An Autobiography or the Story of My Experiments with Truth

by M K Gandhi

  I sent him to a doctor. In those days only white doctors were available. I wanted a certificate from the doctor about the nature of the injury Balasundaram had sustained. I secured the certificate, and straightway took the injured man to the magistrate,289 to whom I submitted his affidavit. The magistrate was indignant when he read it, and issued a summons against the employer.

  It was far from my desire to get the employer punished. I simply wanted Balasundaram to be released from him. I read the law about indentured labour. If an ordinary servant left service without giving notice, he was liable to be sued by his master in a civil court. With the indentured labourer the case was entirely different. He was liable, in similar circumstances, to be proceeded against in a criminal court and to be imprisoned on conviction.290 That is why Sir William Hunter291 called the indenture system almost as bad as slavery. Like the slave the indentured labourer was the property of his master.

  There were only two ways of releasing Balasundaram: either by getting the Protector of Indentured Labourers to cancel his indenture or transfer him to someone else, or by getting Balasundaram’s employer to release him. I called on the latter and said to him: ‘I do not want to proceed against you and get you punished. I think you realize that you have severely beaten the man. I shall be satisfied if you will transfer the indenture to someone else.’ To this he readily agreed. I next saw the Protector.292 He also agreed, on condition that I found a new employer.

  So I went off in search of an employer. He had to be a European, as no Indians could employ indentured labour. At that time I knew very few Europeans. I met one of them.293 He very kindly agreed to take on Balasundaram. I gratefully acknowledged his kindness. The magistrate convicted Balasundaram’s employer, and recorded that he had undertaken to transfer the indenture to someone else.

  Balasundaram’s case reached the ears of every indentured labourer, and I came to be regarded as their friend. I hailed this connection with delight. A regular stream of indentured labourers began to pour into my office, and I got the best opportunity of learning their joys and sorrows.

  The echoes of Balasundaram’s case were heard in far off Madras.294 Labourers from different parts of the province, who went to Natal on indenture, came to know of this case through their indentured brethren.

  There was nothing extraordinary in the case itself, but the fact that there was someone in Natal295 to espouse their cause and publicly work for them gave the indentured labourers a joyful surprise and inspired them with hope.M2

  I have said that Balasundaram entered my office, head-gear in hand. There was a peculiar pathos about the circumstance which also showed our humiliation. I have already narrated the incident when I was asked to take off my turban. A practice had been forced upon every indentured labourer and every Indian stranger to take off his head-gear when visiting a European, whether the head-gear were a cap, a turban or a scarf wrapped round the head. A salute even with both hands was not sufficient. Balasundaram thought that he should follow the practice even with me.M3 This was the first case in my experience. I felt humiliated and asked him to tie up his scarf. He did so, not without a certain hesitation, but I could perceive the pleasure on his face.

  It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honored by the humiliation of their fellow-beings.

  XXI

  THE £3 TAX

  Balasundaram’s case brought me into touch with the indentured Indians. What impelled me, however, to make a deep study of their condition was the campaign for bringing them under special heavy taxation.

  In the same year, 1894, the Natal Government soughtM1 to impose an annual tax of £25296 on the indentured Indians. The proposalM2 astonished me. I put the matter before the Congress for discussion, and it was immediately resolved to organize the necessary opposition.

  At the outset I must explain briefly the genesis of the tax.

  About the year 1860 the EuropeansM3 in Natal, finding that there was considerable scope for sugarcane cultivation, felt themselves in need of labour. Without outside labour the cultivation of cane and the manufacture of sugar were impossible, as the Natal Zulus were not suited to this form of work. The Natal Government therefore corresponded with the Indian Government, and secured their permission to recruit Indian labour.297 These recruits were to sign an indenture to work in Natal for five years, and at the end of the term they were to be at liberty to settle there and to have full rights of ownership of land. Those were the inducements held out to them, for the whites then had looked forward to improving their agriculture by the industry of the Indian labourers after the term of their indentures had expired.

