141. LETTER TO V. S. SRINIVASA SASTRI, JUNE 4, 1928

Sabarmati,

June 4, 1928

My dear friend and brother,

You are posting me regularly with the events on your side. They help me much.

I am writing this week a cautious article in Young India on the two judgments. If possible, I shall send you an advance copy.

Pragji⁽¹⁾ has written a long letter to me. He is a good man. I have acted upon your cablegram and cabled to our friends there that they should rely on you for guidance.

I do hope you are keeping well.

Yours sincerely,

Collected Works, Volume 36, page 363

Two very important cases have been decided recently by the Transvaal Provincial Division of the Supreme Court of South Africa. One of them, S. B. Medh v. Immigrants Appeal Board, though important in itself, affects only a few special cases of Indians who received exemption certificates under the Smuts-Gandhi Settlement as being educated Indians. It was contended by the Union Government that the exemptions were not complete. I need not go into greater detail. The Court has now found that the exemptions were complete in the sense submitted on behalf of the appellant.

The other case, Daya Purshottam v. Immigrants Appeal Board, has far-reaching consequences for the Indian settlers. The judgment in this case lays down that section 5 of Act 37 of 1927 does not possess retrospective effect. Hence certificates obtained by fraudulent means do not become cancellable at the will of the Immigration Board or the Immigration Officer. If this judgment stands, holders of certificates even though they were originally tainted will remain undisturbed. This is a great victory for the settlers. I have no desire to see fraud in any shape or form protected. But the case of these settlers is not one of ordinary fraud. In many cases, at least up to 1914 the Asiatic Office⁽²⁾ was a corrupt department and it made it practically impossible for bona fide entrants to enter unless they resorted to some crooked means so as to satisfy the greed of the Asiatic officers. Where Government officials are privy to fraud, it ill becomes that Government to punish the helpless victims.

Cables from the South African settlers tell me that the Government are appealing against the two decisions. I venture to suggest to the Union Government that it would be more in keeping with their conciliatory attitude and the spirit of the new understanding that they do not seek to deprive the Indians of the advantage the two appeals give them. The judgment in the first appeal protects only a few individuals. And in their case there is no question of fraud. The judgment in the second appeal protects a fair number of those who are already in the Union. It will be no serious calamity for the Union to have to absorb a few more Indians than the Government had counted upon. The Union Government should remember that these appeals are very expensive affairs especially for the poor Indians. It is hardly fair for an organised powerful Government to take successful citizens through appellate courts and thus exhaust them into submission or worse. It may be well to possess a giant`s strength, but it is admittedly wrong to use it against dwarfs.

The settlers will do well not to set much store by their success in these two appeals. They have in Sjt. Sastri a great friend and adviser. Let them press their suit as much as ever before him but having done so let them abide by his advice. He will use in their behalf all the influence he has acquired with the Union Government. I welcome their cables. I appreciate the trust they repose in me. But my power to help them from this distance and in the changed circumstances I found myself in 1920 is much too limited to be of value. Their strength therefore lies in their unity, moderation and reliance upon one who is not merely Agent-General for the Government of India but is their true and powerful friend and guide.

Young India, June 7, 1928; Collected Works, Volume 36, pages 371-72

A cable from the Secretary, South African Indian Congress, Johannesburg, says:

"CONDONATION SCHEME ACCEPTED. ILLEGAL ENTRANTS IN THE UNION NOW IN INDIA MUST EITHER RETURN BEFORE 30TH SEPTEMBER NEXT OR SEND APPLICATIONS TO REACH BEFORE THAT DATE THE COMMISSIONER, ASIATIC AFFAIRS, PRETORIA. AFTER SENDING APPLICATIONS THEY MUST RETURN TO THE UNION BEFORE 30TH MARCH, 1929. GIVE WIDE NEWSPAPER PUBLICITY ALL PARTS INDIA."

This ends the agitation that was going on in South Africa in respect of the condonation scheme and was making the Rt. Hon. Sastri`s position difficult and causing an anxious time in South Africa as well as here. Let those Indians, who have domiciled rights in South Africa, are holders of certificates and are desirous of availing themselves of the right of return, make haste to send their applications so as to reach the Commissioner of Asiatic Affairs, Pretoria, on or before the 30th September next, unless they propose to proceed to South Africa themselves so as to reach there before that date. Each applicant should give full particulars, giving name, address, occupation, date and number of certificates and disclose all relevant facts. The application should be sent by registered post in good time...

