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Question 63 of 69 · Gandhian Era & Struggle for Independence
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The settlement founded by Gandhi near Johannesburg in South Africa in 1910, on land given by his friend Hermann Kallenbach, was named:

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Answer: Option B — Tolstoy Farm

Detailed Solution

In 1910, Gandhi founded a cooperative settlement near Johannesburg, in the Transvaal (South Africa), and named it "Tolstoy Farm", in honour of the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy.

About Tolstoy Farm:

  • It was set up on about 1,100 acres of land given by Gandhi's friend Hermann Kallenbach, a German-Jewish architect.
  • It was set up to house the families of satyagrahis who had been imprisoned during the struggle against discriminatory laws in the Transvaal, and to reduce the cost of the struggle.
  • The residents lived a simple, self-sufficient life; they grew their own food, built their own houses, made their own sandals, and did all the work themselves.
  • They followed a vegetarian diet and did not use servants.
  • People of different religions (Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Parsis and Jews) lived together in harmony.
  • Gandhi ran a school for the children there, and experimented with education based on manual work.
  • He described it as a centre of spiritual purification and penance for the final campaign.

Gandhi and Tolstoy:

  • Gandhi was deeply influenced by Tolstoy's book "The Kingdom of God is Within You", which he read in South Africa (1894); it taught non-violence and the rejection of state power based on force.
  • Gandhi corresponded with Tolstoy in 1909-1910, shortly before Tolstoy's death.
  • Tolstoy praised Gandhi's work in South Africa in his letter, describing it as very important for the whole world.

Gandhi's other settlement in South Africa:

The Phoenix Settlement (1904), near Durban, inspired by John Ruskin's "Unto This Last"; the newspaper "Indian Opinion" was printed there.

The farm today:

The site of Tolstoy Farm is near Lenasia, south of Johannesburg; efforts have been made to preserve and restore it as a heritage site.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗The Phoenix Settlement was near Durban.
  • ✗The Satyagraha Ashram was in Ahmedabad.
  • ✗"Ruskin Farm" was not the name of Gandhi's settlement.

Quick tip

Remember: Tolstoy Farm (1910, near Johannesburg; land from Hermann Kallenbach); Phoenix Settlement (1904, near Durban; inspired by Ruskin's "Unto This Last").

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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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