3 October 2022
A serene evening lit by glowing lanterns set the ambience for a beautiful celebration of Gandhi Jayanti. The celebration of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday on 2 October 2022 took place at Satyagraha House in the leafy suburb of Orchards in Johannesburg where the Mahatma lived from 1908 to 1909. The evening included a meditation session as well as a beautiful rendition of Gandhi’s favourite bhajans (devotional songs).
In June 2015 the United Nations General Assembly declared the commemoration of 2 October as the International Day of Non Violence. It is in South Africa that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi experienced discrimination and began his passive resistance campaign which followed the path of truth and non-violence. Satyagraha and Ahimsa were also later used in India to oust the British.
The celebration was hosted jointly by Anju Ranjan and Etienne Chapon, Indian and French Consul Generals in Johannesburg, South Africa. Satyagraha House is now a provincial museum said manager Edna Oberholzer. In 2009 the house was bought by a French travel company and renovated and opened as a museum and boutique hotel. The place exudes Gandhi’s presence as it is filled with his relics. Oberholzer said that it is here that the first autobiography of Gandhi was written and the principles of Satyagraha formulated.
Truth and non-violence has much relevance in the world today. Ranjan referred to Gandhi’s experiences in South Africa and its impact on the ideals of freedom and justice. The Gandhi trail that the Consulate undertook last year showcased places of Gandhi’s activism in South Africa. She made special mention of Tolstoy Farm which was a self-sufficient commune started by Gandhi during his time in Johannesburg. The farm was completely vandalised over the years and recently the Mahatma Gandhi Remembrance Organisation (MGRO) led by veteran Gandhian activist Mohan Hira started reviving and renovating it. Hira gave an overview of how he envisioned the completed project and he invited guests to visit Tolstoy Farm.
French Consul General Etienne Chapon acknowledged Joburg Accueil, an organisation of French expatriates who embark on far reaching community projects. He said, "'I don't want to compare members of Jo'bourg Accueil to Gandhi, that would be putting too much responsibility on their shoulders. However, I'm sure that the great Gandhiji, if he were here today, would easily recognise himself in the values carried by Joburg Accueil, those of inclusiveness, solidarity, mutual aid and sharing.''
Ranjan said that Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first democratically-elected President had acknowledged Gandhi's influence on his own political education. ''Gandhiji's views therefore became guiding principles in the struggle against oppression in both South Africa and India,” said Ranjan. 'Let us follow Gandhiji's path of non-violence and truth and embrace other communities’ cultures so that we experience 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (the World is One Family),'' she said.
Anisha Pemjee