National Indian Congress Early Petitions
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The National Indian Congress (NIC) submitted petitions and organized protests against legislation introduced that was discriminatory. Many of the earliest petitions are readily available as they were authored when Gandhi was the secretary of the organization and all of his works are available in The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi.
[edit] Petitions
Franchise Law Amendment Bill
A Franchise Law Amendment Bill, which deprived British Indians of any voting rights, was introduced in the Natal Assembly in 1894. As a result of NIC-led protests against the Franchise Act, the British Government does not sanction the Act, but the Act is reintroduced in 1896.[1]
Only a partial fragment of an initial petition is available.
A second petition was sent to protest the bill at its second reading in the Natal Legislative Assembly. The petition focussed on the ability of Indians for government regardless of formal eduction. It cited numerous quotations from British officials, as well as many examples of Indian government, such as the practice of Panchayat and the Mysore Assembly.
