Gandhi Jayanti: India and Mahatma Gandhi are two sides of the same coin. In many ways, independent India cannot be imagined without Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi’s thoughts, life and works (struggle for freedom) have greatly influenced the Indian public. There are many reasons why Mahatma Gandhi is still relevant to the Indian public. In this context his birthday is specially celebrated on 2nd October. It is believed that his law degree was the first step in Mahadas Karamchand Gandhi’s journey to becoming Mahatma Gandhi.

Come, in this episode, find out where Mahatma Gandhi got his law degree. Let’s find out how much fees are charged for pursuing a law degree there. We will also know how much money was paid to Barrister Gandhi as his first fee.

Gandhi went to London to study law at the age of 19.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi obtained his law degree from London. For this he went to London at the age of 19. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi started his journey from Bombay to London on 4 September 1888 on the steamer Clyde. Similarly, he celebrated his 19th birthday at sea and reached London in the last week of October.

University College of London or Inner Temple…where did you get your law degree?

University College of London (UCL) or Inner Temple… Where did Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi get his law degree? This question is considered relevant now. In fact, Mahatma Gandhi mentioned in his autobiography that he took admission in the Inner Temple for a law degree. The Inner Temple website also lists Mahatma Gandhi as one of its alumni. While the University College of London (UCL) website also mentions Mahatma Gandhi as its former student. In such a situation this confusion becomes deeper. However, the answer lies in the nature of University College London (UCL) and the Inner Temple.

What is University College London (UCL) and what are the law fees?

University College of London (UCL) is a prestigious and first university in London, founded in 1826, which completed 200 years of its founding on 11 September. University College London (UCL) offers a variety of courses including law courses at graduate level. University College of London (UCL’s website According to Mahatma Gandhi, he is a former student who enrolled for UCL (Law) in 1888-89.

According to the UCL website, a 3-year law graduation course for international students costs Rs. 1 crore, under which the university charges 36,800 Euros (roughly Rs. 38 lakh) from international students for the law graduate course every year.

Where is the inner temple and how much is the fee?

Now let us talk about the inner temple. In fact, the Inner Temple is an ‘in of court’, in which law students of the university join as members and participate in activities. Actually, these off courses do not award any degree. In fact, there are courts of inns in London, called Gray’s Inn, Inner Temple, Middle Temple and Lincoln’s Inn.

Talking about the fixed fee to join the inner temple, there is a one-time fee for lifetime membership, which is currently around 114 Euros which is around Rs 12,500. It is mandatory to pay it before starting the training to become a barrister (bar course).

Barrister Gandhi was offered a fee of Rs.30

After completing his law studies from London, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi returned to India and started practicing at the Bombay High Court. His first case was simple. For this he was offered a fee of Rs 30 only. He was 22 years old at the time and had no experience, as soon as he stood up to debate he became nervous, dizzy, and dry on the tongue. He left the court feeling embarrassed. After this he did not file any case in that court.