Learn about the Ahmedabad Mill Strike of 1918, Gandhi's first hunger strike, and its significance in India's labor movement and the fight for workers' rights.

Introduction to the Ahmedabad Mill Strike

• In March 1918, Mahatma Gandhi intervened in a dispute between cotton mill owners and workers in Ahmedabad over the discontinuation of the plague bonus.
• The mill owners proposed withdrawing the bonus, while workers demanded a 50% wage increase due to wartime inflation, which had doubled the cost of essential goods.
• The mill owners were only willing to offer a 20% wage hike, prompting the workers to go on strike.

Gandhi's Intervention and the First Hunger Strike

• The conflict escalated as workers were arbitrarily dismissed, and mill owners brought in weavers from Bombay to replace them.
• Anusuya Sarabhai, a social worker and sister of mill owner Ambalal Sarabhai, approached Gandhi to mediate the dispute.
• Despite his friendship with Ambalal, Gandhi sided with the workers, advising them to demand a 35% wage increase instead of their initial 50% demand.
• Gandhi emphasized the principle of non-violence during the strike and undertook his first fast unto death to strengthen the workers’ resolve and pressure the mill owners.

Outcome of the Ahmedabad Mill Strike

• Negotiations between the workers and mill owners remained deadlocked until Gandhi’s fast compelled the mill owners to agree to submit the dispute to a tribunal.
• Following this agreement, the strike was withdrawn.
• The tribunal awarded the workers a 35% wage increase, successfully meeting Gandhi's revised demand and marking a significant victory for labor rights.