Gandhi Development Trust
IT 890/02 and 022-195-NPO
PBO Ref. No. 93001872
Vat Reg. No. 4840218947
P.O. Box 477,
Hyper by the Sea,
4053
E mail info@gdt.org.za website: www.gdt.org.za
Telephone: +27312012067
Trustees : Gerald Patrick Kearney, Ela Gandhi, Vasudevan Swaminathan Gounden, Lunga
Khumalo, Kidar Ramgobin, Uma Mesthrie, Bonganjalo Goba
17 January, 2010
Revised 2010 events
Introduction:
In keeping with the 2010 legacy of the 150 years of the coming of the first batch of
Indian indentured workers to South Africa, and the 50th anniversary of the award of the
Nobel Peace Prize to Inkosi Albert Luthuli, we will be hosting the following
programmes. Before presenting details of the programmes we would also like to clarify
that some of these programmes have been annual programmes for the past few years.
The focus in 2010 will be on the 2 anniversaries mentioned. We would be delighted if
the Premier will participate in our programmes personally or by sending representatives
to any or all of the functions.
We have organised previously the following:
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Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination
Mahatma Gandhi Salt March
A speech and essay festival
Mahatma Gandhi Annual awards
The Day of nonviolence on the 2nd October.
2010 marks an important year not only because of the 150 anniversary, the 50th
anniversary and the soccer cup but also because these important dates help us to focus
our energies towards building a united nonviolent South Africa.
In keeping with this we have looked at three aspects of our legacy.
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1. Establishing the importance of nonviolence as a way of life
2. The importance of tapping our inner potential in building self sufficiency
3. Building human dignity, self esteem and nationhood through our shared history
We believe that these are some of the lessons we learn from the lives of our forefathers
and these lessons need to be once again invoked in order to give hope to the new
generation of South Africans. Programmes held by us will attract many and diverse
people. We are intending to streamline our events better and more effectively so that not
only will we be able to gauge its impact on our own South African community but also
on the guests coming to our country.
Programmes planned for 2010
1. Emersion of Gandhiji’s remains (ashes) early morning of 30th January
A small portion of Gandhiji’s ashes which were brought to South Africa in 1948 have
recently been discovered and are now in our possession. According to custom we are not
allowed to keep these ashes. They have to be immersed in the sea. We plan to have this
ceremony on Saturday 30 January. The ashes will be placed in state at Phoenix
Settlement from 4 p.m. on the 29th. People will be encouraged to come and pay their
respects and offer prayers at the Settlement. We will be staying there for the night in a
night vigil and will leave the Settlement at 4 a.m. We will then proceed to the esplanade
to take a boat to immerse the ashes in the deep sea. We have approached the SA navy to
assist us in this as well as the provincial and local government and we have been offered
assistance and support by both. The SA navy’s and if possible the Indian navy’s
participation would have been a great tribute to Gandhiji but time is a constraint and we
have not heard from the Ministry as yet. Nevertheless it would be great to have the two
Navies assisting with the final rites.
2. Commemoration of Mahatma Gandhi’s 62nd Death Anniversary 30 January .
We commemorate this day to further consolidate inter faith harmony and faith in
nonviolence and the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi. We focus once again on the evils of
prejudice and fanaticism and promote diversity and interfaith respect. The indentured
workers cast aside their diversity when they came to South Africa and forged a unity
which bound them together during the difficult years of indenture. We celebrate this
unity on this day. Gandhiji helped them to unite in action. Inkosi Albert Luthuli
promoted inter racial and inter faith harmony.
We plan to commemorate the 62nd death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on Saturday 30
January, in partnership with Gujarati Sunskruti Kendra, the Consul General of India and
Satyagraha
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An appropriate interfaith prayer service will be organised with a few speeches by
prominent personalities. This event will be held at the Luthuli Hall in the Durban City
Hall at 2 p.m. on the 30th January.
