Sir Pherozeshah liked the speech. I was supremely happy.
The meeting won me the active sympathy of Sjt. Deshpande and a Parsi friend, whose name I hesitate to mention, as he is a high- placed Government official today. Both expressed their resolve to accompany me to South Africa. Mr. C. M. Cursetji, who was then Small Causes Court Judge, however, moved the Parsi friend from his resolve as he had plotted his marriage. He had to choose between marriage and going to South Africa, and he chose the former. But Parsi Rustomji made amends for the broken resolve, and a number of Parsi sisters are now making amends for the lady who helped in the breach by dedicating themselves to Khadi work. I have there- fore gladly forgiven that couple. Sjt. Deshpande had no temptations of marriage, but he too could not come. Today he is himself doing enough reparation for the broken pledge. On my way back to South Africa I’met one of the Tyabjis at Zanzibar. He also promised to come and help me, but never came. Mr. Abbas Tyabji is atoning for that offence. Thus none of my three attempts to induce barristers to go to South Africa bore any fruit. 5 In this connection I remember Mr. Pestonji Padshah. I had been on friendly terms with him ever since my stay in England. I first met him in a vegetarian restaurant in London. I knew of his brother Mr. Barjorji Padshah by his reputation as a. crank’, I had never met him, but friends said that he was eccentric. Out of pity for the horses he would not ride in tram-cars, he refused to take degrees in spite of a prodigious memory, he had developed an independent Spirit, and he was 2 vegetarian, though a Parsi. Pestonji had not quite this reputation, but he was famous for his erudition even in London. The common factor between us, however, was vegetarian- ism, and not scholarship in which it was beyond my power to approach him.
I found him out again in B High Court. When I met him ombay. He was Prothonotary in the he was engaged on his contribution 128 MY EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH to a Higher Gujarati Dictionary. There was not a friend I had not approached for help in my South African work. Pestonji Padshah, however, not only refused to aid me, but even advised me not to return to South Africa.
“It is impossible to help you,’ he said. ‘But I tell you I do not like even your going to South Africa. Is there lack of work in our own country? Look, now, there is not a little to do for our language. I have to find out scientific words. But this is only one branch of the work. Think of the poverty of the land. Our people in South Africa are no doubt in difficulty, but I do not want a man like you to be sacrificed for that work. Let us win self-government here, and we shall automatically help our countrymen there. I know I cannot prevail upon you, but I will not encourage anyone of your type to throw in his lot with you.’
I did not like this advice, but it increased my regard for Mr. Pestonji Padshah. I was struck with his love for the country and for the mother tongue. The incident brought us closer to each other. I could understand his point of view. But far from giving up my work in South Africa, I became firmer in my resolve. A patriot cannot afford to ignore any branch of service to the mother- land. And for me the text of the Gita was clear and emphatic: ‘Finally, this is better, that one do His own task as he may, even though he fail, Then take tasks not his own, though they seem good. To die performing duty is no ill; But who seeks other roads shall wander still.’
XXVIII POONA AND MADRAS a Sir Pherozeshah had made my way easy. So from Bombay I went to Poona. Here there were two parties. I wanted the help of people of every shade of opinion. First I met Lokamanya Tilak. He said: ‘ You are quite right in seeking the help of all parties. There can be no difference of opinion on the South African question. But you must have a non-party man for your President. Meet Professor Bhandarkar. He has been taking no part of late in any public movement. But this question might possibly draw him out. See him and let me know what he says. I want to help you to the fullest extent. Of course you will meet me whenever you like, I am at your disposal.’
This was my first meeting with the Lokamanya. It revealed to me the secret of his unique popularity.
Next I met Gokhale. I found him on the Fergusson College grounds. He gave me an affectionate welcome, and his manner imme- diately won my heart. With him too this was my first meeting, and yet it seemed as though we were renewing an old friendship..
