(b) In March 1918, under the leadership of Gandhi, there was a strike in the cotton mills in Kheda. First, he interrupted in a labour dispute in Ahmedabad, demanding for better working conditions for the textile mill workers. Then he joined peasants in Kheda in asking the state for the suspension of taxes following the failure of their harvest. This initiative in Kheda marked Gandhiji out as a nationalist with a deep sympathy for the poor.