Chennai, Dec 21,2022:  The Madras High Court is organising a two-day exhibition on Mahatma Gandhi’s stint as a lawyer.

Titled “Mahatma Gandhi – The Lawyer”, showcases how he struggled to learn Indian laws while attempting to establish his professional practice in then Bombay after an education at the Inner Temple, London.

The two-day exhibition was inaugurated by Acting Chief Justice T. Raja, and Justice P. N. Prakash.

The first client of the Mahatma as a lawyer was Mamibai and he was asked to pay a commission to a tout but being an upright person from a young age, he refused to pay even as senior lawyers earning heavily were also paying commissions to middlemen to get cases.

Excerpts from his autobiography, “My Experiments with Truth” are displayed during the exhibition including how nervous he was while appearing for his first case. He mentions that his head was reeling while appearing in court and asked the agent to take the money back and engage some other lawyer.

The exhibition also showcases copies of certificate issued to Gandhi accepting him as a member of Inner Temple on November 6, 1888. An order debarring him from practicing law after he was convicted in a sedition case is also put on display at the exhibition.

The Mahatma walking out of a Durban court after the judge insisted him on removing the topi that he was wearing since childhood was also on display at the exhibition.

The Gandhi Museum in Madurai and the Gandhi Study Centre in Chennai are jointly organising the exhibition along with the High Court.