POONA AND MADRAS 129 Sir Pherozeshah had seemed to me like the Himalaya, the Loka- manya like the ocean. But Gokhale was as the Ganges. One could have a refreshing bath in the holy river. The Himalaya was un- scaleable, and one could not easily launch forth on the sea, but the Ganges invited one to its bosom. It was a joy to be on it with a boat and an oar. Gokhale closely examined me, as a schoolmaster would examine a candidate seeking admission to a school. He told me whom to approach and how to approach them. He asked to have a look at my speech. He showed me over the college, assured me that he was always at my disposal, asked me to let him know the result of the interview with Dr. Bhandarkar, and sent me away exultantly happy. In the sphere of politics the place that Gokhale occupied in my heart during his lifetime and occupies even now was and is absolutely unique.
Dr. Bhandarkar received me with the warmth of a father. It was noon when I called on him. The very fact that I was busy seeing People at that hour appealed greatly to this indefatigable savant, and my insistence of a non-party man for the president of the meeting had his ready approval, which was expressed in the sponta- neous exclamation, ‘ That’s it’, ‘That’s it’.
After he had heard me out he said: ‘Anyone will tell you that I do not take part in politics. But I cannot refuse you. Your case is so strong and your industry is so admirable that I cannot decline to take part in your meeting. You did well in consulting Tilak and Gokhale. Please tell them that I shall be glad to preside over the meeting to be held under the joint auspices of the two Sabhas. You need not have the time of the meeting from me. Any time that suits them will suit me.’ With this he bade me good-bye with congratulations and blessings. i i kers in Poona Wi ado this erudite and selfless band of wor tel a scene in an unostentatious little place, and sent me away rejoicing and more confident of my mission.
i run on aa Seal wa Goan of 10,000 copies. They sold like hot cakes, but I sa number. In my ent the English-speaking pu and in Madras that class a ke i me to me from the late Sjt. G. arameshi The greatest help ieor a The Madras Standard. He had made a ee Puy of the question, and he often invited me to his office ant 2 pee guidance. Sjt. G. Subrahmaniam of The Hindu and ave ¥ 9 130 MY EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH Dr. Subrahmaniam also were very sympathetic. But Sjt. G. Para- meshvaran Pillay placed the columns of The Madras Standard entirely at my disposal, and I freely availed myself of the offer. The meeting in Pachaiappa Hall, so far as I can recollect, was with Dr. Subrahmaniam in the chair.
The affection showered on me by most of the friends I met and their enthusiasm for the cause were so great that, in spite of my having to communicate with them in English, I felt myself entirely at home. What barrier is there that love cannot break?
XXIX ‘RETURN SOON’ From Madras I proceeded to Calcutta where I found myself hem- med in by difficulties. I knew no one there. So I took a room in the Great Eastern Hotel. Here I became acquainted with Mr. Ellerthorpe, a representative of The Daily Telegraph. He invited me to the Bengal Club, where he was staying. He did not then realize that an Indian could not be taken to the drawing-room of the club. Having dis- covered the restriction, he took me to his room. He expressed his sorrow regarding this prejudice of the local Englishmen and apolo- gized to me for not having been able to take me to the drawing- room.
I had of course to see Surendranath Banerji, the ‘Idol of Bengal’. When I met him, he was surrounded by a number of friends. He said: ‘I am afraid people will not take interest in your work. As you know, our difficulties here are by no means few. But you must try as best you can. You will have to enlist the sympathy of Maharajas. Mind, you meet the representatives of the British Indian Association. You should meet Raja Sir Pyarimohan Mukarji and Maharaja Tagore. Both are liberal-minded and take a fair share in public work.’
I met these gentlemen, but without success. Both gave me a cold reception and said it was no easy thing to call a public meeting in Calcutta, and if anything could be done, it would practically all depend on Surendranath Banerji.
I saw that my task was becoming more and more difficult, I called. at the office of the Amrita Bazar Patrika. The gentleman whom I met there took me to be a wandering Jew. The Bangabasi went even one better. The editor kept me waiting for an hour. He had evidently many interviewers, but he would not so much as look at me, even when he had disposed of the rest. On my venturing to broach my subject after the long wait, he said: ‘Don’t you see our hands are full? There is no end to the number of visitors like you, You 3 in Calcutta, when ‘RETURN SOON’ 131 had better go. I am not disposed to listen to you.’ For a moment I felt offended, but I quickly understood the editor’s position. I had heard of the fame of The Bangabasi. I could see that there was a regular stream of visitors there. And they were all people acquain- ted with him. His paper had no lack of topics to discuss, and South Africa was hardly known at that time.
