Gandhi is considered by many around the world to be the father of the Indian independence movement. Gandhi spent more than 20 years in South Africa fighting discrimination. It was in South Africa that he developed his concept of Satyagraha, a non-violent way of protesting against discrimination. The first time Gandhi used Satyagraha was in South Africa, starting in 1907, when he organized opposition to the Black Act. In 1907, the Black Act was passed, requiring all Indians to carry registration papers with them at all times. Gandhi's direct experiences in combating discrimination began in South Africa. In Chapter VII "Some Experiences", Gandhi recalls the first days of his arrival of the incident at the Durban court where he was asked to remove his turban. He refused and left the court. He quickly learned that the Indians were divided into different groups. “One of them was that of Muslim merchants, who called themselves 'Arabs.' Another was that of Hindu clerks, and yet another that of Parsi clerks. Hindu clerks were neither here nor there, unless they joined hands with the “Arabs”. The Parsi clerks called themselves Persians. These three classes maintained social relations with each other. But by far the largest class was that composed of Tamil, Telugu and North Indian indentured and freed workers. Gandhi learned of the plight of the indentured laborers later during his stay in South Africa. Another first-hand account of discrimination occurred on the train to Pretoria from Durban. Gandhi was still, at that time, accustomed to traveling first class. “But then a passenger came along and looked me up and down. He saw that I was a “colored” man. This bothered him. He went out and returned with two officials...... middle of paper...... It was a law, not just a social anomaly. Gandhi was preparing to leave India after the conclusion of his case when he read in the newspaper of a new bill - the Indian franchise - "which sought to deprive Indians of their right to elect members of the Natal Legislative Assembly. If the bill were to pass, Gandhi believed it would be a terrible blow to his people and their struggle. for rights. “This bill, if passed, will make our lot extremely difficult. This is the first nail in our coffin. This knocks on the coin of our self-respect. Indian peoples' rights to trade were eliminated in the Orange Free State. Gandhi did not want to leave South Africa now and his farewell party turned into a working committee against the bill. “Thus God laid the foundations of my life in South Africa and sowed the seed of the struggle for national self-respect..”