  But the Indians gave more than had been expected of them. They grew large quantities of vegetables. They introduced a number of Indian varieties and made it possible to grow the local varieties cheaper. They also introduced the mango. Nor did their enterprise stop at agriculture. They entered trade.298 They purchased land for building, and many raised themselves from the status of labourers to that of owners of land and houses. Merchants from India followed them and settled there for trade.299 The late Sheth Abubakar Amod was first among them. He soon built up an extensive business.

  The white traders were alarmed. When they first welcomed the Indian labourers, they had not reckoned with their business skill. They might be tolerated as independent agriculturists, but their competition in trade could not be brooked.

  This sowed the seed of the antagonism to Indians. Many other factors contributed to its growth. Our different ways of living, our simplicity, our contentment with small gains, our indifference to the laws of hygiene and sanitation, our slowness in keeping our surroundings clean and tidy, and our stinginess in keeping our houses in good repair—all these, combined with the difference in religion, contributed to fan the flame of antagonism. Through legislation this antagonism found its expression in the disfranchising bill and the bill to impose a tax on the indentured Indians. Independent of legislation a number of pinpricks had already been started.300

  The first suggestion was that the Indian labourers should be forcibly repatriated, so that the term of their indentures might expire in India. The Government of India was not likely to accept the suggestion. Another proposal was therefore made to the effect that

  the indentured labourer should return to India on the expiry of his indenture; or that

  he should sign a fresh indenture every two years, an increment being given at each renewal; and that

  in the case of his refusal to return to India or renew the indenture he should pay an annual tax of £25.301

  A deputation composed of Sir Henry Binns302 and Mr. Mason303 was sent to India to get the proposal approved by the Government there.304 The Viceroy at that time was Lord Elgin.305 He disapproved of the £25 tax, but agreed to a poll tax of £3. I thought then, as I do even now, that this was a serious blunder on the part of the Viceroy. In giving his approval he had in no way thought of the interests of India. It was no part of his duty thus to accommodate the Natal Europeans. In the course of three or four years an indentured labourer with his wife and each male child over 16 and female child over 13 came under the impost. To levy a yearly tax of £12306 from a family of four—husband, wife and two children—when the average income of the husband was never more than l4s. a month, was atrocious and unknown anywhere else in the world.

  We organized a fierce campaign against this tax.307 If the Natal Indian Congress had remained silent on the subject, the Viceroy might have approved of even the £25 tax. The reduction from £25 to £3 was probably due solely to the Congress agitation. But I may be mistaken in thinking so. It may be possible that the Indian Government had disapproved of the £25 tax from the beginning and reduced it toM4 £3, irrespective of the opposition from the Congress. In any case it was a breach of trust on the part of the Indian Government.M5 As trustee of the welfare of India the Viceroy ought never to have approved of this inhuman tax.

  The Congress could not regard it as any great achievement to have
succeeded in getting the tax reduced from £25 to £3.308 The regret was still there that it had not completely safeguarded the interests of the indentured Indians. It ever remained its determination to get the tax remitted, but it was twenty years before the determination was realized. And when it was realized, it came as a result of the labours of not only the Natal Indians but of all the Indians in South Africa. The breach of faith with the late Mr. Gokhale became the occasion ofM6 the final campaign, in which the indentured Indians took their full share, some of them losing their lives as a result of the firing that was resorted to, and over ten thousand suffering imprisonment.

  But truth triumphed in the end. The sufferings of the Indians were the expression of that truth. Yet it would not have triumphed except forM7 unflinching faith, great patience and incessant effort. Had the community given up the struggle, had the Congress abandoned the campaign and submitted to the tax as inevitable, the hated impost would have continued to be levied from the indentured Indians until this day, to the eternal shame of the Indians in South Africa and of the whole of India.