Young India, July 19, 1928; Collected Works, Volume 37, pages 72-73

A friend writes from South Africa:

"Reuter cabled from India that the South African Indians are sending every month five lakhs of rupees for the Bardoli no-tax campaign. A mischievous thing, besides being a gross exaggeration. The prejudice caused by the remittance of moneys to India will now be deepened and given a sharp edge. So far as I have been able to ascertain, about £500 have been sent in all for the Bardoli fund."⁽³⁾

It has not been without pain that I have followed the campaign of lies that has gathered round the Bardoli struggle. Nothing was evidently considered too mean or too palpably absurd to damage a cause which had no secrecy about it and which was intended to cause no injury to a single soul and which had no direct political aim. Without verification and probably from malice prepense the falsehood that lakhs of rupees were being received by satyagrahis from South Africa was given currency. Well, the cause of satyagraha was not damaged by the false statement. But the cause of Indians in South Africa can be easily damaged if the white colonists can be persuaded that vast sums of money are being sent from South Africa to Bardoli and that to sustain an agitation which they may dislike. I hope however that not much notice was taken of the statement in South Africa. Anyway I can corroborate what the correspondent says. Anyone can look at the accounts lying at Bardoli or receipts for the Bardoli Fund and he will find that the correspondent`s information is much nearer the truth than the inflammatory statement cabled to South Africa.

Young India, August 16, 1928; Collected Works, Volume 37, pages 182-83

145. TELEGRAM TO V. S. SRINIVASA SASTRI, SEPTEMBER 20, 1928

RIGHT HONOURABLE SASTRI

PRETORIA

PRAY INTEREST YOURSELF IN ABOOBAKER`S PRETORIA PROPERTY. OMER JHAVERI HIS BROTHER WILL SEE YOU. PROPERTY WAS MATTER PUBLIC SETTLEMENT OF 1908. IT MUST BE PRESERVED FOR HEIRS AND SUCCESSORS

GANDHI⁽⁴⁾

Collected Works, Volume 37, page 291

A graphic letter received this week from an eye- witness describes the now famous Klerksdorp incident of which the South African press is full. Though nothing remains or needs to be said from the political standpoint after the full, free and frank apology from the Union Government, too much cannot be said of Sjt. Sastri`s generous and courageous behaviour in the face of a plot which might have proved fatal in its result. The letter before me shows how this true son and representative of India stood his ground without the least nervousness even when the lights were put out by the party that had come led by the Deputy Mayor to break up the meeting he was addressing. And when the firing of an explosive had made the meeting hall too suffocating for the audience, Sjt. Sastri went outside and, as if nothing untoward or serious had happened, finished his speech without even referring to the incident. Popular as he had already become among the Europeans of South Africa before this incident, his cool courage and generous behaviour raised him still further in this estimation.⁽⁵⁾ And as he wanted no fame for himself (few men would be found shier than Sjt. Sastri of fame), he turned his popularity to the advancement of the cause he has represented with such singular ability and success. During his all too brief stay in South Africa he has immensely raised the status of our countrymen in that part of the world. Let us hope that they will by their exemplary conduct show themselves worthy of him.

But Sastri`s contribution to the solution of the difficult and delicate problem of South Africa does not rest merely upon what was after all an accident. We know nothing except through the results of the inner working of the ambassador`s office in which he had to exhaust all his art of a diplomacy that comes from a conviction of the correctness of one`s cause and that spurns to do or countenance anything wrong, mean or crooked. But we do know how unsparing he has been in the use on behalf of his cause of the gifts of eloquence, scholarship, both English and Sanskrit, and great and varied learning with which nature has lavishly endowed him. He has been delivering to large and select audiences of Europeans lectures on Indian philosophy and culture which have stirred European imagination and softened the hard crust of prejudice which has hitherto prevented the general body of Europeans from seeing anything good in the Indian. These lectures are perhaps his greatest and the most permanent contribution to the Indian cause in South Africa.

It must be a serious problem for the Government of India to choose Sjt. Sastri`s successor. He has persistently withstood all pressure to prolong his stay in South Africa. Letters from South Africa show me how our people dread Sjt. Sastri`s impending departure. It will be a calamity if a worthy successor is not found to continue the mission so successfully inaugurated and represented by Sjt. Sastri. Tradition has, I hope, been set up at the Viceregal Lodge of treating the office of India`s Agent in South Africa as neutral ground which the Government and popular parties may jointly tread. It is to be hoped that the successor to be chosen will be one who will commend himself equally to the Government and the people, and who will truly represent not merely the Government of India but the people as well.

