MANILAL GANDHI

I came into contact with Manilal Gandhi under circumstances which were far from auspicious. We had just gone through the tragedy of the Afro-Indian riots in 1949. Manilal wrote things against the African community which were angrier than wise. I replied in Inkundla ya Bantu pointing out the inaccuracies in his article. Feelings between the Indian and the African were bitterly inflamed at the time. I did not know him and did not expect him to bother about grasping the inner truth of my reply. To my surprise I received a personal letter in a clear, small handwriting which I had never seen before. In that letter Manilal was apologising without reservations for the things had had written. It was such a convincing apology that from it dates my years of very close friendship with that very remarkable man. . . Even at the time of his death Indian Opinion was an effective bridge linking the races. That really was one of his most striking contributions to race harmony.

-Jordan Ngubane, "Manilal Ganghi As I Knew Him", Indian Opinion (Manilal Gandhi Memorial Number), April 1956.