Phoenix Settlement - Gandhiji’s first community settlement in South Africa
Q. Gandhiji’s first community settlement in South Africa was at- Published on 11 Jul 16a. Johannesburg
b. Transvaal
c. Phoenix
d. Cape Town
ANSWER: Phoenix
- Gandhiji established the community settlement called Phoenix at Inanda, some 20 km north of Durban, in 1904.
- He established the settlement as a communal experimental farm with the view of giving each family two acres of land which they could develop.
- He believed that communities like Phoenix which advocated communal living would form a sound basis for the struggle against social injustice.
- While living in South Africa, Gandhi was inspired by a visit to a Trappist community in Mariannhill and by John Ruskin’s book ‘Unto This Last’ to found a communal living system. In 1904, Gandhi chose Phoenix to establish a community based on self-reliance and the value of labour on the land for the common good.