  XXII

  COMPARATIVE309 STUDY OF RELIGIONS

  If I found myself entirely absorbed in the service of the community, the reason behind it was my desire for self-realization. I had made the religion of service my own, as I felt that God could be realized only through service. And service for me was the service of India,M1 because it came to me without my seeking, because I had an aptitude for it. I had gone to South Africa for travel, for finding an escape from Kathiawad intrigues and for gaining my own livelihood. But as I have said,310 I found myself in search of God and striving for self-realization.

  Christian friends had whetted my appetite for knowledge,M2 which had become almost insatiable, and they would not leave me in peace, even if I desired to be indifferent. In Durban Mr. Spencer Walton,311 the head of the South Africa General Mission, found me out. I became almost a member of his family. At the back of this acquaintance was of course my contact with Christians in Pretoria. Mr. Walton had a manner all his own. I do not recollect his ever having invited me to embrace Christianity. But he placed his life as an open book312 before me, and let me watch all his movements. Mrs. Walton was a very gentle and talented woman. I liked the attitude of this couple. We knew the fundamental differences between us. Any amount of discussion could not efface them. Yet even differences prove helpful, where there are313 tolerance, charityM3 and truth. I liked Mr. and Mrs. Walton’s humility, perseverance and devotion to work, and we met very frequently.

  This friendship kept alive my interest in religion.M4 It was impossible now to get the leisure that I used to have in Pretoria for my religious studies. But what little time I could spare I turned to good account.M5 My religious correspondence continued. Raychandbhai was guiding me. Some friend sent me Narmadashanker’s book Dharma Vichar.314 Its preface proved very helpful. I had heard about the BohemianM6 way in which the poet had lived, and a description in the preface of the revolution effected315 in his life by his religious studies316 captivated me.317 I came to like the book, and read it from cover to cover318 with attention. I read with interest Max Muller’s book, India—What Can It Teach Us?319 and the translation of the Upanishads published by the Theosophical Society.320 All this enhanced my regard for Hinduism, and its beauties began to grow upon me.M7 It did not, however, prejudice me against other religions. I read Washington Irving’s Life of Mahomet and His Successors321 and Carlyle’s panegyric on the Prophet.322 These books raised Muhammad in my estimation.M8 I also read a book called The Sayings of Zarathustra.

  Thus I gained more knowledge of the different religions. The study stimulated my self-introspection and fostered in me the habit of putting into practice whatever appealed to me in my studies. Thus I began some of the Yogic practices, as well as I could understand them from a reading of the Hindu books.M9 But I could not get on very far, and decided to follow them with the help of some expert when I returned to India. The desire has never been fulfilled.

  I made too an intensive study of Tolstoy’s books. The Gospels in Brief, What to Do?323 and other books made a deep impression on me. I began to realize more and more the infinite possibilities of universal love.M10

  About the same time I came in contact with another Christian family.324 At their suggestion I attended the Wesleyan church every Sunday. For these days I also had their standing invitation to dinner. The325 church did not make a favourable impression on me. The sermons seemed to be uninspiring. The congregation did not strike me as being particularly religious. They were notM11 an assembly of devout souls; they appeared rather to be worldly-minded people, going to church for recreation and in conformity to custom. Here, at times, I would involuntarily doze. I was ashamed, but some of my neighbours, who were in no better case, lightened the shame. I could not go on long like this, and soon gave up attending the service.

  My connection with the family I used to visit every Sunday was abruptly broken. In fact it may be said that I was warned to visit it no more. It happened thus.M12 My hostess was a good and simple woman, but somewhat narrow-minded. We always discussed religious subjects. I was then re-reading326 Arnold’s Light of Asia. Once we began to compare the life of Jesus with that of Buddha. ‘Look at Gautama’s compassion!’ said I. ‘It was not confined to mankind, it was extended to all living beings. Does not one’s heart overflow with love to think of the lamb joyously perched on his shoulders? One fails to notice this love for all living beings in the lifeM13 of Jesus.’ The comparison pained the good lady. I could understand her feelings. I cut the matter short, and we went to the dining-room. Her son, a cherub aged scarcely five, was also with us. I am happiest when in the midst of children, and this youngster and I had long been friends. I spoke derisively ofM14 the piece of meat on his plate and in high praise ofM15 the apple on mine. The innocent boy was carried away and joined in my praise of the fruit.

