12. OUTCASTE :

Monday, Oct 07, 2013.



AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY:
THE STORY OF MY EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH
by Mohandas K. Gandhi



12. OUTCASTE :




With my mother's permission and blessings, I set off exultantly for Bombay, leaving my wife
with a baby of a few months. But on arrival there, friends told my brother that the Indian Ocean
was rough in June and July, and as this was my first voyage, I should not be allowed to sail until
November. Someone also reported that a steamer had just been sunk in a gale. This made my
brother uneasy, and he refused to take the risk of allowing me to sail immediately. Leaving me
with a friend in Bombay, he returned to Rajkot to resume his duty. He put the money for my
travelling expenses in the keeping of a brother-in-law, and left word with some friends to give me
whatever help I might need.



Time hung heavily on my hands in Bombay. I dreamt continually of going to England.
Meanwhile my caste-people were agitated over my going abroad. No Modh Bania had been to
England up to now, and if I dared to do so, I ought to be brought to book! A general meeting of
the caste was called and I was summoned to appear before it. I went. How I suddenly managed
to muster up courage I do not know. Nothing daunted, and without the slightest hesitation, I came
before the meeting. The Sheth--the headman of the community--who was distantly related to me
and had been on very good terms with my father, thus accosted me:



'In the opinion of the caste, your proposal to go to England is not proper. Our religion forbids
voyages abroad. We have also heard that it is not possible to live there without compromising our
religion. One is obliged to eat and drink with Europeans!'




To which I replied: 'I do not think it is at all against our religion to go to England. I intend going
there for further studies. And I have solemnly promised to my mother to abstain from three things
you fear most. I am sure the vow will keep me safe.'



'But we tell you,' rejoined the Sheth, 'that it is not possible to keep our religion there. You know
my relations with your father and you ought to listen to my advice.'



'I know these relations,' said I. 'And you are as an elder to me. But I am helpless in this matter.
I cannot alter my resolve to go to England. My father's friend and adviser, who is a learned
Brahman, sees no objection to my going to England, and my mother and brother have also given
me their permission.'



'But will you disregard the orders of the caste?'
'I am really helpless. I think the caste should not interfere in the matter.'
This incensed the Sheth. He swore at me. I sat unmoved. So the Sheth pronounced his order:
'This boy shall be treated as an outcaste from today. Whoever helps him or goes to see him off at
the dock shall be punishable with a fine of one rupee four annas.'
The order had no effect on me, and I took my leave of the Sheth. But I wondered how my
brother would take it. Fortunately he remained firm and wrote to assure me that I had his
permission to go, the Sheth's order notwithstanding.



The incident, however, made me more anxious than ever to sail. What would happen if they
succeeded in bringing pressure to bear on my brother? Supposing something unforeseen
happened? As I was thus worrying over my predicament, I heard that a Junagadh vakil was going
to England, for being called to the bar, by a boat sailing on the 4th of September. I met the friends
to whose care my brother had commended me. They also agreed that I should not let go the
opportunity of going in such company. There was no time to be lost. I wired to my brother for
permission, which he granted. I asked my brother-in-law to give me the money. But he referred to
the order of the Sheth and said that he could not afford to lose caste. I then sought a friend of the
family and requested him to accommodate me to the extent of my passage and sundries, and to
recover the loan from my brother. The friend was not only good enough to accede to my request,
but he cheered me up as well. I was so thankful. With part of the money I at once purchased the
passage. Then I had to equip myself for the voyage. There was another friend who had
experience in the matter. He got clothes and other things ready. Some of the clothes I liked and
some I did not like at all. The necktie, which I delighted in wearing later, I then abhorred. The
short jacket I looked upon as immodest. But this dislike was nothing before the desire to go to
England, which was uppermost in me. Of provisions also I had enough and to spare for the
voyage. A berth was reserved for me by my friends in the same cabin as that of Sjt. Tryambakrai
Mazmudar, the Junagadh vakil. They also commended me to him. He was an experienced man
of mature age and knew the world. I was yet a stripling of eighteen without any experience of the
world. Sjt. Mazmudar told my friends not to worry about me.



I sailed at last from Bombay on the 4th of September.



NEXT :-  13. IN LONDON AT LAST-


Continues......