Bust of Valliamma now stands at Tolstoy Farm alongside Gandhi, Mandela

Johannesburg, Oct 24: A bust of teenage martyr Valliamma Munuswami, who marched in South Africa alongside then lawyer Mohandas Gandhi before he became the Mahatma, was unveiled recently at Tolstoy Farm, south of Johannesburg.

It was a collaborative effort by the Mahatma Gandhi Remembrance Organisation (MGRO), Progressive Tamil Movement (PTM), Tamil Federation of Gauteng and the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation.

Tolstoy Farm, the commune that Gandhi started at the turn of the last century, became a vibrant, almost self-sufficient commune for his followers, who were persecuted by racist government authorities demanding that all Indians carry permits at the time.