However serious a grievance may be in the eyes of the man who suffers from it, he will be but one of the numerous people invading the editor’s office, each with a grievance of his own. How is the editor to meet them all? Moreover, the aggrieved party imagines that the editor is a power in the land. Only he knows that his power can hardly travel beyond the threshold of his office. But I was not discouraged. I kept on seeing editors of other papers. As usual I met the Anglo-Indian editors also. The Statesman and The English- man realized the importance of the question. I gave them long interviews, and they published them in full.
Mr. Saunders, editor of The Englishman, claimed me as his own. He placed his office and paper at my disposal. He even allowed me the liberty of making whatever changes I liked in the leading article he had written on the situation, the proof of which he sent me in advance. It is no exaggeration to say that a friendship grew up between us. He promised to render me all the help he could, carried out the promise to the letter, and kept on his correspondence with me until the time when he was seriously ill.
Throughout my life I have had the privilege of many such friend- ships, which have sprung up quite unexpectedly. What Mr. Saunders liked in me was my freedom from exaggeration and my devotion to truth. He subjected me to a searching cross-examination before he began to sympathize with my cause, and he saw that I had spared neither will nor pains to place before him an impartial statement of the case even of the white man in South Africa and also to appreciate it. My experience has s rendering justice to the ot The unexpected help of Mr. Saunders had begun to encourage me to thi “eht succeed after all in holding a public meeting Toi a received the following cable from Durban: January. Return soon.’
S ed a letter to the press, in which I explained why I had to ove “Caleutta so abruptly, and set off for Bombay. Before starting I wired to the Bombay agent of Dada Abdulla & Co., fa arrange for my passase by the first possible boat to South Africa. Dada Abdulla had just then purchased the steamship Courland and insisted on my travelling on that boat, offering to take me and my family free of charge. I gratefully accepted the offer, and in the beginning of December set sail a second time for South Africa, now with my wife and two sons and the only son of my widowed sister.
hown me that we win justice quickest by her party.
‘Parliament opens 132 MY EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH Another steamship Naderi also sailed for Durban at the same time. The agents of the Company were Dada Abdulla & Co. The total number of passengers these boats carried must have been about eight hundred, half of whom were bound for the Transvaal.
THE STORY OF MY EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH PART Il I RUMBLINGS OF THE STORM This was my first voyage with my wife and children. I have often observed in the course of this narrative that, on account of child marriages amongst middle class Hindus, the husband will be literate whilst the wife remains practically unlettered. A wide gulf thus separates them, and the husband has to become his wife’s teacher. So I had to think out the details of the dress to be adopted by my wife and children, the food they were to eat, and the manners which would be suited to their new surroundings. Some of the recollec- tions of those days are amusing to look back upon.
A Hindu wife regards implicit obedience to her husband as the highest religion. A Hindu husband regards himself as lord and master of his wife who must ever dance attendance upon him.
I believed, at the time of which I am writing, that in order to look civilized, our dress and manners had as far as possible to approximate to the European standard. Because, I thought, only thus could we have some influence, and without influence it would not be possible to serve the community.
I therefore determined the style of dress for my wife and children. How could I like them to be known as Kathiawad Banias? The Parsis used then to be regarded as the most civilized people amongst Indians, and so, when the complete European style seemed to be unsuited, we adopted the Parsi style. Accordingly my wife wore the Parsi sari, and the boys the Parsi coat and trousers. Of course no one could be without shoes and stockings. It was long before my wife and children could get used to them. The shoes cramped their feet and the stockings stank with perspiration. The toes often got sore. I always had my answers ready to all these objections. But I have an impression that it was not so much the answers as the force of authority that carried cata TET agreed to ine cane i no alternative. e same spirit and wi rea rane dopted the use of knives and forks. When even more reluctance they a! the use | my infatuation for these signs of civilization wore away, they gave up the knives and forks. After having become long accustomed to the i no less irksome for them to return to the eee aioe soe oe see today that we feel all the freer and lighter for having cast off the tinsel of ‘ civilization ’.
