Tore

Grant Tore
SCHC 328- Dr. Patel
Reading Response 3- Week 7
That in every individual a spiritual element is manifested that gives life to all that
existsand attains this aim through love, wrote Leo Tolstoy in A Letter to a Hindu3. As more
and more Indians began to question the administration of British imperialism, both in India and
South Africa, Gandhis role in the sociopolitical atmosphere was just being born. Having studied
law in London and struggling to practice as a barrister in India, Gandhis career took him to
South Africa. It was clear that during this time in his early life, Gandhi certainly felt [his]
loyalty to the British rulethat if [he] demanded rights as a British citizen, it was also [his] duty,
as such, to participate in the defence of the British Empire1. However, given the climate of
racial relations in South Africa, between the British, the Boers, the Indians and the native
Africans, this would prove to be difficult.
Initially, Gandhi balanced a variety of jobs in South Africa, taking cases, drafting
petitions to the government, and writing for and supervising, long-distance, the production of
Indian Opinion2. Through this text, many of the profound influences on Gandhis life could be
observed. Among these were revolutionary and revival movements in Japan and China, the
presence of Dadabhai Naoroji at the India House in London, the death of industrialist J.N.
Tata, and the creation of the Phoenix farm by John Dube in South Africa2. In addition, Russian
reformer Leo Tolstoy inspired the formation of Gandhis political perspective as well. In the
same letter mentioned earlier, Tolstoy pointed out the obvious: Do not the figures make it clear
that is is not he English who have enslaved the Indians, but the Indians who have enslaved
themselves? In fact, many noticed that [Tolstoys] presentation of the old truth is refreshingly
forceful3.
With continually rising tension in South Africa, it became more difficult for Gandhi to
remain neutral in controversial matters. In the Indian Opinion, he began to publish writings
regarding major religious traditions, including those of Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, and
Christianity. With these articles, there was much opposition, but at Gandhis initiative, the
critics had their views aired2. Forms of racial discrimination persisted as well, mainly in the
Boer regions. One of the most prominent examples of this was the Transvaal Asiatic Ordinance,
which required every Indian resident in Transvaal to register afresh, regardless of age or gender.
The certificates of registration had to be carried at all times; and produced on demand2. This
regulatory act followed soon after the Boer War, in which the British Empire aimed to annex the
Dutch regions of South Africa. During this period, Gandhi, one of about 1,100 other Indians,
joined the ambulance corps, attending to both British and Boer soldiers. From this experience
aiding primarily the British, Gandhi expressed his revelation that human nature shows itself at
its best in moments of trial1.
Life in South Africa truly developed Gandhis philosophy of satyagraha, or the
insistence on truth. Over time, it became clear to him that the ultimate truth was that of one
invariable condition of love3. For Gandhi, this translated to a dedication to nonviolence, that he
would meet hatred in violence by love in self-suffering3. In his vision of other people, he felt
that Hindus, Musalmans, Christians, Tamilians, Gujaratis, and Sindhis were all Indians and
children of the same motherland1. Still, Gandhi would change more, but at his core, he held the
belief that Resistance to aggression is not simply justifiable but imperative3.

1. Gandhi, M.K. - Autobiography - Ch. 10, The Boer War

2. Guha, Ramachandra - Gandhi before India - Chs. 8-10
3. Tolstoy, Leo - Letter to a Hindu