Upon returning from South Africa on January 9, 1915, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was in search for a place to settle himself and a small group of relatives and associates who were with him in the African struggle. His political views still unformed, Gandhi chose Ahmedabad in the West Indian state of Gujarat for three reasons, " being a Gujarati, I’ll serve my country best through the use of the Gujarati language. As Ahmedabad was the center of the handloom in early days, the work of spinning wheel (charkha) could be done in a better way, I believed. Being the capital of Gujarat its wealthy persons will also make a larger contribution, I hoped," in his own words.
Gandhi first
created Kochrab Ashram, which was located in proper Ahmedabad city;
however, in 1917 an epidemic plague broke out that forced them to leave
the site. Several visits were made to the Sabarmati sight, which
incidentally holds its own glory in Hindu mythology as a famous incident
of extreme sacrifice. The land was far from the city of Ahmedabad,
surrounded by jungle full of snakes, and situated along the steep rugged
cliffs of the Sabarmati River. Nearby, was a British Prison filled with
the sounds of iron chains of the inmates engaged in manual labor. Thunder,
lightening, and heavy rains marked the day of Gandhi’s final decision.
He said, ‘ This is the right place for our
activities to carry on the search for Truth and develop Fearlessness –
for, on one side, are the iron bolts of the foreigners, and on the other,
thunderbolts of Mother Nature."
The Gandhi Ashram
Gradually a few dwellings were built, simple but efficient, on the 36 acre Ashram site and activities were begun. The Ashram was a human laboratory where Gandhi could test his moral and spiritual hypotheses. It was a family not linked by blood or property, but by an allegiance to common ideals. These main objectives of Sabarmati were as follows: Education, Truth (Non-Violence and Love), Celibacy, Control of the palate (no liquor or meat), No Stealing, Non-Possession (simple living high thinking), Use of home-made articles, Conquer of Fear, and the eradication of UNTOUCHIBILITY.