Gandhi prestige raised

Gandhi’s statement suddenly changed the atmosphere in Durban. The press declared Gandhi innocent and condemned his assailants. The Durban incident raised Gandhi’s prestige and won sympathy abroad for the Indians in South Africa.

As the struggle in South Africa continued, a change was coming over Gandhi. He had begun with a life of ease and comfort, but this was short-lived. As he became more and more involved in public activities, his expenses. He took to washing and ironing his own clothes, and he did it so badly at first that the other lawyers laughed at him. But soon he became quite an expert at this and his collars were no less stiff and shiny than theirs.

Gandhi once went to an English barber in Pretoria. The barber insolently refused to cut a “black” man’s hair. Gandhi at once bought a pair of clippers and cut his own hair. He succeeded more or less in cutting the front part but spoilt the back. He looked very funny and his friends in the court laughed at him.

”What’s wrong with your hair, Gandhi? Have rats been gnawing at it?” they asked.

“No, “said Gandhi proudly.” I have cut my hair myself.” Then Gandhi tried changes in his food. He started taking uncooked food. He believed that if a man lived on fresh  fruits and nuts he could master his passions and acquire spiritual strength. He made many experiments with his diet. He even came to the conclusion that fasting increased one’s willpower.

While he was thus experimenting with himself, the Boer war broke out. The Boers were South Africans of Dutch origin. They were fighting the British.

Neither of these two white nations had treated the Indians well. Gandhi did not want to support either of them, but his loyalty to the British made him organize an Indian Ambulance corps to help them. To his puzzled followers he said, “India can achieve complete emancipation only through development within the British Empire. Therefore, we must help the British.”

The British won the war and the Indian Ambulance Corps was disbanded. The Newspapers in England praised the services rendered by the Indians .the relations between the Indians and the Europeans had now become more cordial and the Indians believed that their grievances would soon be removed.

It was now 1901; six years after Gandhi had brought his family to Durban. Now he felt that future activity lay not in South Africa but in India. Also, friends in India were pressing him to return home. When he announced his decision to his co-workers, however, they again pressed him to stay on.

After much discussion they agreed to let him go, but only on condition that he would come back to South Africa if the Indians there needed his help. He agreed to this. There were farewell meetings and presentations of gifts.

The gifts were so many and so valuable that Gandhi felt he should not accept them. He wanted to give them back to the people who had presented them. , but they would not allow him to do so. He then prepared a trust deed and all the gifts were deposited with a bank to be used for to welfare of the Indian community.