The Story of My Experiments with Truth · Chapter
Colour Bar explained
Gandhi applies for admission as an advocate to the Supreme Court of Natal, facing opposition from the Law Society based on racial discrimination.
What happens
Gandhi applies for admission as an advocate to the Supreme Court of Natal, facing opposition from the Law Society based on racial discrimination. Despite the objections, the Supreme Court admits him, but he is then required to remove his turban in court, which he obeys to conserve his strength for larger battles. The chapter explores themes of racial prejudice, compromise, and the early application of satyagraha principles.
Themes in this chapter
Truth and Self-Experimentation
Gandhi reflects on the importance of truth and compromise, noting that insistence on truth taught him the beauty of compromise, which is essential to satyagraha.
Nonviolence and Satyagraha
Gandhi chooses to obey the court order to remove his turban to reserve his strength for bigger battles, illustrating the spirit of compromise as part of satyagraha.
Social Justice and Anti-Colonialism
The chapter highlights racial discrimination by the Law Society and the court's initial upholding of equality before the law, while Gandhi's experience reflects the broader struggle against colour bar in colonial South Africa.
Characters to notice
- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Applies for admission as an advocate, faces opposition from the Law Society, and obeys the court order to remove his turban.
- Abdulla Sheth
Provides an affidavit supporting Gandhi's application and is involved in the discussions about the turban incident.
- Dada Abdulla
Mentioned as the firm with which Gandhi had connections, and whose legal adviser was Mr. Escombe.
- Mr. Harry Escombe
Attorney General who presents Gandhi's application for admission to the Supreme Court.
- Mr. Laughton
Distinguished lawyer engaged by the Law Society to oppose Gandhi's application; later satisfied by Dada Abdulla's affidavit.
Key passages
“I saw my limitations. The turban that I had insisted on wearing in the District Magistrate’s Court I took off in obedience to the order of the Supreme Court. Not that, if I had resisted the order, the resistance could not have been justified. But I wanted to reserve my strength for fighting bigger battles.”
Gandhi recognized his constraints and removed his turban as ordered, choosing not to resist in order to conserve his energy for more significant struggles.
Gandhi's strategic decision to comply with the court's dress code reflects his prioritization of larger goals over symbolic resistance.
“But all my life through, the very insistence on truth has taught me to appreciate the beauty of compromise. I saw in later life that this spirit was an essential part of satyagraha.”
Gandhi learned that his commitment to truth led him to value compromise, which later became a core element of his philosophy of nonviolent resistance.
This reflection connects the turban incident to the development of satyagraha.