3. Exhibition – 8 March International Women’s Day.
The Gandhi Development Trust has approached the local history museum for the use of
space in the Old Court House Building in Aliwal Street. We have been given one room
in this building to exhibit starting from February, on our legacy of nonviolence. We will
have a number of themes for the exhibition during the year among which one will be on
Kasturba Gandhi, Veliamma, Charlotte Maxeke and other women of the early 20th
century who contributed to the struggle for nonviolence in our country including women
indentured workers. Their plight as well as the plight of the African women who were
protesting against the pass laws will be highlighted in this exhibition. In addition the
legacy of Dr John Langalibelele Dube, Gandhiji and Nkosi Shembe, all neighbours in
Inanda will also be highlighted with particular reference to their ideas on education for
self development. Other sub themes will also be considered in future exhibitions. We
have asked Mr Anil Nauriya, Dr Varsha Das, Prof. Mriddula Mukherjee and Tushar
Gandhi to serve on an Indian team to oversee this project. During the exhibition we will
be promoting the importance of handwork and will invite prominent people to make
presentations on this theme.
4. Gandhi Media Lecture-March/April
The date for this event is still to be finalised. We have invited Barkha Dutt, the NDTV
journalist to deliver this lecture for 2010. She will be speaking to the Students of
Journalism at the Durban University of Technology as well as to a community audience.
This is a lecture to highlight Gandhiji’s role as a journalist and his emphasis on ethics in
media. As the influence of the media increases with modernisation there is an urgent
need to re look at the role of journalists in the community. This is therefore an important
initiative taken jointly by DUT and GDT.
5. Speech and essay Contest:
This event will be held in March 2010, after preliminary rounds in the first week of
March. The contest will focus on current issues affecting students among which will be
sports and its value in our country and in society, the effects of colonial domination on
people vis-à-vis indenture, prejudice and how it arises and what it does to people with
specific relevance to indenture and slavery and other topics.
These essays are meant to stimulate thought both on current issues as well as on personal
development. For 2010 we are focusing on the system of indenture and all the
consequences of it. We also focus on the taxation laws to enforce African workers to
work in the sugar fields and mines and in homes. These questions will help young people
grapple with issues faced by their forefathers no matter of what descent while
developing writing and speaking skills. In this project we have a number of educators
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both as support groups, as organisers and as judges. We have outstanding English
language scholars, we have journalists, DUT’s Department of journalism as well as some
Gandhian scholars as advisers and judges.
This event is an annual event and has been growing each year as more people hear of it
and participate in it. During 2010 we are hoping to attract a large number of people to
enter this contest. Participation from other countries would be great in the essay
competition. We are also encouraging other organisations to run similar contests and
then perhaps elect the finalists to gather together. This is a long term plan. The
following is a notice sent to all schools.
NOTICE TO PRINCIPALS
Entry to speech contest only for grade 7 pupils
Entry in Essay contest only to grade 10 pupils- only 2 entries per school
The Gandhi Development Trust is a non-profit organisation based on Gandhiji’s
ideals of non-violence, respect, harmony and - national and religious
reconciliation. By hosting the annual speech contest, our organisation hopes to
inspire in people the values and principles espoused by Gandhiji and other
advocates of non-violence. Hopefully in this way to help to build a healthier and
better universe, a more responsible nation and a dedicated, peaceful and caring
people.
To this end we invite:
Grade 7 learners to participate in our annual speech contest. The contest is divided into a
prepared speech segment and an impromptu speech. A list of prepared speech topics is
provided. Prepared Speeches will be of 4 minute duration The impromptu segment will
follow on the completion of all prepared speeches. There will be 5 minute preparation
time for the impromptu speech .The impromptu segment is when learners are given a list
of topics at the contest and are given 2-minutes to talk on it.
Deadline : Host schools will decide on date time and venue of each preliminary
contest. Ten finalists names and details have to be submitted by the 23 of April 2010.
The final round of the contest will take place on Saturday 8 May, 2010 at 10 a.m. at the
Luthuli Hall City Hall Durban. Only one participant per school is allowed.
Impromptu:
The impromptu topics will be given to the school by a representative of Gandhi
Development Trust, after every student is finished with the formal speeches.
Participants will deliver their 4-minute speech and their 2-minute impromptu speech.
Winners from this round will go into the finals. All participants would receive a
certificate of participation.
The Essay contest
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All grade 10 pupils are eligible to participate in the essay contest but only two
entries per school will be accepted. Topics are listed below. Entries have to be in
before the 30 April. Entries in the Isizulu will be accepted. Style, independent
thought, research and innovative ideas will be considered in allocating marks. All
entries must be accompanied by an entry form and must have a school stamp.
Finals and Prize-giving: Winners from the preliminary round will participate in the
finals, which will take place on Saturday 8 May 2010. Here also, participants will deliver
a 4-minute speech and a 2-minute impromptu speech. The prize-giving ceremony will
also take place immediately after the finals. Impromptu topics for this session will be
different from the first round.
