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FIRST EXPERIMENTS IN Bapus lab
No other city is endowed with as much Gandhian heritage as Ahmedabad,thanks to Bapus first experiments with truth and the institutions he built here 
KOCHRAB ASHRAM | Bapus Bungalow Mahatma Gandhis first home in India when he came back from South Africa in 1915 was a bungalow at Kochrab in Paldi area of Ahmedabad.It was lent to him by Jeevanlal Barrister,a prominent lawyer,allowing him to set up his first ashram on May 20.He transformed it into an antithesis of everything Ahmedabad had stood for in those days.Here was a city of moneyed mill owners and professionals who lived a life of opulence.By stark contrast,the Satyagraha Ashram at Kochrab was defined by austerity. It was here that Bapu put into practice his ideas about brahmacharya,physical labour,Swadeshi and fight against untouchability.The most famous incident at Kochrab was Bapu admitting Dudabhai,an untouchable,and his family into the ashram despite protests from some of his own followers.This upset the neighbouring community and even the Vaishnav businessmen,who refused to fund the ashram.Bapu told the ashramites that if a boycott was declared and they were left without funds,they would shift to the untouchables colony.When the ashram did not have funds to last even a month,a car stopped at the ashram gates in the morning.A businessman expressed his desire to help Bapu and left Rs 13,000 the next morning,enough to sustain the ashram for a month.That was Ambalal Sarabhai,who ensured Bapus first venture in Ahmedabad does not go bankrupt. 
NAVAJIVAN TRUST | Power of Media After returning from South Africa in 1915,Mahatma Gandhi strongly felt the need for a newspaper that would spread his ideas.His followers,Shri Umar Sobani and Shri Shankarlal Banker,handed over their English weekly,Young India to him and Indulal Yagnik gave him control of his Gujarati monthly Navajivan Ane Satya.Under Bapus editorship,the first issue of Navajivan was published on September 7,1919.The first Gandhian Young India was published on October 8.Thus began a unique battle as Bapu tested the might of the written word against the Raj.By its third issue under Bapu,Navajivans readership had jumped from 600 to 6,000 and the small press in the old city at Khamasa could not handle the rush.Manahar Printing Press in a lane at the entrance of Chudiaul was bought for Rs 10,000.It was rechristened Navajivan Mudranalaya.During the Non-Cooperation Movement,the two publications became extremely popular.Bapus writings in Young India finally led to his arrest in 1922 and the famous sedition case. 
SABARMATI ASHRAM | Sants Abode Mahatma Gandhi shifted his ashram from Kochrab to the banks of the Sabarmati on June 17,1917.He had been looking for some barren land to try out farming,cow breeding and related activities.Also,the site was between the Sabarmati jail and a crematorium the two places that Satyagrahis end up at,Bapu believed.This became Bapus home till 1930 and served as one of the main centres of the Indian freedom struggle. Here,Bapu continued with his experiments with truth and also brought together a group of men and women who believed in non-violence.It was here that the rentio,a compact version of the charkha and the dhanush takli were developed.Research and training in khadi for Satyagrahis was also carried out once the Non-Cooperation Movement was suspended after violence at Chauri Chaura in Uttar Pradesh. Bapus Dandi March was launched from this ashram on March 11,1930.Bapu had said,My greatest creation in South Africa was Phoenix (Settlement).Without it there would not have been Satyagraha in South Africa.There could not be Satyagraha in India without this ashram (Sabarmati).I may be mistaken in this.If so I should be abandoned.I am going to tell the country not to evaluate me on the basis of Champaran or Kheda,but to consider me through this ashram Today,the ashram serves as a source of inspiration and guidance,and stands as a monument to Bapus mission in life.It draws thousands of visitors across the globe. 
