He studied material on Common & Roman laws and had to pass major exams on it. (Reynolds, The True Story of Gandhi, pp.87-88, 1964) At 19 his family sent him to London to study law at the Inner Temple. (www.engagedpage.com) He was not a very distinguished or even good one at first. .

             On his return to India in 1891 he was unable to find a suitable job, so he accepted a year's contract in Natal, South Africa, from 1893. Having suffered the humiliation of racial prejudice there for the first time in his life, he was persuaded to remain in South Africa to oppose the bill which would not allow Indians of the right to vote. His mission was not entirely successful, but he was smart in bringing the flight of Indians in South Africa to the attention for the world; and in so doing launched himself as a certain political campaigner. He remained in South Africa for 20 years, opposing further racial thoughts by means of non-violent defiance. His law practice funded his civil activities and, with the support of his wife, he threw his home open to political friends. During the Boer War (1899-1902) he helped the British by raising an Ambulance Corps of more than 1000 Indians, for which he was awarded the War Medal. .

             Gandhi returned to India in 1914 and, while supporting the British in World War 1, took an increasing interest in Home Rule for India. He became a major influence in the National Congress movement (which had been formed in 1885), reshaping it, and becoming an international political figure of his generation. His policies remained unchanged: non-violent, non-cooperation to achieve independence. (Life of Gandhi, 1977, pp.76-78) However, following his civil disobedience campaign, during which British soldiers killed nearly 400 people at the Amritsar Massacre (1919), he was jailed for conspiracy for two years. (Microsoft Encarta, 1997) On his release, the Hindu and Muslim people of the Congress Party were warring.