Describing her visit to South Africa as a “pilgrimage”, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday met its former President Nelson Mandela and presented him with a book on Mahatma Gandhi — the man who inspired his freedom movement during the apartheid era.
The UPA chairperson, who arrived on Wednesday on a three-day visit to South Africa, called on the freedom icon at his residence here. She was accompanied by Minister of State for External Affairs, Anand Sharma.
“It’s a privilege for me to be here. A visit to South Africa for me as an Indian is a pilgrimage. Coming here without calling on Mandela — the visit would not be complete,” Gandhi said.
She presented the 89-year-old South African leader with a book, The Gandhian Way, commemorating the centenary of the Mahatma’s satyagraha movement which he launched in South Africa.
The Congress president said it was an honour and a moving moment for her to be in the presence of Mandela and other leaders, who fought against the whites-only rule in South Africa.
Anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada spoke on the relationship between South Africa’s freedom movement and India.
“As early as 1946, India was the first country in the world to place sanctions on South Africa, it was the first country to recall its High Commissioner and place the issue of racial discrimination on the agenda of the United Nations,” he said.
Gandhi later departed for Cape Town, where she is scheduled to hold talks with South African President Thabo Mbeki and Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.