The
High Commission of India, South Africa with the support of the Indian
Ministries of External Affairs and Culture, the Indian Council for
Cultural Relations and the Pietermaritzburg Gandhi Memorial Committee
will be hosting a series of events on 6-7 June 2018 at
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa to commemorate the 125th
anniversary of the birth of Satyagraha. The External Affairs Minister
of India, Smt. Sushma Swaraj will be the Distinguished Guest from
India for this important commemoration.
On
7 June 2018, Smt. Sushma Swaraj will inaugurate a special two-sided
bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the Pietermaritzburg Railway Station. As
well, she will inaugurate a Digital Museum on Mahatma Gandhi. She
will also jointly release commemorative stamps on Indian and ANC
stalwarts, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya and OR Tambo, as well as
release commemorative coins on Mahatma Gandhi. Her Address to the
audience on this occasion will focus on the relevance of Gandhiji and
his message of peace and non-violence in today’s world.
A
South African dignitary will similarly speak to the special
significance of the commemoration. The Indian and South African
dignitaries will also jointly release a Coffee Table Book on Mahatma
Gandhi which encapsulates quotes by world leaders and eminent
personalities on the relevance of Gandhiji’s message of peace in
the 21st
Century.
An
event highlight will include a re-enactment of the historic train
journey undertaken by Gandhi ji 125 years ago on the morning of
7 June 2018, with the support of a local cast of actors. The train
will be draped in Khadi, especially imported from the Khadi and
Village Industries Commission India, and as a mark of respect
to Mahatma Gandhi who had in the early 20th century started a
nationalist movement for home spun cotton cloth in reaction to
foreign imposed fabric, sold at exorbitant rates.
The
two-day commemoration activities will also include a Youth Summit on
6 June 2018 where 20 diaspora youth from Africa and 5 from India will
be especially flown to Pietermaritzburg, South Africa to speak on the
relevance of Gandhiji’s message of peace to the youth of today. The
Gandhi-Mandela
Youth Summit
is expected to conclude with the adoption of a Resolution.
There
will also be a mini Film Festival on Gandhi ji at Pietermaritzburg on
6-7 June, featuring among others the Oscar winning film, Gandhi by
Richard Attenborough , all of which will be screened free of
cost for the public. Finally, the commemoration will also
include an Address by the External Affairs Minister of India at the
Pietermaritzburg City Hall on the evening of 6 June 2018, made
historic also by Mahatma Gandhi who had addressed the venue over 100
years ago in 1912.
The
Pietermaritzburg City Hall and Station as well as the Gandhi Statue
at Church Street, will be lit up in national colours on 6 June 2018
as a mark of respect to the Father of the Indian Nation.
Background
: On the 7th
of June, 1893, Mohandas K. Gandhi a young lawyer was discriminated
for the colour of his skin and removed from a 1st
class rail compartment at Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. He spent
the entire night in the railway station waiting room introspecting.
By early next morning he had decided that he would stay back in South
Africa to fight against this injustice. This waiting room was the
birthplace of Satyagraha.
2019
will be the 150th
Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi which will be commemorated in
India over a 2-year period, spotlighting the relevance of Gandhiji’s
message in modern times. The 125th
Anniversary celebrations of the birth of Satyagraha at
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa provides a vital link to the 150th
Birth Anniversary celebrations of Gandhiji, to be commemorated in
India from 2018-2020.
*****
Issued
by : The High Commission of India, Pretoria
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