Saint or statesman? In India Madiba walked his own path – The Mail & Guardian

Saint or statesman? In India Madiba walked his own path – The Mail & Guardian

As South Africa and the world observed International Mandela Day on 18 July, my thoughts returned to Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela — the man, the myth, the miracle. A moment etched in my professional and personal memory is how, during his 1995 state visit to India, Madiba diplomatically declined India’s subtle efforts to canonise him as a “saint” in the moral tradition of Mahatma Gandhi. I was among the South African media corps travelling with Mand…