6 Chapter 5 Mahatma in India

Chapter 5 Mahatma in India Gandhi had lived away from India for more than twenty years. But his work in South Africa was well-known in India. He had written pamphlets that had been distributed there. Newspapers, in both England and India, had reported stories of his work in South Africa. His home country greeted him like a hero.

Rabindranath Tagore, a famous poet of the time, called Gandhi Mahatma, which means “Great Soul.” Indians started calling him Mahatma to show their great respect for him. Gandhi came home with a mission. He wanted India to govern itself. He wanted to show the British Raj that Indians would be loyal to them. He urged Indians to be confident and act fairly. He urged them to show respect to the British and not treat them as an enemy. In return, he hoped the government would give India its independence. Gandhi also wanted Indians to look at the unfair parts of their own traditions, such as the caste system and treatment of untouchables. He wanted to put satyagraha to work in India, too. He created a settlement that was similar to the Phoenix and Tolstoy Farm communities, the Satyagraha Ashram. The settlement was on the Sabarmati River near the city of Ahmedabad.

Gandhi had carefully chosen this location. Ahmedabad was a center for the textile industry. The people of Gandhi’s ashram spun yarn and wove cloth. The businesspeople of Ahmedabad

welcomed the ashram and collected money to help support it. Opened on May 25, 1915, the Satyagraha Ashram members lived like one large family. Besides spinning yarn, they farmed and grew fruit trees. They read and studied and prayed. They lived a simple life without many possessions.

Gandhi called the untouchables of India harijans, which means “children of God.” He wished to treat them like any other Indians. But even members of the ashram, who agreed with most of Gandhi’s beliefs, did not always agree with Gandhi’s teachings about untouchables. In September 1915, an untouchable couple and their baby daughter wanted to join the ashram. Gandhi accepted them. Some members objected and left the ashram. Even Kasturbai was upset.

She refused to work in the kitchen alongside the untouchable woman. The textile owners who had donated money for the running of the ashram refused to continue their support. Then one day, one of the most powerful Hindu businessmen in Ahmedabad drove to the ashram. He gave Gandhi enough money to keep the community going for at least another year. Gandhi was pleased. The fact that traditional Hindus were