Ahmedabad, 6 December 2013

Nelson Mandela had visited Ahmedabad on January 27, 1995, mainly to visit Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram here. Mandela’s visit to Ahmedabad happened almost seven years after walking out of prison in 1988. Mandela had visited India in year 1990 too.

At Sabarmati Ashram, Mandela wrote in the visitor’s book: “Feelings of joy and happiness filled our hearts as we went in and out of the Ashram. Feeling the heavy and pervading presence of the Mahatma.”

Mr. Mandela on several occasions claimed to have been influenced by Gandhi’s ideals and principles. “I could never reach the standard of morality, simplicity and love for the poor set by the Mahatma,” Mr. Mandela said in a speech in Ahmedabad. “While Gandhi was a human without weaknesses, I am a man of many weaknesses,” he added.

Nelson Mandela and India

-In 1990, as a member of the African National Congress, a South African political party, Mr. Mandela visited India, where he received the “Bharat Ratna,” the country’s highest civilian award. Mr. Mandela, who received the award for his contribution to public affairs, is the first non-Indian to have received the award.

-Mr. Mandela also made a private visit to India in 1993.

-New Delhi has a road, pictured, named after Mr. Mandela. The South Delhi road is home to upscale residential colonies and multiplexes.

-In 1995, Mr. Mandela visited India as the first black president of South Africa. According to news reports from the time, talks between Mr. Mandela and the then Indian Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao focused on trade and defense. In a speech, Mr. Mandela described his four-day trip to India as “a homecoming.”

-In 2001, the Indian government awarded Mr. Mandela the Gandhi Peace Price for his “exemplary work for promotion of peace and non-violence.