South Africa Commemorates Mahatma Gandhi's 1893 Train Incident

Mahatma Gandhi's train incident commemorated in South Africa. Speakers discussed Mahatma Gandhi's message for the world in fight against racial discrimination

Commemorating the incident in 1893, when Mahatma Gandhi was asked to get off a train in South Africa's Pietermaritzburg, various speakers from across the world discussed the relevance of the message of India's Father of the Nation for the world today. The Pietermaritzburg Gandhi Memorial Committee decided some years ago that the story of June 7, 1893 and its impact on young Gandhi would be told every year on its anniversary, said David Gengan, chairman of the Committee. The seed for Satyagraha (non-violent movement) was planted right here in Pietermaritzburg on the night of June 7, 1893, he said. Gandhi's 21 years in South Africa shaped his philosophy, especially as it relates to peace and non-violence, Mr Gengan said, explaining that while the event had been commemorated at the station where the incident occurred, they had been unable to do so since last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mahatma Gandhi's granddaughter Ela Gandhi, 80, who heads the Gandhi Development Trust, which oversees the Phoenix Settlement that he started during his tenure in Durban, said that during the course of his life, Gandhi discovered many truths. "As we struggle with the COVID-19 realities, we are becoming aware of the need for a change in our perception and behaviours to create a new normal," she said. Ela Gandhi said that in this context, Mahatma Gandhi's seven observations have attained even greater significance. Sello Hatang, chief executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, said Gandhi's observations were something that was attainable by all. "It is when we try our best to be better humans that we build a world that (Mandela and Gandhi) dreamt of - the world that cares about the downtrodden, the forgotten, those who feel that they are the outcasts," Mr Hatang said.