Rajkot Satyagraha and Princely State Politics

The Rajkot Satyagraha of 1938–1939 was a major constitutional and political agitation in the Western India States Agency of Kathiawar. It represented a turning point in how the national freedom movement engaged with autocratic princely states. Rajkot was a small state with a population of roughly 75,000, but held strategic importance as the administrative headquarters of the British Political Agent. The struggle pitted local citizens demanding representative government, civil rights, and an end to state monopolies against the autocratic ruler Thakore Saheb Dharmendrasinhji and his influential Dewan, Durbar Virawala. Led by local leaders like U.N. Dhebar and supported directly by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Kasturba Gandhi, and Mahatma Gandhi, the movement highlighted the dual oppression of British Paramountcy and feudal monarchies.

Administrative Causes and Economic Exploitation

The conflict in Rajkot stemmed from severe economic misrule and political repression by state authorities. Rulers frittered away state revenues, forcing administrative desperation and anti-people policies.

Key Economic and Political Grievances

• State Monopolies: The administration leased exclusive commercial monopolies for daily essentials like matches, sugar, rice, movie theaters, and gambling carnivals to private traders to raise state funds.
• Heavy Taxation and Land Revenue: Peasantry faced high land revenue assessments alongside arbitrary local cesses (Lag-Bag).
• Absence of Civil Liberties: Freedom of speech, assembly, and press remained banned across the state, while state police suppressed political organizing.
• Protest at Gokulakshmi Fair (August 1938): Activists protested against gambling concessions at the annual fair, leading to violent lathi charges by Agency and state police forces.

Mass Agitation and the Patel-Virawala Agreement

Political agitation gathered momentum under the leadership of the Rajkot Praja Parishad. In late 1938, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel entered negotiations to secure a peaceful constitutional settlement.

Terms of the Settlement (December 1938)

• Creation of Reform Committee: The Thakore Saheb agreed to constitute a ten-member committee to draft constitutional reforms for responsible government.
• Nomination Rights: Seven members were to be nominated directly on the recommendation of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
• Abolition of Monopolies: The state government promised to cancel private commercial monopolies and grant agrarian tax relief.
• Release of Prisoners: All political prisoners were to be released, and fines collected during protests were to be refunded.

Breach of Agreement and Imperial Intervention

Dewan Durbar Virawala, backed by British Resident E.C. Gibson, reneged on the signed covenant within weeks. The British Political Agency feared that accepting Congress-recommended nominees would establish Congress influence over native states.

The Breach and Resurgence of Protests

• Rejection of Nominees: Dewan Virawala rejected Sardar Patel’s list of seven nominees, insisting on appointing pro-state Rajputs, Muslims, and landowning Garasias to divide the reform coalition.
• Resumption of Satyagraha (January 1939): The Praja Parishad restarted civil disobedience, enforcing boycotts of state cloth, electricity, and mill products.
• Arrest of Kasturba Gandhi: Kasturba Gandhi, along with Maniben Patel (daughter of Sardar Patel), traveled to Rajkot to support the agitation and was arrested on February 3, 1939.

Mahatma Gandhi’s Fast and the Gwyer Award

Gandhi’s Fast Unto Death (March 1939)

Mahatma Gandhi arrived in Rajkot in late February 1939 to negotiate with the ruler and British Resident E.C. Gibson. Facing persistent refusal to honor the December 1938 pact, Gandhi began a fast unto death on March 3, 1939.

The Gwyer Arbitration

• Viceroy’s Intervention: Viceroy Lord Linlithgow intervened to avert a national political crisis, proposing arbitration by Sir Maurice Gwyer, Chief Justice of the Federal Court of India.
• Verdict (April 3, 1939): Sir Maurice Gwyer issued a legal award upholding Sardar Patel’s position, confirming that the Thakore Saheb had broken a binding covenant.

Strategic Renunciation and Historical Importance

Despite winning the legal verdict, Gandhi faced counter-mobilizations organized by state officials among Garasia landowners and local Muslim groups.

Gandhi’s Renunciation of the Award (May 1939)

• Moral Dilemma: Gandhi concluded that relying on British judicial intervention (the Gwyer Award) to enforce popular rights amounted to spiritual coercion rather than true non-violence (Ahimsa).
• Renunciation: On May 17, 1939, Gandhi publicly renounced the Gwyer Award, apologized to Dewan Virawala, and advised Praja Parishad workers to win over opponents through moral persuasion.

Key Leadership and Institutional Roles

Key Facts and Trivia

• Rajkot held special personal importance for Mahatma Gandhi, as his father Karamchand Gandhi served as Dewan of Rajkot, and Gandhi completed his early schooling there.
• The Rajkot Praja Parishad grew out of local political work pioneered by Mansukhlal Mehta, Amritlal Sheth, Phulchand Shah, and U.N. Dhebar.
• Kasturba Gandhi was born and raised in Rajkot, leading her to join the agitation despite frail health.
• The British Resident E.C. Gibson actively opposed the agreement between Sardar Patel and the Thakore Saheb to limit Congress influence across Kathiawar princely states.
• U.N. Dhebar, who led the local Rajkot Satyagraha, later served as the Chief Minister of Saurashtra State and President of the Indian National Congress.
• Mahatma Gandhi’s fast in Rajkot lasted for four days, from March 3 to March 7, 1939, breaking only after Viceroy Lord Linlithgow offered judicial arbitration.
• The Gwyer Award is remembered as a rare instance where the Federal Court Chief Justice arbitrated a constitutional dispute between a princely state ruler and a national political leader.
• Gandhi’s decision to renounce the Gwyer Award marked a shift in Gandhian strategy toward princely states, prioritizing internal conversion of rulers over legalistic enforcement by British authorities.