UNIT 1 EMERGENCE OF GANDHI Structure 1.0 Objectives 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Childhood of the Mahatma 1.2.1 Gandhi – A Law Student in England 1.3 Gandhi – The Lawyer 1.3.1 Gandhi in South Africa 1.4 Between India and South Africa 1.5 Let Us Sum Up 1.0 OBJECTIVES In this unit you are introduced to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi as a child, a lawyer and a fighter for the victims of racist discrimination. After going through this unit, you should be able to: • recall Gandhi’s childhood; • describe his stay in England as a law student; • trace the events of an Indian lawyer in South Africa; and • recall his struggle against injustice by the South African authorities towards the people of Indian origin. 1.1 INTRODUCTION The first unit gives a brief biography of Mahatma Gandhi. Born in Porbandar, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s father was then the Dewan of Rajkot. You will read in this unit about Gandhi’s early childhood, his marriage at a very early age, his education in India and in England. Gandhi as a lawyer in Bombay, went to South Africa to take up a legal case, but ended up as a satyagrahi in order to fight racial discrimination, by the white rulers, against the local people and the people of Indian origin. His experience in South Africa enabled him to lead India’s struggle for freedom, later using truth and non- violence as effective tools. 1 1.2 CHILDHOOD OF THE MAHATMA Let us begin with a short biography of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He was born in 1869 at Porbandar, a small township on the north-western coast of Kathiawar peninsula in Gujarat. His father Karamchand Gandhi was barely a literate man but highly informed otherwise. His mother, Putlibai was a pious lady of great moral standing. His grandfather was the Diwan (prime minister) of Porbandar princely state; his father was the Diwan of Rajkot and Vankaner states. Gandhi completed his high school education at Alfred High School, Rajkot. He was neither good at studies, nor did he take part in sports and other extracurricular activities. He did however inculcate the habit of walking long distances, a habit which he sustained all through his life. He was married at the age of 12 to Kasturba who never attended any school. Child marriages were common in those days; and girl’s education was rare. He passed his high school examination in 1887 and proceeded to England for the bar-at-law in the hope of following the family tradition to become Diwan of Rajkot. From his early childhood, Gandhi maintained a strong moral posture. Apparently, he was very much influenced by the moral standards of his parents particularly the mother. The 2 plays, by which he was impressed, were Shravana Pitrabhakti and Harishchandra. ‘Why should not all serve their parents like Shravana and be truthful like Harishchandra?’ asked Mohandas to himself in that tender age. Ramayana by Tulsidas left an indelible mark on his life. He was always truthful to his parents, teachers and elders in general and took special care to guard his own character. Despite strong moral footings, Gandhi did go astray in his school days. He was inspired to break old traditions and become modern by eating meat, smoking bidi (local cigarette) and yield to other temptations of modern life, which he never succumbed, as acknowledged by Gandhi. 1.2.1 Gandhi – A Law Student in England Gandhi’s parents did not have enough money to send him to England. Further, his mother was totally against his son going to a country across the seas and falling prey to bad habits like meat eating, drinking etc. With great difficulty, the passage was arranged and the young Gandhi had to take vows to avoid the evils while in England. His community was 3 totally against Gandhi’s trip. They threatened to excommunicate him but he defied them and later won over them. Gandhi set sail for England on September 4, 1888 from Bombay. His shyness came in the way of his mixing with co-passengers. While in England, he at first tried to look and behave like a perfect English gentleman. He remained vegetarian and started associating himself with London Vegetarian Society. During 1889, he met two theosophists: Madame Blavatsky and Mrs. Annie Besant and thus was introduced to Arnold’s Song Celestial (Bhagavad Geeta) and the Light of Asia. Gandhi was admitted to the Inner Temple on November 6, 1888. His three years stay in England was eventful in many ways. England, during that time, was passing through a period of great debate on freedom of thought. The Independent Labour Party was formed in 1887. The English edition of Das Kapital by Marx (1887) and Fabian Essays by Bernard Shaw (1889) stirred the minds of conservative England. Arnold’s Song Celestial and the Light of Asia earned many friends for India. At least in the intellectual circles, the assertion that India was not ready for representative government was being questioned. Lectures on Indian philosophy by Max Muller became highly popular. Gandhi did not remain untouched by the emerging favourable understanding of India. 1.3 GANDHI – THE LAWYER Gandhi sailed for India on June 12, 1891. On his return to India he tried for two years to establish himself as a lawyer at Rajkot and Bombay. In his first appearance in the court, he became so nervous that he could not utter a word and sat down. He could not establish himself at Bombay and returned to Rajkot after six months. At Rajkot too he could not make any headway, but being a good draftsman, he could earn enough to meet his 4 expenses. In the meanwhile he got an offer from South Africa, which he accepted and left for Durban in April 1893. 1.3.1 Gandhi in South Africa On landing in South Africa, he shockingly realised that Indians were looked down upon as coolies. Gandhi by this time had developed a sense of pride in Indian culture and his English educational background. He could not be pushed around without protest. Soon after arrival in a Durban court, Gandhi was asked by a magistrate to take off his turban because it was not proper dress for lawyers. Gandhi refused to do so. And this act of defiance got good publicity in newspapers. After a week, Gandhi was asked to go to Pretoria to represent his client in the court. He was booked in the first class compartment. At Maritzburg, the capital of Natal, he was asked to change the compartment and on refusal to do so, he was forcibly ejected and thrown out on the platform. This bitter experience changed the life of Gandhi for he had resolved to fight injustice with all his might. The Maritzburg incidence also saw the innovation of a new weapon to fight oppression and exploitation. It was non-violence. The train in which Gandhi was travelling steamed away. He was forced to shiver all night in the dark waiting room of Maritzburgh. “There was a white man in the room. I was afraid of him. What was my duty, I asked myself. Should I go back to India, or should I go forward, with God as my helper, and face whatever was in store for me? I decided to stay and suffer. My active non-violence began from that date.” But more insults were in store for Gandhi. He left Maritzburg by the evening train in a reserved berth for Charlestown from where he had to go by a stagecoach to Standarton by evening. Gandhi was asked to sit besides the coachman and the leader of the coach sat inside with white passengers. After some time, he was asked to sit on the footboard so that the leader could sit besides the coachman and smoke. Gandhi refused. The leader beat him and tried to pull him down. The co-passengers intervened and Gandhi remained where he was. Next day, he reached Johannesburg in another coach. On reaching Johannesburg, he went straight to Grand Hotel, but there was no vacancy apparently because he was a coolie. Next day, he went to Pretoria by train. Gandhi’s mind was fully charged with the agony of his experiences and the urge to do something to improve the conditions of those Indians who lived and worked in South Africa. He took the help of an influential businessman 5 Tyeb Haji Khan Muhammad and called a meeting of the Indians to discuss their problems. Gandhi spoke about honesty, hygiene and unity among various sections, and suggested the formation of an association to make representations to the authorities concerned. He offered to teach English to all those who so wanted and to devote time for the association. The association so formed used to hold monthly meetings. Gandhi became more closely associated with Indians and their problems. He found to his dismay that in 1888, Indians were deprived of all their elementary rights to pursue their vocation. Traders were sent out with small compensation. Indians could only be waiters and coolies. In Transvaal, a law was enacted in 1885 to levy a poll tax three pounds per head as entry fee. Gandhi succeeded in convincing Dada Abdulla (Gandhi’s client who brought him to South Africa) and his adversary Tyeb Seth to settle their case through arbitration. This proved to be a great success for Gandhi and his stock as a lawyer went up. In the meantime, he emerged as a leading figure among the Indians to fight for their legitimate rights.