Millions
of people have come to revere Gandhi as Mahatma, "The Great
Soul",
and to the struggling masses of India he endeared himself as Bapu, "The
Father of the Nation."

This small man with the frail physique, a winning smile and a personality
which breathed love and affection, found a niche in the hearts of the
teeming millions of India's peasants and toilers, from the Himalayas
to Cape Comorin and from Karachi to Calcutta.

Symbol of Liberation

He became their teacher and guide, their symbol and hope of liberation
from serfdom and bondage.

He won the reverence of
the people by the simplicity and austerity of his life; and by his
infinite and immeasurable faith and confidence
he moved the masses to break away from fear and oppression; to undergo
self-suffering and sacrifice that they might achieve emancipation and
freedom. This faith in the masses can best be said in his own words: "If
the Congress is to be what it ought to be, something must be done to
enable it to touch the hearts of the masses and a new and dynamic force
must be brought into play."

This faith in the masses was amply justified, for during the years
of struggle it sustained him and ultimately brought about the transfer
of power from British into Indian hands on August 15, 1947.

Mahatma Gandhi was not
only the "Spirit of India" but he
was also the torchbearer of liberation to all the disenfranchised,
enslaved communities of the colonial and semi-colonial countries.

Epic Struggles in South Africa

We in South Africa remember with pride that it was here that the
struggles which were later to become his whole life were commenced.
It was here in South Africa that his epic struggles for the emancipation
of his people were begun. It was here in South Africa that the first
inklings of democratic rights were won; and it was to South Africa
that he left his great weapon of Passive Resistance to vindicate our
honour and lead us to freedom. Even absorbed as he was in the greater
struggle in India, his interest and support for our cause remained
unabated. The plight of the Indian people in South Africa was a matter
of grave concern to him and he was at all times willing to guide and
assist us.

At no time was his voice
and advice clearer to us than in the past twenty months of struggle
against the Ghetto Act. I shall never forget
his words to Dr. Naicker and myself when, despite the heavy call on
his time, he put all work aside to discuss with us the South African
Indian question. "Your struggle will be a long and arduous one.
Few or many, the struggle must go on. The sacrifices you will be called
upon to make will be heavy and you must be prepared for them."

It is significant to note that the last political utterance he made
before his death was on the new phase of the struggle, the crossing
of the border from Natal into the Transvaal.

Mahatma Gandhi is no more.

Gandhi's Spirit Lives On

We mourn for him. The world mourns for him

With his passing away our responsibilities become the greater. The
most fitting homage that millions of sons and daughters of India can
pay to him at this hour is to carry forward the cause for which he
lived and died; to dedicate themselves to the task of exterminating
the vice of communal hatred and dissension and to restore communal
peace and harmony, so that the freedom which Gandhiji helped to obtain
can become a living reality and the greatest monument to his life.

The greatest homage that we in South Africa can pay to his memory
is to further the great Passive Resistance struggle which we have undertaken
against injustice and racial discrimination and for the vindication
of our self-respect and honour as citizens of South Africa.

Therefore, we dedicate ourselves with renewed confidence and determination
to the cause of universal peace and equality which were the guiding
principles of Mahatma Gandhi's life.

Gandhiji is dead. But his spirit lives in the hearts and minds of
all freedom-loving people.

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