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Mahatma Gandhi launched his first satyagraha in South Africa, against the law requiring Indians in the Transvaal to register and carry passes (the 'Black Act'), in:

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Answer: Option C — 1906

Detailed Solution

Mahatma Gandhi launched his first satyagraha in South Africa in September 1906, against the Asiatic Law Amendment Ordinance of the Transvaal government, which Indians called the "Black Act".

Gandhi in South Africa:

  • Gandhi went to South Africa in 1893, to work as a lawyer for an Indian firm, Dada Abdulla and Company.
  • He faced racial discrimination, most famously when he was thrown off a first-class compartment of a train at Pietermaritzburg station (June 1893).
  • He decided to stay and fight for the rights of Indians.
  • He founded the Natal Indian Congress in 1894.

The Black Act:

  • The Transvaal government's ordinance (1906) required all Indians to register with the authorities, give their fingerprints, and carry certificates of registration at all times.
  • Indians felt that the law was humiliating and treated them like criminals.

The first satyagraha:

  • At a mass meeting at the Empire Theatre, Johannesburg, on 11 September 1906, Indians took a solemn pledge not to submit to the law, and to suffer the consequences.
  • This was the beginning of "satyagraha" (insistence on truth), Gandhi's method of non-violent resistance.
  • The word "satyagraha" was coined soon after, as a result of a competition in Gandhi's newspaper "Indian Opinion".

The struggle:

  • Many Indians, including Gandhi, refused to register, and were imprisoned.
  • Gandhi was first imprisoned in January 1908.
  • The struggle continued in different forms until 1914.

Settlement (1914):

The Gandhi-Smuts Agreement of 1914 removed some of the grievances of Indians, such as the poll tax of three pounds and the non-recognition of Indian marriages.

Gandhi's institutions in South Africa:

  • Phoenix Settlement (1904), near Durban.
  • Tolstoy Farm (1910), near Johannesburg.

NCERT on Gandhi in South Africa:

NCERT notes that in South Africa Gandhi forged the method of non-violent agitation known as satyagraha, and promoted harmony between religions.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗1893 was the year he went to South Africa; 1914 was the year of the settlement; 1919 was the year of the Rowlatt Satyagraha in India.

Quick tip

Remember: Gandhi's first satyagraha = 1906, Transvaal (against the "Black Act"); Natal Indian Congress (1894); Phoenix (1904), Tolstoy Farm (1910).

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Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers the freedom struggle from Gandhi's return to India in 1915 to independence in 1947: the Champaran, Kheda and Ahmedabad movements, the Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala Bagh, the Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience and Quit India movements, the Round Table Conferences, the Cripps Mission, the Cabinet Mission and the partition of India. Most questions ask about the year, cause or result of a movement, or the event that ended it. For example, the Chauri Chaura incident (1922) led Gandhi to call off the Non-Cooperation Movement, and the Dandi March (1930) started the Civil Disobedience Movement. Learning these events on a timeline is the best way to avoid confusion. Practise the Gandhian era questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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