What a lawyer charges a client remains largely unregulated in India, and there is a growing demand for a law that regulates high lawyers` fees. However, Gandhi had already stated before the Peshawar Bar in 1938: “I confess that I myself charged what I would now call high fees. But even while I was working in my practice, let me tell you that my profession never hindered my public service. Gandhi remained a sharp critic of Indian courts and lawyers in his writings and public speeches. He believed that India`s judicial system rewarded the rich and exacerbated the misery of the poor. Nevertheless, it would ask lawyers to place “truth and service” above the benefits of the profession. He advised lawyers to draft their applications in plain language. But Gandhi never lost sight of the positive aspects of the legal profession. In The Law and The Lawyers, a book compiled and edited by SB Kher, Gandhi advised lawyers: “Petitioners must understand that they are addressing busy men who are not necessarily sympathetic, sometimes biased, and almost invariably inclined to support the decisions of their subordinates. Petitions should be read and analyzed by officials and journalists who do not have too much time at their disposal. Mahatma Gandhi wrote: “I have come to the conclusion that a movement hostile to the Indians must take place on foot. So I left my work in Calcutta unfinished and went to Bombay, where I took the first available steamboat with my family. S.
S. Courland had been bought by the Dada Abdulla company and represented another company of this very adventurous company, namely operating a steamboat between Porbandar and Natal. The Naderi, a steamship of the Persian Steam Navigation Company, immediately left Bombay for Natal after the total number of passengers on the two steamers was about 800. 10 Mahatma Gandhi wrote: “The government of Natal was on edge. How long can an unjustified restriction be applied? Twenty-three days had already passed. Dada Abdulla did not flinch, nor did the passengers. The quarantine was lifted after 23 days and steamboats were allowed to enter the port. Meanwhile, Mr Escombe reassured the agitated Committee of Europeans. At a meeting, he said: “The Europeans in Durban have shown commendable unity and courage. You did everything you could. The government has also helped you.
The Indians were detained for 23 days. You have sufficiently expressed your feelings and sense of community. This will make a deep impression on the imperial government. Your actions have made it easier for the Natal Government. If you now use force to prevent a single Indian passenger from landing, you are harming your own interests and putting the government in an uncomfortable position. And even then, you won`t be able to stop the Indians from landing. Passengers are not to blame at all. Among them are women and children. When they boarded in Mumbai, they had no idea how you felt.
I would therefore advise you to disperse yourself and not to disturb these people. However, I assure you that the Natal Government will be given the necessary powers by the Legislative Council to limit future immigration. This is only a summary of Mr Escombe`s speech. His audience was disappointed, but he had a great influence on the Europeans of Natal. They dispersed on his advice, and the two steamers entered the port. 11 E-mail-dr.yadav.yogendra@gandhifoundation.net; dr.yogendragandhi@gmail.com He continues: “The best South African lawyers – and they are highly competent lawyers – dare not charge the fees that lawyers pay in India. Fifteen Guineas is almost a high price for legal advice. It is known that several thousand rupees have been charged in India. There is something sinful about a system in which it is possible for a lawyer to earn from fifty thousand to one lakh rupee per month. As early as 1909, Gandhi had criticized lawyers in his book Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule for encouraging and prolonging litigation. He called on lawyers to promote reconciliation. Mahatma Gandhi wrote: “I left India for South Africa in April 1893.
I had no idea about the history of Indian emigrants. I was there for a purely professional visit. A well-known company of Porbandar Memans then traded in Durban under the name and style of Dada Abdulla. An equally well-known and competing company listed in Pretoria under the name Taib Haji Khanmamad. Unfortunately, a major legal dispute between the rivals was ongoing. A partner of the Dada Abdulla company, who lived in Porbandar, thought it would help their case if they hired me and sent me to South Africa. I had just been called to the bar and I was a newcomer to the profession, but he was not afraid that I would treat his case badly, because he did not want me to take the case to court, but only to instruct the competent South African lawyers who had kept it. I liked the new experiences. I loved seeing the fresh fields and pastures in a new way.
It was disgusting to have to give a mission to those who brought me work. The atmosphere of intrigue in Saurashtra stifled me. The appointment was valid for one year only. I had no objection to accepting it. I had nothing to lose when Mr Dada Abdulla expressed their willingness to cover my travel expenses, as well as the expenses that would be incurred in South Africa, and an honorarium of one hundred and five pounds. This arrangement had been made by my older brother, who had since passed away and was the father to me. To me, His will was a commandment. He liked the idea of me going to South Africa. So I reached Durban in May 1893.
As a lawyer, I was well dressed according to my lights and found myself in Durban with an appropriate sense of importance. But I soon became disillusioned. Dada Abdulla`s partner, who had hired me, had given me a report on how things were going in Natal. But what I saw there with my own eyes absolutely belied his misleading image. However, my informant was not to blame. He was an open and simple man who did not know the true situation of things. He had no idea of the difficulties faced by the Indians of Natal. Conditions involving serious insult did not appear to him in that light. I observed from day one that the Europeans treated the Indians in the most offensive way. I will not describe my bitter experience in court in the two weeks following my arrival, the difficulties I encountered on trains, the beatings I received along the way, and the difficulty and practical impossibility of finding accommodation in hotels. Suffice it to say that all these experiences have been lost in me. I had only been there for one case, which was caused by self-interest and curiosity.
So, the first year, I was only a witness and a victim of this injustice. Then I woke up with a sense of duty. I saw that South Africa was not good for me from the point of view of self-interest. Not only did I not want to, but I also had a positive aversion to making money or being in a country where I was insulted. I was faced with a dilemma. Two courses were open to me. I could either release myself from the contract with Mr. Dada Abdulla, because I had become aware of circumstances that had not been communicated to me before, or I could return to India. Or I endure all the trials and fulfill my commitment. I was pushed off the train by a policeman in Maritzburg, and the departing train was sitting in the waiting room, shivering in the freezing cold.
I didn`t know where my luggage was and I didn`t dare to inquire about anyone so I wouldn`t be insulted and attacked again. Sleep was out of the question. Doubts took possession of my mind. Late at night, I came to the conclusion that it would be cowardly to return to India. I have to realize what I decided to do.