  But the mother? She was dismayed.M16

  I was warned.M17 I checked myself and changed the subject. The following week I visited the family as usual,327 but not without trepidation. I did not see that I should stop going there, I did not think it proper either. But the good lady made my way easy.

  ‘Mr. Gandhi,’ she said, ‘please don’t take it ill if I feel obliged to tell you that my boy is none the better for your company.M18 Everyday he hesitates to eat meat and asks for fruit, reminding me of your argument. This is too much.M19 If he gives up meat, he is bound to get weak, if not ill. How could I bear it? Your discussions should henceforth be only with us elders. They are sure to react badly on children.’328

  ‘Mrs.—,’ I replied, ‘I am sorry. I can understand your feelings as a parent,M20 for I too have children. We can very easily end this unpleasant state of things. What I eat and omit to eat is bound to have a greater effect on the child than what I say. The best way, therefore, is for me to stop these329 visits. That certainly need not affect our friendship.’

  ‘I thank you,’ she said with evident relief.

  XXIII

  AS A HOUSEHOLDER

  To set up a household was no new experience for me. But the establishment in Natal was different from the ones that I had had in Bombay and London.M1 This time part of the expense was solely for the sake of prestige. I thought it necessary to have a household in keeping with my position as an Indian barrister in Natal and as a representative.330 So I had a nice little house in a prominent locality.331 It was also suitably furnished. Food was simple, but as I used to invite English friends and Indian co-workers, the housekeeping bills were always fairly high.

  A good servant is essential in every household. ButM2 I have never known how to keep anyone as a servant.

  I had a friend332 as companion and help,333 and a cook who had become a member of the family. I also had334 office clerks335 boarding and lodging with me.

  I think I had a fair amount of success in this experiment, but it was not without its modicum ofM3 the bitter experiences of life.

  The companion was ver
y clever and, I thought, faithful to me. But in this I was deceived. He became jealous of an office clerk who was staying with me, and wove such a tangled web that I suspected the clerk. This clerical friend had a temper of his own.M4 Immediately he saw that he had been the object of my suspicion,336 he left both the house and the office. I was pained. I felt that perhaps I had been unjust to him, and my conscience always stung me.

  In the meanwhile, the cook needed a few days’ leave, or for some other cause was away.337 It was necessary to procure another during his absence. Of this new man I learnt later that he was a perfect scamp.M5 But for me he proved a godsend. Within two or three days of his arrival, he discovered certain irregularities that wereM6 going on under my roof without my knowledge, and he made up his mind to warn me. I had the reputation of338 being a credulous but straight man. The discovery339 was to him, therefore, all the more shocking. Every day at one o’clock I used to go home from office for lunch. At about twelve o’clock one day the cook came panting to the office, and said, ‘Please come home at once. There is a surprise for you.’M7

  ‘Now, what is this?’ I asked. ‘You must tell me what it is. How can I leave the office at this hour to go and see it?’

  ‘You will regret it, if you don’t come. That is all I can say.’

  I felt an appeal in his persistence. I went home accompanied by a clerk and the cook who walked ahead of us. He took me straight to the upper floor, pointed at my companion’s room, and said, ‘Open this door and see for yourself.’

  I saw it all. I knocked at the door. No reply! I knocked heavily so as to make the very walls shake. The door was opened. I saw a prostitute inside. I asked her to leave the house, never to return.M8

  To the companion I said, ‘From this moment I cease to have anything to do with you. I have been thoroughly deceived and have made a fool of myself. That is how you have requited my trust in you?’M9