Satyagraha. Developed and first used in South Africa Gandhi employed this tactic throughout his campaigns in India. Satyagraha is the method of bringing about change using non violent means. Examples of these are Sit downs, Marches, Fasting, Civil disobedience, Non Co-operation such as refusing to pay taxes, resignations from government positions and Hartel (a mass closing of businesses). Satyagraha has the objective of “converting ones opponent”. Satyagraha has strict rules such as: “a clear declaration of objective and methods”, no coercion allowed, absolutely no violence, complete honesty and a willingness to suffer. Satyagraha cannot be used against an opponent when they are suffering weakness or misfortune. An exam

Gandhi’s Satyagraha which was finally perfected in the salt marches brought about change both in Indian society and Indian government by 1939. His non violent techniques had both succeeded and failed in local and national issues. Gandhi honed the technique in the Champeran, Kaira and Ahmedabad campaigns incorporating new concepts such as fasting into Satyagraha. The national campaign against the Rowlatt laws and the non co-operation campaign failed in there objectives overall. This was mainly due to violence and it became clear that for Satyagraha to succeed the participants must be trained in non violence. The use of trained protesters was very successful in the salt marches and proved Satyagraha could be successful if conducted properly. By 1939 the use of Satyagraha had resulted in the Government of India act which would be used as a platform for total Indian independence in the future.

Round table talks in London were held as a result of the campaign. Three round table talks were held with the issue of whether Indians had the right to govern themselves. The result of these talks was the 1935 Government of India act. This act gave the Indians more power of self government and was the biggest concession the British had made to date.

The issue in Champeran was British Land lords who owned the Indigo farms were charging the poor peasants higher rents although there was an increase in demand for indigo because of World War One. The British land lords were also buying the peasants Indigo for an unfair price and keeping the extra profit for themselves. Gandhi wearing traditional clothes and speaking the local language took up the peasant’s cause. Gandhi was ordered to leave the region by the British governor but openly refused and invited him to arrest him. The British authorities were confused by Gandhi’s “strange” actions and allowed him to stay and conduct an investigation. Gandhi was later a member of a council that was set up to deal with these issues. Although no long term changes were made Gandhi gained nation wide attention to the cause and his methods. It also proved that non violent protest could be used successfully in India.

The next local campaign Gandhi was involved in was in Kaira. The issue here was that local farming conditions were becoming worse and the peasants were poverty stricken. The poor peasants were still expected to pay tax to the British. Gandhi used Satyagraha and more specifically civil disobedience to try and persuade the British to abolish the tax. The peasants stopped paying the tax and threatened to confiscate land. As the struggle went on th

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