Guests celebrate Gandhi’s legacy
“It is important that we protect historic moments. On behalf of the heritage association, we are pleased that you celebrate and commemorate that Gandhi was here.”
Local businessman and Heidelberg resident Dixie Moti welcomed high-profile guests to unveil the Mahatma Gandhi bust in memory of Gandhi’s footprints in Heidelberg on February 25.
Moti was the grandfather of Moti Bhika, who knew Gandhi personally and provided meals for him after his arrest in Heidelberg.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, in India. In September 1888, Gandhi set sail for England to pursue a law degree. He practised law in India, but his practice collapsed, and he returned home to Porbandar.
It was while he was contemplating his seemingly bleak future that a representative of an Indian business firm situated in the Transvaal (now Gauteng) offered him employment. He was to work in South Africa for 12 months.
Gandhi arrived in South Africa on May 24, 1893, to serve as legal counsel to merchant Dada Abdulla in Durban. He settled in Durban and frequently travelled on the South-Eastern train line from Durban to Pretoria, where he had to attend to legal matters in the Pretoria court.
Arriving one night at the old Heidelberg station, he did not have a ‘pass’, a document all non-Europeans had to carry at night at that time, and was arrested. Gandhi was supposed to be detained at the station prison cell but a Heidelberg Gujarati businessman, Moti Bhika, who had a good relationship with the police station commander at the time, secretly organised his transfer to the police commander’s house, where he spent the night and where Bhika provided his meals.
“My grandfather settled in Heidelberg in 1908 as a tailor. Due to his good relationships with the police station commander at the time, he was able to help Gandhi not be imprisoned, and he secretly arranged for Gandhi to stay at the commander’s house,” Dixie Moti said, adding that while Gandhi stayed at the commander’s house his grandfather provided meals for Gandhi.
“Gandhi is a well-known icon and leader in the Indian community and founder of the Natal Indian Congress in South Africa. He imprinted deep footsteps in Heidelberg, so for that reason, we wanted to commemorate him with a bust at the Heidelberg Heritage Museum,” Moti said.
Sudhir Khurana, the consulate general of India in South Africa, Katherine Munro, vice-chair of the Heritage Foundation in Johannesburg, and Thulani Mashinini, MMC with Lesedi Local Municipality, and community service were some of the astute guests.
“Gandhi was known as a humble man who believed in resolving differences through dialogue. His teachings remained through humanity. He stood for truth and honesty, and it is a great honour to know he left footprints in South Africa and Heidelberg. I am very pleased the community is embracing Gandhi’s heritage and proud that the bust revealed today will be in memory of the footprints he left in the town,” Khurana said.
Munro congratulated the Heidelberg Heritage Museum and Moti for this initiative.
“It is important that we protect historic moments. On behalf of the heritage association, we are pleased that you celebrate and commemorate that Gandhi was here,” she said.
Mashinini said Gandhi was a great believer in peace and equality and a stellar example of humanity and kindness.
“It is an honour that we can remember this great man through the bust at the museum,” he added.
The bust was revealed decorated with flower garlands.
Bouwe Wiersma from the Heidelberg Heritage Museum, Tony Burich from the Heidelberg Heritage Association, Sudhir Khurana and Mashini all received trophy busts of Gandhi and Nelson Mandela from Moti.
“These are two men we want to remember, and these trophies are a gift in appreciation towards the Heritage Museum and our astute guests today for making this day possible,” Moti concluded.
