M K Gandhi, who arrived in Johannesburg in 1893 to practise law, got embroiled in local politics after he was thrown out
of a train because of the colour of his skin. In 1906, he turned the country into a laboratory for his experiments with truth, launching a satyagraha to protest against colour-coded discrimination. Fighting racism in Transvaal, Gandhi defied the law, refused to pay the fines and went to jail, eventually forcing the British government to bow to his stubborn campaign for reform. A century later, he remains an icon of truth and justice in S Africa.
Mandela Magic
Inspired by the Mahatma, Nelson Mandela and his comrades in the ANC youth wing began the passive resistance campaign against the apartheid regime. Arrested in 1962 for ‘treason’, the ‘African Gandhi’ was sent off to Robben Island to spend 27 years in jail. Out of prison in 1990, Mandela chose the ‘land of Mahatma Gandhi’ as his first destination abroad, before becoming the country’s first black president in 1994. One of the planet’s most famous living legends, 91-year-old Mandela remains an icon both at home and in India.
Cricket Connect
Even before the IOC imposed sanctions against South Africa in 1970, India decided to cut sporting ties with it. In 1991, the Olympic body lifted the ban and the Springboks were back in the family of cricket-playing nations. They arrived in Calcutta in 1991 on their first tour abroad. Sports-crazy Calcuttans jammed the streets to welcome the visitors. Now, South Africa seems to be returning the compliment with its interest in IPL2.
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