Ghandi

10 Pages 2431 Words

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in the town of Porbander in the state of
what is now Gujarat on 2 October 1869. He had his schooling in nearby Rajkot, where his
father served as the adviser or prime minister to the local ruler. Though India was then
under British rule, over 500 kingdoms, principalities, and states were allowed autonomy in
domestic and internal affairs: these were the so-called 'native states'. Rajkot was one such
state.
Gandhi later recorded the early years of his life in his extraordinary autobiography,
The Story of My Experiments with Truth. His father died before Gandhi could finish his
schooling, and at thirteen he was married to Kasturba [or Kasturbai], who was even
younger. In 1888 Gandhi set sail for England, where he had decided to pursue a degree in
law. Though his elders objected, Gandhi could not be prevented from leaving; and it is
said that his mother, a devout woman, made him promise that he would keep away from
wine, women, and meat during his stay abroad. Gandhi left behind his son Harilal, then a
few months old.
In London, Gandhi encountered theosophists, vegetarians, and others who were
disenchanted not only with industrialism, but with the legacy of Enlightenment thought.
They themselves represented the fringe elements of English society. Gandhi was
powerfully attracted to them, as he was to the texts of the major religious traditions; and
ironically it is in London that he was introduced to the Bhagavad Gita. Here, too, Gandhi
showed determination and single-minded pursuit of his purpose, and accomplished his
objective of finishing his degree from the Inner Temple. He was called to the bar in 1891,
and even enrolled in the High Court of London; but later that year he left for India.
After one year of a none too successful law practice, Gandhi decided to accept an
offer from an Indian businessman in South Africa, Dada Abdulla, to join him as a legal
adviser. Unbeknown to...