The £3 Tax

Balasundaram’s case brought me into touch with the indentured Indians. What impelled me, however, to make a deep study of their condition was the campaign for bringing them under special heavy taxation.

Balasundaram’s case brought me into contact with indentured Indians. But the campaign to impose special heavy taxes on them prompted me to study their condition in depth.

In the same year, 1894, the Natal Government sought to impose an annual tax of £25 on the indentured Indians. The proposal astonished me. I put the matter before the Congress for discussion, and it was immediately resolved to organise the necessary opposition.

In the same year, 1894, the Natal Government tried to impose an annual tax of £25 on indentured Indians. The proposal astonished me. I brought the matter before the Congress for discussion. The Congress immediately decided to organize the necessary opposition.

At the outset, I must explain briefly the genesis of the tax.

First, I must briefly explain how the tax came about.

About the year 1860 the Europeans in Natal, finding that there was considerable scope for sugar-cane cultivation, felt themselves in need of labour. Without outside labour the cultivation of cane and the manufacture of sugar were impossible, as the Natal Zulus were not suited to this form of work. The Natal Government therefore corresponded with the Indian Government, and secured their permission to recruit Indian labour. These recruits were to sign an indenture to work in Natal for five years, and at the end of the term they were to be at liberty to settle there and to have full rights of ownership of land. Those were the inducements held out to them, for the whites then had looked forward to improving their agriculture by the industry of the Indian labourers after the term of their indentures had expired.

Around 1860, Europeans in Natal saw great potential for growing sugar cane and felt they needed workers. Without outside workers, growing cane and making sugar were impossible, because the Natal Zulus were not suited to this work. The Natal Government therefore wrote to the Indian Government and obtained permission to recruit Indian workers. The recruits were to sign an indenture to work in Natal for five years. At the end of that term, they would be free to settle there and have full rights to own land. These were the incentives offered to them. The whites at the time hoped that the Indian workers' industry would improve agriculture after their indentures expired.

But the Indians gave more than had been expected of them. They grew large quantities of vegetables. They introduced a number of Indian varieties and made it possible to grow the local varieties cheaper. They also introduced the mango. Nor did their enterprise stop at agriculture. They entered trade. They purchased land for building, and many raised themselves from the status of labourers to that of owners of land and houses. Merchants from India followed them and settled there for trade. The late Sheth Abubakar Amod was first among them. He soon built up an extensive business.

But the Indians did more than anyone had expected. They grew large quantities of vegetables. They introduced several Indian varieties and made it possible to grow local varieties more cheaply. They also introduced the mango. Their enterprise did not stop at agriculture. They went into trade. They bought land for building, and many rose from being laborers to owning land and houses. Merchants from India followed them and settled there to trade. The late Sheth Abubakar Amod was the first among them. He soon built up a large business.

The white traders were alarmed. When they first welcomed the Indian labourers, they had not reckoned with their business skill. They might be tolerated as independent agriculturists, but their competition in trade could not be brooked.

The white traders were alarmed. When they first welcomed the Indian laborers, they had not anticipated their business skills. The traders might tolerate the Indians as independent farmers, but they could not tolerate their competition in trade.

This sowed the seed of the antagonism to Indians. Many other factors contributed to its growth. Our different ways of living, our simplicity, our contentment with small gains, our indifference to the laws of hygiene and sanitation, our slowness in keeping our surroundings clean and tidy, and our stinginess in keeping our houses in good repair,—all these, combined with the difference in religion, contributed to fan the flame of antagonism. Through legislation this antagonism found its expression in the Disfranchising Bill and the Bill to impose a tax on the indentured Indians. Independent of legislation a number of pinpricks had already been started.

This planted the seed of hostility toward Indians. Many other factors helped it grow. Our ways of living were different. We lived simply and were content with small gains. We were indifferent to hygiene and sanitation. We were slow to keep our surroundings clean and tidy, and stingy about keeping our houses in good repair. All these things, along with our different religion, helped fuel the hostility. This hostility found expression in two laws: the Disfranchising Bill and the Bill to impose a tax on indentured Indians. Apart from legislation, a number of petty acts of harassment had already begun.

