South Africa’s tourism body has launched a new Gandhi-inspired tourism drive, highlighting 13 attractions that enable tourists to “walk in Gandhi’s footsteps and experience the places where he created history in South Africa”.

With this year marking the 100-year anniversary of Gandhi’s departure from South Africa, the initiative by South African Tourism (SAT) aims to tell the story of Gandhi in his formative years.

"We believe the guide will be very informative to both South African and international visitors and will resonate particularly with those who wish to learn more about Gandhi's South African experience,” said SAT’s Hanneli Slabber.

“The guide not only tells its own compelling story, but can also be integrated into a wider visitor experience by highlighting places where Gandhi created history – Constitution Hill and Johannesburg's Old Fort Prison and many more.”

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi led India to independence from colonial British rule in 1947. Central to his contribution to human rights was the Satyagraha movement of passive resistance, which saw campaigners on peaceful marches presenting themselves for arrest in protest against unjust laws – a technique which would become one of the great political tools of the 20th century, influencing the civil rights movement in the United States and the early years of struggle against apartheid in South Africa.