Gandhi
and the Natal
Indian Congress
In 1893, an Indian lawyer named Mohandas Gandhi arrived in South Africa for a work assignment. At the time, he was only 24 years old and new to his job. By the following year, he had finished his task and planned to return to India. At his farewell dinner, he learned that Natal’s British lawmakers wanted to pass a bill that attacked Indians’ voting rights. Alarmed, he told his friends they needed to stand up for their liberties. They agreed with Gandhi and asked him to stay and help them lead the resistance. Gandhi formed a small team and wrote a petition to ask the British to stand down.
Unfortunately, the bill passed, but Indians were motivated to continue fighting for their rights. Later, in 1894, Gandhi founded the Natal Indian Congress (NIC) to protest discrimination against Indians living in Natal.
Indian Immigration
By the 1890s, South Africa had a growing Indian population. Many of these people had come to the country as indentured servants and settled in Natal. Natal was a British colony in South Africa. Many Indian laborers worked under harsh conditions on the British sugar plantations, coal mines, and railways. Wealthier Indians also began to travel to South Africa to trade. As the Indian population grew, they faced discrimination and began looking for ways to protest unfair laws. When Gandhi created the NIC, he gave many Indians a voice in South Africa.
Early Days
During the organization’s early days, the NIC was made up of educated merchants who could afford to pay the membership fee. Its main mission was to protect Indian business owners. By the 1920s, the organization began to unite with several South Asian groups under a larger organization called the South African Indian Congress.
Many historians criticize the NIC because it did not make the same effort to protect people of other classes and races. Black South Africans also faced unfair treatment, but the NIC did not represent their interests.
Changes to the NIC
In the following years, the NIC elected new leaders and became more radical and revolutionary. The organization also began protesting apartheid laws that separated people by race. In the 1950s and 1960s, many NIC leaders were arrested and put in jail. After this, the organization decided to take a pause. In the 1970s, it came back and was focused on voting, volunteering, and community work. The NIC would later become a founding member of the United Democratic Front (UDF). The UDF was made up of many different groups who were against apartheid
Why Was It Important?
The NIC would play an important role in both South Africa and India’s history. After founding the Natal Indian Congress, Gandhi would return home to protest British rule in India. The organization has faced much criticism throughout its history. Yet, in its early years, it gave many Indians in South Africa a voice in their new home.