‘African Gandhi’: The South African war and the limits of imperial identity

The South African War forced M. Gandhi to reassess his political strategy and loyalty to Empire. During the 1890\u27s Indians were subject to a battery of racist legislation in Southern Africa. When the Boer republics declared war on Britain, Gandhi saw this as a perfect opportunity to prove Indian loyalty to the Empire. Although elite Indians offered their services without pay, the Government accepted their help with great reluctance. The blatantly racist attitude of the Natal Government before and during the war, and the British policy of allowing whites to subjugate Indians politically and economically during the post-war period, made Gandhi understand the second-class status of the colonised. In response he developed his technique of satyagraha and lost faith in an empire embracing both coloniser and colonised

“A Man of Keen Perceptive Faculties”:∗ Aboobaker Amod Jhaveri, an “Arab” in Colonial Natal, circa 1872-1887

English Aboobaker Amod is generally regarded as the first passenger migrant of Indian origin to settle in Natal. His stay was short but he made a significant religious, economic and social contribution. This short biography of Aboobaker serves as a lens through which to view the migratory experiences of early traders, their association with indentured Indians, networks among traders and relationships between passengers, white settlers and colonial authorities. Passenger migrants came outside of official arrangements between the governments of India and Natal. They came voluntarily at their own expense and were subject to the ordinary laws of the Colony. Aboobaker’s story underscores the manner in which colonial authorities differentiated Indians on the basis of class, the fissures among Indian migrants, importance of family networks in increasing immigration and the importance of religion in shaping Indian lives. This paper also highlights the difficulty and value of using oral history. Many of the legends about Aboobaker which are accepted among his descendants and are repeated in public settings, are not corroborated by “historical facts”. This emphasizes the importance of examining diverse historical sources in reconstructing the past. While testimony from Aboobaker’s family provided the broad outlines of his life, this was augmented by archival sources and contemporary newspapers. This helped to recreate the most likely account of Aboobaker’s early life and settlement in Natal. This endeavour underlines the fact that historical knowledge is always partial and subject to revision.       Afrikaans “A Man of Keen Perceptive Faculties”: Aboobaker Amod Jhaveri, ‘n “Arabier” in Koloniale Natal, circa 1872-1887 Aboobaker Amod word oor die algemeen beskou as die eerste passasier Indiese landsverhuiser wat hom in Natal gevestig het. Sy verblyf was kort, maar nogtans het hy ‘n betekenisvolle godsdienstige, ekonomiese en sosiale bydrae gelewer. Hierdie bondige biografie van Aboobaker dien as ‘n lens waardeur die migrasie belewenisse van vroeë handelaars, hulle verhouding met ingeboekte Indiese arbeiders, onderlinge netwerke tussen handelaars en die verhouding tussen Indiese passasier immigrante, wit nedersetters en die koloniale owerhede bestudeer kan word. Passasier immigrante het onafhanklik van die offisiële ooreenkomste tussen die owerhede van Indië en Natal verhuis. Hulle het vrywillig en op eie koste geïmmigreer en was onderhewig aan die normale koloniale wetgewing. Aboobaker se lewensverhaal onderstreep die wyse waarop die koloniale owerhede tussen Indiërs onderskei het op grond van klas, die gapings tussen Indiese migrante, die rol van familienetwerke by toenemende immigrasie en die belangrikheid van godsdiens in die vorming van Indiërs se lewens. Hierdie artikel dui ook die problematiek verbonde aan, en waarde van die gebruik van mondeling oorgelewerde geskiedenis aan. Vele van die legendes oor Aboobaker wat sondermeer deur sy nageslag aanvaar en in die openbaar herhaal word, word nie deur “historiese feite” gestaaf nie. Die feit beklemtoon die belang daarvan om diverse historiese bronne aan deeglike beoordeling en ondersoek te onderwerp wanneer die verlede herskep word. Waar die getuienis van Aboobaker se familie die breë buitelyne van sy lewe voorsien het, is die res van die prentjie deur argivale bronne en tydgenootlike koerante ingevul. Dit het gehelp om die mees akkurate weergawe moontlik van Aboobaker se vroeë lewe en vestiging in Natal te skep. Hierdie poging toon weer eens dat historiese kennis altyd net gedeeltelike kennis is en altyd aan hersiening ondergeskik bly

Monty … Meets Gandhi … Meets Mandela: The Dilemma of Non-Violent Resisters in South Africa, 1940-1960

