LG Manoj Sinha says Mahatma Gandhi didn’t have a law degree

SRINAGAR — Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday stoked a controversy by claiming that Mahatma Gandhi did not have a single university degree. He went on to say that the only qualification Mahatma Gandhi had was a “High School Diploma”.

Addressing an event, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said, “No matter how many challenges came, no matter how many tests came, Mahatma Gandhi never gave up the truth and he recognized the inner voice. As a result, he became the father of the nation.”

“I want to tell you one more thing. Maybe few people know. Many educated people also have a misconception that Gandhiji had a law degree. Gandhiji did not have any degree. Some people sitting on the dais will also counter this, but I will speak further with facts. Did you know that he did not have a single university degree or qualification? There are many of us who think that Mahatma Gandhi has a law degree. No, he did not. His only qualification was a high school diploma. He qualified to practice law but did not have a law degree. He had no Degree but how educated he was,” he added.

The claim of Sinha came under sharp criticism from the netizens on social media, especially on Twitter.

Notably, Mahatma Gandhi attended primary school at Porbandar, Gujarat. He cleared his matriculation examination from the University of Bombay in 1887. After his matriculation, he joined Samaldas College in Bhavnagar. He then went to England in 1888 where he joined the Inner Temple, one of the four London law colleges.

He was called to the Bar ­– the ceremony in the dining hall of the Inn of Court at which successful students are presented with their certificates and are thereafter allowed to practice law – on June 10, 1891, and was enrolled at the High Court on the next day. He sailed for India a day later.