On board the same steamer with us were some relatives and ac- quaintances. These and other deck passengers I frequently met, because, the boat pelonging to my client friends, I was free to move about anywhere and everywhere I ee 5 take Gat J i as making straig) or Natal, without calling at Since a our voyage was of only eighteen days. But as 136 MY EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH though to warn us of the coming real storm on land, a terrible gale overtook us, whilst we were only four days from Natal. December is a summer month of monsoon in the Southern hemisphere, and gales, great and small, are, therefore, quite common in the Southern sea at that season. The gale in which we were caught was so violent and prolonged that the passengers became alarmed. It was a solemn scene. All became one in face of the common danger. They forgot their differences and began to think of the one and only God—Musal- mans, Hindus, Christians and all. Some took various vows. The cap- tain also joined the passengers in their prayers. He assured them that, though the storm was not without danger, he had had expe- rience of many worse ones, and explained to them that a well-built ship could stand almost any weather. But they were inconsolable. Every minute were heard sounds and crashes which foreboded breaches and leaks. The ship rocked and rolled to such an extent that it seemed as though she would capsize at any moment. It was out of the question for anyone to remain on deck. ‘ His will be done’ was the only cry on every lip. So far as I can recollect, we must have been in this plight for about twenty-four hours. At last the sky cleared, the sun made his appearance, and the captain said that the storm had blown over. People’s faces beamed with gladness, and with the disappearance of danger disappeared also the name of God from their lips. Eating and drinking, singing and merry-making again became the order of the day. The fear of death was gone, and the momentary mood of earnest prayer gave place to maya. There were of course the usual namaz? and the prayers, yet they had none of the solemnity of that dread hour.
But the storm had made me one with the passengers. I had little fear of the storm, for I had had experience of similar ones. I am a good sailor and do not get sea-sick. So I could fearlessly move amongst the passengers, bringing them comfort and good cheer, and conveying to them hourly reports of the captain. The friendship I thus formed stood me, as we shall see, in very good stead.
The ship cast anchor in the port of Durban on the 18th or 19th of December. The Naderi also reached the same day.
But the real storm was still to come.
2. The prayer prescribed by the Koran.
II THE STORM We have seen that the two ships cast anchor in the port of Durban on or about the 18th of December. No passengers are allowed to land at any of the South African ports before being subjected to a thorough medical examination. If the ship has any passenger suffer- ing from a contagious disease, she has to undergo a period of qua- rantine. As there had been plague in Bombay when we set sail, we feared that we might have to go through a brief quarantine. Before the examination every ship has to fly a yellow flag, which is lowered only when the doctor has certified her to be healthy. Rela- tives and friends of passengers are allowed to come on board only after the yellow flag has been lowered.
Accordingly our ship was flying the yellow flag, when the doctor came and examined us. He ordered a five days’ quarantine because, in his opinion, plague germs took twenty-three days at the most to develop. Our ship was therefore ordered to be put in quarantine until the twenty-third day of our sailing from Bombay. But this quarantine order had more than health reasons behind it.
The white residents of Durban had been agitating for our repatria- tion, and the agitation was one of the reasons for the order. Dada Abdulla and Co. kept us regularly informed about the daily happen- ding monster meetings every ings in the town. The whites were hol > i 11 kinds of threats and at times offering day. They were addressing a even inducements to Dada Abdulla and Co. They were ready to indemnify the Company if both the ships should be sent back. But Dada Abdulla and Co. were not the people to be afraid of threats. Sheth Abdul Karim Haji Adam was then the managing partner of the firm. He was determined to moor the ships at the wharf and disembark the passengers at any cost. He was daily sending me detailed letters. Fortunately the late Sjt. Mansukhlal Naazar was re to meet me. He was capable then in Durban, having gone there x A and fearless and guided the Indian community. Their advocate Jess man. He condemned the con- Mr. Laughton was an equally fearles > duct of the white residents and advised the community, not merely as their paid advocate, but also as their true friend. Thus Durban had become the scene of an unequal duel. On one side there was a handful of poor Indians and a few of their English friends. and on the other were ranged the white men, strong in arms, in numbers, in education and in wealth. They had also the backing of the State, for the Natal Government openly helped them. Mr. Harry Escombe, who was the most influential of the members of the Cabinet, openly took part in their meetings.
