Gandhi Ashram

For many years was the center of Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent struggle for India’s independence. The energy of that movement can still be felt at the Satyagraha Ashram that he established on the banks of the Sabarmati in 1917, after the previous Kochrab Ashram had to be abandoned because of a breakout of plague. He chose a location that was, at the time, far out of the city so that he could try farming and other such experiments. He learnt the art of spinning and weaving, and soon the ashram began to buzz with khadi, not just as a way of producing clothes, but also as a way of thought.

You can get a sense of Gandhi’s life, the history of the movement and those who worked alongside him, at the Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya, a small museum which includes excellent pictorial and written documentation, a library of Gandhian literature and paintings. Also an immense archive of letters written by Gandhiji can be seen with every single one on the back of used paper.

Tucked away on one side is also Manav Sadhna, a non-profit Gandhian organization dedicated to seva. Many of the people who work or volunteer in the group live in the ashram, which actually covers a lot more than just the preserved memorial grounds.