The factors that led to the transformation of Gandhiji into a mass leader are given below:
(i) Mahatma Gandhi arrived in India in 1915 from South Africa after fighting for the civil rights of the Indians therefor about twenty years. He brought with him a new impulse to Indian politics.
(ii) He introduced a new instrument Satyagraha, which he had perfected in South Africa, that could be practiced by men and women, young and old. As a person dedicated to the cause of the poorest of the poor, he instantly gained the goodwill of the masses.
(iii) Unlike the constitutionalists who appealed to the British sense of justice and the militants who confronted the repression of the colonial state violently, Gandhiji adopted non-violent methods to mobilize the masses and mount pressure on the British.
(iv) His Champaran Satyagraha of 1916 earned immense success. This followed by his fruitful intervention in the Ahmedabad mill strike and the Kheda Satyagraha in 1918. These factors helped Gandhiji establish as a leader of mass struggle.
(v) The people from across the country began to support him whole-heartedly. They found in him all the qualities of a mass leader. So, they loved him and were ready to do what he said. They showed immense faith in him because they were sure Gandhiji would bring freedom for them.
