Celebrating Gandhi by train

The Gandhi Development Trust organised a symbolic train trip from Durban Central railway station to Charlestown today. The train stopped  in Ladysmith to pick people up. Friends and families gathered in the early morning to jump on the train.

The train also stopped at Pietermaritzburg and also at Newcastle.  This marks the centenary of the Great March of 1913 which was led by Mahatma Gandhi, and the women’s protest against the extension of the pass laws which took place in Bloemfontein.

The march, which was led by Gandhi, started in Charlestown on November 6, 1913. Gandhi led 2500 people illegally across the Natal border into the then Transvaal. He and a number of protesters, including women, were charged and imprisoned. The women were imprisoned in Pietermaritzburg.

The action in Bloemfontein caused the government to abandon its plans to extend the pass laws to women, and the Charlestown march by Gandhi caused the scrapping of the tax imposed on indentured labourers, and the reinstatement of marriages conducted by Hindu and Muslim rites.

In celebration of the freedom that we have today, thanks to the courage and resilience of our people,  a short walk took place between Charlestown and Volksrust, where a Mass Rally was held. The walk began at the Charlestown Mosque and ended at Volksrust prison.