Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the inter-sections of labour exploitation and resistance in the context of the 1913 Satyagraha campaign in South Africa. This paper argues that indentured labourers despite their subjugated status challenged the South African state in 1913 despite their labouring status.

Paper long abstract:

This paper examines the inter-sections of labour exploitation and resistance in the context of the 1913 Satyagraha campaign in South Africa. The campaign spearheaded the first mass movement in South Africa. Under the leadership of Gandhi, the first non-violent mass movement which involved defiance of unjust laws, courting of imprisonment, bonfires, boycotts, marches and strikes. It brought together people of different religions and linguistic groups, as well as different social classes. The vast majority of resisters were indentured labourers, subjected to harsh working conditions and ill-treatment by employers. This paper critically examines the factors that spearheaded indentured resistance in 1913 and its overall impact on their labour conditions. This paper argues that indentured labourers despite their subjugated status challenged the South African state in 1913. They remained unfazed and were willing to endure imprisonment. Their steadfast resistance culminated in the Smuts-Gandhi agreement and the passing of the Indians' Relief Bill of 1914 which repealed the £3 tax. The indentured system provided the labouring class with an opportunity to assert their agency. This paper seeks to contribute to debates around labour, resistance and agency to better understand the indentured Indians' experience to Natal, South Africa.