Madhya Pradesh government to contribute Rs. one crore for garden of remembrance at Tolstoy Farm in Johannesburg

Bhopal: During his South Africa visit, Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that Madhya Pradesh government will contribute Rs. one crore towards establishment of garden of remembrance at Tolstoy Farm situated on the outskirts of Johannesburg. At the farm, Shri Chouhan paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and touched its soil. Shri Chouhan said that it is a humble contribution from people and government of Madhya Pradesh towards preservation of Gandhi Ji’s ideals and values. Ancient Indian concept of “Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam” is more relevant in modern times.
In commemoration of 100 years of Mahatma Gandhi’s return to India from South Africa in 1914, the Indian High Commission in South Africa will organise a programme with the cooperation of South African government and the local Indian community at the Tolstoy Farm, where a trust will be formed to take forward the “Garden of Remembrance” project.
Tolstoy Farm was established by Gandhiji in 1910 over 1100 acres donated by his friend Herman Kallenbach, where people from diverse backgrounds and religions stayed together to build a community of Passive Resisters to undertake satyagrah against the unjust and racist regime in South Africa. The farm was wound up in 1914 when Gandhiji left for India to fight the British rule. He lived at the Tolstoy farm from 1910 to 1913 with a community of 100 people which included women and children.