The first settlement
January 30, 2024
Although he had been sentenced to two months of simple imprisonment, Gandhi’s first jail sentence came to an end on the 20th day. A settlement with with General Jan Smuts was reached on January 30, 1908—a settlement which displeased some members of the Indian community.
When he arrived, Gandhi was stripped and given “very dirty” clothes to wear. It irked him, but he recognized that as a prisoner, he “must put up with some dirt.”1 Prisoners were divided by race; Gandhi and his friends were classed with the native Africans, who were generally sentenced to hard labor. He ended up in a thirteen-person cell normally reserved “For Coloured Debtors.”
As he would in later years, Gandhi used the time to read and study. The Bhagavad Gita and an English translation of the Koran framed his daily reading. He was also allowed some of his own books, such as Plato’s Dialogues, which seem to have inspired him to write a six-part series of articles on Socrates, Story of a Soldier of Truth. However, he was frustrated that the cell’s single light bulb was shut off promptly at 8 p.m. each night.
He had plenty of company in jail; more than 150 other resisters (the term satyagrahi had just been invented) were also sentenced for refusing to comply with the racist Asiatic Registration Act. Since there was only room for 51 inmates inside the ward, more than 100 had to sleep outside. This was the Government’s fault, Gandhi concluded—if they knew there wasn’t enough space, why did they send so many prisoners? The Government was forced to negotiate.
A newspaper editor who supported the Indian’s cause worked out a settlement with General Smuts, the Colonial Secretary. The deal offered was that if most Indians registered “voluntarily” and not because the law required it, then the law that made it compulsory would be repealed. This last point was vague, from Gandhi’s perspective, and he insisted it be clarified. On January 30, it was agreed to, and Gandhi was taken from jail to meet General Smuts in person.
They talked for several hours—Smuts was also a London-trained barrister, and claimed to not have any prejudice against Indians. That evening, Smuts’ cabinet approved the settlement, and about 7 p.m., Gandhi was set free. (The remaining prisoners would be released in the morning.) Gandhi borrowed money for train fare and headed to Johannesburg. Before midnight, he was holding a meeting, explaining that the settlement was a compromise, where both parties made concessions.
Not everyone was happy with a settlement that still resulted in registration; Gandhi would face an brutal assault two weeks later—the first Indians to become violently angry with him. The last ones would strike exactly forty years later, assassinating him January 30, 1948.
When have you made a compromise that didn’t actually win anything?
Satyagraha in South Africa (Gandhi, 1928) Chapter XX: A Series of Arrests