The first suggestion was, that the Indian labourers should be forcibly repatriated, so that the term of their indentures might expire in India. The Government of India was not likely to accept the suggestion. Another proposal was therefore made to the effect, that

The first suggestion was to forcibly send the Indian labourers back to India so their indentures would expire there. The Government of India was unlikely to accept this suggestion. So another proposal was made, suggesting that

1. The indentured labourer should return to India on the expiry of his indenture; or that

1. The indentured laborer should return to India when his contract ends, or that

2. He should sign a fresh indenture every two years, an increment being given at each renewal; and that

2. He should sign a new indenture every two years and receive an increase each time he renews it, and that

3. In the case of his refusal to return to India or renew the indenture he should pay an annual tax of £25. A deputation composed of Sir Henry Binns and Mr. Mason was sent to India to get the proposal approved by the Government there. The Viceroy at that time was Lord Elgin. He disapproved of the £25 tax, but agreed to a poll tax of £3. I thought then, as I do even now, that this was a serious blunder on the part of the Viceroy. In giving his approval he had in no way thought of the interests of India. It was no part of his duty thus to accommodate the Natal Europeans. In the course of three or four years an indentured labourer with his wife and each male child over 16, and female child over 13 came under the impost. To levy a yearly tax of £12 from a family of four,—husband, wife and two children,—when the average income of the husband was never more than 14 s, a month, was atrocious and unknown anywhere else in the world.

3. If he refused to return to India or renew his indenture, he would have to pay an annual tax of £25. A delegation of Sir Henry Binns and Mr. Mason was sent to India to obtain the Government’s approval for the proposal. Lord Elgin was the Viceroy at the time. He rejected the £25 tax but agreed to a poll tax of £3. I thought then, as I still do, that the Viceroy made a serious mistake. By approving the tax, he gave no thought to India’s interests. It was no part of his duty to accommodate the Europeans in Natal in this way. Within three or four years, the tax applied to an indentured laborer and his wife. It also applied to each son over 16 and each daughter over 13. A yearly tax of £12 on a family of four, a husband, wife, and two children, was atrocious. It was unheard of anywhere else in the world, especially when the husband’s average income was never more than 14 shillings a month.

We organised a fierce campaign against this tax. If the Natal Indian Congress had remained silent on the subject, the Viceroy might have approved of even the £25 tax. The reduction from £25 to £3 was probably due solely to the Congress agitation. But I may be mistaken in thinking so. It may be possible that the Indian Government had disapproved of the £25 tax from the beginning, and reduced it to £3 irrespective of the opposition from the Congress. In any case it was a breach of trust on the part of the Indian Government. As trustee of the welfare of India the Viceroy ought never to have approved of this inhuman tax.

We organized a fierce campaign against this tax. If the Natal Indian Congress had remained silent, the Viceroy might even have approved the £25 tax. The reduction from £25 to £3 was probably due solely to the Congress campaign. But I may be mistaken. The Indian Government may have disapproved of the £25 tax from the beginning. It may have reduced the tax to £3 regardless of the Congress opposition. In any case, the Indian Government had betrayed a trust. As the person entrusted with India’s welfare, the Viceroy should never have approved this inhuman tax.

The Congress could not regard it as any great achievement to have succeeded in getting the tax reduced from £25 to £3. The regret was still there, that it had not completely safeguarded the interests of the indentured Indians. It ever remained its determination to get the tax remitted, but it was twenty years before the determination was realised. And when it was realised, it came as a result of the labours of not only the Natal Indians but of all the Indians in South Africa. The breach of faith with the late Mr. Gokhale became the occasion of the final campaign, in which the indentured Indians took their full share, some of them losing their lives as a result of the firing that was resorted to, and over ten thousand suffering imprisonment.

The Congress could not consider reducing the tax from £25 to £3 a great achievement. It still regretted that it had not fully protected the interests of indentured Indians. It remained determined to have the tax abolished, but twenty years passed before that goal was achieved. The tax was abolished through the efforts of all Indians in South Africa, not just those in Natal. The breaking of a promise to the late Mr. Gokhale prompted the final campaign. Indentured Indians played their full part in it. Some lost their lives when shots were fired, and more than ten thousand were imprisoned.

But truth triumphed in the end. The sufferings of the Indians were the expression of that truth. Yet it would not have triumphed except for unflinching faith, great patience and incessant effort. Had the community given up the struggle, had the Congress abandoned the campaign and submitted to the tax as inevitable, the hated impost would have continued to be levied from the indentured Indians until this day, to the eternal shame of the Indians in South Africa and of the whole of India.

But truth won in the end. The suffering of the Indians expressed that truth. Yet truth would not have won without unwavering faith, great patience, and constant effort. Suppose the community had given up the struggle, and the Congress had abandoned the campaign and accepted the tax as inevitable. The hated tax would still be imposed on indentured Indians today. That would have been an eternal shame for Indians in South Africa and for all of India.