This year is the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first indentured Indian labourers in South Africa. In association with the 1860 Legacy Foundation and the Eastern Cape Co-ordinating Committee, members of the Grahamstown Hindu Seva Samaj will be celebrating the anniversary with a Gandhi Walk on Sunday 31 October.
This year is the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first indentured Indian labourers in South Africa. In association with the 1860 Legacy Foundation and the Eastern Cape Co-ordinating Committee, members of the Grahamstown Hindu Seva Samaj will be celebrating the anniversary with a Gandhi Walk on Sunday 31 October.
The walk emphasises Gandhi’s ideals of peace, unity, non-violence, reconciliation and the principle of Satyagraha (passive resistance). This recalls the 1930 Mahatma Gandhi Salt Walk in protest of the British Salt Tax. He spent 21 years in South Africa from 1893 to 1914 and these concepts made an impact both locally and internationally.
The 1860 Legacy Foundation was established to mark the 150th anniversary of the arrival of Indians on the SS Truro which landed at Durban harbour in November 1860. The first group of indentured labourers worked in the KwaZulu-Natal sugar plantations under arduous and difficult conditions but their descendants are proud today to be part of such a diverse nation.
The 2009 Statistics SA estimates that the mid-year Indian population was 1.3 million which makes up approximately 2.6% of the total population. Many have prospered and take their part in contributing towards the welfare of the broader community.
The Eastern Cape Committee was formed in February this year to promote awareness and arrange events, of which the Gandhi Walk is one, to mark this historic anniversary.
In a recent press release, The High Commission of India, Cape Town stated that “Overseas Indians have emerged as important constituents of their adopted countries and are playing a strategically important role in shaping the future course of development in India.
They build bridges between their present homeland and the land of their ancestors.” The Gandhi Walk of around 5km will start and finish at the Hindu Mandir (Temple) in Kettlewell Street, Oatlands North, Grahamstown.
We invite all community organisations, families and friends to join us in this milestone event as we celebrate 150 years of an Indian community in South Africa and Gandhi’s contribution to our country.
The walk will start at 9am and the entry fee for adults is R10 and for scholars R5. The proceeds of this walk will be donated to St John’s Eye Clinic. Refreshments will be provided after the walk and participants will also receive lucky draw prizes.