Young India, October 18, 1928; Collected Works, Volume 37, pages 368-69

147. TELEGRAM TO G. D. BIRLA, OCTOBER 30, 1928⁽⁶⁾

Ahmedabad,

October 30, 1928

...ON GENERAL GROUNDS INVITATION SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNALISTS ADVISABLE

GANDHI

Collected Works, Volume 37, page 417

148. LETTER TO SIR MAHOMED HABIBULLAH, NOVEMBER 3, 1928

Satyagraha Ashram, Sabarmati,

November 3, 1928

Dear friend,

I have your letter. I knew Sjt. Sastri`s suggestion. I do think that the South African journalists` coming to India is likely to result in a better understanding.

Yours sincerely,

Sir Mahomed Habibullah Saheb Bahadur, K.C.I.E.

Member, Viceroy`s Council,

New Delhi

Collected Works, Volume 38, page 10

I have hitherto resisted the publication of the many tributes to the Rt. Hon. Sastri`s work in South Africa that I have found in the cuttings friends in South Africa have sent me. But now that his return to the Motherland is imminent, I cannot resist the temptation to quote in full the following ungrudging tribute from Professor Bell of Cape Town.⁽⁷⁾

His official work, great as it has been, has been outweighed by his unofficial contribution. His transparent sincerity and his passionate love of his country made him give unstintingly the whole of his matchless gifts to the service of the cause that took him to South Africa. The result is a changed atmosphere in that sub-continent and a smoother passage for his successor. Let me hope that the great service rendered by the distinguished patriot to the country will be crowned by a rousing reception on his landing, not for his sake but for ours.⁽⁸⁾

Young India, January 31, 1929; Collected works, Volume 38, page 415

150. INTERVIEW TO SOUTH AFRICAN VISITOR⁽⁹⁾

...The third (interview) was with a highly educated African from South Africa. He had received his education in America but had returned to the home of his ancestors to serve his people. He was very much pained at the apathy of educated Africans towards their own race. "They become altogether like aliens, they are lost to the race," he bitterly complained.

"We are crushed, trampled upon and oppressed. We do not know which way to turn. The bulk of us are ignorant. The daughter of ignorance is poverty. The two processes go hand in hand and move in a vicious circle. Then there is the outside force, pitiless and unrelenting like a blind force of Nature without any possibility of reprieve or appeal. We feel stricken and overwhelmed. Instinctively we turn to India for a message of hope and deliverance, for we believe that India has a mission to fulfil with regard to all the oppressed races of the world."

Gandhiji was deeply touched.

"I had occasion to discuss this subject with the Natives while I was in South Africa. I told them that they had got to help themselves and always to work in the hope that help would come to them from somewhere when the hour for it arrived. In the meantime they had to prepare themselves for it by a process of self-purification."

"I see your point, but what we want to understand from you is how to relate this inner process with the actual problems of the day that confront us - how to set this process of self-purification in motion."

"The first step is to turn the searchlight inward, to proclaim your feelings to yourself and the world. There is nothing so debasing and demoralising as to conceal your weakness and profess to have strength which you do not possess. The second thing would be to set about boldly and fearlessly to purify public life. Unfortunately a belief has today sprung up that one`s private character has nothing to do with one`s public activity. This superstition must go. Our public workers must set about the task of reforming society by reforming themselves first. This spiritual weapon of self-purification, intangible as it seems, is the most potent means for revolutionising one`s environment and for loosening external shackles. It works subtly and invisibly; it is an intensive process and though it might often seem a weary and long-drawn-out process, it is the straightest way to liberation, the surest and the quickest, and no effort can be too great for it. What it requires is faith - an unshakable, mountain-like faith that flinches from nothing."

Gandhiji thought that he had said enough and that the conversation was finished, but the African friend sprang a big surprise upon him by telling him how much interested he had been in India`s effort to revive the cottage industries of spinning and weaving. He was, he said, anxious to introduce it among his own people who were victims of the economic and moral consequences of unemployment and idleness. What appealed to him most about spinning was the possibilities for awakening and fostering a sense of solidarity and oneness among his people.

"We have some villages that grow their own food. We have experimentally begun to grow cotton also. We want now to teach our people to manufacture their own cloth and thus to make our villages practically self-contained. It will give us a new social vision, and a new mass consciousness."

He was sure that spinning could become a most potent means of mobilising race consciousness against imperialistic exploitation. He enquired whether Gandhiji could send a teacher to South Africa. Gandhiji said his son Manilal could teach spinning.

"But I make a better and sporting offer. I would undertake to take six young men here free of charge and give them a full course of training here. Only they will have to accommodate themselves to the discipline and the simplicity of life that prevails here."

The African friend was pleased with the offer and said:

"Certainly, my people should lead a simple life. I shall certainly try to avail myself of your offer. I hope to write to you from South Africa."

