Gandhi’s first crusade

Judging from the title of the text, we can deduce that it will deal with events in Gandhi’s life and more precisely about the beginning of his protest, activism and the crusade he engaged in to fight for civil rights. Gandhi was an Indian political and spiritual leader who led India to independence from the British. He is known for being a pioneer of resistance through civil-disobedience founded upon non-violence.
The text is an extract from a novel written by Roberta Strauss Feuerlicht in 1965, which is a biography about Gandhi’s life as he is referred to in the third person. The text mainly deals with two major themes: social and racial discrimination against Indians in South Africa, discrimination based on race, origins, skin colors … and protest, resistance against that discrimination.
At the time of this excerpt, Gandhi was a young 24-year-old lawyer who had moved to Durban, a major city in South Africa. As he could afford to buy a “first class ticket” (l.3) and wore ‘impeccable European clothing” (l.3), we can deduce that he was a successful professional, a well-educated man with a high social status. He was thus an example of social integration.
Gandhi refused to comply with a white passenger’s request to give up his seat and to move to a different class. He protested on the grounds that he had a first-class ticket and was therefore entitled to his seat. The white passenger’s reaction was probably that of most white South Africans at the time. He must have believed in the difference between races have been race-conscious. He was probably a victim of the principles values he was brought up with. As for the policeman although he treated Gandhi unfairly, with injustice and racial prejudice, he did what was expected from him. When he was thrown off the train, he must have felt humiliated. All the more we learn that his suitcase had been confiscated and that he didn’t even dare to ask for it. He must have felt mistreated yet his