A bust of teenage martyr Valliamma Munuswami, who marched in South Africa alongside then lawyer Mohandas Gandhi before he became the Mahatma, was unveiled recently at Tolstoy Farm, south of Johannesburg

It was a collaborative effort by the Mahatma Gandhi Remembrance Organisation MGRO Progressive Tamil Movement PTM Tamil Federation of Gauteng and the Ahmed Kathrada FoundationTolstoy Farm the commune that Gandhi started at the turn of the last century became a vibrant almost selfsufficient commune for his followers who were persecuted by racist government authorities demanding that all Indians carry permits at the timeThis and other discriminatory practices led to Gandhi organising many protest marches as he implemented his Satyagraha theories of peaceful resistanceValliamma barely a teenager was at the forefront of the women who joined these marches She contracted an illness while in prison after one of these marches and succumbed to it aged just 16This is what Gandhi wrote about Valliamma in his book Satyagraha in South AfricaValliamma R Munuswami Mudaliar was a young girl of Johannesburg only sixteen years of age She was confined to bed when I saw her As she was a tall girl her emaciated body was a terrible thing to beholdValliamma you do not repent of your having gone to jail I askedRepent I am even now ready to go to jail again if I am arrested said ValliammaBut what if it results in your death I pursuedI do not mind it Who would not love to die for ones motherland was the replyWithin a few days after this conversation Valliamma was no more with us in the flesh but she left us the heritage of an immortal nameiquest And the name of Valliamma will live in the history of South African Satyagraha as long as India livesNow a bust of Valliamma stands next to that of Gandhi as well as one of Nelson Mandela whom she would undoubtedly also have followed if she were still alive in his era said PTM spokesman Nadas PillayValliamma set the example for the scores of South African Indian women for the next three generations to be leaders in the decadeslong fight against apartheidiquest said Pillay who spearheaded the erection of a marble bust of Valliamma in a popular Lenasia recreation venue Rose Park a few years ago But sadly the bust and two more to replace it were vandalised leading to the idea to place a new one in an indoor venue where it would be safe from vandalismWe considered some temples but since both Valliamma and Gandhi fought for the freedom of all Indian people and not just the Hindu community we felt that might not be the right thing to do When Mohanbhai approached us with the idea of getting a new bust made in India for placement at Tolstoy Farm we wholeheartedly supported the idea Pillay addedIt is most appropriate that the bust is now where Valliamma once worked side by side with Gandhi his lieutenant Thumbie Naidoo and others to fight the apartheid government he saidTolstoy Farm is where Valliamma worked side by side with the likes of Mahatma Gandhi Thumbie Naidoo and others How fitting that Valliammas bust is placed alongside Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela She will now equally be recognised as a freedom fighter for our liberation in South Africaiquest Pillay saidAfter being completely vandalised for decades MGRO led by veteran Lenasia sportsman Gandhian activist and Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award recipient Mohan Hira has revitalised Tolstoy Farm as a community facility with a library and beautiful gardensHira who has previously arranged the busts of Gandhi and Mandela which have become a major tourist attraction and even a pilgrimage site for many visitors agreed with PillayValliamma deserves this level of recognition which was never given to her in South Africa even though she has been honoured in India despite never having been to that country after her parents migrated to South Africa Hira saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever