The campaign came to an unexpected end. It was clear that the people
were exhausted, and I hesitated to let the unbending be driven to
utter ruin. I was casting about for some graceful way of terminating
the struggle which would be acceptable to a Satyagrahi. Such a one
appeared quite unexpectedly. The Mamlatdar of the Nadiad Taluka sent
me word that, if well-to-do Patidars paid up, the poorer ones would
be granted suspension. I asked for a written undertaking to that
effect, which was given. But as a Mamlatdar could be responsible
only for his Taluka, I inquired of the Collector, who alone could
give an undertaking in respect of the whole district, whether the
Mamlatdar's undertaking was true for the whole district. He replied
that orders declaring suspension in terms of the Mamlatdar's letter
had been already issued. I was not aware of it, but if it was a
fact, the people's pledge had been fulfilled. The pledge, it will be
remembered, had the same things for its object, and so we expressed
ourselves satisfied with the orders.
However, the end was far from making me feel happy, inasmuch as it
lacked the grace with which the termination of every Satyagraha
campaign ought to be accompanied. The Collector carried on as though
he had done nothing by way of a settlement. The poor were to be
granted suspension, but hardly any got the benefit of it. It was the
people's right to determine who was poor, but they could not
exercise it. I was sad that they had not the strength to exercise
the right. Although, therefore, the termination was celebrated as a
triumph of Satyagraha, I could not enthuse over it, as it lacked the
essentials of a complete triumph.
The end of a Satyagraha campaign can be described as worthy, only
when, it leaves the Satyagrahis stronger and more spirited than they
are in the beginning.
The campaign was not, however, without its indirect results which we
can see today and the benefit of which we are reaping. The Kheda Satyagraha marks the beginning of an awakening among the peasants of
Gujarat, the beginning of their true political education.
Dr. Besant's brilliant Home Rule agitation had certainly touched the
peasants, but it was the Kheda campaign that compelled the educated
public workers to establish contact with the actual life of the
peasants. They learnt to identify themselves with the latter. They
found their proper sphere of work, their capacity for sacrifice
increased. That Vallabhbhai found himself during this campaign was
by itself no small achievement. We could realize its measure during
the flood relief operations last year and the Bardoli Satyagraha
this year. Public life in Gujarat became instinct with a new energy
and a new vigour. The Patidar peasant came to an unforgettable
consciousness of his strength. The lesson was indelibly imprinted on
the public mind that the salvation of the people depends upon
themselves, upon their capacity for suffering and sacrifice. Through
the Kheda campaign Satyagraha took firm root in the soil of Gujarat.
Although, therefore, I found nothing to enthuse over in the
termination of the Satyagraha, the Kheda peasants were jubilant,
because they knew that what they had achieved was commensurate with
their effort, and they had found the true and infallible
method for a redress of their grievances. This knowledge was enough
justification for their jubilation.
Nevertheless the Kheda peasants had not fully understood the inner
meaning of Satyagraha, and they saw it to their cost, as we shall
see in the chapters to follow.