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Question 49 of 69 · Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence
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The remark 'India gave Gandhi to South Africa, and South Africa gave us the Mahatma' (or 'South Africa was the making of the Mahatma') is attributed to the historian:

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Answer: Option C — Chandran Devanesan

Detailed Solution

The remark that "South Africa was the making of the Mahatma" is attributed to the historian Chandran Devanesan, who wrote a study of Gandhi's early life and his years in South Africa.

NCERT on this remark:

  • NCERT notes that in January 1915, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi returned to his homeland after two decades of residence abroad.
  • These years had been spent for the most part in South Africa, where he went as a lawyer, and in time became a leader of the Indian community in that territory.
  • As the historian Chandran Devanesan has remarked, South Africa was "the making of the Mahatma".

It was in South Africa that Gandhi first forged the distinctive techniques of non-violent protest known as satyagraha, first promoted harmony between religions, and first alerted upper-caste Indians to their discriminatory treatment of low castes and women.

About Chandran Devanesan:

  • He was an Indian historian and educationist from Tamil Nadu.
  • He wrote "The Making of the Mahatma" (1969), which examined how Gandhi's experiences in India, England and South Africa shaped his ideas.
  • He served as the Principal of the Madras Christian College.

Gandhi's years in South Africa (1893-1914):

  • He went there in 1893 as a lawyer for an Indian firm.
  • He experienced racial discrimination and decided to fight against it.
  • He organised the Indian community, and developed the method of satyagraha (truth-force).
  • He led campaigns against discriminatory laws, such as the registration of Indians and the £3 tax on former indentured labourers.
  • He set up community settlements, where he experimented with simple living and manual labour.
  • He was influenced by thinkers such as John Ruskin and Henry David Thoreau.

Other historians of Gandhi:

  • Ramachandra Guha wrote "Gandhi Before India" and "Gandhi: The Years That Changed the World".
  • Judith Brown wrote "Gandhi: Prisoner of Hope".
  • Bipan Chandra wrote on the Indian national movement.
  • Good to know
  • They are other historians who wrote about Gandhi or the national movement.

Quick tip

Remember: "South Africa was the making of the Mahatma" = Chandran Devanesan ("The Making of the Mahatma", 1969; NCERT); Gandhi in South Africa 1893-1914.

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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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