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Postal:
War Museum of the Boer RepublicsPost Box 34061
Faunasig
South Africa
9325
Street:
War Museum of the Boer RepublicsMonument Road
Bloemfontein
South Africa
9301
Contact:
(T) +27 51 4473447(T) +27 51 4470079
(F) +27 51 4471322
Visiting Hours:
Weekdays:08:00 - 16:30
Saturdays:
10:00 - 17:00
Sundays:
11:00 - 17:00
Public Holidays:
09:00 - 17:00
Closed: Good Friday, Christmas and New Year's day
Mahatma Ghandi
On 17 October 1899 about 100 Indians attended a meeting in Durban to decide what their response to the outbreak of the war should be.
It is interesting that there were three schools of thought represented at the meeting: one expressing the idea that the Boers like the Indians was being "oppressed by the British and thus the Indians should not be party to the defeat of a fellow oppressed community." The other was that the Indians should remain neutral because the Boers could wreak vengeance on them if they were victorious in the war. MK Ghandi, secretary to the Natal Indian Congress, on his part acknowledged that although the Boer cause was a just one his own allegiance lay with the British Empire. In his autobiography he states that although his personal sympathies were all with the Boers he felt that he had no right to enforce his individual convictions. He declared that the Indians were British subjects and as such demand certain rights "they ought to forget their domestic differences, and render some service". He pointed out that they had a record of being proud of their citizenship and that this was an excellent opportunity to prove their loyalty and counter the accusation that they had come to Natal "for money-grubbing and were merely a dead weight upon the British". He argued that if they did not use the opportunity they would stand condemned and "it would be no surprise if then the English would treat as worse than before... if we desire to win our freedom and achieve our welfare as members of the British Empire, here is a golden opportunity to do so by helping the British in the war by all means to our disposal". Ghandi's view of what stand the Indians should take carried the day. Many of his British friends however tried to dissuade him but he found much enthusiasm and encouragement for his ideas from Dr Lancelot Parker Booth, the head of St. Aidan's Mission.
Thirty-three Indians undertook to "unreservedly and unconditionally" offer their services without pay to the Sovereign. According to Gandhi they could be employed in whatever capacity they were needed as "we do not know how to handle arms ...but it may be there are other duties no less important to be performed on the battlefield and, no matter of what description they may be, we would consider it a privilege to be called on to perform them". They were mainly from the educated elite and they represented 20% of the Indian males in Durban with a "tolerably good English education".
Although the government initially declined the offer Gandhi was not satisfied and with the kind assistance of Booth he called on the Reverend Dr Bayns, Bishop of Natal to ask for his support for this venture. The Bishop who was delighted with the idea immediately offered to help them in getting the plan accepted. Soon after this meeting took place General Buller asked the Natal Government to recruit Indians as stretcher bearers as they did not have sufficient men to do the job. Percy Clarence was appointed as superintendent of the Indian Ambulance corps. He immediately set about to recruit volunteers from among the free and indentured Indians from the estates in Natal. Within three days Clarence managed to find some 1000 volunteers to man the corps - the bearers were to receive 20 shillings a day.
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