The Green Pamphlet was authored and printed in India by Mohandas K. Gandhi in 1896 during a short visit from Natal, South Africa. The pamphlet, printed with a green cover, was formally The Grievances of the British Indians in South Africa: An Appeal to the Indian Public. Reuters of London reported to Natal the following exaggeration of the pamphlet’s contents:

"A pamphlet published in India declares that the Indians in Natal are robbed and assaulted and treated like beasts and are unable to obtain redress. The Times of India advocates an inquiry into these allegations."

Upon returning to South Africa, Gandhi was attacked by white workmen several times and narrowly escaped a lynching. Refusing to prosecute his attackers, Gandhi wrote to the Attorney-General, "I do not hold assailants to blame. They were given to understand that I had made exaggerated statements in India about the whites in Natal and calumniated them. The leaders and you, if you will permit me to say so, are to blame. You could have guided the people properly but you also believed Reuters and assumed that I must have indulged in exaggeration."