138 MY EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH The real object of the quarantine was thus to coerce the passengers into returning to India by somehow intimidating them or the Agent Company. For now threats began to be addressed to us also: ‘If you do not go back, you will surely be pushed into the sea. But if you consent to return, you may even get your passage money back.’ I constantly moved amongst my fellow-passengers cheering them up. I also sent messages of comfort to the passengers of the s.s. Naderi. All of them kept calm and courageous.
We arranged all sorts of games on.the ship for the entertainment of the passengers. On Christmas Day the captain invited the saloon passengers to dinner. The principal among these were my family and I. In the speeches after dinner I spoke on Western civilization. I knew that this was not an occasion for a serious speech. But mine could not be otherwise. I took part in the merriment, but my heart was in the combat that was going on in Durban. For I was the real target. There were two charges against me: 1. that whilst in India I had indulged in unmerited condemnation of the Natal whites; 2. that with a view to swamping Natal with Indians I had spe- cially brought the two shiploads of passengers to settle there.
I was conscious of my responsibility. I knew that Dada Abdulla and Co. had incurred grave risks on my account, the lives of the passengers were in danger, and by bringing my family with me I had put them likewise in jeopardy.
But I was absolutely innocent. I had induced no one to go to Natal. I did not know the passengers when they embarked. And with the exception of a couple of relatives, I did not know the mame and address of even one of the hundreds of passengers on board. Neither had I said, whilst in India, a word about the whites in Natal that I had not already said in Natal itself. And I had ample evidence in support of all that I had said.
I therefore deplored the civilization of which the Natal whites were the fruit, and which they represented and championed. This civili- zation had all along been on my mind, and I therefore offered my views concerning it in my speech before that little meeting. The captain and other friends gave me a patient hearing, and received my speech in the spirit in which it was made. I do not know that it in any way affected the course of their lives, but afterwards I had long talks with the captain and other officers regarding the civilization of the West. I had in my speech described Western civili- zation as being, unlike the Eastern, predominantly based on force. The questioners pinned me to my faith, and one of them — the captain so far as I recollect —said to me: 2 Supposing the whites carry out their threats, how will you stand by your principle of non-violence?’ To which I replied: ‘I hope God will give me the courage and the sense to forgive them and to THE TEST 139 refrain from bringing them to law. I have no anger against them. I am only sorry for their ignorance and their narrowness. I know that they sincerely believe that what they are doing today is right and proper. I have no reason therefore to be angry with them.’
The questioner smiled, possibly distrustfully.
Thus the days dragged on their weary length. When the quaran- tine would terminate was still uncertain. The Quarantine Officer said that the matter had passed out of his hands and that, as soon as he had orders from the Government, he would permit us to land.
At last ultimatums were served on the passengers and me. We were asked to submit, if we would escape with our lives. In our reply the passengers and I both maintained our right to land at Port Natal, and intimated our determination to enter Natal at any risk.
At the end of twenty-three days the ships were permitted to enter the harbour, and orders permitting the passengers to land were Passed.
