Page 32 - GANDHI A Biography for Children and Beginners

GANDHI – A Biography for children and beginners

next thing he did was to get a leading Indian merchant to convene a meeting of

all the Indians in Pretoria. He said he wanted to get in touch with every Indian.

The meeting saw a Gandhi who was very different from the one who had sat
tongue-tied in meetings and court rooms. Gone was Gandhi's shyness,

nervousness, and hesitancy. He said he wanted to study the condition of Indians

and help them improve their situation. He placed three ideas before them.

Firstly, they should forget distinctions of religion and language and consider
themselves Indians. They should achieve unity. Secondly, they should look into

their own actions and remove all shortcomings and weaknesses that could cause

prejudice against them. Neglect of sanitation, illiteracy, unconcern for
truthfulness and the like weakened them. They should overcome them. Thirdly,

they should form an association that could voice their views and protect their

interests. Gandhi created an impact. Those who attended promised to

cooperate. Gandhi offered to teach English to those who wanted, and to give as
much time as he could find for the common effort.

Meanwhile, Gandhi made many friends among people of all persuasions. His

letters to journals espousing the Indian cause or drawing attention to specific
instances of injustice and the transparent absence of bitterness, untruth and

exaggeration in his writings drew appreciation from many, even among the

white population.

Gandhi busied himself with the legal work for which he had gone to South

Africa. He studied the facts of the case. He discovered that truth could be

sifted and put forward only if he had a good grasp of accounting and book
keeping. So he set himself to the task and acquired mastery over the intricacies

of accountancy. But he always felt that the true service that a lawyer could

give was to secure justice without acrimony and hostility and the spirit of

vengeance. Justice did not require a demand for the pound of flesh. He,
therefore, believed in using law and common sense to find a settlement outside

the court, avoiding the acrimony that litigation brought.

He had succeeded in securing the confidence of his client Sheth Abdullah. The

other party to the suit was also an Indian Muslim merchant from Gujarat.

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