Gandhi
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It is always said that a leader is the one who digs the way despite any challenging circumstances. This statement turned to be true in the case of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi i.e. the Father of the Nation, India.
Gandhi before leading the Indian freedom movement, lived in South Africa to fight against class division and injustice.
It was in South Africa where Gandhiji began his fight against oppression.
His involvement in the non-violent movement in South Africa had made such an impact that even now, he is looked up to as a revered figure.
Even Gandhi regarded the time in South Africa as the development period as Gandhi in a meeting in New Delhi said he was born in India but was made in South Africa.
So here are the points that Made Gandhi a Revered Figure in South Africa
#1 Gandhi formed the Natal Indian Congress in 1894 in South Africa. This organisation led non-violent protests against the oppressive treatment of the white people towards the native Africans and Indians. The story behind this was that once Gandhi was traveling by train to Pretoria but despite carrying the first-class ticket he was thrown out of the train by the authorities on the basis of a complain made by the white man of sharing the space with him.
#2 In 1896, he came to India for a short time and gathered 800 Indians to serve along with him in South Africa. They were welcomed by an irate mob and Gandhi was injured in the attack.
#3 During the outbreak of the Boer War in 1899, Gandhi gathered around 1,100 Indians and organised the Indian Ambulance Corps for the British but the ethnic discrimination and torture continued on Indians.
#4 Gandhi set up Phoenix Farm near Durban. Here, Gandhi would train his cadres on non-violent Satyagraha or peaceful restraint. Phoenix Farm is considered as the birthplace of Satyagraha.
Also Read: Let's be Thankful for These 6 Movements Led by Mahatma Gandhi for India's Independence
#5 In September 1906, Gandhi organised the first Satyagraha campaign to protest against the Transvaal Asiatic ordinance that was constituted against the local Indians. Again in June 1907, he held Satyagraha against the Black Act.
#6 In 1909, he was sentenced to a three-month jail term in Volkshurst and Pretoria. After his release, Gandhi went to England to seek the assistance of the Indian community there.
#7 He also fought against the nullification of non-Christian marriages in 1913.
#8 Gandhi organised another peaceful resistance campaign in Transvaal against the oppression that Indian minors were suffering from. He led around 2,000 Indians across the Transvaal border.
Also Read: Lal Bahadur Shastri: All the Interesting Facts You Need to Know on His 115th Birth Anniversary