Young India, March 28, 1929; Collected Works, Volume 40, pages 61-64

The Secretaries of the South African (Indian) Congress have sent me the following letter:⁽¹⁰⁾

"It was stated that the Government of India have taken no steps to assist the repatriates, that they are stranded and are unable to find employment, that the present-day conditions in India are not congenial to them, that reports have been read conveyed by letters from repatriates, that owing to absence of work and assistance from the authorities, they are either starving or undergoing much suffering and consequently many of them have, by force of adverse circumstances, migrated to Fiji or Malaya.

"In the Cape Town Agreement, one of the conditions accepted by the Government of India in regard to the scheme is that on their arrival in India the emigrants will be helped as far as possible to settle in the occupations for which they are best suited by their aptitude or their resources...

"Judging from the report received from the repatriates, it is doubtful whether the Government of India are doing anything at all to help the repatriates...

"This Congress will be extremely grateful to you if you will afford information on the subject so that it may be guided in making full representations to the authorities."

I refrain from offering any comment at the present moment. But I shall await some statement from the authorities. There is no doubt that if these repatriates are to be received, they must be specially cared for. India to most of them is like a foreign land.

Young India, May 2, 1929; Collected Works, Volume 40, page 325

The office of the Agent of the Government of India in South Africa is certainly not a bed of roses. Sir K. V. Reddi⁽¹¹⁾ , I see from the mail letter received from South Africa, is having his hands full. The greatest cause of anxiety so far as I can see is in connection with trade licences in the area known as the Gold Area in the Transvaal. The largest number of Indian traders in the Transvaal are to be found in this area and these trade licences are a matter of life and death for them. They have built up large business in the hope of being able to have their licences renewed from year to year. Having survived the danger in the Kruger regime⁽¹²⁾ of their businesses being summarily closed at any time, they have rightly or wrongly come to believe that their licences will be perpetually renewed so long as they carry on an honest trade. I have certainly thought that the settlement of 1914⁽¹³⁾ covered all these traders and their successors. If these were not vested rights, I do not know what vested rights could be in the Transvaal for them.

But now I understand that municipalities are refusing to issue these licences, taking cover under a section of Gold Law. Legally speaking, perhaps the Gold Law would prohibit Asiatics` trading. But that law was in existence even during the Kruger regime. It was in existence in 1914 when this settlement was arrived at. Therefore Sir K.V. Reddi should have no difficulty in securing protection for these traders.

The agreement which was brought about by the Habibullah deputation contemplates levelling up of the British Indian position in South Africa. Levelling up will be a meaningless term for these traders if the only means of earning their bread and butter is taken away from them. It is necessary therefore for public opinion here to strengthen the hands of the Agent in South Africa and the hands of the Government of India in prosecuting the claim for the protection of these traders.

The matter is not free from difficulty I know. There is the general election pending in South Africa. The Union Ministers left to themselves will probably grant the protection that is so desirable. And that should be considered as obligatory if there is to be an honourable fulfilment of the Cape pact.⁽¹⁴⁾ But the electoral conditions in South Africa are not very different from these conditions in other parts of the world. But however difficult the situation may be, these traders must be protected.

There is a proper, legitimate, easy way out of the difficulty apart from fresh legislation. Law 3 of 1885 of the Transvaal is still in existence. The Gold Law does not supersede that law. Therefore the Gold Law has got to be read in conjunction with the Law 3 of 1885. Now that law enables the Government to declare wards, streets and locations as proper for Indian habitation and trade. It is open therefore to the Union Government by administrative action to declare such areas where Indians are now trading to be proper places for Indian trade and residence.

There are other matters equally delicate but I need not refer to them at this stage as the danger in connection with them is not imminent and as it is necessary for public opinion to be crystallised and to concentrate over this single imminent danger.

Young India, May 16, 1929; Collected Works, Volume 40, pages 387-88

Sabarmati,

August 20, 1929

Dear friend,

I thank you for your very full letter. I have been delayed in replying to it, owing to my peregrinations and then illness from which, by the grace of God, I am recovering.

I do hope that the trade licences matter has been or will be satisfactorily settled. I continue to receive anxious enquiries from South Africa. I am obliged to tell them all that they should worry you and not expect much from here. However, when you think that intensive work here will assist you, you will please tell me.

The news you give me about matters educational is most encouraging. The success of Sastri College must in the end go a long way towards raising our status in South Africa.

I know how true you are when you tell me about our people`s apathy in matters in which they are expected to exert themselves. I know even in our time the difficulties of the poor vegetable hawkers. It was their amazing industry that I thought enabled them to walk long distances early in the morning and dispose of, in the best manner they could, their produce before 9 a.m. May success attend your effort on their behalf.

