Madhya Pradesh Government donated one crore rupees for restoration of Gandhi’s Tolstoy Farm

Madhya Pradesh Government on 10 June 2014 announced that it will donate one crore rupees for restoration of Tolstoy Farm in South Africa, the place where Mahatma Gandhi first began his Satyagraha.

The announcement of the donation was made by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan during a visit to the now derelict area, south of Johannesburg, owned by a neighboring brick manufacturing company.

Chouhan was leading a high-powered delegation from the State to South Africa to promote investment and joint ventures between South African public and state enterprises.

Apart from this, the High Commission of India in collaboration with the local Indian community and the Government of South Africa will be organising a function on 20 July 2014 at Tolstoy Farm to commemorate 100 years of Gandhi’s return to Indian from South Africa. Gandhi returned to India in 1914.

Virendra Gupta, the Indian High Commissioner also initiated a project to establish a Garden of Remembrance at the Farm, which will be developed by a group of local community organisations. The Garden of Remembrance project will be launched on 20 July 2014.

About Tolstoy Farm
Tolstoy Farm was established by Gandhi in 1910 and is spread cover an area of 1100 acres that was donated by his architect friend Herman Kallenbach. Name of Tolstoy farm was drawn on the name of a Russian author Leo Tolstoy, whose writings influenced Gandhi.

Apart from this, Gandhi’s principles of Satyagraha helped the community of Passive Resisters to fight the unjust and racist regime of the then South Africa. Passive Resisters community was formed by people from diverse backgrounds, race and religion, who lived together in the farm.