Belt recalls Gandhi assault bid
A 1900 standard issue belt forcibly taken from a policeman, who tried to assault Mahatma Gandhi, had a special place in the Nagdee family home in Gauteng for three generations over a century until it was handed over to the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation in 2011 for safekeeping.
Baboo Nagdee donated the belt to the foundation on behalf of his family at a function at the Walter Sisulu Centre in Kliptown where the historic Freedom Charter was signed more than five decades earlier.
“The belt had been a prized possession in our family to signify the strong bond our grandfather, Mohamed Essop Nagdee, had with Gandhiji when he was mobilising the community to protest the unjust laws that were being introduced around 1900,” said Nagdee, but he deferred to veteran activist Mosie Moola to relate the story.
“This belt became very famous because in the early days of the last century, Baboo’s grandfather was closely associated with Gandhi. It was at a place near the town of Warmbaths, that one of the policemen attempted to assault Gandhiji. Baboo’s grandfather got quite mad, pushed the man aside, gave him a shot and pulled the belt away.
“This was a brave thing to do at the time, because if you took anything off a policeman, it was a major offence.”
Little is known of the aftermath of the incident, but the belt became a talking point for the local Indian community for many years, although it was carefully hidden from the apartheid authorities for decades more.
Speaking prior to Heritage Day, Shan Balton, the chief executive of the Kathrada Foundation, said the belt symbolised the need for everybody to search their homes for historical artefacts, which may have been forgotten but needed to be preserved for posterity.
“We would like you to consider giving stuff of historical value a home at the centre. If they are documents that you do not wish to give away as originals, we would be glad to copy them and return the originals to you.”