[Rahul5362]

The Aftermath in South Africa

Gandhi’s struggles didn’t culminate in equal rights for South Africa’s Indians, who were subject to a string of discriminatory laws in the years after Gandhi’s departure from the country in 1914.

In 1946 the Smuts government introduced the ‘pegging’ and ‘ghetto’ acts, aimed at limiting the trading and residence rights of Indians, a development that led to a vigorous passive resistance campaign led by Yusuf Dadoo and others.

Chief Albert Luthuli was committed to the principle of non-violence, and led the African National Congress (ANC) until his death in 1967. The ANC was committed to the principle of non-violent resistance until the late 1950s, when it began to contemplate armed struggle. It was the Sharpeville Massacre of 1960 that became the turning point for the ANC, after which violent resistance was sanctioned.

Later, in the 1980s, the UDF also took up the principle of non-violent resistance, especially leaders such as Alan Boesak, Desmond Tutu and Mkhuseli Jack, many of themspecifically citing Gandhi as an influence.