The old colonial-era railway station in Durban, South Africa’s vibrant eastern port city, now goes by the name of Tourist Junction. Outside the fine red-brick building, converted into offices, a flamboyant banner proclaims the assertive new brand image of the region, once called Natal, as the Zulu Kingdom.

This was the station where, on June 7, 1893, a newly-arrived young Indian lawyer named M.K.Gandhi began the journey that brought him face-to-face with racial discrimination in South Africa. Travelling first class, he was forcibly ejected from the train at the first stop in Pietermaritzburg, an experience to which he later traced the beginnings of his policy of non-violent resistance.