SETTLEMENTS
OF GANDHIJI – HISTORY
News: Sabarmati Ashram Restoration: PM Modi unveils ₹1,200 crore Gandhi Ashram Memorial Plan in Gujarat
What's
in the news?
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The redeveloped ‘Kochrab Ashram’
inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad
Sabarmati
Ashram Redevelopment Plan:
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Drawing attention to the transformation of
Mahatma Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram, the Prime Minister noted that the once
expansive 120-acre land had dwindled to 5 acres over time, with only 36 out of
63 buildings remaining.
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He stressed the collective responsibility of all Indians to preserve this globally
renowned site.
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He outlined the government's commitment to
restoring old buildings to their original form, aiming to eliminate the
necessity for new constructions.
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He expressed the importance of maintaining
traditional construction methods for future generations to understand and
appreciate the historical significance of the Sant of Sabarmati.
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PM Modi also commended families residing
within the Sabarmati Ashram premises for their role in enabling the government
to secure 55 acres of land for the redevelopment, marking a significant step in
the expansion of this iconic site.
Key
takeaways:
●
On March
12, marking the 94th anniversary of the Dandi March that began from the
Sabarmati Ashram, Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the ‘Ashram Bhoomi Vandana’, a symbolic
laying of the foundation stone, and unveiled the masterplan of the Rs 1,200
crore Gandhi Ashram Memorial and Precinct Development Project
Settlements
of Gandhiji:
●
Gandhi set up five settlements during his lifetime — two in South Africa (Phoenix
Settlement in Natal, and Tolstoy Farm outside Johannesburg), where he lived
from 1893 to 1914, and three in India, where he arrived in January 1915.
Three
Settlements of Gandhiji in India:
1.
Kocharab:
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Gandhiji set up the first ashram in Ahmedabad in Kocharab in 1915.
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Gandhi’s India ashram was originally
established at the Kochrab Bungalow of Jivanlal Desai, a barrister, and friend
of Gandhi, on 25 May 1915.
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At that time the ashram was called the
Satyagraha Ashram.
2.
Sabarmati:
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In 1917, Gandhi founded the ashram at
Sabarmati — his fourth ashram — on the western bank of the Sabarmati River.
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The location was to the north of the
village of Juna Vadaj, beyond the Chandrabhaga rivulet, a tributary of the
Sabarmati.
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He spent the most time here, and it was
the cradle of eight major movements related to India’s struggle for
independence.
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Apart from the Dandi March that Gandhi
began from here on March 12, 1930, he also launched the Champaran Satyagraha (1917), the Ahmedabad mills strike and Kheda
Satyagraha (1918), the Khadi movement (1918), the Rowlatt Act and Khilafat
Movements (1919), and the Non-Cooperation movement (1920) while living in
Sabarmati.
3.
SEVAGRAM:
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SEVAGRAM (meaning “A town for/of service”)
is a town in the state of Maharashtra,
India.
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It was the place of Mahatma Gandhi’s
ashram and his residence from 1936 to
his death in 1948.
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After Sabarmati, SEVAGRAM Ashram holds
immense importance due to the residence of Mahatma Gandhi.
Backdrop
of Sabarmati Ashram:
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The Sabarmati ashram is sited between a
prison and a crematorium, and Gandhi believed that a satyagrahi has invariably
to go to either place.
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At
the ashram, Gandhi formed a tertiary school that focused on manual labour,
agriculture, and literacy, in order to advance his efforts for the nation’s
self-sufficiency.
Dandi
March and Sabarmati Ashram:
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It was also from here that on 12 March
1930, Gandhi marched to Dandi, 241 miles from the ashram, with 78 companions in
protest at the British Salt Law, which increased the taxes on Indian salt in an
effort to promote sales of British salt in India.
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This mass act of civil disobedience in
turn led to the imprisoning of some 60,000 by the British Raj over the
following three weeks.
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Subsequently, the government seized the
ashram.
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On
12 March 1930, Gandhi vowed that he would not return to the ashram until India
had gained independence and Gandhi did not come back to Sabarmati ashram.