In Chapter 16, the protests increase in the name of the Mahatma, and the people make songs and chants as they march. Despite increased government oppression, Moorthy’s legend continues to grow and village after village speaks of him. He appears in the papers and Kanthapura is deeply proud of their native son. Each day, the village comes to Moorthy and asks him what they should do next, and acts of civil disobedience continue to grow. Word spreads of the brutalities that those in prison for their activism have to endure, but this only strengthens the village’s resolve. The village’s next big test arrives when the government comes to collect taxes. The village refuses to pay in protest, and many people are beaten, including old women. A new beadle announces that a penalty tax will fall on every man, woman, and child in Kanthapura if they’re not paid, and new policemen will be sent to Kanthapura to enforce the laws. Moorthy advises his followers that the real test is only beginning and soon they will face opposition like never before.

Chapter 17 opens the next morning as the village is shocked to see an army of workers marched through the village, surrounded by armed policemen in an attempt to intimidate the village.