English This article focuses on key moments in the life of Doctor G.M. “Monty” Naicker (1911-1978), an Edinburgh-educated medical doctor and contemporary of Yusuf Dadoo, who displaced moderate elements in Indian politics in South Africa when he became president of the Natal Indian Congress 1946. Having taken control of Indian politics, Monty adopted Mohandas K. Gandhi’s principles of passive resistance in protesting the segregationist land legislation from 1946-1948. Through the 1950s he remained committed to non-violent resistance as he worked with the African National Congress (ANC) to forge non-racial resistance against segregation and apartheid, which was predicated on and backed up by the use of state-sponsored violence. His ideas were relevant in the early joint campaigns of the Congresses Alliance, but by 1960 he had to face the fact that the Alliance was contemplating a turn to violence in the face of state intransigence and increasing brutality. While many of his comrades chose to go the way of armed struggle, Monty remained committed to non-violent resistance. This article examines the dilemma facing activists such as Monty Naicker by examining two key moments in his political life, the Passive Resistance Campaignof 1946-1948 and debates around the ANC’s turn to armed struggle in 1960.        Afrikaans Monty … Ontmoet Gandhi … Ontmoet Mandela: Die Dilemma van Nie-Gewelddadige Weerstandiges in Suid-Afrika, 1940-1960 Hierdie artikel fokus op sleuteloomblikke in die lewe van dokter G.M. “Monty” Naicker (1911-1978), ʼn mediese dokter wat in Edinburgh opgelei is en ʼn tydgenoot was van Yusuf Dadoo, en wat gematigde elemente in Indiese politiek in Suid-Afrika vervang het toe hy in 1946 president van die Natal Indian Congress geword het. Nadat hy beheer van Indiese politiek in die land oorgeneem het, het Monty die beginsels van passiewe weerstand van Mohandas K. Gandhi aangeneem in die protes teen segregasiesionistiese wetgewing van 1946 tot 1948. Gedurende die 1950’s het hy tot vreedsame protes verbind gebly in sy samewerking met die African National Congress (ANC) om nie-rassige weerstand teen segregasie en apartheid te bied. Die optrede is met staatsondersteunde geweld begroet. Sy idees was relevant in die vroeë gesamentlike veldtogte van die Congresses Alliance, maar teen 1960 het hierdie alliansie oorweeg om na gewelddadige optrede oor te gaan weens die staat se onversetlike houding en toenemende brutaliteit. Terwyl baie van sy kamerade verkies het om na gewapende geweld oor te gaan, het Monty tot vreedsame weerstand verbonde gebly. Hierdie artikel ondersoek die dilemma wat aktiviste soos Monty Naicker in die gesig gestaar het, deur twee sleuteloomblikke in sy politieke lewe, naamlik die Passiewe Weerstandsveldtog van 1946-1948 en die debatte oor die ANC se oorgang na gewapende stryd in 1960, te bestudeer

Covid-19, Congregational Worship, and Contestation over ‘Correct’ Islam in South Africa

In response to the global Coronavirus pandemic, South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national lockdown on March 26, 2020, which suspended, among other things, congregational worship. A group of Muslims made an urgent court application for permission to pray in mosques, which was dismissed on April 30, 2020, with the judiciary weighing in on the side of the public health good. This struggle over congregational prayers brought into the open, differences among Muslims in South Africa that have been simmering for several decades and raised questions as to how to balance the post-apartheid Constitution’s accommodation of religious practices with the needs of a secular state[1]. Conversely, what should Muslims do when they are required to follow the secular rules of a non-Muslim country that contradict their obligations to the tenets of their faith? The court case underlined the deep divides amongst Muslims and the changing structures of authority. In the absence of a central doctrinal authority the Ulama terrain is highly com-petitive and fraught with antagonistic doctrinal differences. It remains to be seen whether these divisions will boil over into physical confrontation among Muslims, and, with trust in the state dissipating, how Muslims will manage their relationship with the secular state.   [1]    This article acknowledges the assertion of Schoeman (2017:6 of 7) that it is de-batable whether South Africa can be strictly regarded as a secular country. While the vast majority of people claim to be Christian, the extent to which they adhere strictly to Christianity is debatable

The formal education journey of Cassim Dangor, 1963-1985 : reflections on education challenges in apartheid South Africa

