Natal Law society apologises to Gandhi

The Natal Law Society has apologised posthumously to passive resistance icon, Mahatma Karamchand Gandhi, 105 years after a racist decision barred the young lawyer from practising. In 1894 Gandhi became the first non-White lawyer to apply to practise in the then British colony of Natal. The Natal Law Society opposed his application because he was Indian. The president of the Natal Law Society, David Randles, published the following apology in the Johannesburg newspaper The Star: " The society apologises unconditionally, albeit posthumously, to the late Mahatma Gandhi for having attempted to restrict his rights to practise as an advocate in Natal ." He said the apology was extended to "all other aspirant lawyers whose access to the profession was restricted in any way on the basis of racial grounds ". References: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/404977.stm http://www.dispatch.co.za/1999/07/28/southafrica/BODY.HTM http://openweb.tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/1999-7/1999-07-29-ABC-11.html