Opinion -The Pietermaritzburg train incident was Mohandas Gandhi’s second encounter with racism in South Africa within a fortnight of his arrival.
The other being intolerance of his turban by the presiding judge in a Durban court.
Gandhi refused to remove his turban, trying to explain the Indian custom of keeping the turban on as a mark of respect rather than removing it as one does with a hat, but the presiding officer refused to listen to his explanation and instead threatened him with expulsion from the court.
These shocking experiences of racial discrimination became a catalyst for change in this young man and thus began a process of transformation in his thinking and the choices he made, elevating him from an ordinary young man into an extraordinary human being, referred to as the Mahatma or Great Soul.
This amazing story began in Pietermaritzburg but was dormant until it began to take shape at the Phoenix Settlement, 11 years after this incident.
In 1903, 10 years after the incident, Gandhiji decided to print his own newspaper in order to provide authentic news, to enrich the understanding of issues facing the Indian community in South Africa, to educate and mobilise the community in order to unite the community - against their oppression in South Africa and the discriminatory practices in general.
The paper was produced in four languages - English, Gujarati, Hindi and Tamil.
Being an immigrant with every intention of returning to his native land, India, he was very conscious that he could not assume the role of leadership of the indigenous people of South Africa.
His work was therefore confined to the people of Indian origin.
Later, in 1906, on request from people of Chinese origin, he worked with them as well. Shang Quanyu of the Confucius Institute at the University of Latvia Riga, Latvia, wrote in 2016 - in a foreword to the book written by Dr E.S. Reddy: “Leaders of the Chinese community met Gandhi for consultation after the Transvaal Government passed the Asiatic Act. Gandhi formed a close friendship with Mr. Leung Quinn, the leader of the Chinese community, which, like the Indian community, was resisting racially discriminatory registration laws. While Leung Quinn addressed Indian groups in Johannesburg, Gandhi spoke at meetings of the city’s Chinese residents.”
Thus began the internationally renowned movement known as Satyagraha or “soul force” to oppose injustices through non-violent action. But like any organised action, it took years of education training and planning.
In 1904, Mahatma Gandhi, in his most radical quest for change, moved from his beautiful well-equipped centrally situated home in the city, to live in the rural area of Inanda, as a neighbour to Rev Isaiah Shembe and Dr J.L. Dube on the one end and the sprawling sugar estate, with its barracks housing the indentured sugar workers, on the other side.
Influenced by philosophers such as Ruskin and Tolstoy and by the holy scriptures, the Gita, the Bible and the Qur’an he set out to modify and simplify his lifestyle.
This action began the process of the development of a disciplined regime for Satyagrahis, who would join the struggle in South Africa and later in India.
He invited those who would submit themselves to the rigours of such a lifestyle to join him at the Phoenix Settlement.
They developed a new world view, a new lifestyle and a powerful movement, that would shake the might of the British Empire and leave a model of resistance that many, such as Dr Martin Luther King Jr. and others followed.
The 15 rules that he compiled as a guideline for those who were willing to join his campaigns and assume leadership roles were simple but powerful.
In summary these rules pertain to living a life of austerity and commitment to a cause.
Spiritual values upheld by all faiths formed the bedrock of his philosophy.
Respect for all faiths, imbibing the best teachings from the various scriptures and, above all, ensuring equality among all - breaking down barriers of gender, class, caste and race, uniting in spirit and building a strong resilience to oppression and injustice with a valiant call to action, were the outcomes of this experiment.
Recognising the importance of these principles in our life today, not just for South Africans but for the world, the leadership of the National Association of African American Studies (NAAAS) have taken the initiative to nominate the Phoenix Settlement as a world heritage site.
Academics researched the universal importance of Phoenix Settlement and the significance of the ideas generated in this communitarian settlement, which are depicted lucidly in the museum and the ambience of the place, and have succeeded in drawing the attention of Unesco.
Such recognition can assist in promoting, locally and worldwide, the important values ingrained in the philosophy of Satyagraha.
Today, in a world driven by materialistic values and philosophies, the need for a new perspective and for a story which is not only contemporary but can be exciting and appealing to the new generation is important.
This is a philosophy which has been tried and tested, and is doable. It is a philosophy that embodies the highest principles of all our scriptures and is a philosophy that can help to change society.
A new emphasis may help to alter the course on which the world is presently rotating in order to save it from the debilitating effects of social, economic and environmental degeneration.
As Gandhiji famously said: “I want world sympathy in this battle of right against might”, so today the NAAAS initiative for world heritage status for Phoenix Settlement seeks worldwide support for this nomination.
* Ela Gandhi, granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, is a Trustee of the Gandhi Development Trust.
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