Imagine If There Were a Million Mahatma Gandhis in 1900?
Its consequences would have been felt globally.
Mahatma Gandhi is a profoundly exceptional individual.
Regardless of his racial and sexual politics, which were problematic at best and unconscionable at worst, there was something different about this guy.
And nothing about the man’s start to life suggested that he would have this sort of impact on the world.
In India, just as it was everywhere else in British controlled territories, the class system ensured that a very limited number of people had access to education and healthcare.
The private capitalists who had a huge say in how the crown jewel was governed weren’t concerned with the education of hundreds of millions of Indians but were focused on perpetually extracting their profits.
Gandhi, whose education was as limited as it got, certainly had the smarts to improve himself, and this informed the decision he made to go to the United Kingdom to study law.
And while he was out there, he made the most of the opportunities to develop himself intellectually — something which would stand him in very good stead in the intervening years.
Upon returning to India, our protagonist found it very difficult to practice law and…