Gandhi in South Africa (1895)

Gandhi in the uniform of a sergeant of the Indian Ambulance Corps. He served during the Boer War (1899).

Gandhi's work in South Africa dramatically changed him, as he faced the discrimination commonly directed at blacks and Indians. One day in court at Durban, the magistrate asked him to remove his turban. Gandhi refused and stormed out of the courtroom. He was thrown off a train at Pietermaritzburg, after refusing to move from the first class to a third class coach while holding a valid first class ticket. Traveling further on by stagecoach, he was beaten by a driver for refusing to travel on the foot board to make room for a European passenger. He suffered other hardships on the journey as well, including being barred from many hotels. These incidents have been acknowledged by several biographers as a turning point in his life, explaining his later social activism. It was through witnessing firsthand the racism, prejudice and injustice against Indians in South Africa that Gandhi started to question his people's status, and his own place in society. However, these events by no means explain why he inculcated non-violence instead of aggressive revolution. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File links Gandhisouthafrica. ... Image File history File links Gandhisouthafrica. ... Image File history File links Gandhi_Boer_War_1899. ... Image File history File links Gandhi_Boer_War_1899. ... Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948) (Devanagari: मोहनदास करमचन्द गांधी, Gujarati મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી), called... For other uses, see Durban (disambiguation). ... A Sikh man wearing a turban The turban (from the Persian , dulband via the Turkish ) is a headdress consisting of a long scarf-like single piece of cloth wound round the head or an inner hat. ... City motto: City of Choice Province KwaZulu-Natal Mayor Zanele Hlatshwayo Area   649km² Population  - Total (1991)   228,549 Population  - Total (2001)   521,805 Established 1838 Time zone SAST (UTC+2) Calling code 033 Pietermaritzburg is the capital and second largest city of the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. ... Because racism carries connotations of race-based bigotry, prejudice, violence, oppression, stereotyping or discrimination, the term has varying and often hotly contested definitions. ... For with(out) prejudice in law, see Prejudice (law). ...

At the end of his contract, Gandhi prepared to return to India. However, at an au revoir party in his honour in Durban, he happened to glance at a newspaper and learned that a bill to deny the right to vote to Indians was being considered by the Natal Legislative Assembly. When he brought this up with his hosts, they lamented that they did not have the expertise necessary to oppose the bill, and implored Gandhi to stay and help them. He circulated several petitions to both the Natal Legislature and the British Government in opposition to the bill. Though unable to halt the bill's passage, his campaign was successful in drawing attention to the grievances of Indians in South Africa. Supporters convinced him to remain in Durban to continue fighting against the injustices levied against Indians in South Africa. He founded the Natal Indian Congress in 1894, with himself as the Secretary. Through this organization, he molded the Indian community of South Africa into a homogeneous political force, publishing documents detailing Indian grievances and evidence of British discrimination in South Africa. Gandhi returned briefly to India in 1896 to bring his wife and children to live with him in South Africa. When he returned in January 2007, a white mob attacked and tried to lynch him.^[1] In an early indication of the personal values that would shape his later campaigns, he refused to press charges against any member of the mob, stating it was one of his principles not to seek redress for a personal wrong in a court of law. The African National Congress (ANC) is a centre-left political party, and has been South Africas governing party (in a coalition) since the establishment of majority rule in May 1994. ... Year 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

At the onset of the South African War, Gandhi argued that Indians must support the war effort in order to legitimize their claims to full citizenship, organizing a volunteer ambulance corps of 300 free Indians and 800 indentured labourers called the Indian Ambulance Corps, one of the few medical units to serve wounded black South Africans. He himself was a stretcher-bearer at the Battle of Spion Kop, and was decorated. At the conclusion of the war, however, the situation for the Indians did not improve, but continued to deteriorate. In 1906, the Transvaal government promulgated a new Act compelling registration of the colony's Indian population. At a mass protest meeting held in Johannesburg on September 11th that year, Gandhi adopted his methodology of satyagraha (devotion to the truth), or non-violent protest, for the first time, calling on his fellow Indians to defy the new law and suffer the punishments for doing so, rather than resist through violent means. This plan was adopted, leading to a seven-year struggle in which thousands of Indians were jailed (including Gandhi himself on many occasions), flogged, or even shot, for striking, refusing to register, burning their registration cards, or engaging in other forms of non-violent resistance. While the government was successful in repressing the Indian protesters, the public outcry stemming from the harsh methods employed by the South African government in the face of peaceful Indian protesters finally forced South African General Jan Christiaan Smuts to negotiate a compromise with Gandhi. Boer guerrillas during the Second Boer War There were two Boer wars, one in 1880-81 and the second from October 11, 1899-1902 both between the British and the settlers of Dutch origin (called Boere, Afrikaners or Voortrekkers) in South Africa that put an end to the two independent... In military affairs, the war effort refers to the harnessing of economic and human resources towards support of a military force. ... Combatants Great Britain Boers Commanders Charles Warren Alexander Thorneycroft Louis Botha Strength 11,000 infantry 2,200 cavalry 36 field guns 6,000 men Casualties 383 killed 1,000 wounded 300 captured 58 killed 140 wounded The Battle of Spion Kop (Afrikaans: Slag van Spioenkop) was fought about 38 km... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Flag of Transvaal For the Russian theme park, see Transvaal Park. ... City motto: Unity in Development Province Gauteng Mayor Amos Masondo Area  - % water 1,644 km² 0. ... Mohandas Karamchand “Mahatma” Gandhi, who developed Satyagraha Satyagraha (Sanskrit: सत्याग्रह satyāgraha) is a variety of nonviolent resistance developed by Mohandas Gandhi. ... Jan Christiaan Smuts, (May 24, 1870 - September 11, 1950) was a prominent South African statesman and soldier. ...

Gandhi left South-Africa in 1914, and went back to India after a visit to England. Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

References

1. ^ Wikisource: March 1897 Memorial (Gandhi) : correspondence and newspaper accounts of the incident.