In his journey through British colonial South Africa, Gandhi’s encounters and reflections presented profound lessons about power dynamics and personal integrity. One defining moment was his interaction with Joseph Chamberlain, who dishearteningly asserted that “the Imperial Government has little control over self-governing Colonies” (238). This statement illuminated the magnitude of British colonialism’s dominance, prompting Gandhi and his colleagues to rethink their strategies.

On attempting to meet Chamberlain in the Transvaal, Gandhi met resistance from the “Autocrats from Asia,” bureaucrats responsible for Asian affairs in the colony. Despite holding a legitimate permit, these officers, unaccustomed to South African democracy, aimed to prevent his audience with Chamberlain. Gandhi sharply criticized their conduct, remarking of their imported authoritarianism, “With the coming of the officers from Asia, came also its autocracy, and the habits that the autocrats had imbibed there” (332). These bureaucratic barriers depicted a broader picture of the sociopolitical dynamics at play, in which the new Asiatic Department enabled indirect exploitation of the Indian community.

Internally, Gandhi’s decisions and introspections bore significant implications. An initial decision to take a life insurance policy, influenced by an American agent’s logic of safeguarding his family, later became a spiritual and moral dilemma. He reflected, “In getting my life insured I had robbed my wife and children of their self-reliance” (338).