Thank you for interesting yourself in Manilal and his wife. I hope they are helpful.

Yours sincerely,

Collected Works, Volume 41, pages 304-05

The insulting and impossible (for a self-respecting man) conditions imposed by the Union Government on the Ali Brothers in respect of their contemplated visit to South Africa⁽¹⁵⁾ demonstrate once more the truth of the proverb: "The leopard cannot change his spots." One had thought that after the friendly agreement arrived at the historic Round Table Conference, after the wonderful work done by the Rt. Hon. Sastri in South Africa, the insult offered to the Ali Brothers and through them to the nation by the Union Government was impossible. In view of the undertaking voluntarily given by the Brothers, the Union Government could have felt sure that they would never deliver political speeches. With reference to notabilities the convention is to assume correct conduct on their part without the necessity of imposing galling restrictions. And even when in such cases there is any doubt about such conduct, the convention is to ensure safety through diplomatic and courteous channels. For instance in this very case the Union Government, instead of conveying the restrictions to the Ali Brothers, could have secured their purpose through the Government of India - in so far as it was legitimate. In no case could they exact pecuniary security or impose a ridiculous time-limit as the Union Government have sought to do. It is to be hoped that the Government of India will see that this palpable wrong is righted, the restrictions are wholly withdrawn and the Brothers permitted to proceed to South Africa without hurting their self-respect and without undue restrictions, direct or indirect, tacit or implied.

Young India, September 5, 1929; Collected Works, Volume 41, page 354

The following cable, which I have extended, has been received by me from the Secretaries of the South African Indian Congress:

"AT AN EMERGENCY EXECUTIVE MEETING HELD AT DURBAN ON THE SITUATION ARISING OUT OF RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED UPON THE ALI BROTHERS` CONTEMPLATED VISIT TO THE UNION BY THE UNION GOVERNMENT, THE SUBJECT OCCUPIED THE EARNEST CONSIDERATION OF THE COMMITTEE AND THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION WAS PASSED:

"'SOUTH AFRICAN INDIAN CONGRESS EXECUTIVE AS REPRESENTING THE INDIAN COMMUNITY OF SOUTH AFRICA DEEPLY DEPLORES CONDITIONS IMPOSED BY THE UNION GOVERNMENT UPON THE CONTEMPLATED VISIT OF THE ALI BROTHERS TO THE UNION, AND HEREBY REQUESTS THE AGENT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA TO TAKE ALL THE NECESSARY STEPS FOR THE REMOVAL OF ALL SUCH CONDITIONS.`"

We know now what the result of the Agent`s intervention has been. The obstinate refusal of the Union Government to waive the restrictions, especially in view of the unsolicited and gentlemanly assurance of the Ali Brothers not to engage in any political controversy or discussion during their sojourn in South Africa, shows in what estimate even the Government of India is held by the Union Government. That estimate will persist so long as the Government of India is an irresponsible Government and therefore remains a body whose wishes can be flouted with impunity by any foreign Government, whether it may be one occupying the Dominion Status or one wholly unconnected with Great Britain. I fear that we will have to submit to such humiliation so long as we, through our own disunion, dissensions and the like, remain impotent and powerless to help ourselves.

Young India, September 26, 1929; Collected Works, Volume 41, page 470

156. LETTER TO THE REV. C. F. ANDREWS, APRIL 19, 1931

...And now for the Transvaal question. It is becoming more and more difficult day after day. Unless India comes to her own in the near future, I see no prospect of improvement in the situation. Of course the resident Indian population will somehow drag on its existence there. They have sufficient resourcefulness but it would be living from hand to mouth. However we must do all we can. Yours I know is just now the largest share. I have become almost incapacitated for that work. But when we meet we must discuss the situation and I might be able to find out some effective method of dealing with it...

Collected Works, Volume 46, pages 50-51

Pandit Benarsidas Chaturvedi and Swami Bhawani Dayal Sannyasi have prepared a well-reasoned report of an independent enquiry they held into the condition of emigrants repatriated to India under the assisted emigration scheme from South Africa.⁽¹⁶⁾ This report and the Swami`s telegram dated 16th ultimo, asking me to comment on it, telling me, "Condition worst, many starving, women half naked, children begging", have lain with me ever since. I am sorry that I have not been able to deal with the report earlier. The telegram from which I have quoted is an epitome of the report. The condition of our people, who find themselves strangers in their own land, is a disgrace alike to us and to the Government, but more to us than to the Government. No Government in the world can cope fully with such cases. Governments can only support to a limited extent voluntary public effort in such cases. It is really up to the merchant princes and other employers of labour in Calcutta to take a real interest in the welfare of such people, and find suitable employment for them.

