Gandhi train eviction: Khadi for S. Africa station, train

Khadi, the hand-spun fabric synonymous with Mahatma Gandhi, will be used for draping train compartments at the Pietermaritzburg railway station in South Africa where he was thrown off a train for refusing to give up his seat in the first class, "whites-only" compartment, 125 years ago in 1893.

The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has got orders of 400 metres of khadi cloth in 40-50 metres of length with width of 36 inches, to be used for draping train compartments, some parts of the platform and the main stage, from the High Commission of India, Pretoria in association with the Consulate General of India, Durban.

A function commemorating the 125th anniversary of the eviction of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi on June 7, 1893, from the “whites-only" compartment is also being planned, according to KVIC. “External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will be witnessing the event there – which is also a significant one in South African history, being the birth centenary of Nelson Mandela alias Madiba,” KVIC said.

Khadi was taken up as a tool in the freedom struggle by Mahatma Gandhi against the British.