Mohandas Gandhi’s natural honesty forbade the use of touts. So day after day he would go to the High Court, listen to the intricate Indian ...
Mohandas Gandhi’s natural honesty forbade the use of touts. So day after day he would go to the High Court, listen to the intricate Indian cases in law (his knowledge of Indian Law was, in any case, sparse), and yawn and go to sleep. He tells us after some time he realised going to sleep at the Bombay High Court was a sign of distinction. All the better lawyers had this habit. It gave you rest before your case was heard; it also indicated your superior confidence in yourself.
One day, however, a client sought his services. It was in connection with a minor case before the Small Causes Court. Mohandas appeared before the magistrate and he could never bring himself to utter a word. His shyness took the best of him. He apologised to the court, then to his client, and now decided he would never never make a barrister.
So he applied for a post of high-school teacher. He was discarded for not having a degree. “I have taken Latin for my Matriculation in London,” he protested. But the school wanted a graduate. The laws said so.
Thus he could not, having spent so much money in London, even be a...
