PIETERMARITZBURG - “Get off the bloody train!”
Those are the words a railway official shouted as he threw a young Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi) onto the Pietermaritzburg Railway station platform from a first-class train carriage, that Gandhi had a ticket to sit in.
This incident is said to have been among those which ultimately sparked ‘Satyagraha’, a non-violent, passive form of resistance against non-democratic rule and ideals.
It was exactly 125 years ago today, when Gandhi, then a 23-year-old, was kicked off his first-class cabin at the local station, despite having a ticket. The coach was reserved for whites only.
According to Gandhi’s words contained in a biography, it was a cold morning and his overcoat was in his luggage, but he didn’t want to ask for it, afraid of being further maligned by authorities.
A double-sided bust of Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled to commemorate #Gandhi125. Picture: Karinda Jagmohan
Gandhi spent the night at the cold railway station, and pondered over protesting against discrimination which further gave rise to Satyagraha.
There was a mass gathering outside the station on Thursday morning as the Indian Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Sewraj, Ela Gandhi, and several politicians including Mangosuthu Buthelezi paid tribute to 125 years of the incident.
The re-enactment took place with the very same train Gandhi was kicked off from.
Ultimately, through his resistance and fight against discrimination both in South Africa and India, Gandhi is hailed as a ‘great soul’, Mahatma Gandhi.
To commemorate the milestone of the birth of Satyagraha, a double-sided bust of Gandhi was unveiled at the station which showed both the young and old Gandhi.
A digital museum was also unveiled.
At the event, Ela Gandhi said her grandfather’s incident reminded people about how change can be for the better, or worse.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited the site in 2016 sent a message to the audience at the event.
“What went through Mahatma’s mind as he spent the night in the waiting room is not really known to us. But we do know that it led to the evolution of a force not seen before in any political movement,” Modi said.