Odisha Review December - 2013 Ela Gandhi : The Peace Activist Dr. Bishnupriya Padhi Abstract In every age and in every country there are always those who have walked the extra mile, who have made an extraordinary commitment and who have lived an exemplary life. There are and have been many Indians in South Africa who dedicated their lives to the struggle against apartheid in pre-1994 era. They continue to carry the highest values and principles with them to maintain world peace. Their contributions to that country and to the world inspire generation after generation. They smoothen the transition from a culture of violence to a culture of peace; from separateness and fear to oneness and hope; from competition and to cooperative interdependence; from win lose relationships to win win peace. Ela Gandhi, the great grand- daughter of Mahatma Gandhi was one of those. A recipient of the Community of Christ International Peace Award and the Padma Bhushan by the Indian Government, she was a beacon of hope to the AIDS victims. She attempts all along at building a culture of non-violence based on gender equality, sustainable food security, arrest of rising food costs, and alleviation of poverty, creation of infrastructure and forging of global alliance for peace. Introduction with lots of expectation and hope to the prevention of conflict and violence through democratization South Africa is in its 19th year of process in South Africa. The guiding value of this democracy. Kotze in an article in the African process is ubuntu. The famous South African Journal on Conflict Resolution had stated that: philosopher Leopold Sangor defined the essence “Democratization is directly and positively of ubuntu as “I feel the other, I dance the other, correlated with conflict resolution or prevention. and therefore I am.” This means that we become That socio- economic development is directly and more human through the other. As a country it positively correlated with participatory democracy believes in the values of ubuntu and the saying and therefore democratization and socio economic that “it takes a village to raise a child”, humanity, and sustainable development is necessary human rights and a just and moral society. The prerequisites for the resolution or prevention of worrying news is that it is now caught up in the deep rooted conflict.” 1 Mahatma Gandhi used to vortex of violence. Even Thandi Luthuli- say that, “If we want to cultivate a true spirit of Gcabashe, the daughter of the legendary Chief democracy, we cannot afford to be intolerant.” It Albert Luthuli, in a conference had stated that2, is a simple truth, and it is the essence of South “If you look at KwaZulu-Natal region, before the Africa’s democracy. The world at large looks up 1994 elections or even today, violence has been 6 December - 2013 Odisha Review intense largely because resources are scarce. the process itself is genuinely inclusive and is based Those things could be solved if there were some on some gentleness in how they handle each attempts at equality. Poverty is a big cause of other. While values such as ubuntu and respect conflict and the outbreak of war. That is what are much spoken about, they are generally absent could be learnt from people like my father and from political life, and their time has come. Gandhi. It is very difficult when just day-to-day This sentiment was echoed even in the living is a constant struggle, when people don’t historic gathering of South African activists; U.S.- see a light at the end of the tunnel.” According to 3 based civil rights veterans, Indians involved in Nirvada Singh , “in 2001 violence was one of various constructive programmes, and assorted the top leading causes of death in South Africa. other internationalists convened in Durban from There are many forms of violence- interpersonal, 31 July to 2 August 2012 at Durban University of youth violence, child abuse, intimate partner Technology for a conference on ‘Roots to Fruits: violence and sexual violence. She further revealed Nonviolence in Action’. Sponsored by the Gandhi that in a report presented to the South African Development Trust and Satyagraha newspaper, Parliament it was stated that violence was a ‘sub- and organized by Ela Gandhi —the three-day culture in the country’… and that the causes event brought together over one hundred include harsh poverty, high unemployment rates, educators, students, community leaders, inequality and marginalization.” politicians, and religious figures to discuss the There is a clamour for a national dialogue future of nonviolence on a global scale. With a on how to end violence in South African society wide diversity of viewpoints on the meaning and today. Whatever the strengths and achievements contemporary significance of nonviolence — from of reconciliation and building of new institutions a tactic for militant resistance to a philosophy since 1994, South African society and which sometimes helps adherents tacitly adjust Government can no longer ignore the terrible to the status quo — the best part of the gathering problem of violence with which people live. Their was the networking possibilities amongst a strong societal structures continue to be caught up with and energetic grouping of participants.4 violence, which becomes visible in disasters like In this article we have attempted at killings in Marikana miners’ strike or in the spate mapping the efforts of Ela Gandhi as a peace of political assassinations in KwaZulu-Natal in activist from among her multi-dimensional 2012. Political action has centred too much on personality. She is a builder of institutions for identifying one or other group as the enemy. peace. The study is based on published materials Colonialism and apartheid had done enough –both electronic and print media. damage in creating and perpetuating a political and civic culture of violence which never valued Early Life the lives of all in the society. A society based on Ela is the grand-daughter of Mahatma attempts by one or other group to gain control Gandhi and is a peace activist and former ANC and to seize resources was incapable of Member of Parliament. She was born at the then addressing the deep problems of social inequality Phoenix Settlement, Durban on 1 July 1940 as and environmental degradation. It is well known the youngest daughter of Manilal and Sushila that achieving the end of violence is a long task, Gandhi. Her father, who was Gandhi’s second but as South Africans they have taken on long son, returned from India to South Africa in 1917 tasks before. Such a dialogue can only work if to assist in the running of Phoenix Settlement and 7 Odisha Review December - 2013 of the newspaper, The Indian Opinion give each family two acres of land and live a (1903). By 1920 he had become the editor of communal life”. Gandhi used the settlement “to the paper and would eventually become its longest train political activists called Satyagrahis as well serving editor. He married Sushila in 1927 and a as house their families, while they were engaged year later their first daughter Sita was born, twelve in the campaigns against unjust laws”. Her early years later in 1940 Ela was born. She had a role models were Chief Albert Luthuli, Gandhi, brother called Arun Gandhi. The Gandhi home her grandfather, Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, was a basic family homestead, a wood and iron Govan Mbeki, Monty Naicker, her father and house where she lived in for the first six years of Yusuf Dadoo. her life. Her father later built a dwelling out of bricks. Growing up in an ashram, Ela was Ela first became aware of racial strongly influenced by her family’s tradition of non- oppression from the time she went to school. Her violent resistance. As the Gandhi children grew mother started a non-racial school at Gandhi’s up on the settlement they became strongly House for about 200 children. An inspector said; influenced by their father Manilal, who had “you can’t teach… there is a law against private become an important focus of resistance in the schools, and in particular you being an Indian local community. Initially her parents educated her cannot teach African children”. In 1952, when at home. She saw her neighbour’s children were Ela was 12 years old, her father started going to all going to school. She was a little child and she Defiance Campaign meetings at Red Square. They said, “No, I have to go to school now. I was eight used to march to the Brook Street library, which or nine years old”. Her parents agreed to send was an all White library. Ela walked with her her to a school about two kilometres away from brother, sisters and friends in and went to African home. This was her first rebellion. Ela was townships where Indians were forbidden to go admitted into a standard four class. The school by law. That was the beginning of her dedicated was also a wood and iron building with wooden and courageous life in politics. partitions and had no water and electricity. The She matriculated at the former Durban children and teachers had to use pit latrines. She Indian Girls High School and obtained a BA spent three years here, passed her standard six degree at Natal University and thereafter an and went to Durban Indian Girls High School in Honours in Social Science through University of Carlisle Street. South Africa (UNISA). She practiced as a social She had to take a bus from home to the worker at the Verulam Child Welfare. Ela is railway station in Duffs Road to catch a train to known for her peace activism during the Apartheid Greyville Station from where she would walk to era.