The legacy of Gandhi lives on

The great-granddaughter Kirti Menon of Mohandas Gandhi believes there is a need to inspire the younger generations to remember the legacy left by Mohandas Gandhi.

Menon was talking during the celebration ceremony of 150 years since Mohandas Gandhi’s birth which was held at the Satyagraha house, the only museum devoted to Satyagraha, in Orchards on Wednesday, 2 October.

The celebration was meant to serve as a reminder that much can be achieved with Satyagraha – truth and non-violence or love.

Satyagraha House celebrated with the descendants of some of the original Satyagrahi, in particular, those of Thambi Naidoo – an early collaborator of Gandhi’s from 1906 to 1913 who helped Gandhi in the South African Indian communities struggle against pre-apartheid racial repression. A short film – a discussion between the family members about the moral dilemma of the descendants of the Satyagraha and their participation in the armed struggle – was shown. “The recent marches for an end of violence against women, respect for each other and an end to xenophobia are simple ways in a sense that we are must carry on with the footprint that Gandhi left behind,” she said.

Menon who is an activist, an educator and a writer said it is within their ability to make the change and be someone who takes a stand against that which is wrong. “It is quite fitting that we stand today at a place where Gandhi lived, thank you very much Satyagraha House. One of the messages that we take away today is that we do not have to wait for others, we have to take these little steps to fight for that which is right, stand up for what that which is right as painful as it might be,” said Menon.

Satyagraha House and Museum, a fairly recent addition to Johannesburg’s heritage scene, commonly known as Gandhi House, is a museum and guest house located in Orchards.

Satyagraha was the name given to the philosophy of passive resistance developed by Gandhi. Designed and built in 1907 by architect Hermann Kallenbach, Gandhi shared the house with Kallenbach between 1908 and 1909.

Prema Naidoo, who is the great-grandson of Thami Naidoo, stressed the values and beliefs of the likes of Mandela and Gandhi and indicated they are extremely important today. “We should continue to champion them in our fight against discrimination, abuse and inequality,” he said.

Thami Naidoo was a collaborator of Gandhi’s from 1906 to 1913, when he helped Gandhi in the South African Indian communities’ struggles against (pre-apartheid) racial repression by the local white and the colonial British authorities in Durban.

Prema said Gandhi’s moral and ethical ethos of working for the greater good, self-sacrifice, acting with integrity and honesty, discipline and self-reliance became part of the values espoused by successive generations of leaders in the liberation movement.

“Unfortunately, our recent struggles against inequality, poverty and corruption all point to a world in which these noble values are rapidly eroding,” he said.

He indicated that Gandhi was opposed to religious, ethnic and national chauvinism which, unfortunately, is rife in the world today.

Details: The Satyagraha House 011 485 5928.

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