Indian warship INS Trishul visits Durban to mark 3 decades since resumption of diplomatic relations with South Africa

The ship’s arrival also marked 130 years since Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi or Mahatma Gandhi was thrown off a train in Pietermaritzburg station after he entered a coach reserved for the white.

• Shubham
• 13 June, 2023

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By: Shubham Ghosh

INDIAN NAVY frigate INS Trishul reached the Durban port in South Africa last week for a three-day tour to mark several historic events, PTI reported. However, the most significant among them is the completion of three decades of the resumption of diplomatic relations between India and South Africa after a break of nearly four decades because of apartheid.

The ship’s arrival also marked 130 years since Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi or Mahatma Gandhi, India’s iconic freedom fighter — who was then a young lawyer working in South Africa — was thrown off a train in Pietermaritzburg station after he entered a coach which was reserved for white passengers only.

The experience drove Gandhi to lead Satyagraha, setting up a fight against oppression in both South Africa and later in India, and eventually becoming the Mahatma. According to the PTI, the ship’s visit is also a part of India’s Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, marking 75 years of the country’s independence.

The arrival of INS Trishul in South Africa is aimed at enhancing the close cooperation between the navies of the two nations, which regularly interact and operate along with Brazil during Exercise IBSAMAR, which is held every alternate year.

The frigate left Durban after various activities designed to showcase India’s role in assisting nations spanning the Indian Ocean were held on board.

(With PTI inputs)