India has welcomed South Africa’s donation of historic artefacts belonging to Mahatma Gandhi. The donated items will now be displayed at India’s National Gandhi Museum.

It’s being called a historic handover,- one that further cements cultural ties between India and South Africa. The donated items were handed over by Mahatma Gandhi’s great grandson who lives in South Africa to the National Gandhi Museum in New Delhi.

The ceremony was also attended by India’s Foreign Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who said that Gandhi’s life will continue to inspire generations to come.

Mahatma Gandhi, who rallied millions across South Asia to lead a non-violent movement against the British, worked as a lawyer in South Africa for more than 20 years in the early 1900s.

He left South Africa only in 1915, travelling to India, where he began his journey as a freedom fighter.

But his family stayed on at the Phoenix Settlement that Gandhi set up in 1904 – that site, near Durban, was where Gandhi famously shaped his philosophy on non-violent resistance.

The artefacts, including some clothing items that were hand spun by Gandhi – date back to this period.

This includes clothes Gandhi made for his wife and himself, as well as a portion of a garland made of cotton that was made for the wedding ceremony of his son.

Letters written by members of the Gandhi family, the deed for the transfer of Phoenix Settlement and financial documents have also been handed over.