CAPE TOWN, June 6 (Xinhua) -- South Africa and India will commemorate an incident 125 years ago when young Mahatma Gandhi was forcibly removed from a White-only carriage of a train in KwaZulu-Natal Province, it was announced on Wednesday.
"The commemoration of the train incident allows the two countries to look back and reaffirm the need to eradicate racism, the scourge of which continues in our societies 125 years later," the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) said.
Indian Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj will attend the commemoration on June 7 in Durban while the South African government will be represented by the premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Willies Mchunu, and Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Luwellyn Landers, said DIRCO spokesperson Ndivhuwo Mabaya.
Gandhi arrived in South Africa as a young lawyer in 1893 and shortly after his arrival he booked a first class ticket on the train to Pretoria. He was forcibly removed by the rail authorities at Pietermaritzburg from the first class compartment and thrown off the train following a complaint from one of the passengers. He subsequently spent the night in the station's waiting room.
This event is believed to have initiated his contemplations of racial discrimination and marked the beginning of his philosophy of Satyagraha (truth-force) and Ahimsa (pressure for social and political reform through passive resistance). The philosophy has influenced the civil rights movement in the United States and South Africa.
The ties between South Africa and India are cemented by the foundation laid by the two icons: Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president, and Gandhi, Mabaya said.
South Africa was central to forging Gandhi's identity as a political activist and his time here was an important prelude in developing his thinking prior to his return to India, said Mabaya.
Both Mandela and Gandhi were visionary leaders who were ahead of their times, Mabaya said.
"Modern day India, with its extra-ordinary economic growth and development, and South Africa have carved a niche as influential global players, as witnessed by our roles in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), IORA (Indian Ocean Rim Association), IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa) and the G20, as well as within the United Nations system," he said.
South Africa and India enjoy a strategic partnership and the bilateral relations are anchored by a deep and shared history of friendship and solidarity, Mabaya said.
This year witnesses the 25th anniversary of the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries.
India is currently South Africa's second largest trading partner in Asia and ranks among South Africa's top 10 trade partners. In 2017 bilateral trade reached 107 billion rand (about 8.6 billion U.S. dollars).