Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday retraced Mahatma Gandhi's historic train journey in South Africa as he travelled to a railway station where the Father of the Nation was thrown out of a train compartment that proved to be a turning point in his life.
The incident on June 7, 1893 had strongly influenced Gandhi's decision to fight racial discrimination in South Africa and later the freedom struggle in India.
On the second day of his visit to South Africa, Modi boarded a wood-panelled carriage at Pentrich and travelled to Pietermaritzburg, a distance of around 15 km, paying tribute to Gandhi’s fight against racial discrimination.
“This is the place where the seed was laid for Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi to start the journey of the Mahatma,” Modi told reporters at the Pietermaritzburg railway station. Paying glowing tribute to Gandhi, the Prime Minister said the visit to South Africa was like a pilgrimage as he was visiting places which were linked to India's history and life of the Father of the Nation.
“My visit to South Africa has become like a pilgrimage to me as I have got the opportunity to visit all the three places that are significant to Indian history and Mahatma Gandhi's life,” said Modi.
On June 7, 1893, while a young Gandhi was on his way to Pretoria from Durban, a white man objected to his presence in a first-class carriage, and Gandhi was ordered to move to the third-class compartment.
Gandhi had a valid first-class ticket and refused to obey the orders following which he was thrown out of the train at Pietermaritzburg station in the dead of a cold winter night.
Gandhi was forced to stay at the station that night in the biting cold and the bitter incident played a major role in Gandhi's decision to stay on in South Africa and fight racial discrimination against Indians there.
Modi will also visit the Phoenix Settlement, which is very closely associated with Gandhi. He also planted a sapling there.
The Prime Minister also inaugurated an exhibition at the waiting hall of the railway station where Gandhi had spent the night after being thrown out of the train.
“PM travels from Pentrich Railway Station to Pietermaritzburg. Train resembles the one on which Mahatma Gandhi travelled,” the PMO tweeted.
After talks with South African President Jacob Zuma, the Prime Minister on Friday had paid glowing tributes to Mahatma Gandhi as well as Nelson Mandela.
“For me personally, this visit is an opportunity to pay homage to two of the greatest human souls to have ever walked this Earth - Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela,” Modi had said.
He further said, “We stood together in our common fight against racial subjugation and colonialism. It was in South Africa that Gandhi found his true calling. He belongs as much to India as to South Africa.”
Modi also talked about Gandhi's fight against racial discrimination and how he tolerated pain in fighting against injustices.
