Ela Gandhi (born 1 July 1940), is a South African peace activist and former politician. She served as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

from 1994 to 2004, where she aligned with the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

(ANC) party representing the Phoenix area of Inanda in the KwaZulu-Natal province. Her parliamentary committee assignments included the Welfare, and Public Enterprises committees as well as the ''ad hoc'' committee on Surrogate Motherhood. She was an alternate member of the Justice Committee and served on Theme Committee 5 on Judiciary and Legal Systems. She is the granddaughter of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

Early life

Ela Gandhi was born on 1 July 1940 in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, to

Manilal Gandhi Manilal Mohandas Gandhi (28 October 1892 – 5 April 1956) was the second son of Mohandas Gandhi and Kasturba Gandhi. Biography Manilal was born in Rajkot, British India, the second of four sons of Mohandas Gandhi and Kasturba Gandhi. He had ...

and Sushila Mashruwala. Her father was an editor of the

Indian Opinion The ''Indian Opinion'' was a newspaper established by Indian lawyer and future anti-colonial activist M. K. Gandhi (later known as the Mahatma). The publication was an important tool for the political movement led by Gandhi and the Natal Indian ...

. Ela grew up in an ashram of the

Phoenix Settlement Inanda or eNanda ( isiZulu: ''pleasant place'', also possibly, ''level-topped hill'') is a township in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa that is situated 30 km north-west of the Durban CBD; it forms part of eThekwini, the Greater Durban Metropolita ...

. She received her B.A. degree at the former

Natal University The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-N ...

and later received a B.A. in

social science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

with honors from UNISA. Following graduation, she worked as a social worker with the Verulam Child and Family Welfare Society for 15 years and the Durban Indian Child and Family Welfare Society for five years. Gandhi served as an executive member of the Natal Organisation of Women from its inception until 1991. Her political affiliations include the

Natal Indian Congress The Natal Indian Congress (NIC) was an organisation that aimed to fight discrimination against Indians in South Africa. The Natal Indian Congress was proposed by Mahatma Gandhi on 22 May 1894. established on 22 August 1894. Gandhi was the H ...

, which she served as vice president, the United Democratic Front, Descom Crisis Network, and Inanda Support Committee. During

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

, Gandhi was banned in 1975 from political activism and subjected to house arrest for a total of nine years. She worked underground for an end to the practice. One of her sons was killed during the struggle against apartheid. She was among the members of the United Democratic Front who met with Nelson Mandela prior to his release from

Pollsmoor Prison Pollsmoor Prison, officially known as Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison, is located in the Cape Town suburb of Tokai in South Africa. Pollsmoor is a maximum security penal facility that continues to hold some of South Africa's most dangerous c ...

on February 11, 1990. Prior to the 1994 elections, Gandhi was a member of the

Transitional Executive Council The Transitional Executive Council (TEC) was a multiparty body in South Africa that was established by law to facilitate the transition to democracy, in the lead-up to the country's first non-racial election in April 1994. As part of the multi ...

Post parliament

After serving in parliament, Gandhi developed a 24-hour program against domestic violence, founded the Gandhi Development Trust, serves as a member of the Religious Affairs Committee, and oversees a monthly newspaper. She also chairs the Mahatma Gandhi Salt March Committee and the Mahatma Gandhi Development Trust. Ela Gandhi served as the Chancellor of Durban University of Technology for several years.

Awards and recognitions

Ela Gandhi's contribution to politics and society is widely recognised - * In 2002, she received the

Community of Christ International Peace Award The Community of Christ International Peace Award was established to honor and bring attention to the work of peacemaking and peacemakers in the world. It has been bestowed on an individual each year since 1993 (except 1996 and 2015). Overview T ...

. * In 2007, she was conferred the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

award from the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

. * In 2013, she was awarded the Shanti Doot International Award - the honour for overseas Indians conferred by the World Peace Movement India. * In 2014, she was awarded the

Pravasi Bharatiya Samman The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (Overseas Indian Honour/Award) is the highest Indian award for Non-resident Indian and Overseas Citizen of India or an organisation or institution established and run by Non-Resident Indians or Persons of Indian Orig ...

- the highest honour for overseas Indians conferred by the President of India. * In 2014, she was also honoured as a veteran of the Umkhonto we Sizwe. The Embassy of India Student Hub, Washington, D.C., invited Ela Gandhi to speak to over 15,000 graduating students in the Class of 2020 during a virtual graduation ceremony.

References

External links

Interview of Ela Gandhi
September 25, 2001

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gandhi, Ela 1940 births Living people People from Durban Anti-apartheid activists South African people of Indian descent Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in public affairs Ela Gandhians African National Congress politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa Natal Indian Congress politicians South African people of Gujarati descent uMkhonto we Sizwe personnel Women members of the National Assembly of South Africa Recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman

Early life

Post parliament

Awards and recognitions

See also

References

External links