But the condition of these people is a small consideration, compared with the cause that has reduced those repatriates to the condition in which they find themselves. There should have been no agreed repatriation at all, and if there was to be any, there should have been ample provision previously made to ensure proper occupation for them, and in any case there should never have been any consent to the repatriation of colonial-born Indians, of whom there are fully thirty-three percent in the Calcutta depot. But it is no use crying over spilt milk. The labours of the framers of the report will not have been in vain if at the time of the revision of the Cape Agreement, the rights of the poor labouring Indian population are not bartered away for doubtful concessions to the other Indian settlers. The position taken up by the latter is unassailable, and should depend on its own merits. The settlers themselves should therefore refuse to be party to any bargain, which would compromise the rights of their less favourably situated brethren. South Africa can easily absorb and accommodate the existing Indian population.

Young India, June 4, 1931; Collected Works, Volume 46, page 305.

Imam Saheb went to South Africa about the same year as I (1893). His real name was Abdul Kadir Bawazeer, but, as he served as Imam in South Africa, most people knew him as Imam Saheb. I always addressed him by that name.

The Imam Saheb`s father was the Muezzin of the famous Jumma Masjid in Bombay and served in that capacity right till his death. He died only a few years ago, after the Imam Saheb`s return to India. He fell dead just as he was washing and getting ready for the azan.⁽¹⁸⁾ Such a death comes only to the blessed. The Imam Saheb`s forefathers were Arabs and had come to India and settled in the Konkan years ago. Hence he knew the Konkani language too. His mother tongue was Gujarati, but he had little schooling. He knew Arabic well enough to be able to read from the Koran Sharif with a pleasing intonation, though not so well as to be able to understand everything in the Koran. He had picked up, through contacts in practical life, English, Dutch and Creole French. Urdu, of course, he knew. He had also a working knowledge of Zulu. His intellect was so sharp that, if he had regularly studied in a school, he would have earned reputation as a great scholar. Though he was not a lawyer, he had come to understand subtleties of law through practical experience.

The Imam Saheb had gone to South Africa for trade and had earned much. When he gave up business, he kept coaches which he supplied on hire and had a fairly good income from that calling. Being a man of independent temper, he never tried his fortune in big business. He had a sweet voice, and, since his father was a Muezzin, he occasionally officiated as Imam in the mosque in Johannesburg. But he accepted no honorarium for his services.

The Imam Saheb had married twice. Both the wives were Malays. His first marriage was not successful, and so he married the lady whom we knew as his wife. This marriage had given him much happiness. He and the Haji Saheba served each other with great devotion. He was a sincere friend. So far as I know, the Imam Saheb`s views about marriage had undergone a complete change and he had come to believe in monogamy...

My first meeting with Imam Saheb may be said to have taken place in 1903 in South Africa after my return to that country. He used to tell me that we had met once before that but I have no recollection of that meeting. When I set up practice as a lawyer in Johannesburg, he used to accompany clients to my office. He was an altogether different man then in appearance and manners. He used to dress himself in English style, and wore a Turkish cap. I immediately recognised his intelligence, but otherwise he did not produce a good impression on me at first. I thought him rather obstinate, but, as I came to know him better, I liked him more and more.

I saw, as I had more and more experience of dealing with him, that what I had thought to be obstinacy was only his eagerness to understand fully the implications of every point. If he held an opinion on any matter, he would not give it up till his reason was convinced of his error. He would not take a lawyer`s word as gospel truth in legal matters merely because he himself was not a lawyer, but would argue against him even in such matters. Though he had had no education, he had complete confidence in his judgment. Moreover, he had a proud sense of self-respect. I, therefore, saw very soon that he had sufficient strength of mind to cling to his own view without being overawed by anybody.

In the beginning, Imam Saheb used to come to me on behalf of clients and explain their cases to me. But he took interest in current affairs and would draw me into discussion about them. He evinced keen interest in discussing the hardships of our countrymen in South Africa and took part in the meetings, etc. On most issues, he supported me, but he never hesitated to oppose me even in public whenever he did not approve of my stand. Gradually, however, he was drawn towards me and, when the satyagraha commenced, proved himself as steadfast as a rock. Some fell and some weakened, and some opposed me bitterly, but I don`t remember Imam Saheb to have wavered at any time. When he was imprisoned for the first time, nobody expected that he would remain strong till the end. On the contrary, many persons told me, including some who held him in high respect, that he would not go to jail again, that he had a delicate constitution, was pleasure-loving and had many wants. This was on the whole true. However, Imam Saheb never weakened, whereas I saw many who were known to be simple in their habits withdrawing from the struggle. Imam Saheb`s capacity for self-sacrifice was very great, and, though he would think long before taking a decision, he showed wonderful strength in clinging to a decision once taken.

