Footprints of
Mahatma |
Sarat Chander
You gave us Gandhi. We gave you the Mahatma.
Immortal words spoken by
Nelson Mandela, architect of the South African Freedom Movement, during his
visit to India in 1990. The two sentences sum up the significance of Mahatma
Gandhi's years in South Africa, and the extent to which his experiences in that
country shaped his vision, and thereby, the direction of India's struggle for
independence.
My trip to South Africa in
April 2004 coincided with the 10th anniversary of South Africa's freedom from
apartheid. It was for me a voyage of discovery in more ways than one. I was
traveling to a land which had been the crucible of the Mahatma's philosophy of
non-violent resistance to injustice. By a strange coincidence, Southern Africa
(Zambia, to be precise), was also the place of my birth, over 30 years ago. A
land I had not set foot upon, for 27 years.
On April 27th, 2004, South
Africa celebrated a decade of its existence as a 'rainbow' nation. a nation
where the colour of the skin would not determine one's position and standing in
life, or deprive one of political or economic opportunity. The main
celebrations were held at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. I recall a beaming,
if slightly frail, Nelson Mandela, helped up the steps, into the central plaza,
even as a song was hummed in his honour. I could not help but think, in the
same breath, of South Africa's "Madiba", and our very own "Bapu". It was then,
that the full extent of the parallels between India and South Africa, and their
struggles for freedom, became apparent to me. Before me, I saw the outpouring
of love and respect, from people irrespective of their colour or creed, for the
man who had forged Africa's most prosperous and vibrant nation, bringing it our
of strife and disarray, through the principles of non-violence. The very
principles that Mahatma Gandhi had evolved during his twenty-two year stay in
that country.
The same evening in Pretoria,
I met Mr. Max Sisulu, son of Walter Sisulu, one of the closest associates of
Nelson Mandela. Reminding me of the "Madiba's" quote on the Mahatma, Max Sisulu
went a step forward. In a voice that quivered with pride and affection, he
said, "The Mahatma was ours. We gave him to you. But he remains ours first."
South Africa's largest city,
Johannesburg, lies just sixty kilometers south of Pretoria. at some point in
the 1890s, it would have been possible to see Mahatma Gandhi, dressed in flowing
legal robes and clasping a book, striding across Johannesburg's Government
Square. The area now goes by the name of Gandhi Square. And that image of a
young and determined lawyer has been captured in a bronze statue. The statue
stands tall on Gandhi Square, where the old law courts used to be; and not far
from where Gandhi's offices were. the larger-than-life statue depicts Bapu as a
young lawyer – as he was known in South Africa. It is indeed, a far cry from
the stereotypical image of him as an old man wearing white robes and round
spectacles. Former President Nelson Mandela said in a message read at the
unveiling: "A hundred years ago Gandhi became the first person of colour to
practice law in Johannesburg. Gandhi's offices and the old courts are long
gone. But here too, Gandhi paved the way for others."
Also in Johannesburg is South
Africa's new Constitution Court. This has been built on the site of the old
native prison, where Gandhi and Mandela were both imprisoned at different
times. It was in 1906, that the Asiatic Law Amendment Ordinance was passed in
the province of Transvaal. This law proposed that Indians and Chinese were to
register their presence in the province, giving their fingerprints and carrying
passes. the protest to the act united the two communities and they decided to
oppose the Ordinance by peaceful methods. Protestors got together, and a
passive resistance was born. Gandhi spoke to the protestors, with the theme of
"violence begets violence". Protestors then marched through Johannesburg. They
were arrested and thrown into prison at this very native jail. It was a place
where Gandhiji was sentenced to spend time on four different occasions. And
Prison Number Four is where, to this day, a portrait of the young Gandhi, stands
testament to the Mahatma's incarceration.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi had
of course, arrived in South Africa on the 23 May, 1893. It was in the port city
of Durban that he had landed. A city, which even in the twenty-first century,
instantly evokes memories of our very own Mumbai. A bust of Mahatma Gandhi
today greets all visitors to the grand building of the old Durban Railway
Station. It was from here, on the 7 June 1893, that Gandhi embarked on a
fateful train journey, which was destined to change not only his own life, but
consequently the course of world history. On a wintry Transvaal night, he was
dumped unceremoniously onto the platform at Petermaritzburg station for refusing
a downgrade from a 'Whites Only' first-class compartment. A young lawyer had
been thrown off a train. A railway journey had been abruptly ended. But a much
more momentous journey, the journey of the Mahatma, had begun. Gandhi's first
instinct was to return to India. However, he had no option, but to spend a
bitterly cold night in the waiting room at Petermaritzburg Railway Station. It
was a night spent on reflection on the evil of racial prejudice. And with the
first rays of the sun, came the realization that to flee would be cowardice. He
vowed to stay and fight against inequality. Years later, he would acknowledge,
that his active non-violence began from that date.
