Mahatma Gandhi went abroad to study law in which country before returning to practise as a barrister?

Introduction / Context:
Before Mahatma Gandhi became the leader of the Indian national movement, he trained as a lawyer. His legal education and early professional experiences influenced his later work in South Africa and India. This question asks about the country where he went to study law, a basic biographical fact that often appears in exams on modern Indian history and the lives of national leaders.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The person in question is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, later known as Mahatma Gandhi.
• The field of study is law, leading to his qualification as a barrister.
• The options list India, United Kingdom, South Africa, Bhutan, and the United States of America.
• You must identify which country he travelled to in order to receive formal legal education.

Concept / Approach:
Gandhi travelled to London in the United Kingdom in the late nineteenth century to study law and train as a barrister at the Inner Temple. After completing his studies and being called to the bar, he returned to India and later went to South Africa to practise law and engage in public work. South Africa is where his political ideas matured, but it was not where he studied law. India and Bhutan are clearly incorrect as foreign study destinations, and the United States of America does not figure in his educational journey.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that Gandhi came from Porbandar in present day Gujarat and initially studied in India. Step 2: To qualify as a barrister, he sailed to London, the capital of the United Kingdom, and enrolled at the Inner Temple. Step 3: He studied law there, adapted to British life as far as possible, and passed his examinations. Step 4: After his legal training, he returned to India and later went to South Africa to work as a lawyer. Step 5: South Africa was the place of his early political experiments, not his formal legal education, and he never went to the United States or Bhutan for studies. Step 6: Therefore, the correct answer is the United Kingdom.

Verification / Alternative check:
Biographies of Gandhi consistently state that he left for London in 1888 to study law and returned in 1891 as a qualified barrister. They describe his membership in the Inner Temple and his attempts to follow a disciplined lifestyle while studying. Accounts of his time in South Africa begin later, in 1893, and focus on his legal work and political activism rather than on formal study. No credible source mentions higher studies in Bhutan or the United States, which confirms that the United Kingdom is the correct country in this context.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
India: Gandhi completed basic education in India but went abroad to obtain his professional legal qualification.

South Africa: He practised law and developed Satyagraha there, but he did not go there for formal legal studies.
Bhutan: This small Himalayan kingdom has no connection with Gandhi early educational journey.
United States of America: Gandhi is not recorded as having studied or lived in the United States, so this option is incorrect.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes confuse the place of Gandhi political awakening with his place of study. Because South Africa plays such an important role in his life story, some candidates mistakenly choose it as the answer to this question. To avoid that, keep the sequence clear: law studies in London in the United Kingdom, later legal and political work in South Africa, and then national leadership in India.

Final Answer:
Mahatma Gandhi studied law in the United Kingdom before returning to work as a barrister.