3/5 DEEPAK D. 3 years ago on Google
On
his
return
from
South
Africa,
Gandhi’s
first
Ashram
in
India
was
established
in
the
Kochrab
area
of
Ahmedabad
on
25
May
1915.
The
Ashram
was
then
shifted
on
17
June
1917
to
a
piece
of
open
land
on
the
banks
of
the
river
Sabarmati.
Reasons
for
this
shift
included:
he
wanted
to
do
some
experiments
in
living
eg
farming,
animal
husbandry,
cow
breeding,
Khadi
and
related
constructive
activities,
for
which
he
was
in
search
of
this
kind
of
barren
land;
mythologically,
it
was
the
ashram
site
of
Dadhichi
Rishi
who
had
donated
his
bones
for
a
righteous
war;
it
is
between
a
jail
and
a
crematorium
as
he
believed
that
a
satyagrahi
has
to
invariably
go
to
either
place.
The
Sabarmati
Ashram
(also
known
as
Harijan
Ashram)
was
home
to
Mohandas
Gandhi
from
1917
until
1930
and
served
as
one
of
the
main
centers
of
the
Indian
freedom
struggle.
Originally
called
the
Satyagraha
Ashram,
reflecting
the
movement
toward
passive
resistance
launched
by
the
Mahatma,
the
Ashram
became
home
to
the
ideology
that
set
India
free.
Sabarmati
Ashram
named
for
the
river
on
which
it
sits
was
created
with
a
dual
mission.
To
serve
as
an
institution
that
would
carry
on
a
search
for
truth
and
a
platform
to
bring
together
a
group
of
workers
committed
to
non-violence
who
would
help
secure
freedom
for
India.
By
conceiving
such
a
vision
Gandhi
and
his
followers
hoped
to
foster
a
new
social
construct
of
truth
and
non-violence
that
would
help
to
revolutionize
the
existing
pattern
of
like.
While
at
the
Ashram,
Gandhi
formed
a
school
that
focused
on
manual
labor,
agriculture,
and
literacy
to
advance
his
efforts
for
self-sufficiency.
It
was
also
from
here
on
the
12
March
1930
that
Gandhi
launched
the
famous
Dandi
march
241
miles
from
the
Ashram
(with
78
companions)
in
protest
of
the
British
Salt
Law,
which
taxed
Indian
salt
to
promote
sales
of
British
salt
in
India.
This
mass
awakening
filled
the
British
jails
with
60
000
freedom
fighters.
Later
the
government
seized
their
property,
Gandhi,
in
sympathy
with
them,
responded
by
asking
the
Government
to
forfeit
the
Ashram.
Then
Government,
however,
did
not
oblige.
He
had
by
now
already
decided
on
22
July
1933
to
disband
the
Ashram,
which
later
became
asserted
place
after
the
detention
of
many
freedom
fighters,
and
then
some
local
citizens
decided
to
preserve
it.
On
12
March
1930,
he
vowed
that
he
would
not
return
to
the
Ashram
until
India
won
independence.
Although
this
was
won
on
15
August
1947,
when
India
was
declared
a
free
nation,
Gandhi
was
assassinated
in
January
1948
and
never
returned.
Over
the
years,
the
Ashram
became
home
to
the
ideology
that
set
India
free.
It
aided
countless
other
nations
and
people
in
their
battles
against
oppressive
forces.
Today,
the
Ashram
serves
as
a
source
of
inspiration
and
guidance
and
stands
as
a
monument
to
Gandhi’s
life
mission
and
a
testimony
to
others
who
have
fought
a
similar
struggle.
