Gandhiji in Sevagram Wardha

 Gandhiji in Sevagram, Wardha

(Gandhiji’s Second Home in Public Life)

On 12 March 1930, when Gandhiji was 60, he launched the historic Dandi March from the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, beginning the Civil Disobedience Movement against the British. Before leaving, he took a solemn vow that he would “die like a crow or a dog” but would not return to the Ashram until India attained independence.

He was later arrested and imprisoned for nearly 16 months in Yerwada Jail, Pune, from 4 January 1932 to 23 August 1933, except for a brief release from 9 May to 31 July 1933.

After his release, Gandhiji had no home to return to, as he could not go back to Ahmedabad due to his vow.

The Making of Sevagram

One proposal for his new residence came from Jamnalal Bajaj. Gandhiji initially refused, but when Jamnalal reminded him that Bapu regards him as his fifth son, Gandhiji relented. A humble village named Segaon, near Wardha, was identified. Jamnalal Bajaj purchased 131 acres of land and developed a small Ashram village with simple cottages.

Thus, Segaon became Sevagram—the “village of service”.

Gandhiji was 67 years old when he shifted to Sevagram, where he lived for the next ten years. From here he led the Individual Satyagraha (1940) and the Quit India Movement (1942). He left the Ashram on 26 August 1946 to lead the Sadbhavna Mission in Noakhali and Kolkata to quell communal violence.

Adi Kuti

“Adi Kuti” was the first cottage where Gandhiji stayed in Sevagram. He placed three conditions for its construction:
1. It should cost only ₹100
2. It should be built using local materials
3. It should be built by village artisans

The structure was simple—an earthen floor, bamboo and wooden rafters, and earthen tiles on the roof. It contained a hall, a washroom, and a kitchen.

There was a small room for his daily oil massage. Jamnalal Bajaj once brought a marble bath tub for Gandhiji, but Bapu refused to use it because it was a foreign product. Instead, he used a local tin tub. The visiting American author Louis Fischer, however, used the tub filled with cold water during summer.

Bapu Kuti

After a few years in Adi Kuti, Gandhiji moved to a nearby cottage designed by Madeleine Slade (Mirabehn), a British disciple. Like Adi Kuti, it was also constructed using local materials.

The cottage resembles an office. A small area was reserved for Gandhiji to sit, spin the charkha, read, and meet visitors. Behind him, separated by a partition, sat Mahadevbhai Desai, his devoted secretary, who recorded Gandhiji’s instructions and correspondence.

A room inside the cottage was used for meetings, and it was here that the Quit India Resolution was passed by the Congress Working Committee.

The cottage had a Western-style toilet, but Gandhiji rarely used it as he considered it wasteful of water—a precious resource. It was mostly used by foreign visitors.

Two typewriters used by Fischer and Mahadevbhai Desai are preserved here.

A small telephone booth with a direct hotline to the Viceroy was also installed here by the Viceroy Lord Linlithgow, who wished to maintain direct communication with Gandhiji whenever required.

A wooden chimta used for catching snakes is preserved. Snakes were gently lifted with the chimta, placed in a box, and released away from the Ashram—true to the spirit of ahimsa.

A small portion of the floor is cemented, which Mirabehn used to use.

The Third Cottage

A third cottage nearby was built for Jamnalal Bajaj, with a floor made of Kota stone. Jamnalal stayed there briefly but soon left to attend to his business interests. The cottage remained unused for years. Gandhiji later stayed here for six months when he suffered from asthma, before leaving for Noakhali on 26 August 1946 to quell communal unrest.

Other Cottages

• Next to Adi Kuti stands a cottage where Kasturba Gandhi lived with her women companions.

• Another cottage housed Mahadevbhai Desai and his family. Sadly, he passed away on 15 August 1942 at the Aga Khan Palace during Gandhiji’s imprisonment.

• A cottage was allotted to Kishorlal Mashruwala, editor of Harijan from 1942 until his death in 1952. His niece Sushila was married to Manilal, Gandhiji’s second son.

