Prime Minister Narendra Modi Retraces Mahatma Gandhi's Train Journey in South Africa Saturday July 09,2016

Reliving history, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday July 09,2016 retraced Mahatma Gandhi's train journey in South Africa as he travelled to a railway station where Gandhi was thrown out of a train compartment that proved to be a turning point in his life.

On the second day of his visit to South Africa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi boarded a train at Pentrich and travelled to Pietermaritzburg, a distance of around 15 km, paying tribute to Gandhi's fight against racial discrimination.

Note

On 7 June 1893, while Gandhi was on his way to Pretoria from Durban, a white man objected to his presence in a first-class carriage, and he was ordered to move to the third- class compartment.

 

Gandhi had a valid first-class ticket and refused to obey the orders following which he was thrown out of the train at Pietermaritzburg station in a winter night.

He had stayed at the station that night in shivering cold and the bitter incident had played a major role in Gandhi's decision to stay on in South Africa and fight the racial discrimination against Indians there.