r him to be parted from Kasturba again so soon, but he was determined to go. In April 1893, he left Bombay for South Africa. It was a long journey from India to South Africa. Gandhi reached the port of Natal towards the end of May, 1893. The first thing he noticed was that the Indians there were treated with very little respect. Gandhi spent three years in South Africa meeting the Indians and talking about social injustices. He was now a well-known figure, everyone recognized his frockcoat and turban. His practice was going very well and he knew that the people there wanted him with them, so, in 1896, he went back home to bring his wife and children to South Africa.Gandhi was becoming more and more involved in public activities, and his way of life became simpler. It was 1901, six years after Gandhi had brought his family to South Africa, that he felt his future activity lay not in South Africa but in India. Upon his arrival to India, Gandhi went on a tour of the country. The annual meeting of the Indian National Congress was being held in Calcutta under the presidentship of Dinshaw Wacho. Gandhi attended the session. It was the first contact with the Congress which he was to lead so gloriously in the future.Gandhi settled down in Bombay and started practice as a lawyer. He did well, much better than he had expected. However, in December 1902, a message reached him from South Africa requesting him to return. Joseph Chamberlin, the Colonial Secretary, was arriving from London on a visit to Natal and the Natal Indian Congress wanted Gandhi to present their case to him.In August 1906, an ordinance was issued by the Transvaal Government requiring all Indian men, women, and children to register themselves and obtain a personal certificate bearing name and thumb impressions. This card was to be carried by all individuals at all times and had to be shown on demand. Anyone failing to produce the certificate was liable to be fined, or imprisoned...
