Gandhi spent the next
twenty years working to better Indians' rights in South Africa. During the
first three years, Gandhi learned more about Indian grievances, studied the
law, wrote letters to officials, and organized petitions. On May 22, 1894,
Gandhi established the Natal Indian Congress (NIC). Although the NIC began as
an organization for wealthy Indians, Gandhi worked diligently to expand its
membership to all classes and castes. Gandhi became well-known for his activism
and his acts were even covered by newspapers in England and India. In a few
short years, Gandhi had become a leader of the Indian community in South
Africa.
In 1896, after living three years in South Africa, Gandhi sailed
to India with the intention of bringing his wife and two sons back with him.
While in India, there was a bubonic plague outbreak. Since it was then believed
that poor sanitation was the cause of the spread of the plague, Gandhi offered
to help inspect latrines and offer suggestions for better sanitation. Although
others were willing to inspect the latrines of the wealthy, Gandhi personally
inspected the latrines of the untouchables as well as the rich. He found that
it was the wealthy that had the worst sanitation problems.
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