INS Trishul Visits Durban To Mark 3 Decades Of Effective Relations With South Africa

Indian Navy warship INS Trishul arrived in the South African port of Durban for a three-day goodwill tour marking several historic events related to India-South Africa relations.

INS Trishul, a frontline warship of the Indian Navy, visits to participate in a commemorative event to mark 130 years of the start of struggle against apartheid, in Durban, South Africa. ( Image Source :PTI )

Indian Navy frigate INS Trishul on Tuesday arrived in the South African port of Durban for a three-day tour marking several historic events, reported PTI. However, the most significant is the 30th anniversary of the restart of India-South Africa diplomatic relations after a break of almost four decades due to apartheid. Notably, the visit also marks the incident 130 years ago when Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi), then a young lawyer in South Africa, was thrown off a train in Pietermaritzburg Station, South Africa because he was in a compartment reserved for white passengers only, PTI stated. 

The incident drove him to lead Satyagraha, establishing the fight against oppression in both South Africa and India, and eventually becoming the Mahatma. PTI stated that the visit is also part of India's Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a celebration of 75th year of independence. 

“At a commemorative event in Pietermaritzburg, the ship's band will play some of the favourite bhajans of Mahatma Gandhi. They will also pay floral tributes at the plinth where Gandhiji was thrown out," said Consul General for India in Durban Dr Thelma David, as quoted by PTI. 

David added, "We will also have Dr Bindeshwar Pathak (an Indian sociologist and social entrepreneur) there and he will speak on putting Gandhian thoughts into action through the Swacch Bharat campaign which we have adopted from the Gandhian movement." 

She further said "Because the ship is here on a friendly visit, we will also be doing a donation and community activities at the Phoenix Youth Centre in Durban. The band will again play music for about 150 youth there. We will also have the men from the ship doing yoga on the morning of 9th." 

"We are encouraging schoolchildren and college youth to go on board to understand the capacities as a navy to bring peace on oceans and be briefed on her operational capabilities as well as the role played by the Indian Navy in maritime security in the ocean shared by our two countries. The visit would demonstrate to the public, especially the next generation, the friendliness of our two countries as well as the role and relevance of the Indian Navy as an instrument of bilateral relations," she said. 

A round table discussion is also to be hosted on Wednesday in partnership with the Pietermaritzburg Gandhi Foundation and the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The discussion is titled the Gandhi-Mandela-King Conference, named after the three greatest internationally-renowned leaders of the last century. 

"The theme is peace and justice for all, and Joint Secretary Puneet Kundal and Deputy High Commissioner Banu Prakash will also be speaking," the diplomat said, as quoted by PTI. 

INS Trishul in South Africa is aimed to enhance the close cooperation between the two navies. As per PTI, the retreat ceremony and the unity walk in Durban are other events planned by the INS Trishul before it departs Durban on June 9. 

Notably, India and South Africa share the Indian Ocean as maritime neighbours with effective defence and political relations. The two Navies also regularly interact and operate together with Brazil during Exercise IBSAMAR, which is held every alternate year. The last edition of the exercise was conducted in 2022. 

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