Most students who attended the University College, Durban, which was established on Salisbury Island in 1961, were pioneers in two important senses: they were amongst the first to attend a racially exclusive university for Indians, as well being first generation students. Both scenarios presented challenges. This article focuses on the experiences of the Transvaal-born Cassim Dangor who, as an "Indian", faced many restrictive segregationist policies in his attempts to acquire tertiary education. While apartheid is often portrayed as a totalising institution, and despite the fact that individual stories can be esoteric, anecdotal and unrepresentative, a life history methodology provides a means to examine how individuals understood apartheid; how they were affected by it; the ways in which they attempted to make sense of their lives; and how they sought spaces in the system. The article also charts the growth of Pharmacy as a discipline at the university.     Die formele opvoedings reis van Cassim Dangor, 1963-1985 : refleksies rakende opvoedings uitdagings in apartheid Suid-Afrika Die meeste studente wat die Universiteits Kollege, Durban, wat in 1961 geskep is, bygewoon het was pioniers op twee belangrike wyses: hulle was die eerstes wat aan \u27n universiteit wat eksklusief vir Indiërs geskep gestudeer het en hulle was ook die eerste geslag universiteits studente. Beide die scenarios het uitdagings geoffer. Die artikel fokus op die ervaringe van die Transvaals gebore Cassim Dangor wie, as \u27n Indier, vele beperkende apartheids wetgewings beleef het in sy strewe na tersiêre onderwys. Hoewel apartheid gereeld voorgehou word as \u27n totaliserênde instelling, en ongeag die feit dat sommige stories esoteries, eensydig en onverteenwoordigend kan wees, laat \u27n lewensgeskiedenis metodologie \u27n eksaminering toe van hoe enkelinge apartheid ervaar het, hul daardeur beinvloed is, hoe hulle probeer sin maak het van die stelsel en hoe hulle hul plek daarin gesoek het. Die artikel karteer oof die ontwikkeling van Farmasie as \u27n vakgebied aan die universiteit

The Natal Indian Congress, the Mass Democratic Movement and the struggle to defeat Apartheid : 1980-1994

The Natal Indian Congress (NIC) was revived in 1971 in the context of what has become known as the ‘Durban moment’. This period also witnessed the emergence of the Black Consciousness Movement and an independent trade union movement inspired by the 1973 Durban strikes. Despite a government crackdown and opposition from anti-apartheid groups that asserted that ethnic identities were a relic of the past, the NIC attracted younger activists through the 1970s and by the early 1980s, had survived the banning and detention of its leadership to become involved in civic struggles over housing and education, and in mobilizing against government-created political structures. It also played a pivotal role in the United Democratic Front formed in 1983. This did not mean that the NIC was monolithic. The 1980s spawned vibrant and often vicious debates within the NIC over participation in government-created structures, allegations of cabals and, as democracy dawned, differing opinions of the future of an organization that first came into being in the last decade of the nineteenth century. In critically interrogating this crucial period between 1980 and 1994, when mass-based struggle was renewed, two states of emergency were imposed and apartheid eventually ended, this article adds to the growing historiography of the anti-apartheid struggle by focusing on an important but neglected aspect of that story. It focuses on the internal workings of the NIC and the relationship between the NIC, the emergent Mass Democratic Movement and the African National Congress (ANC) in the context of broader political and economic change

The Guptas, the Public Protector’s Report and Capital Accumulation in South Africa

The relationship between South African President Jacob Zuma and his family, and the Guptas, possibly the richest family of Indian origin at present in South Africa, has made persistent national and increasingly international headlines in the media over the past few years. The Gupta family, who arrived in South Africa from India just prior to the country’s first non-racial democratic elec-tions in 1994, are accused of colluding with Zuma in the removal and appoint-ment of government ministers, as well as the directors of State-Owned Enter-prises (SOEs) in order to secure lucrative state contracts. This article examines the allegedly corrupt relationship between the Zumas and the Guptas to probe key issues in post-apartheid South African society: corruption, state capture, inequality, class formation, Black Economic Empowerment, and White Mono-poly Capital. It argues that corruption has negative consequences such as creat-ing despondency amongst the populace leading to capital flight and creating the possibilities for state capture as well as further deepening inequality

Covid-19, Congregational Worship, and Contestation over ‘Correct’ Islam in South Africa

In response to the global Coronavirus pandemic, South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national lockdown on March 26, 2020, which suspended, among other things, congregational worship. A group of Muslims made an urgent court application for permission to pray in mosques, which was dismissed on April 30, 2020, with the judiciary weighing in on the side of the public health good. This struggle over congregational prayers brought into the open, differences among Muslims in South Africa that have been simmering for several decades and raised questions as to how to balance the post-apartheid Constitution’s accommodation of religious practices with the needs of a secular state[1]. Conversely, what should Muslims do when they are required to follow the secular rules of a non-Muslim country that contradict their obligations to the tenets of their faith? The court case underlined the deep divides amongst Muslims and the changing structures of authority. In the absence of a central doctrinal authority the Ulama terrain is highly com-petitive and fraught with antagonistic doctrinal differences. It remains to be seen whether these divisions will boil over into physical confrontation among Muslims, and, with trust in the state dissipating, how Muslims will manage their relationship with the secular state.   [1]    This article acknowledges the assertion of Schoeman (2017:6 of 7) that it is de-batable whether South Africa can be strictly regarded as a secular country. While the vast majority of people claim to be Christian, the extent to which they adhere strictly to Christianity is debatable