GUJARAT VIDYAPITH | Learning it Right Gujarat Vidyapith has less than a decade to go before it completes 100 years of existence.And yet it has never wavered from Gandhian thought.Nothing begins at the Vidyapith without prayer and spinning the charkha every morning and the uniform is khadi for both students and teachers. Mahatma Gandhi started this institution on October 18,1920 at a bungalow behind at Kochrab Ashram.The bungalow was donated by Dahyabhai Mehta whose family lives in it today after the vidyapith shifted to a larger campus. Originally called Rashtriya Vidyapith,it was started as part of the Non-Co-operation Movement with the objective of preparing workers of strong character who could lead movements for the countrys development.Bapu remained its chancellor for as long as he was alive.Sardar Patel,first president of Independent India Dr Rajendra Prasad and former prime minister Morarji Desai were among the other chancellors after Bapu. By 1923,a number of schools and colleges were affiliated with the vidyapith and trained a small bunch students in graduation-level courses.Today,there are about 4,000 students enrolled right from primary school to post-graduate courses.Students from across the globe also come to study Gandhian thought.In 1963,the government declared it a deemed university,giving it a fair degree of autonomy. 
MAJOOR MAHAJAN SANGH | Love of Labour In February,1918,the 50,000-strong textile mill workers,showed the world how industrial disputes could be resolved amicably.It also led to the forming of the first labour union in Ahmedabad.Just three months before a violent labour unrest in Russia had led to the government being overthrown and the Communists coming to power. In Ahmedabad,the workers were led by Mahatma Gandhi,whose two companions Anasuya Sarabhai and Shankarlal Banker laid the foundation of militant but non-violent trade unionism in the country.For 22 days from February 22,1918 Bapu and his strong message of Ek Tek (one resolve) reverberated through the labour population.The weavers were on strike demanding a justified 35% hike in wages,but the mill owners were offering just 20%.Bapu would address meetings under a tree on the banks of the Sabarmati.Every evening,some 10,000 workers would take out a peaceful rally in the city.The strike ultimately succeeded after Bapu decided to fast unto death on March 12,1918. After the strike,mill-owner Ambalal Sarabhai and others suggested the formation of a union to represent the workers.Bapu was initially reluctant,but agreed once the workers said they would make the union self-sufficient by paying a part of their monthly salary.A large gathering was called at Anasuyas Mirzapur bungalow on February 25,1920.The union was called Majoor Mahajan Sangh with 16,400 members.The term mahajan was generally used for businessmen from the Brahmin and Bania communities and was added to the name to give respect to the labourers.Anasuya was declared lifelong president of the union. The Sanghs heydays came in 1978,when it represented 1.40 lakh workers of 65 mills.By the mid-1980 s there was a decline in the textile industry.In 2011,the union has just about 8,000 members. 
NAVI GUJARATI SHALA | Swadeshi Education Mahatma Gandhi believed British education was not informing the children about the Indian way of life.To create strong-willed freedom fighters and citizens of the future,he decided to form an education system of his own. The foundation of the first national school called Navi Gujarati Shala was laid in Daulatkhana in Khadia area.Bapu wrote its prospectus on January 18,1917.He replicated this model across the country,by opening more than 200 such schools. The education will be physical,intellectual and religious, he wrote in the prospectus.Children were trained in agriculture,hand-weaving,carpentry and using a blacksmiths tools as well.A l l t e a ch i n g was to be through Gujarati and most of it was oral during the first few years.The school was banned in 1932 after the B r i t i s h feared it was p re p a r i n g children for the freedom movement. A municipal school was operating here till some years ago but was shut down as it did not have enough students.The land is used for social functions,like marriages,now. 
JYOTI SANGH | Gender Bender Jyoti Sangh was started so that women,who had taken part in the 1930 Civil Disobedience Movement,remain in the freedom struggle even after the movement ended.Textile magnate Ambalal Sarabhais daughter,Mridula conceptualised the organisation run by women and for women on April 25,1934 after speaking to Mahatma Gandhi. Bapu laid its foundation in Mirzapur area of Ahmedabad.The organisation encouraged womens empowerment and economic self-sufficiency through education and vocational training.Mridulaben was keen that women become economically independent.Jyoti Sanghs Udyog Vibhag taught weaving,soap-making,hair oil manufacturing and furniture polishing.It also raised womens awareness on child marriages and domestic violence. In the inaugural address,Bapu suggested the members wear khadi and take to spinning.When the Quit India Movement was launched in 1942,Mridulaben established contact with the movement led by Jayprakash Narayan,Aruna Asaf Ali,Ram Manohar Lohia and others,and helped them financially.The organisation continues to help women in downtrodden areas even today. 
Bapu leading the evening prayers at the Sabarmati Ashram in 1930 
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