Reviews
Clean place was used as a venue for the gandhi community needs some work but has character and a feel of the world in the older days its a moment of wat South Africa was and not Modernized
At this station Mahayana Gandhi was evicted from the first class compartment on the night of 7 tune 1893 This incident changed the course of his life He took up the fight against racial oppression His active non-vialence started from that date
The must go to place for any proud Indian when in SA/Durban. We got goosebumps thinking about the night on which a stranger was evicted from the train because of his skin colour. We sat in the waiting room eating breakfast where MKGandhi spent his night. We also visited Jail which was very nearby where Kasturba Gandhi was kept overnight. We drove all the way from Durban to PE and back using Avis self drive car. It was a memorable experience.
Historic Railway station that led to the emancipation of two great democracies in the world .India and South Africa.This station created Mahatma Gandhi and the Satyagraha movement which was also used by Martin Luther King to emancipate the African American.Gandhi took his greatest afflication ,his greatest pain and created his greatest strength to be a light in the world.It also led to the creation of Nelson Mandela's African National Congress and the liberation of South Africa.So even in our lives the pain is the breaking of the shell,the breaking of the chrysalis to release the great souls within us so that we do something great to touch eternity.
In 1893, Gandhi, then a 23 year old young lawyer, on a train trip to Pretoria for a court case, was asked to move to a third class compartment because of his race, inspite of possessing a valid first class ticket When Gandhi refused to give up his first class seat, he was evicted from the train at Pietermaritzburg station. Gandhi spent the freezing night at the station waiting room. This incident made him to stay back in S Africa & fight the oppression of Indians in South Afric Out of that struggle emerged his unique version of non-violent resistance called Satyagraha. Gandhi spent 21 years in S Africa before returning to India in 1915 to become a Mahatma A plaque at the station reads: “In the vicinity of this plaque M K Gandhi was evicted from a first-class compartment on the night of 7 June 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.” A bronze statue of Gandhi stands in Church St, Pietermaritzburg, in his traditional dhoti & staff in hand. It was unveiled in 1993 marking the centenary of his enforced removal in 1893 from the Pietermaritzburg station. To commemorate the125th anniversary of Pietermaritzburg train incident, a double-sided bust of Gandhi was unveiled on the station platform in 2018, which showed both the young & old Gandhi. Pietermaritzburg iconic railway station features as the background on a stamp released in 2018, celebrating diplomatic ties between India and SA. The stamp features Nelson Mandela & Mahatma Gandi.
This nondescript station shot into limelight since Mahatma Gandhi was pushed out of train at this place even though he had a valid ticket, thus becoming a victim of apartheid. A must visit pilgrimage center I would say to any person of Indian origin while in South Africa.
We arrived at the station around 7pm and as such could not see the Mahatma Gandhi statue. The place is deserted with no sign of security guard after hours. It seems to be a station with some history based on the design of the buildings, etc.
Historically, the station is famous as being the place where Mahatma Gandhi was thrown off a train for riding first class in 1893
Not much going on, but wonderfully clean and seemingly well kept.