Prizes: The winning schools will win a floating trophy. There will be a floating trophy
for the school participating in English and one for the school participating in Isizulu, both
in the speech and essay contests. In addition there will be three prizes in both English
and IsiZulu categories. For both essay and speech contests: 1st prize R 2500 2nd –R2000
and 3rd –R1500 will be given to the winner and an equal amount to the school. The
winning learner will also receive a trophy and a book prize.
SPEECH TOPICS
Topics for the 2010 essay and speech contests.
1) Give examples of how indentured workers were treated with prejudice on the
estates. Elaborate on how understanding prejudice can help us eradicate prejudice
from our midst today.
2) Do you think that the indentured labour system was similar to slavery ? Give
examples to support your answer.
3) How can sport, such as the World Cup in 2010, help us as South Africans build a
more united and patriotic nation?
4) The indentured labour system and the migrant labour system had an impact on the
lives of Indian and African workers respectively. How did these systems affect
these workers? What human rights did these violate?
5) Indenture of Indian workers and enforcement of African workers by imposition of
tax was an affront on the dignity of the people. Elaborate on how these systems
resulted in humiliation of the workers.
6) Many families grew from poverty to economic success. What are some of the key
factors that lead to economic success?
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7) The indenture system and apartheid were based on exploitation of workers. How
did this exploitation affect the families of these workers?
8) "I have a Dream!" How would you describe the civil rights movement in the United
States? What parallels are there with South Africa? What dream do you have for
South Africa?"
6. Salt March
This march while commemorating the famous Salt March of Dandi in 1930 and is also a
celebration of South Africa’s legacy of nonviolence and peace. Accordingly we
celebrate the 10th clause of the Freedom Charter which calls on our government to make
peace through negotiations in the country, with neighbouring countries and
internationally. We celebrate our diversity and call for unity and mutual respect among
all in South Africa. It is therefore a call to the people to embrace the culture of
nonviolence. We are hoping to attract some prominent people from overseas as well as
locally and nationally.
This event is scheduled to be on the 18th April 2010 and we are expecting many more
participants in 2010 than we had in 2009. People have indicated interest in the event and
more people are looking forward to participating in the march next year. Again many
schools are showing interest in this event. We also want to boost our publicity so that the
message of the march can be more clearly disseminated. The Salt March committee is
planning the event and information as well as registration forms for participation can be
obtained on www.saltmarch.org.za We would be delighted if the Provincial cabinet and
groups of people come from all over the world to participate in the march.
7. Awards event
This event will be held in September 2010 and Dr E.S. Reddy, or Enuga Reddy has been
nominated to receive the award. He was a recipient of a Presindetial award, and also
received the the Padma Shri award from India and several other awards and as India’s
envoy assisted South Africa tremendously in continuously raising the South African issue
at the United Nations. The International Award for Reconciliation and Peace will be
presented to Dr Reddy this year. We will also present several Satyagraha Awards for
outstanding contribution to the liberation of our country as well as for ongoing
community service. As usual we will have the event in the City Hall. This event will
focus on the 150 anniversary of the arrival of the Indian people and the 50 anniversary of
Inkosi Luthuli and appropriate local nominations and selections will be made to reflect
these anniversaries.
8. The 2nd October -Day of Nonviolence
This day will be observed appropriately with lectures and discussions on non-violence A
Keynote speaker will present the annual Mahatma Gandhi Lecture. We will organise a
panel of respondents. The focus will be on ways to reduce or do away with poverty and
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focus on the economic model suggested by Gandhiji. Can it still have a place in the
modern economy will be a question that the panel will be asked to address. As poverty
is a form of violence, in order to look at non-violence we need to look at how to eliminate
poverty therefore we are planning to have a panel discussion on the Gandhian model
which incorporates co-operatives and building up of village economies. There will also
be a focus on indentured workers their constraints and how they overcame these and
made progress. There will also be a focus on Inkosi Albert Luthuli and his
encouragement of farmers and his use of agriculture as a means of sustainable
development.
All these events are aimed at building the social fabric of our society and trying to create
a more responsible and conscientious society. Greater participation by key individuals
will add to the success of these programmes. Each year the participation in all the events
has been growing.
Your support is appreciated
Sincerely
Ela Gandhi
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