executive
authority' on behalf of Indian Congress.
mass disobedience because of violence
1922: Suspended
Chdwri Chawra and undertook five-day fast of
Bardoli.
at
seditiion
Arrested
at Sabarmati
articles i n ' Y o u n g
for
penance
charge
on
India'.
of
Pleaded
guilty in a famous statement at t h e 'great t r i a l '
Ahmedabad before Judge Broomfield.
at
in
Sentenced to
six
ArresteC for burning foreign cloth in Calcutta
and
years' imprisonment in Yervada jail.
1929:
fined one r u p e e .
1929 December:
complete
Concgess
-
Lahore
a
boycott
26 proposed
for
voted
of
the
Independence
as
.
Set out
historic
1930 April 6:
up
January
at
Third all-India ' s a t y a g r a h a ' campaign.
1930 March 12:
on
and
independence
legislature.
day.
session
at
from Sabarmati with 79
Salt March 2 0 0 miles to sea
volunteers
at
Dandi.
Broke salt law by picking a h a n d f u l of salt
seashore.
Arrested by
armed
policemen
Karadi and imprisoned in Yervada jail without
at
trial.
One hundred thousand persons arrested.
1931 January:
Released
Congress leaders.
unconditionally
with
30
other
and hi-Irwin
1931 March:
( V i c e r o y ) Pact
signed,
which
e n d e d c i v l ~ ldisobedience.
1931 August: S e i l e d from Bombay for the Second Round Table
C o n f e r e n c e in London.
R e t u r n e d t o I n d i a . Authorised by
1 9 3 1 December:
to
renew ' s a t y a g r a h a ' campaign
(fourth
Congress
nation-wide
effort).
1932 January:
Pate1
A r r e s t e d in Bombay with S a r d a r
and
d e t a i n e d . ~ i t h o u tt r i a l at Yervada prison.
Began
1932 September 2 0 :
prison
in
protest
'fast
against
death'
unto
while
in
giving
~ r i t i s h action
separate electorate to untouchables.
1932 September 2 6 :
"fast" i n the
Concluded
Tagore
Rabindranath
after
the
presence
British
of
accepted
'Yervada T a c t ' . .
1933:
weekly p u b l i c a t i o n of 'Harijan' i n place
Began
'Young I n d i a '
3.933 J u l y :
of
.
Disbanded Sabarmati Ashram w h i c h then
.
became
centre f o ~
removal of untouchability.
1933 November:
Began ten-month tour of India to help
end
untouchability.
1934 October:
Launched
A11
India
Village
Industries
Associati:m.
1940 October:
Launched
disobedience
allow
Indians
limited,
individual
civil
campaign against ~ r i t i a n ' s r e f u s a l
to express their
opinions
to
regarding
World
War
11.
23,000 persons imprisoned
within
a
year.
1942:
Met
with
Sir
S t a f f o r d Cripps i n
New
Delhi
but
called h i s proposals ' a postdated cheque'; these were
ultimately rejected by the C o n g r e s s .
' Q u i t India R e s o l u t i o n '
Congress passed
( 8 August)--the
f i n a l nation-
wide 'satyagraha campaign' with andh hi a s the l e a d e r .
Arrested with o t h e r Congress leaders and K a s t u r b a and
imprisoned i n Aga Khan Palace, n e a r Poona.
1943 February 10:
Began
fast at Aga Khan Palace
to
end
deadlock between V i c e r o y a n d I n d i a n leaders.
1 9 4 4 February 22:
Kasturba died i n detention at Aga
Khan
P a l a c e at the age of 7 4 .
After
1 9 4 4 M a y 6:
in
decline
unconditionally+ from
health,
released
was
detention (this w a s
his
i m p r i s o n n ~ e n t ; h e had spent 2 , 3 3 8 days i n j a i l
last
during
his life-time).
1946:
B e g a n f - o u r - m o n t h tour of 4 9 villages in East Bengal
I
to quell c o m m u n a l rioting over M u s l i m
representation
i n provisional g o v e r n m e n t .
1947:
Toured
Bihar
to
lessen
Hindu-Muslim
Began coriferences i n N e w Delhi with Lord
tensions.
Mountbatten
and J i n n a h .
1 9 4 7 May:
O p l - ~ o s e dCongress decision t o accept d i v i s i o n of
country
i n t o I n d i a and ~ a k i s t a n . F a s t e d and
t o combat r i o t s i n C a l c u t t a a s India w a s
prayed
partitioned
g r a n L e d independence.
and
and
Visited Delhi
other
neighbouring areas to stop rioting and to visit camps
for r e f u g e e s .
1946 onwards:
Gandhiji's
effecting
efforts were
Hindu-Muslim accord.
had broken o u t a l l over India,
President
concentrated
riots
Hindu-Muslim
ever s i n c e the L e a g u e
Jinnah, rejected the Cabinet ~ i s s i o n Plan
and p r o c h i m e d August 16, 1946 a s Direct Action
It
never c l a r i f i e d w h a t
was
involved.
with
Direct
vengeance.
The
great
Calcutta
killings
16/18
were the first. bitter harvest
Direct
Action
Day, Gandhiji visited many
instance--to
call
this
August
for
Day.
~ c t i o n really
the Muslims responded to
But
areas--Noakhali
1948:
on
restore
of
of
of
the
these
communal
Gandhiji undertook a fast for 5 d a y s t o bring about
communal
prayer
unity.
On
30 J a n u a r y ,
while
m e e t i n g a t B i r f a House, Delhi,
holding
Gandhiji
shot d e a d by a H i n d u fanatic N a t h u r a r n V i n a y a k
a
was
Godse,
who was d e a d l y opposed to Gandhiji's efforts to bring
about Hindu-Muslim a m i t y .
T h u s e n d e d the life of the
greatest Indian since the B u d d h a .