The authors’ claim in this passage is that the Indians' demonstration and act of resistance was a successful strategy to change laws. The passage describes how the act of burning certificates symbolized the assertion of their rights and identity, leading to the repeal of the Black Act by the South African government.
Read the passage from Sugar Changed the World.
A fire was lit in a giant iron cauldron, and the certificates of 2,300 Indians were tossed into the flames—the first major act of Satyagraha. "I am not property," the Indians were showing. "I am not your victim," they were demonstrating. "I have the power of my conscience," they were proving. The quiet strength of the Indian community shook the South African government. And by June 1914 it gave in; the Black Act was taken off the books. The Indians had insisted that they were not mere workers but were citizens—and finally the government could not resist.
What is the authors’ claim in this passage?
The Indians' demonstration and act of resistance was a successful strategy to change laws.
South African leaders repealed the Black Act because they agreed with the Indians.
The Indians tossed their certificates into a cauldron to hide their legal status as property.
Satyagraha had more powerful political influence over laws than the government did.
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