Chapter 39 Chapter Twelve

Before I write further about my more intercourse with Christians, I must say something about other experiences of this period. Tebu Hazihan Muhammad Sai's status in Pretoria was comparable to Dada Abdullah's reputation in Natal.No public activity can go without him, and I got to know him the first week in Pretoria, and I told him I was eager to get in touch with every Indian there.I expressed my desire to study the situation of the Indians there, and asked him for his assistance, which he happily agreed to. My first step was to call a meeting of all the Indians in Pretoria, with the intention of informing them of the situation of the Indians in the Transvaal.The meeting was held at the home of Hazi Mohammad Hazi Jusabsay, whom I met through a letter of introduction.Most of the people present were Miman merchants, although a few Hindus also attended.In fact, the Hindu population of Pretoria is very small.

My speech at this meeting can be said to be the first speech to the public in my life.The topic of my talk was on business honesty, and I had done a lot of preparation before the talk.I have often heard businessmen say that it is impossible to be honest in business.I didn't think so then, and I still do now.Even today, some friends who do business say that business and honesty cannot coexist. Business, they say, is very practical, and honesty is a religious thing: they think practical is one thing, and religious is another.They think that there is no pure honesty in business, and people don't speak of it unless it is practicable.In my speeches I have endeavored to disprove this statement, and to awaken businessmen to their double duty: honesty in foreign countries is all the more important, since the conduct of a few Indians is the measure of the conduct of their hundreds of millions of their fellow-men.

I have long since found the habits and life of our people unsanitary in comparison with those of the Englishmen around them, and I call their attention.I also stress the necessity of forgetting differences such as Hindus, Muslims, Persians, Christians, Gujarats, Madrasians, Punjabis, Sindhis, Kachis, Surtes, etc. I concluded by suggesting the formation of an association for the presentation of the plight of the Indian diaspora to the appropriate authorities.I promise to devote as much time as possible to the service of this association. I could tell they were impressed by the meeting.After I spoke, a discussion ensued.Someone offered to supply me with many facts.I feel inspired.I found that very few of the audience knew English.I think knowledge of English is very useful in this country and I advise those who have time to learn English.I told them that even old people can still learn a language, and I gave examples to prove it.I am going to start an English class, and in addition, I have promised individual instruction for those who would like to learn English.

The English class was not completed, but three young people expressed their willingness to study at a convenient time, on the condition that I go to the place where they live to attend the class.Two of them are Muslims, one is a barber, the other is a clerk, and the third is a Hindu, a shop assistant.I fulfilled their requirements one by one. I have no qualms about my ability to teach. My students may get bored, but I never will.Sometimes I went to them and found them busy with business, but I did not lose my patience.None of them wanted to learn English very deeply, but two of them have made great progress after learning it for about eight months.Two of them learned to keep accounts and write common business letters in English.The barber's ambition was limited to learning how to deal with his customers.As a result of their English learning, two of them have the ability to earn more income.

I thought that meeting turned out pretty well.As far as I can remember, it was also decided at that meeting that such meetings would be held on a weekly or possibly monthly basis.This kind of meeting was generally held on time, and everyone exchanged views freely at the meeting.It turned out that there was not a single Indian living in Pretoria at that time whom I did not know, nor was there a situation in which I was unfamiliar.This prompted me to see Mr. Jacobs Day Waite, the British Superintendent of Pretoria.He was sympathetic to the plight of the Indians, but he had little influence.Although he promised to help us as much as he could, he also asked me to come to him whenever I needed it.I then wrote to the railway authorities, telling them that, even by their own regulations, the Indians were unjustly restricted from traveling.I got a reply saying: Indians can buy first and second class tickets as long as they are well-dressed.This is far from a solution, as the decision as to whose clothing is "fit" remains with the webmaster.The British overseer showed me some papers on Indian affairs.Tebu Sai had shown me similar documents before.I learned from these documents how the Indians were brutally expelled from the Orange Free State.

In conclusion, my stay in Pretoria made it possible for me to undertake an in-depth study of the social, economic and political situation of the Indians in the Transvaal and the Orange Free State.I didn't think that this research would be so valuable to me in the future, because I originally planned to return to China at the end of the year, or earlier, if the case could be concluded a year ago. However, God had other plans.