The Prime Minister's train journey to Pietermaritzburg did not evoke any enthusiasm as, apart from security personnel and officials, only a few people turned up at the railway station to receive him.The response continued to be poor when he visited the Phoenix settlement on the second day of the visit. Even the small tent in which the function was held could not be filled up. An official of the Phoenix Settlement Trust blamed the government for ruining the function as it imposed severe security checks on the invitees forcing many of them to remain at home.
More pathetic was the function at Kingsmead Stadium, which is comparable to the Mohali Stadium. Gallery after gallery remained empty. What's worse, most of the special chairs put in the stadium specifically for the function remained unoccupied.
A little after the South Africa President, Mr Thambo Mbeki, arrived a few minutes before the arrival of Dr Manmohan Singh, most of the South Africans present in the stadium moved to the "exit" gate. In doing so, they were "encouraged" by the police, not because of any disrespect to Gandhiji or the Indian Prime Minister.
They were supporters of the former South African deputy president, Mr Jacob Zuma, who was sacked by Mr Mbeki because of his alleged involvement in corruption cases. Mr Zuma, who nurses high political ambitions, was freed of the corruption charges by the court on technical grounds.
Mr Zuma's supporters also sung his trademark song "Awuleth umshini wami" (Bring me my machine gun) when Mr Mbeki arrived forcing the police to show them the door. Mr Zuma earned notoriety when he was accused of rape. He is also credited with the opinion that a post-sex shower is sufficient to escape contracting AIDS.
By the time the Prime Minister reached the venue, the galleries were near-empty. Even more surprising, the priests who conducted a multi-faith prayer took the exit route even before the formal speeches began.
South Africa has a large population of people of Indian origin, estimated at one million. They were conspicuous by their absence.
An Indian High Commission official attributed the poor response of Indians to the elaborate security arrangements. The organisers were obviously too ambitious to hold such a meeting at the largest stadium in Durban where in the eloquent words of Dr Manmohan Singh that, not long ago, it was imperative that to play and to watch cricket in the stadium, the colour of not only the ball but also the players should be white.
The lack of enthusiasm was reflected in the reporting of the functions in the local print media, where it was, by and large, relegated to the inside pages.
