Where and when did Mahatma Gandhi first use his method of hunger-strike to achieve a desired goal ?

Mahatma Gandhi first used the hunger strike as a political weapon in India during the Ahmedabad Mill Strike in 1918 [4]. While he had previously led the Champaran Satyagraha in 1917 to support indigo peasants, that movement did not involve a hunger strike [2]. In Ahmedabad, Gandhi intervened in a dispute between textile mill owners and workers regarding wages [4]. To pressure the mill owners and strengthen the resolve of the workers, he undertook a 'fast unto death' [4]. The strike ended on the fourth day of his fast when the owners agreed to a 35 percent wage increase [4]. Although Gandhi had observed personal fasts for moral penance in South Africa as early as 1913, the 1918 Ahmedabad campaign is historically recognized as his first use of a hunger strike to achieve a specific socio-political goal [1].

Sources

1. [1] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 15: Emergence of Gandhi > Congress View > p. 327
2. [4] India and the Contemporary World – II. History-Class X . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 2: Nationalism in India > New words > p. 31
3. [2] THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART III, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 11: MAHATMA GANDHI AND THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT > 2. The Making and Unmaking of Non-cooperation > p. 289