A fast for friendship

November 22, 2023

Today in 1921, Gandhi ended his fast for friendship, having persuaded the Hindu, Muslim, Parsi, Christian, and Jewish communities of Mumbai to stop fighting. (In 2021, I wrote a 26-part Twitter thread about this; it’s loaded with images.)

The trouble had begun the previous week, when the Prince of Wales arrived in India for a four-month tour of the country he would someday rule (briefly) as King Edward VIII. For those keeping track, this was about 15 months after Gandhi launched his “Swaraj in a year!” campaign; the Prince’s visit suggested the British planned to be there for a while. Besides boycotting the visit, Gandhi proposed the Prince be welcomed with a big, nonviolent bonfire of foreign cloth. At the appointed hour, Gandhi lit it up.

Within a few hours, disturbances broke out. Mobs started forming, harassing Europeans and swiping foreign head-gear. Things escalated; passersby were beaten, liquor stores were ransacked, tramcars were torched, women were raped. The police, several of whom were killed, called out the army to disperse the crowd with gunfire, causing more death and injury. (In another part of town, Gandhi’s personal appeal was able to break up the crowd.)

The next day, with the city still agitated, the mills decided to close down at 10am. This dumped thousands of workers into the street, overwhelming public transportation. Mobs formed again, Hindus and Muslims clashing with Parsis. In the evening, they stated setting fires, burning a police station and some liquor stores. These were often owned by Parsis because their religion did not prohibit alcohol, unlike Hindus and Muslims. One owner calculated the risk and poured his entire stock into the gutter; his shop was spared.

In the early hours of November 19, Gandhi decided to begin a fast. “I must refuse to eat or drink anything but water till the Hindus and [Muslims] of [Mumbai] have made peace with the Parsis, the Christians and the Jews,” he announced in a leaflet distributed that day. While this was technically an indefinite fast, I don’t think anyone seriously expected it to go on long enough as to put his health in serious risk.

What was at risk was his belief that the people understood nonviolence. He wrote an appeal to the hooligans of the city, chiding them for not understanding “the political wisdom of nonviolence,” even if they didn’t grasp “the moral necessity of it.” On the 21st, leaders from the Hindu, Muslim, Parsi, Christian and Jewish communities signed a public appeal for all “who had their homes in India … to live as brothers.” Things continued to calm down, but Gandhi declined to break his fast, preferring to wait until the city remained quiet overnight.

It did, and on the morning of the 22nd, an eclectic group gathered to share some fruit. Gandhi was pleased, and hoped it would be “a sign of our permanent friendship.”

Is there a consumer item that you’d burn, to show you’d changed your ways?