• A small one-room cottage was built for Parchure Shastri, a learned but later a leprosy patient whom Gandhiji personally treated using naturopathy.

Ashram Routine

There used to be a prayer meeting on the ground every morning and evening. The same schedule is maintained even today.

Each individual was assigned some work or task, which he or she would carry out with sincerity and integrity. Shramdan was an essential part of Ashram life.

Some trees planted by Gandhiji and Kasturba have grown tall, reminding visitors of the auspicious presence of the divine couple.

Food at the Ashram

Food was cooked in a community kitchen and placed on a shared table. Gandhiji and his associates sat on the ground in a line and ate together.

Meals were simple and vegetarian—sabji, milk, jaggery, ghee—taken in moderation. Each person was advised to limit sabji to 8 ounces (225 g). Complaints about food were not to be expressed during meals; instead, feedback was to be written on a chit afterwards.

Everyone washed their own utensils and placed them back in designated spots.

The Eleven Vows

Residents of Sevagram followed Gandhiji’s Eleven Vows, the ethical foundation of Ashram life:
1. Satya – Truth
2. Ahimsa – Non-violence
3. Brahmacharya – Self-control
4. Asteya – Non-stealing
5. Aparigraha – Non-possession
6. Sharir-shrama – Physical labour
7. Asvada – Control of palate
8. Abhaya – Fearlessness
9. Sarva-dharma-samanatva – Equal respect for all religions
10. Swadeshi – Self-reliance
11. Asprishyatanivarana – Removal of untouchability

These vows aimed at the moral and spiritual upliftment of individuals and society.

Voluntary Poverty 

He lived a life of voluntary poverty. 

Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of voluntary poverty, or aparigraha, meant choosing to live simply and with few possessions. He felt this was important for personal spiritual growth, for creating social equality, and for freeing oneself from exploitation.

No Return to Sevagram

Gandhiji planned to return to Sevagram and had fixed a meeting there on 2 February 1948. With independence achieved, he intended to go back to the Harijan Ashram in Ahmedabad, fulfilling his vow.

But destiny intervened—he was assassinated on 30 January 1948 by Nathuram Godse.

The Mad Rush

Gandhiji once wrote:

“People in their mad rush today, increasing their wants senselessly, suppose they are enhancing their importance and knowledge. A day will come when they will exclaim, ‘What have we been doing?’

Civilisations have risen and fallen despite claims of progress. To what end is all this?

Wallace, Darwin’s contemporary, said that in fifty years of inventions, the moral height of man has not increased even an inch.

Tolstoy said the same. Jesus, Buddha, and Prophet Mohammed also conveyed the same truth.”

Ashram at Present

The organisers have maintained the cottages, campus and the entire village in their original form, carrying out periodic repairs using the same traditional materials to preserve authenticity.

It is good that the Ashram has been kept away from the touch of modern technology, so that visitors can understand how great the man was who awakened India from its deep slumber of slavery through simple living and direct communication, in an era without IT, WiFi or electronic media. He reached the homes of ordinary Indians and brought the common man onto the streets to fight for freedom. India’s independence was won by its common people.

There is a weaving centre where half a dozen women were weaving khadi cloth on handlooms. A weaver must use all four limbs while keeping her eyes and mind alert. I found it an excellent exercise for the brain to stay active and for the mind to remain steady.

The Khadi Cloth Sales Centre was good, but the clothes are expensive because hand-spun and hand-woven fabric naturally costs more due to the labour involved. But for Gandhiji, khadi meant hand-spinning, hand-weaving, employment generation and environmental harmony.

The other two stalls selling homemade articles and groceries did not attract many customers.

People’s Perception Today

During my visit to the Ashram, one visitor told his children loudly that ahimsa was paramo dharma for Gandhiji. I asked him, “And for whom is himsa paramo dharma?”
His reply—and the agreement of others—was revealing.

The eleven vows of Gandhiji, if followed in spirit, remain the best prescription for peace, fraternity, unity, and integrity in our country.

Sevagram
19 November 2025