tl THE TEST i prought into the dock and the passengers began to lene Bab Mee icone had sent word to the captain that, as the whites were highly enraged against me and my life was in danger, my family and I should be advised to land at dusk, when the Port Superintendent Mr. Tatum would escort us home. The captain communicated the message to me, and I agreed to act accor- dingly, But scarcely half an hour after this, Mr. Laughton came to the captain. He said: ‘I would like to take Mr. Gandhi with me, should he have no objection. ‘As the legal adviser of the Agent Com- pany I tell you that you are not: bound to carry out the message you have received from Mr. Escombe.’ After this he came to me and said somewhat to this effect: ‘If you are not afraid, I suggest that Mrs, Gandhi and the children should drive to Mr. Rustomji’s house, whilst you and I follow them on foot. I do not at all like the idea of your entering the city like a thief in the night. I do not think there is any fear of anyone hurting you. Everything is quiet now. The whites have all dispersed. _But in any pE I am convinced that you ought not to enter the city stealthily. T readily agreed. My wife and children drove safely to Mr. Rustomji’s place. With the captain’s permission I went ashore with Mr. Laughton. Mr. Rustomji’s house was about two miles from T A me youngsters recognized me an shouted ‘ een ee ne RANE dozen men rushed to the spot and , 140 MY EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH joined in the shouting. Mr. Laughton feared that the crowd might ell and hailed a rickshaw. I had never liked the idea of being in a rickshaw. This was to be my first experience. But the youngsters would not let me get into it. They frightened the rickshaw boy out of his life, and he took to his heels. As we went ahead, the crowd continued to swell, until it became impossible to proceed further. They first caught hold of Mr. Laughton and separated us. Then they pelted me with stones, brickbats and rotten eggs. Some- one snatched away my turban, whilst others began to batter and kick me. I fainted and caught hold of the front railings of a house and stood there to get my breath. But it was impossible. They came upon me boxing and battering. The wife of the Police Superinten- dent, who knew me, happened to be passing by. The brave lady came up, opened her parasol though there was no sun then, and stood between the crowd and me. This checked the fury of the mob, as it was difficult for them to deliver blows on me without harming Mrs. Alexander.
Meanwhile an Indian youth who witnessed the incident had run to the police station. The Police Superintendent Mr. Alexander sent a posse of men to ring me round and escort me safely to my desti- nation. They arrived in time. The police station lay on our way. As we reached there, the Superintendent asked me to take refuge in the station, but I gratefully declined the offer. ‘They are sure to quiet down when they realize their mistake,’ I said. ‘I have trust in their sense of fairness? Escorted by the police, I arrived without further harm at Mr. Rustomji’s place. I had bruises all over, but no abrasions except in one place. Dr. Dadibarjor, the ship’s doctor, who was on the spot, rendered the best Possible help, There was quiet inside, but outside the whites surrounded the house. Night was coming on, and the yelling crowd was shouting, ‘We must have Gandhi. The quicksighted Police Superintendent was already there trying to 1 keep the crowds under control, not by threats, but by humouring them. But he was not entirely free from anxiety. He sent me a message to this effect: : ‘If you would save your friend’s house and property and also your family, you should escape from the house in disguise, as I suggest,’ THE TEST 141 It is idle to adjudicate upon the right and wrong of incidents that have already happened. It is useful to understand them and, if possi- ble, to learn a lesson from them for the future. It is difficult to say for certain how a particular man would act in a particular set of circumstances. We can also see that judging a man from his outward act is no more than a doubtful inference, inasmuch as it is not based on sufficient data.
Be that as it may, the preparations for escape made me forget my injuries. As suggested by the Superintendent, I put on an Indian constable’s uniform and wore on my head a Madrasi scarf, wrapped round a plate to serve as a helmet. Two detectives accompanied me, one of them disguised as an Indian merchant and with his face painted to resemble that of an Indian. I forget the disguise of the other, We reached a neighbouring shop by a by-lane and, making our way through the gunny bags piled in the godown, escaped by the gate of the shop and threaded our way through the crowd to a carriage that had been kept for me at the end of the street. In this we drove off to the same police station where Mr. Alexander had offered me refuge a short time before, and I thanked him and the detective officers.
Whilst I had been thus effecting my escape, Mr. Alexander had kept the crowd amused by singing the tune: ‘ Hang old Gandhi On the sour apple tree.’ - When he was informed of my safe arrival at the police station, he thus broke the news to the crowd: ‘Well, your victim has maoo good his escape through a neighbouring shop. You had be = go home now.’ Some of them were angry, others laughed, some refuse! to believe the story.
