When Gandhi Was Thrown Out Of A Train

By Shevlin Sebastian 

It was a cold night on June 7, 1893. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi wore a suit, along with a tie. At the railway station at Durban, he bought a first-class ticket to travel to Pretoria, 625 kms away. As a lawyer, he was going to the capital to argue a case for a client in the court.

As he stepped into the carriage, with a leather suitcase, Gandhi could not help but admire the gleaming wood-panelled interiors and the plush seats. He took a window seat. Soon, the train left. And briefly, Gandhi looked out of the window and enjoyed watching the city lights of Durban at night. 

The train then went deeper into the South African countryside. Gandhi felt tranquil and calm as the train clattered on the tracks. But half an hour later, all hell broke loose. A white man objected to his presence, because it was a 'whites-only' compartment. The conductor came up and told Gandhi to move to a third-class compartment. Gandhi showed him his first-class ticket. The conductor still insisted. But Gandhi refused to move and said, “I have a valid ticket.” 

In the meantime, the train glided to a stop at Pietermaritzburg station. The conductor grabbed Gandhi and took him to the door and pushed him out. Gandhi fell on his arms and knees on the platform. As the train moved away, the conductor threw his suitcase out also.

Gandhi silently rubbed his hands and tapped his trousers to remove the dust. Then, cold and shivering, he picked up his suitcase and went to the deserted waiting room. The whole night he stayed awake, thinking about the injustice of it all, and of how racism had driven a stake through the heart of South African society.

He also felt deeply humiliated. After all, Gandhi came from an illustrious family. His grandfather, father, and uncle had served as prime ministers to the princes of Porbandar and other Indian states. In fact, Gandhi's father Karamchand later became the Diwan of Rajkot. 

Soon, the Pietermaritzburg incident galvanised him. Within a year, he set up the Indian Natal Congress which staged non-violent protests against the oppressive treatment by whites towards native Africans and Indians.

However, Gandhi proved that he had a generous heart. When the Boer War broke out in 1899, Gandhi organised the Indian Ambulance Corps, consisting of one thousand members, to work for the British. They included barristers, accountants, artisans and labourers. But the ethnic discrimination and torture against the Indians continued following the victory of the British.

In 1904, Gandhi set up the Phoenix Farm near Durban. At this farm, Gandhi spoke to his followers about non-violent Satyagraha. In September 1906, Gandhi organised the first satyagraha campaign to protest against the Transvaal Asiatic ordinance that was constituted against the Asians, which included the Indians and the Chinese. 

Under the Act, every male Asian had to register himself and produce on demand a thumb-printed certificate of identity. Those who were unregistered could be deported without a right of appeal or fined on the spot. Gandhi called it a 'black act'. Again in June 1907, Gandhi held a satyagraha against the act. 

He said, “I am, along with my countrymen, in a despised minority. If the Europeans of South Africa will forgive me, we are all coolies.” 

On November 6, 1913, he led a four-day march to Johannesburg. It included 2000 men, 127 women and 57 children. Gandhi was soon arrested. On December 11, South African Interior Minister Jan Smuts announced a Commission of Inquiry. Soon Gandhi was freed from jail and the bill was scrapped. Unfortunately, two years later, it was reinstated.  

In 1910, he set up the Tolstoy Farm, near Johannesburg, where Satyagraha was moulded into a weapon of protest. After a ceaseless fight for the rights of Indians, in which he won many battles, Gandhi left for India on July 18, 1914.

Gandhi's early life

At 7 a.m., on October 2, 1869, Putlibai was having stomach pains. The midwife was called. This was her fourth pregnancy. Earlier, she had given birth to two sons and a daughter. Putilibai rested on the bed in a windowless room at the family residence at Porbandar in Gujarat.

In the end, a son was born. He was named Mohandas. Little did Putlibai know as she held the crying baby in her hands that he would one day shake the foundations of the British Empire and force it to give up its crown jewel: India. But all that was decades into the future.

As a child, Gandhi burnt with energy. Or, as her sister Raliat said, “He was restless as mercury, either playing or roaming about.”

But Gandhi also liked to read books. And as a child, he was deeply influenced by the tales of Shravana and king Harishchandra. Later, Gandhi wrote in his autobiography, “I acted as King Harishchandra many times.”

Later historians said that Gandhi's adoption of truth as a supreme virtue stemmed from these stories that he read.

Gandhi is commemorated at Pietermaritzburg station 

Traveller Snottin from Singapore writes: 'The station building at Pietermaritzburg is stately, colonial, and was deserted when we visited it. There are no entrance fees. Spotlessly clean, we read the plaque commemorating Mahatma Gandhi and the station episode in the main foyer of the station. A lovely small museum on Satyagraha and the 20+ years that Gandhi spent in South Africa is in a room to the left.

'It is very informative and the panels/photos inside were a great read. This addition adds insights and perspective to the life of Gandhi and his actions. The station is an inspiring visit for those of Indian origin and for proponents of non-violence. About 10 minutes away from the station, in front of the courthouse, is a statue of Gandhi, in the centre of Pietermaritzburg town.'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the station in July, 2016. He was able to read the plaque at the station which reads: 'In the vicinity of this plaque MK Gandhi was evicted from a first-class compartment on the night of June 7, 1893. This incident changed the course of his life. He took up the fight against racial oppression. His active non-violence started from that date.'

Modi also inaugurated an exhibition titled 'The Birthplace of Satyagraha' at the waiting room where Gandhi had spent the night and also wrote in the visitor’s book.

He also visited the spot at the station where Gandhi was offloaded.

Said Modi: “This visit is like a pilgrimage to me as I am getting the opportunity to visit places that are significant to Indian history and Mahatma Gandhi’s life. The Pietermaritzburg railway station is the place where the seed was laid for Mohandas (Karamchand Gandhi) to start the journey of the Mahatma.” 

(Published in the special Mahatma Gandhi supplement of The New Indian Express)