Statue of Mahatma Gandhi, Bronze statue in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
The Statue of Mahatma Gandhi is a bronze sculpture on Church Street in Pietermaritzburg, showing Gandhi as a young man. It stands in the city where he was thrown from a train at the railway station in 1893.
The bronze statue was unveiled in 1993 by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. It marks the centenary of the night in 1893 when Gandhi was thrown from a train at Pietermaritzburg railway station, an event that set him on the path of nonviolent resistance. It stands in Church Street.
The memorial represents the intersection of Indian and South African civil rights movements through Gandhi's two decades in the country. Visitors can sense how his presence shaped local resistance movements and continues to be discussed in public conversations.
The statue stands on Church Street in Pietermaritzburg, a short walk from the railway station where Gandhi was thrown from a train in 1893. The bronze figure is at street level and can be viewed on foot at any time; the surrounding sidewalks are paved.
The statue became the center of public debate in 2023 when a political party proposed its removal. The controversy revealed different perspectives on how a society should remember and interpret historical figures.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,038 contributors worldwide.