5 ’ sai uperintendent, ‘if you do not believe me, ee ae aie representatives, whom I ma hai 4 take inside the house. If they succeed in finding out Nee j ye gladly deliver him to you. But if they fail, you ut Tat gen sure that you have no intention of destroying Mr. Rusto j or of harming Mr. Gandhi’s wife and children.
i i h the house. They Th ent their representatives to searc c soon PR “with disappointing news, and the crowd broke up at last, most of them admiring the Superintendent’s tactful handling of the station: and a few fretting and fuming.
erlain, who was then Secretary of State for the a T OE the Natal Government to pee my assailants. Mr. Escombe sent for me, expressed his sears foe the injuries I had sustained, and said: Believe me, I sate eel A over the least little injury done to your person. zon r R right to accept Mr. Laughton’s advice and to face the worst, bu am sure 142 MY EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH that, if you had considered my suggestion favourably, these sad oc- currences would not have happened. If you can identify the assailants, I am prepared to arrest and prosecute them. Mr. Chamberlain also desires me to do so.’
To which I gave the following reply: ‘I do not want to prosecute anyone. It is possible that I may be able to identify one or two of them, but what is the use of getting them punished? Besides, I do not hold the assailants to blame. They were given to understand that I had made exaggerated statements in India about the whites in Natal and calumniated them. If they believed these reports, it is no wonder that they. were enraged. The leaders, and, if you will permit me to say so, you are to blame. You could have guided the people properly, but you also believed Reuter and assumed that I must have indulged in exaggeration. I do not want to bring anyone to book. I am sure that, when the truth becomes known, they will be sorry for their conduct.’
‘Would you mind giving me this in writing?’ said Mr. Escombe. ‘Because I shall have to cable to Mr. Chamberlain to that effect, I do not want you to make any statement in haste. You may, if you like, consult Mr. Laughton and your other friends, before you come to a final decision. I may confess, however, that, if you waive the right of bringing your assailants to book, you will considerably help me in restoring quiet, besides enhancing your own reputation,’ ‘Thank you,’ said I. ‘I need not consult an decision in the matter before I came to you. I I should not prosecute the assailants, to reduce my decision to writing.’
With this I gave him the necessary statement, yone. I had made my t is my conviction that and I am prepared this moment IV THE CALM AFTER THE STORM I had not yet left the police station, when. after t wo d taken to see Mr, Escombe. Two constables were sent to aan Oe. though no such Precaution was then needed. i On the day of landin.
THE CALM AFTER THE STORM 143 Naderi to South Africa. Many of them were old residents, and most of them, far from wanting to stay in Natal, meant to go to the Trans- vaal. In those days the Transvaal offered better prospects than Natal to those coming in search of wealth, and most Indians, therefore, preferred to go there.
This interview and my refusal to prosecute the assailants produced such a profound impression that the Europeans of Durban were ashamed of their conduct. The press declared me to be innocent and condemned the mob. Thus the lynching ultimately proved to be a blessing for me, that is, for the cause. It enhanced the prestige of the Indian community in South Africa and made my work easier.
In three or four days I went to my house, and it was not long before I settled down again. The incident added also to my professional practice.
But if it enhanced the prestige of the community, it also fanned the flame of prejudice against it. As soon as it was proved that the Indian could put up a manly fight, he came to be regarded asa danger. Two bills were introduced in the Natal Legislative Assembly, One of them calculated to affect the Indian trader adversely, and the other to impose a stringent restriction on Indian immigration. Fortu- nately the fight for the franchise had resulted in a decision to the effect that no enactment might be passed against the Indians as Such, that is to say, that the law should make no distinctions of colour or race. The language of the bills above mentioned made them appli- cable to all, but their object undoubtedly was to impose further restrictions on the Indian residents of Natal.
i i bly increased my public work and made the eee ees hadi ever to their sense of duty. They were translated into Indian languages and fully explained, so as to bring home to the community their subtle implications. We appealed to the Colonial Secretary, but he refused to interfere and the bills became aw,; i an to absorb most of my time. Sjt. Mansukhlal E wank gon Boe said, was already in Durban, came to stay With me, and as he gave his time to public work, he lightened my burden to some extent.