Durban - One hundred and twenty-five years ago, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was thrown off a first-class train - highlighting racial hatred that shockingly still haunts the world and South Africa today.
This event became a catalyst for the activation of “dharma” (human duty) in fighting against the forces of tyranny and oppression, that finally resulted in the India gaining independence in 1947 and by way of influence, laid the foundation for our very own victory in the freedom Struggle, here in South Africa, in 1994.
On November 14, 1980, Oliver Tambo delivered a speech on behalf of Nelson Mandela in accepting the Jawaharlal Nehru award for International understanding. In one part of this speech,
Tambo said: “It is fitting that on this day, I should recall the long and glorious struggle of those South Africans who came to our shores from India 120 years ago. Within two years of entering the bondage of indentured labour, Indian workers staged their first strike against the working conditions in Natal.
“This was probably the first general strike in South African history. Their descendants, working and fighting for the future of their country, South Africa, have retained the tradition of militant struggle and are today an integral part of the mass-based liberation movement in South Africa.”
This first general strike and the resultant success for our mass democratic revolution, all but made Gandhi’s train throwing incident a worthy “incident” of history.
Gandhi’s “passive resistance” fight against oppression and injustice, from the 1893 Pietermaritzburg train station incident through to the pivotal strike of 1913, has significant bearing in our own understanding of how history is told and celebrated.
Much has been written on the train incident, with very little written on the role-players and significance of the 1913 strike.
This strike eventually resulted the fleeting elimination of repressive laws against the Indians living in South Africa while delivering the “Mahatma” to the world stage.
Most importantly, this event became a lasting influence to our mass-based revolutionary movement on how to mobilise the masses to champion a revolution.
The final phase of Gandhi’s success in South Africa was delicately poised.
Maureen Swan’s book, Gandhi, the South African Experience and Kalpana Hiralal and ES Reddy’s book, Pioneers of Satyagraha, both point out that the 1913 strike became the bedrock of Gandhi’s success in South Africa.
This political victory was all due to the unwavering if not unexpected wave of mass-based mobilisation by the poor indentured classes, rather than Gandhi’s normal support base.
After all his time in South Africa - about 21 years later, Gandhi finally saw the power of the masses as they came out to fight against the untold oppression as experienced in the mines, plantations, hotels and railways!
* Naidoo is the curator of 1860 Heritage Centre.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.