Mahatma Gandhi 36 - The Triumph Of Satyagraha Poem by Geeta Radhakrishna Menon

The women's imprisonment,
Influenced the labourers who worked in the mines,
Equipped with their tools,
The mine workers of New Castle
Marched into the city in batches!
The moment Gandhiji heard of this development,
He left Phoenix and went to New Castle.

The labourers were highly inspired by
The participation of women in the Satyagraha movement.
They gathered in large numbers to protest
Against these atrocious rules!
The tens turned to hundreds, soon, swelled into thousands.
They arrived in large batches,
Gandhiji wondered how he would accommodate all of them.

Accommodating five thousand labourers in New Castle,
Not a task that Gandhiji expected.
Yet, Gandhiji arrived at a solution.
He decided to take the ‘army' of mine workers to Transvaal,
And see them safely deposited in a jail.
The Union Government had no power to keep
Thousand innocent labourers lodged in a jail!

All waited eagerly to see what action General Smuts would take.
General Smuts appointed a commission of three members.
Gandhiji entered into a correspondence with General Smuts,
On the duties and work to be done by the commission.
Finally, an agreement was reached.
The commission recommended acceptance of
The demands of the Indian community!

After the issue of the commission's report,
The Government published the Indians' Relief Bill,
Which not only abolished the three pounds tax,
But also made all Indian marriages legal.
A domicile certificate bearing the holder's thumb print,
Made available, as evidence of the right to enter the Union.

The Satyagraha movement in South Africa,
Ended after eight strenuous years,
As a triumphant winner!
Gandhiji's relentless struggle towards human rights,
And a respectable status for Indians in South Africa,
Proved a thumping success, while peace was restored.
At last! The Indians in South Africa breathed a sigh of relief.