Petermaritzburg still retains
its quaint railway station. And my visit to it was no less than a pilgrimage.
The spot on the platform where Gandhiji was forced to alight is clearly marked,
as are the benches within the waiting room where he spent the cold night.
It was in 1904, that Gandhiji
decided that the Indian Opinion, his weekly paper, should be printed at a farm
away from the city of Durban. He purchased an estate in Natal province, twenty
kilometers from Durban. This would be a place where everyone would labour, and
draw the same salary. He called this the Phoenix Settlement. The Phoenix, of
course, was the mythical bird that rose from the ashes.
The place, as Gandhiji
purchased it, has been described as desolate, overgrown with grass and trees,
and snake infested. It suffered from severe winters as well as water scarcity.
In this inhospitable area came and settled some Englishmen, a few Tamil and
Hindi speaking people, one or two Zulus, and six Gujaratis. Gandhiji, it is
said, could not actually live on the land for long, but would visit it at
frequent intervals. His visits were special occasions which the children of the
Settlement eagerly looked forward to. He would laugh and play with them. The
settlers would prepare special dishes, and eat together on Sundays. Gandhiji,
it is also said, relished the good food in those days.
The press-workers did all the
work in the press themselves, bringing out the Indian Opinion. On nights when
the final printing was done, they would need to stay up all night. To encourage
them, kheer would be served.
By another of those strange
coincidences that seem to create the parallels between South Africa and India,
the tenth anniversary of South Africa's freedom, was also the centenary year of
Phoenix Settlement. I recall the place as a vibrant active example of community
life. I stood and gazed upon a grand bust of the Mahatma. I walked in and out
of the small huts and rooms, and tried to conjure visions of Gandhiji walking in
and out of them, a century ago. My thoughts were interrupted by a frail old
gentlemen, dressed in a neat suit and tie. He introduced himself as Jayantibhai
Desai, grand nephew of Kasturba Gandhi. And his voice shook, as he pointed out
the very room, where once upon a time, "Ba" had cried on his grandmother's
shoulder. Gandhiji had asked Ba to participate in cleaning the community
toilets.
Those were momentous times
indeed. At the southern tip of the African continent, Bapu, the Father of our
Nation, fashioned a potent instrument, that decades later, would bring freedom
to South Asia. And decades later still, another apostle of non-violence, known
as Madiba to his people, would use the same instrument, to lead his diverse
people, to a united, prosperous future.
Already, in South Africa,
signs of the prosperity are evident. The inter-mingling of races is apparent on
the streets, from Pretoria, to Cape Town to Durban to Johannesburg. And on the
expressway that links Jo'burg to Pretoria, a prominent local politician, who
incidentally, is of Indian descent, pointed out the gleaming new headquarters of
South Africa's fastest growing company. I was intrigued to learn, that the name
of that company was Sahara Computers, and it had been established a few years
ago by one Mr. Gupta, who had come to South Africa, from his native town of
Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
I ventured into the building,
and within the boardroom of Sahara Computers, I saw a microcosm of the rainbow
nation that South Africa has now become.
Fashioned in South Africa.
Used in India. And used again in South Africa. Non-violence has created a
miracle. Twice over.
And across two continents, two
nations continue their journey, in the footprints of the Mahatma. Source: Anasakti Darshan; Volume 2 No. 1; January – June 2006 |