Kheda Satyagraha: Gandhi’s Rural Uprising Against Unjust Taxes and Oppression
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Gandhi’s Kheda Movement: Rural Patriots Rise
Mahatma Gandhi spearheaded the satyagraha movement in Kheda, Gujarat. Gandhi decided to support the peasant agitation for income remission in Kheda, at the local peasant leaders’ request. The movement also planted the seeds of patriotism among the rural population.
Background of Kheda Satyagraha: Peasants Resist Tax Hike and Famine
- The land and crops in Kheda were inspected by the authorities and later tax was raised by 23% based on land statistics. This wasn’t received well with the peasants.
- One of the main reasons for Kheda Satyagraha is famine. There were severe crop failures as a result of the famine, which afflicted the peasantry. On the other side, the government insisted on collecting all of the land taxes due and refused to tolerate crop loss.
- The highest administrative officials in the province were telegraphed and petitioned by the Gujarat Peasant’s Sabha to postpone the 1919 income assessment.
- Government representatives disregarded public calls for tax relief. Gandhi encouraged the Kheda peasants to participate in satyagraha after the authorities rejected their requests for the non-payment of land tax.
Features of Kheda Satyagraha: Patel and Peasants Defy Oppression
- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, along with other community lawyers and activists including Shankarlal Banker, Indulal Yagnik, and Mahadev Desai, assisted Mahatma Gandhi.
- They organized the villagers and gave them political leadership and direction while on a tour of the countryside.
- The Kheda peasants submitted a declaration during the famine demanding that the levy for this year be removed. The declaration was rejected by the Bombay administration. They warned the peasants that if they did not pay, their farms and properties would be confiscated, and many would face imprisonment.
- While the police seized all real estate and agricultural land, the government’s inspectors and collectors sent out goons to steal property and livestock. The farmers did not use aggression against the officers or attempt to elude arrest.
Conclusion
The peasant-Patidar were the main target of the Kheda Satyagraha because they refused a 23% tax increase imposed on them despite a catastrophic crop failure, a plague outbreak, and a cholera pandemic.
