Why were Indian protesters imprisoned during Mahatma Gandhi’s South African campaign?

During Mahatma Gandhi’s campaign in South Africa, Indian protesters were imprisoned primarily because they engaged in acts of civil disobedience to defy discriminatory legislation.12

In 1906, the Transvaal government introduced a humiliating ordinance that required the Indian population to register and carry passes. Under Gandhi’s leadership, the Indian community pledged to defy this law and accept the resulting legal penalties as part of a new technique of nonviolent resistance known as satyagraha.12

Over the course of this seven-year struggle, hundreds of Indians chose to sacrifice their liberty rather than submit to laws they deemed repugnant to their conscience and self-respect. In the final phase of the movement in 1913, the scale of imprisonment grew significantly as thousands of Indian mine workers went on strike and faced arrest, along with many others who joined the protest. This commitment to nonviolent noncompliance ultimately pressured the South African government to negotiate a compromise.1