Mohandas Gandhi
The father of passive resistanceOctober 2 1869 — January 30 1948 |
Artist: Usha Seejarim Location: Hamidia Mosque, Jennings Street, Fordsburg, Johannesburg
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Usha Seejarim’s memorial honouring Gandhi features a potjie, like the cauldron in which passes were burned in the 1908 protest. When the wheel beneath the cauldron is spun, a zoetrope enables viewers to see an image of a pass actually burning. Picture: Debbie Yazbek © Sunday Times On August 16, 1908, 3 000 Muslims, Hindus and Christians led by Mohandas Gandhi, a Hindu, gathered outside the Hamidia Mosque and burned their passes, documents all people classified "non-white" by the government were forced to carry or face imprisonment. The huge bonfire, lit in a cauldron, marked the first burning of passes in South Africa and the beginning of Gandhi's satyagraha, or passive resistance, campaign. From The Archives What brought Gandhi to South Africa?In extracts from his autobiography, Mohandas Gandhi speaks candidly about how debilitating shyness sabotaged his early career as a lawyer in India, leading to his decision to take up a job in South Africa. The Transvaal Asiatic Registration ActIn response to the Transvaal Asiatic Registration Act, and to prevent the Asiatic community of South Africa suffering intolerable humiliation, Gandhi developed the concept of satyagraha. Indian registration cards and the prelude to the pass-burningKey to the story of the pass-burning is the relationship between Gandhi and Jan Smuts. Accounts of the pass burningIn this extract from his book, Satyagraha in South Africa, Gandhi provides his own account of the pass-burning of August 16, 1908. Development of satyagraha at tolstoy farmIn 1910, Gandhi’s close associate, Herman Kallenbach, bought property north of Johannesburg which he donated to the satyaghara movement. Gandhi's relationship with Jan Smuts and the story of the sandalsGandhi’s relationship with Jan Smuts was a fraught one, but both men maintained a degree of respect for each other. Gandhi's letter to HitlerOn July 23, 1939, a few weeks before the outbreak of World War II, Gandhi wrote to Adolf Hitler, addressing him as "Dear Friend" and appealing to the Führer to prevent "a war which may reduce humanity to the savage state". His letter went unanswered. Life Stories Following the footsteps of a great manA pair of sandals made by Gandhi for Jan Smuts symbolises the respect the two leaders had for each other. The power of peaceful defianceGandhi’s belief in passive resistance developed during his two-decades-long stay in South Africa. 9/11 and satyagrahaThe fifth anniversary of 9/11 was also the centenary of the birth of satyagraha, Gandhi’s mode of peaceful struggle. Making the Memorial Who is Usha Seejarim?Her work is flavoured by her urban surroundings and her heritage as a person of Indian origin growing up in South Africa.
The Light Bulb Moment: The Artist's ConceptSeejarim says Gandhi's philosophy of passive resistance should not be confused with passivity for he was an activist and an initiator, hence the "interactive" artwork. |