When Imam Saheb plunged into the struggle, he had no thought at all that he would have to break up his home and embrace a life of complete renunciation. As soon, however, as he saw that if he wished to remain staunch in the satyagraha movement he would have to give up the attachment to his home, he did so almost in an instant. This was no small sacrifice on his part.

We should remember that Imam Saheb had set up his home in English style. Haji Saheba had lived in that style from her very birth. Fatima and Amina also were brought up like English children. For one who had lived in this manner, it was extremely difficult to curtail his heavy expenditure and adopt an utterly simple mode of life. For Imam Saheb, however, once he had made up his mind to do a particular thing, it was quite easy to carry out his resolve. And, therefore, when I decided to leave Johannesburg and to settle in Phoenix, he himself proposed that he, too, would live there.⁽¹⁹⁾

Though I knew his firmness of mind, I was completely at a loss what to say in reply to his proposal. I described to him the hardships of life in Phoenix. A man who had never put his body to the slightest trouble and had always lived surrounded by comforts and luxuries, I wondered how such a person would be able to start forthwith living like a labourer. Even if he himself could bear the hardships of life in Phoenix, what about Haji Saheba, and Fatima and Amina, I asked. Imam Saheb`s reply was brief. He said: "I have put my trust in God. And you do not know Haji Saheba. She will always be ready to live where I live, and as I live. If, therefore, you have no other difficulty in the matter, I have decided to come and live in Phoenix. No one knows when the struggle will end. I don`t think I shall be able to carry on my old business of supplying coaches on hire, or take up any other occupation. Like you, I too have realised that a satyagrahi should give up love of wealth and possessions." Imam Saheb`s proposal pleased me very much. I wrote to my co-workers in Phoenix. They also welcomed the proposal. And so Imam Saheb and his family came over.

Many inmates of Ashram probably do not know that Imam Saheb joined the residents of Phoenix in all their activities. Everybody fetched water for his or her own use from a spring below. It flowed at some depth below the level of the Phoenix Settlement. The Phoenix buildings were on a hill and one had to climb about fifty feet to reach the place. Imam Saheb had a delicate constitution even at that time, but every morning one saw him walking down to the spring with a kavad⁽²⁰⁾ on his shoulders and climbing up slowly with the buckets filled with water. The place now occupied by the spinning-wheel in the Ashram was held in Phoenix by the printing press. All the inmates, boys and girls, old men and women, educated and uneducated, had to work in some department of the press. There were all kinds of big or small tasks, composing, folding the printed copies of the paper, making wrappers, pasting stamps, moving the wheel with the hand whenever the machine stopped, etc., etc. Everybody was required to give some time and help in these tasks, especially on the day on which the journal was to be published. Imam Saheb, Haji Saheba, Fatima and Amina, all four of them joined in this work. Imam Saheb had learned composing. For a man of his temper and habits and of his age, this was indeed wonderful. In this way, Imam Saheb identified himself completely with the life at Phoenix. He and the other members of his family were non-vegetarian, but I don`t remember any time when they cooked such food at Phoenix.

This, however, does not mean that Imam Saheb was in any way a less devout Muslim. He never missed namaz, nor did he or his family ever fail to observe the roza. By adopting the manner of life of the other inmates and making a sacrifice for their sake, he really demonstrated the nobility of Islamic culture.

Imam Saheb`s capacity for self-sacrifice was to be put to a still more severe test. He went to jail again several times, and proved himself a model prisoner. When, however, in the year 1914 it was decided that most of the inmates of the Ashram should return to India, leaving only a few of them in Phoenix, Imam Saheb was put to a real test. South Africa had practically become his home. Haji Saheba, Fatima and Amina were complete strangers to India and did not know any Indian language - a little English and Dutch was all the language that they knew. But Imam Saheb took no time to come to a decision. He had made up his mind that he and his family would live wherever I did. That was his self- sacrifice for the cause of satyagraha and his contribution towards Hindu-Muslim unity...

(From Gujarati)

Collected Works, Volume 49, pages 183-84, 202-03, 217-19

159. SPEECH AT TEMPERANCE ASSOCIATION, BANGALORE, JANUARY 7, 1934

...When as a young man I went to South Africa, I observed that the coolies, indentured Indians, were fast going down owing to the drink habit. The law in South Africa made it a crime for indentured Indians to carry drink home. They could drink as much as they liked at the canteen. The result was that many women were found literally lying in gutters. It was not a thing of which any Indian could be proud. I pleaded with the Government, but mine was a voice in the wilderness. So the thing went on. But it made a lasting impression on my mind. I knew what I had to do when I came to India after a long exile.

