JOHANNESBURG (NNN-Bernama) - Indian president Pratibha Patil on Thursday unveiled Mahatma Gandhi's bust at the historic Number Four cell in the Old Fort prison here where he served four terms of imprisonment between 1908 and 1913, including his very first sentence in South Africa.
The President when speaking at the occasion recalled that South Africa's anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela was also imprisoned in this old fort for some time, Press Trust of India reported.
The bust, sculpted by Gautam Pal, was presented by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations to the Constitution Court which the prison has now been converted.
The great grand-daughter of Mahatma Gandhi, Kirti Menon, and Chief Justice of South Africa Mogoeng Mogoeng were present at the event.
The notorious Old Fort Prison -- a high security jail built in 1890 – has been converted into Constitution Hill and houses the Constitution Court, the highest court of the country.
"South Africa is the place where the world witnessed for the first time Gandhi's contribution to political transformation through non-violence and peaceful dialogue," president Pratibha said.
She said the people of India owe a deep sense of gratitude to South Africa "for giving them the Mahatma".
"During the 21 years of his stay in South Africa, he shaped his philosophy of 'Satyagraha and Non-Violence', which later became potent tools for liberation of the people of India from the yoke of colonialism."
She expressed hope that Gandhi's bust would symbolise values enshrined in the histories of India and South Africa, and underpin their continuing resolve to fight injustice and inequality in the world. -- NNN-BERNAMA
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