Question

Where and when did Mahatma Gandhi make his first public appearance in India on coming back from South Africa after two decades?
1. Champaran in 1917
2. Lucknow in 1919
3. Banaras Hindu University in 1916
4. Ahmedabad in 1918

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 3 : Banaras Hindu University in 1916

The correct answer is Banaras Hindu University in 1916.

• On 4 February 1916, Gandhiji’s made his first public appearance after returning from South Africa in BHU.
• He addressed the audience in BHU, mostly consisting of impressionable youths, princes, bedecked and bejeweled, etc.
• The Maharaja of Darbhanga was in the chair.

• Champaran Satyagraha
  • In the Champaran district of Bihar, the cultivators were forced by Europeans to grow indigo.
  • They could not grow the food they needed, nor did they receive adequate payment for the indigo. 
  • Gandhi went to Champaran with Rajkumar early in 1917 to launch satyagraha.
• Ahmedabad Mill Strike
  • In 1918, it was one of the initial movements led by Gandhi.
  • In March 1918, under the leadership of Gandhi, there was a strike in the cotton mills.
  • In this strike, Gandhi used the weapon of hunger strike.