Welcome to Sevagram Ashram Pratishthan

Sevagram was the fourth and last ashram established by Mahatma Gandhi. His first ashram or experimental community known as Phoenix Settlement was established near Durban in South Africa in 1904 to put into practice the ideals of John Ruskin’s work Unto This Last and to run Indian Opinion, a publication which he started in the year 1903 to serve the interests of Indian community there. His second ashram, Tolstoy Farm was established in 1910 near Johannesburg, a corollary to Phoenix Settlement during the second Satyagraha campaign against the Asiatic Registration Bill popularly known as Black Act. It was mainly to accommodate families of Satyagrahis and to lead a communitarian life he established this farm which he described as “cooperative commonwealth.” His third ashram was established at Kochrab near Ahmedabad in 1915 on his return to India from South Africa. He wanted to test in India the method of struggle he developed in South Africa and named it as ‘Satyagraha Ashram’, conveying both the goal and method of service. It was later shifted to the banks of river Sabarmati in 1917. Mahatma left this ashram on12 th March 1930 in the wake of historical Salt March with a solemn vow that he will return to the Ashram only when India gets independence from British rule.

The first village development work under the guidance of Mahatma was started at a small village known as Sindi. But he was in search of a typical village and it was Madeleine Slade (Miraben),a disciple of Gandhi from Britain, who selected the village Segaon, about four miles to the east of Wardha town. This village is in the central part of India around 75 kms.away from Nagpur. On April 30, 1936, Mahatma made this village Segaon as his home. He stayed in a makeshift arrangement under a guava tree there as his hut was not ready at that time. On his first visit, he stayed here only for a couple of days. It is pertinent to note that his concept of ashram underwent drastic changes during the Sevagram phase. He was 67 years old and he was not in favour of creating an ashram as a community of people away from the village. In fact he wanted to convert the whole village into an ashram. He wanted to stay alone in the village and Kasturba could join if she wanted. But in the course of time it was taking the form of an ashram. There was another place known as Shegaon and the letters addressed to Gandhi went there. Therefore, in 1940 the village was renamed as Sevagram. The word Sevagram literally means the village of service.