Question

What was Jungle Satyagraha? Write.

Answer 1

Hint: Satyagraha is made of two words, satya meaning ‘truth; and agraha meaning ‘holding firm to’. It is a particular form of non-violent defiance.

Complete answer:
The term Satyagraha was coined by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in South Africa for Indian rights, to describe the passive resistance. Someone who does Satyagraha is known as a Satyagrahi. However it does not encourage the use of arms and ammunition in any form.
In 1930 when Gandhi ji marched to Dandi and led the well known ‘Salt Satyagraha or Dandi March’. At that time the congress workers and other volunteers of Seoni, under the guidance of Durga Shankar Mehta carried out the famous ‘Jungle Satyagraha’ about nine to ten kilometer away from Seoni, a movement to cut grass in the jungles of Turia. The tribal people or people of the jungle initiated this satyagraha to protest against the new forest policies introduced by the colonial government. It was planned to invade the jungle on 9th October 1930 and cut grass from the government sandalwood garden to mark their resistance against the British rule. This is known as Jungle Satyagraha.

Note: The police and range officers insulted the public who had gathered there to encourage the Satyagrahis. The Deputy commissioner of Seoni commanded police to open fire on them in which four tribes died. Also the bodies of the martyrs were not handed over to their family. This incidence is the evidence of the fact that the struggle for Independence was spread even among the tribals.