Indian Opinion

The Indian Opinion was a newspaper established by Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi. The publication was an important tool for the political movement led by Gandhi and the National Indian Congress to fight racial discrimination and win civil rights for the Indian immigrant community in South Africa. It existed between 1903 and 1915.

Through the 19th century Indians were brought to South Africa as indentured labour by the authorities of the British Empire, which governed both South Africa and India. Alongside various multi-ethnic communities, the Indian community suffered from significant political, economic and social discrimination, administered by the system of apartheid. In the aftermath of the Boer War, the government of General Jan Smuts introduced significant restrictions on the civil rights of the Indian immigrant community, giving the police power to warrantless search, seizures and arrests. All Indians were required to carry identification and registration cards at all times. Working as a lawyer in the Natal province, Gandhi organized the publication in 1904 with the aim of educating European communities in South Africa about Indian needs and issues.

With the support of the Natal Indian Congress, his clients and other notable Indians, Gandhi assembled a small staff and printing press. Madanjit Viyavaharik, the owner of the International Printing Press and The first issue was prepared through 4 June and 5 June, and released on 6 June 1903. The newspaper was published in Gujarati, Hindi, Tamil and English. Mansukhlal Nazar, the secretary of the Natal Congress served as its editor and a key organiser. In 1904, Gandhi relocated the publishing office to his settlement in Phoenix, located close to Durban. At Phoenix, the press workers were governed by a new work ethic - they would all have a share in the land, in the profits if there were any, they would grow crops to sustain themselves and they would work jointly to produce Indian Opinion. The newspaper's editors included Hebert Kitchin, Henry Polak, Albert West, Manilal Gandhi, who was the paper's longest serving editor (for 36 years), and Sushila Gandhi, wife of Manilal who took over after his death. All but one of its editors spent some time in jail.

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