Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule. He inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The honorific Mahātmā, first applied to him in South Africa in 1914, is now used throughout the world.
Durban is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South Africa, on the Natal Bay of the Indian Ocean, Durban is South Africa's busiest port and was formerly named Port Natal. North of the harbour and city centre lies the mouth of the Umgeni River; the flat city centre rises to the hills of the Berea on the west; and to the south, running along the coast, is the Bluff. Durban is the seat of the larger eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, which spans an area of 2,556 km2 (987 sq mi) and had a population of 4.2 million in 2022, making the metropolitan population one of Africa's largest on the Indian Ocean. The city has a humid subtropical climate, with hot, wet summers and mild, dry winters.
Fatima Meer was a South African writer, academic, screenwriter, and prominent anti-apartheid activist.
Manilal Mohandas Gandhi was the second son of Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba Gandhi.
Inanda or eNanda is a township in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa that is situated 21 km north-west of Durban. It forms part of eThekwini, the Greater Durban Metropolitan Municipality. Populated primarily by Zulu-speaking Black Africans, Inanda is the home of John Langalibalele Dube, first President of the African National Congress (ANC), a former residence and base of operations of Mahatma Gandhi, and the birthplace of the syncretic Nazareth Baptist Church
Aruna Asaf Ali was an Indian educator, political activist, and publisher. An active participant in the Indian independence movement, she is widely remembered for hoisting the Indian National flag at the Gowalia Tank maidan, Bombay during the Quit India Movement in 1942. Post-independence, she remained active in politics, becoming Delhi's first Mayor.
The Natal Indian Congress (NIC) was a political organisation established in 1894 to fight discrimination against Indians in the Natal Colony, and later the Natal Province, of South Africa. Founded by Mahatma Gandhi, it later served an important role in opposing apartheid. It was the oldest affiliate of the South African Indian Congress.
Govindasamy Krishnasamy Thambi Naidoo was a South African civil rights activist. He was an early collaborator of Mahatma Gandhi leading many protests in then South Africa against racial discrimination targeted at the Indian community.
The Indian Opinion was a newspaper established by Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi. The publication was an important tool for the political movement led by Gandhi and the Natal Indian Congress to fight racial discrimination and again civil rights for the Indian community and the native Africans in South Africa. Starting in 1903, it continued its publication until 1961.
Indian South Africans are South Africans who descend from indentured labourers and free migrants who arrived from British India during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The majority live in and around the city of Durban, making it one of the largest ethnically Indian-populated cities outside of India.
Omar Badsha is a South African documentary photographer, artist, political and trade union activist and historian. He is a self-taught artist. He has exhibited his art in South Africa and internationally. In 2015 he won the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) Lifetime Achievement Award for Visual Art. In 2017 he received an honorary doctorate Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil), for his groundbreaking work in the field of documentary photography in South Africa. He was also awarded a Presidential honor The Order of Ikhamanga in Silver for "His commitment to the preservation of our country’s history through ground-breaking and well-balanced research, and collection of profiles and events of the struggle for liberation"
Tamil South Africans are Indian South Africans of Tamil descent. Tamil people form the majority of Indian immigrants who came from India to Natal, South Africa, from 1860 onwards. After the expiry of their indentures most of these Indians moved to the cities, becoming established as a thoroughly urban population.
Billy Nair was a South African politician, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa, an anti-apartheid activist and a political prisoner in Robben Island.
Phoenix is a South African town about 25 kilometres (15 mi) northwest of Durban Central, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was established as a town by the apartheid government in 1976, but it has a long history of Indian occupation. It is associated with the Phoenix Settlement, built by Mahatma Gandhi.
Enuga Sreenivasulu Reddy, also known as E. S. Reddy, was an Indian-born diplomat at the United Nations who led the anti-apartheid efforts at the UN's Special Committee Against Apartheid and its Centre Against Apartheid. He also served as director of the UN Trust Fund for South Africa and the Educational and Training Programme for Southern Africa. During his time in these roles, he campaigned for economic boycott of the then Government of South Africa, advancing anti-apartheid actions including a combination of economic and social measures. He also lobbied for the release of the imprisoned leader Nelson Mandela.
Kesaveloo Goonam, also known as Kesaveloo Goonaruthnum Naidoo (1906–1998) was a South African doctor and anti-apartheid activist. She was also called "Coolie Doctor", which became the title of her 1991 autobiography.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Durban in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa.
Kirti Menon is an activist, educator and writer based in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is the Senior Director at the University of Johannesburg and the chairman of the Gandhi Centenary Committee, South Africa. Menon is known for reforming the policy environment in post-secondary education sector in South Africa. She is the granddaughter of Manilal Gandhi and the great-granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi.
Makoti Sibongile Khawula is a South African politician and previous anti-apartheid activist from KwaZulu-Natal serving as a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa for the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party since 2014. Khawula is known for her insistence on speaking Zulu in Parliament.
Mawalal "Mewa" Ramgobin was a South African politician and former anti-apartheid activist. A stalwart of the Natal Indian Congress, he represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 1994 to 2009.
