Zulu rebillion

Another thing that happened that year was that Gandhi met H.S.L. Polak, then sub- editor of The Critic. The two soon became good friends as their outlook on life was similar.

Polak presented to Gandhi a copy of Unto This Last, a book written by John Ruskin. This book on economics presented many new ideas and it influenced Gandhi a great deal. He then hit upon the idea of starting a farm and founding a community with a true sense of brotherhood. His friends supported the project enthusiastically.

About a hundred acres of land were acquired at a place called Phoenix near Durban and a farm was set up. In the beginning six families settle there. Indian Opinion was moved to phoenix, complete with press and office. Members of any race could freely go and live there, cultivating the soil or working at the press. Gandhi, however, could stay in the Phoenix Settlement only for brief periods. His headquarters were at Johannesburg where he continued his practice as a lawyer. He knew that it would not be possible to return to India in the near future, so he decided to send for Kasturbai and the children. They soon joined him.

Whenever he found time he undertook the task of educating his three sons, He also pursued the experiments with this diet.

“I intend to be the ruler of my body,” he would say. “The spirit can only rule me if I am free of earthly wants.”

He gave up coffee and tea. Next, he gave up milk. Sometimes he would forgo all food and take only water. Kasturbai watched all this silently. She knew it was useless to argue with her husband on such matters.

In 1906 the Zulu Rebellion broke out in Natal. It was a no-tax campaign. The Zulu were only asserting their rights but the whites got panicky and declared war against the Zulus.

Gandhi’s sympathies were with the Zulus, but they were fighting against the British and Gandhi believed that the British Empire existed for the welfare of the world. He British Empire existed for the welfare of the world. He considered it his duty to help the British. He offered to form an Indian Ambulance Corps. The authorities accepted the offer.

The Indian Ambulance Corps consisted of a squad of 24 men, and was in active service for six weeks, nursing and looking after the wounded.

Gandhi realized that the whites were determined to enforce the tax on the unwilling Zulus. They wanted to put down all resistance and deny the colored people their rights in their own land.

The Zulu rebellion was finally over and Gandhi returned to Johannesburg. His presence was needed there to look after the interests of the Indians, for they were facing all kinds of oppression from the white settlers.