“Carefully watch your thoughts, for they become your words. Manage and watch your words, for they will become your actions. Consider and judge your actions, for they have become your habits. Acknowledge and watch your habits, for they shall become your values. Understand and embrace your values, for they become your destiny.”
It all started in 1893. As a train reached Maritzburg, the capital of Natal, a white man disagreed with the presence of a coloured entity in a first-class seat. Although he had a ticket, they asked him to move to the back of the train. Refusing to do so, he was forcibly removed and thrown out off a train in Pietermaritzburg.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi picked up his belongings and dignity and went to the dark waiting room of the station.
The prejudice against him and his fellow Indians from British people that Gandhi experienced and observed deeply bothered him. He found it humiliating, struggling to understand how some people can feel honour, superiority or pleasure in such inhumane practices.
“I was afraid for my very life. I entered the dark waiting room. There was a white man in the room, and I was afraid of him. What was my duty? I asked myself. Should I go back to India, or should I go forward, with God as my helper and face whatever was in store for me? I decided to stay and suffer. My active non-violence began from that date.”
Gandhi then decided to fight the disease of colour prejudice happening in South Africa.
On the whole, Gandhi remained in South Africa for twenty-one years. By the end of his stay, the government passed the Indian Relief Act granting several of the demands of Gandhi and his comrades.
Mahatma Gandhi returned to India on the 9th of January, 1915. He brought an international reputation as a first-rate Indian nationalist, theoretician and community organiser.
Gandhi went on to implement his ideals to confront British rule there, reform the caste system and restore village culture and industry. Gandhi never went astray from his principles and helped India achieve freedom from the British.
In 2002, the then Prime Minister of India, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, announced the decision to celebrate Pravasi Bharatiya Divas every year on the 9th of January to celebrate the return of Mahatma Gandhi to India.
To celebrate the same, KarmaPlay is hosting an NRI Quiz. Get ready to drain your brain with some questions only on KarmaPlay!