I am not a temperance man. I am a prohibition man. I fought with my countrymen in South Africa and said, "We should not fight for an equal right to drink." I could not persuade them for a long time, but I did succeed in persuading a majority of them that to fight for rights was one thing and to fight for indulgence in vice was another...

Collceted Works, Volume 56, pages 449-450

160. LETTER TO SIR PURUSHOTTAMDAS THAKURDAS, SEPTEMBER 13, 1936

Dear Sir Purushottamdas,

You will please explain to the South African delegation my sincere regret over my inability to welcome them in person.⁽²¹⁾ Apart from convalescence it is difficult for me to tear myself away from my new home, Segaon. I pray to God that this visit may result in removing cobwebs of misunderstanding and bringing the two countries closer together.

Yours sincerely,

M. K. Gandhi

Collected Works, Volume 63, page 280

Dear Mr. Hofmeyer,

It was a great pleasure to receive your warm letter. I do hope you are having a profitable time in this land and that you find the people you meet to be hospitable.

It will be a matter of regret to me that although you have so many friends in India, we may not meet at all.

You may be interested to know that the paper I am writing on is hand-made written with a village reed pen. You ought not to leave India without seeing some typical villages. Of course it is foolish of me to expect you to visit Wardha and Segaon and glance at the humble effort we are making.

With kind regards to you and fellow members,

Yours sincerely,

M. K. Gandhi

Collected Works, Volume 63, page 351

1. Pragjivan Desai

2.In the Transvaal

3.A satyagraha was conducted by peasants in Bardoli from February 1928 - under the leadership of Vallabhbhai Patel and the guidance of Gandhiji - against an increase of land revenue assessment. It ended with a settlement on August 6, 1928.

4. On the same day, Gandhiji cabled Mr. Jhaveri in Durban asking him to see Mr. Sastri. Collected Works, Volume 37, page 291.

Please see also item 124 above.

5. The Anti-Asiatic party continued its agitation even after the Cape Town Agreement, and attempted a boycott of the Indian shops.

In September 1928, when Mr. Sastri was invited to address a meeting in the Town Hall of Klerksdorp, chaired by the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor led a group anti-Indian demonstrators who shouted insults at Mr. Sastri and tried to disrupt the meeting. After they exploded a stink bomb, the meeting was adjourned to the outside and Mr. Sastri resumed his speech.

The South African Government apologised for the incident.

6. This concerns a suggestion by Mr. Sastri that a group of journalists from South Africa be invited to India.

7. Not reproduced here.

8. For further tributes to Mr. Sastri, please see Collected Works, Volume 39, page 425, and Volume 40, page 54.

9. Based on the report by Pyarelal. The interview took place before March 1, 1929; the exact date is not available.

10. Only extracts are reproduced here.

11. Sir Kurma Venkata Reddi, Agent of the Government of India in South Africa, 1929-32

12. The government of the South African Republic, headed by President Paul Kruger, before the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902

13. Smuts-Gandhi agreement of June 30, 1914. Please see Appendix I.

14. The Cape Town Agreement of 1927 between the Union of South Africa and India

15. Moulana Mohamed Ali and Moulana Shaukat Ali, then prominent nationalist leaders of India, were invited by the Cape British Indian Council. The Union Government imposed conditions on the visit, such as that they should undertake not to discuss political matters of any kind.

The two Moulanas then decided not to visit the Union.

16. A Report on the Emigrants Repatriated to India under the Assisted Emigration Scheme from South Africa and on the Problem of Returned Emigrants from all Colonies, May 15, 1931

17 Letters to the inmates of the Ashram, March 7, 14 and 21, 1932

18. Call to the faithful

19. Gandhiji closed the Tolstoy Farm in Johannesburg in January 1913 and moved to Phoenix Settlement near Durban with some passive resisters and their children in the school at Tolstoy Farm.

20. Two baskets or vessels suspended from the ends of a stick carried horizontally over the shoulders

21. A South African Parliamentary delegation, consisting of eleven members of Parliament, led by J. H. Hofmeyer, Union Minister of the Interior, visited India for 26 days.

Sir Purushottamdas, a businessman who had taken a special interest in Indians overseas, handed over the letter of Gandhiji to Mr. Hofmeyer on arrival of the delegation in Bombay on September 19, 1936.