African leaders praise Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, Indira

Mahatma Gandhi and former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and his daughter Indira Gandhi came in for fulsome praise by many top African leaders as they recalled the historic ties Africa shared with India.

South African President Jacob Zuma and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe were among those who mentioned, during their speeches at the India-Africa Forum Summit, the contribution of the Gandhi and Nehru families in strengthening ties between the continent and India.

“We would like to recall the historical ties that bind us over the last century, emphasising particularly the role of two of your visionary prime ministers – Jawaharlal Nehru and his daughter Indira Gandhi,” said Zuma. Calling Nehru an active participant at the famous Bandung Conference in Indonesia in 1955 and subsequently a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961. “Indira Gandhi, in her first 11 years in office from 1966 to 1977, changed India’s African policy through the introduction of the Africa-India Development Cooperation and India’s support for liberation struggles in Africa, including South Africa,” he said.

Mugabe said Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru led the way through non-violence and showed the path to rid India and Africa of colonialism. The 91-year-old also termed the Indian National Congress as a “great party” as he recalled Africa’s ties to Gandhi and the Congress. Moroccan King Mohamed VI noted that his grandfather and “great” Nehru worked together in anti-colonial struggle in Africa. Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh, had stayed away from the dinner hosted by PM Narendra Modi for African leaders on Wednesday night.