Lindiwe Nonceba Sisulu: We also own Mahatma Gandhi ji

Next year, South Africa will celebrate 100 years of Mahatma Gandhi's historic journey from South Africa to India.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj shakes hands with Lindiwe Nonceba Sisulu, Minister for Human Settlement , South Africa during a meeting in New Delhi (Source: PTI)

As her country marks 20 years of independence, Lindiwe Nonceba Sisulu – South Africa’s Minister of Human Settlements – makes her first-ever visit to India, to “express gratitude for India’s support in their freedom struggle”. Next year, South Africa will celebrate 100 years of Mahatma Gandhi’s historic journey from South Africa to India. Excerpts from an interview:

There is a big ethnic Indian community in South Africa. What is their role in public life and in economy?
Indians, or Asians for that matter, are entrepreneurial by nature. They contribute a lot to our economy. Many of them have been there for generations, and we don’t consider them as Indians or Asians. They are Africans, just like us. In the official population register though, we have to categorise our citizens as “Asians” or “Whites” or “Coloured”, but that’s for representational purposes. In fact, we are moving towards eliminating that.

Two decades after independence, what is the state of women in South African society?
We have exceeded expectations in women’s representation within the country. In fact, now there is a law which ensures 50 per cent representation of women in every government community/institution. But having said that, patriarchy is still deep-seated in our society. For example, when it comes to land holdings, women may have access to land but their ownership is very very limited.

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How does South Africa view its ties with India?
India is our closest ally in Asia. Together, we are part of BRICS as well as IBSA. We have learnt a lot from India in terms of housing solutions. Recently, we have established a National Development Plan, modelled on India’s Planning Commission. Besides, there always the shared legacy of Mahatma Gandhi. Early next year, we are going to celebrate 100 years of his moving from South Africa to India, and his philosophy of passive resistance to oppression, in a big way.

What are the celebrations going to be like?
No finer details have been worked out as yet. In fact, since Mahatma Gandhi ji belongs to India as well as South Africa, I invite suggestions from the Indian government and citizens alike on how best to celebrate his legacy in an inclusive way. But we are going to invite the heads of Indian government here, and the Indian National Congress for the celebrations. Celebrating Gandhi is our way of telling the world that we also own Mahatma Gandhi ji. Even though India owns some of him, we own the better part of him.

Divya A

Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More

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