Indian vacationers put together for the Gandhi-Mandela tour in South Africa. | Picture Credit score: Particular Association
Keshav Gupta, a younger social activist from New Delhi, had at all times wished to go to Sarvodaya, the home the place Mahatma Gandhi lived in Durban, South Africa. When he lastly did it final 12 months, he was elated. “It was inspiring to be at Phoenix Settlement in KwaZulu-Natal, the place Gandhiji was based mostly. It was particular to be house and study his persevering with affect on society,” says Gupta, who visited Durban once more lately to attend a convention organized to commemorate the a hundred and thirtieth anniversary of Gandhi’s expulsion from a first-class prepare compartment within the Pietermaritzburg railway line. station on June 7, 1893.
A bust of Gandhi at Pietermaritzburg railway station. | Picture credit score: Getty Pictures
Greater than a century after leaving the nation, Gandhi continues to encourage and affect socio-political discourse in South Africa. There are museums devoted to the Mahatma and particular excursions that cowl the locations and establishments related along with his life. And more and more, these are of curiosity not solely to the typical South African vacationer but in addition to Indians world wide. “Yearly, round 800 Indians go to Structure Hill, the place Gandhi was imprisoned in 1906,” says Janine Levinia Muthusamy, advertising and marketing supervisor at Structure Hill Museum.
The previous jail and navy fort has been transformed right into a museum showcasing the historical past of South Africa’s wrestle for freedom and democracy. “The museum additionally affords an exhibition on Mandela and Gandhi,” says Muthusamy.
Structure Hill Museum in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. | Picture credit score: Getty Pictures
From January to March this 12 months, some 16,000 vacationers from India visited South Africa, says the nation’s tourism minister, Patricia de Lille. There are itineraries aimed solely at Indians within the Gandhi expertise. For instance, the six-night ‘Discover Gandhi’ tour bundle, which begins at ₹5 lakh, contains vegetarian meals and a two-night keep in Johannesburg, Pietermaritzburg and Durban. “Guests may expertise the Gandhi-Mandela tour in Pietermaritzburg on a particular bus,” says Bunny Bhoola, vice-president of the Pietermaritzburg Gandhi Basis. Additionally a part of the bundle is a go to to Tolstoy Farm in Johannesburg, a safari and a tour of Solar Metropolis to study conventional village life in KwaZulu Natal.
A file photograph of former minister Sushma Swaraj at Pietermaritzburg prepare station. | Picture Credit score: Particular Association
Steeped in historical past
Final week, a gaggle of 15 vacationers from Mumbai left for Durban on a Gandhi tour. Final 12 months, 53 Indians had made the identical journey. “There may be continued curiosity amongst Indians, particularly middle-aged individuals, to know extra about Gandhi’s life in South Africa,” says Syed M. Mujeeb, managing director of journey and cargo company Aerowings, Hyderabad, which organizes Gandhi’s travels. “They’re fascinated with visiting Gandhi’s ashrams and prisons the place he and his spouse Kasturba had been imprisoned,” he provides.
Sarvodaya, the home the place Gandhi lived in Durban. | Picture credit score: Getty Pictures
A bust of Gandhi at Phoenix Settlement in KwaZulu-Natal. | Picture credit score: KS Sudhi
Just lately in India, Prime Minister Modi drew the ire of a number of quarters when he mentioned in an interview that Gandhi turned identified worldwide solely after the discharge of Attenborough’s 1982 movie. Political leaders and critics had been fast to level out the hordes of world personalities who had been impressed by the Mahatma throughout his life. “A number of leaders, together with Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, have acknowledged Gandhiji’s affect on the nation’s social actions,” says Ela Gandhi, his granddaughter and former South African politician. “The Gandhian type of non-violent agitations left a profound affect on the American civil rights motion led by King within the Nineteen Sixties. A number of leaders of the African Nationwide Congress additionally acknowledged the affect of Gandhian beliefs of their wrestle for freedom.”
Ela Gandhi, former South African politician and granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi. | Picture credit score: Getty Pictures
Opinions might differ relying on which aspect of the political spectrum you belong to, however for the typical Indian vacationer, Gandhi holds a spot of honor within the nation’s historical past. “Throughout my go to to Durban, I had the chance to fulfill Ela Gandhi, and she or he confirmed me a few of her childhood images of her with Gandhiji,” says Keshav Gupta. It was a memorable second and probably the spotlight of the journey.
(The author was in Durban on the invitation of South African Tourism).
sudhi.ks@thehindu.co.in
