Kathrada Foundation urged to remind all South Africans the role that 'Indians' played

by Nismedia Admin June 22, 2018

I hope this email finds you well.

I come from a large family many of whom

were actively involved in the struggle and

provided support, resources and aid to

stalwarts like Nelson Mandela, our beloved

Uncle Kathy,Walter Sisulu and others.

In the context of the Indian struggle, the

Saloojees and Vallys became synonymous

with activism and politics and it is

somewhere from this rich lineage which I

hail.

The increasing incidents of racial tension

and divide, especially those which arise

from the reckless spewing of Julius Malema

and his troop comes as no shock and is

expected to increase.

The issue of land expropriation and

returning resources to the "rightful" owners

will further increase the abuse, trauma and violence against Indians underpinned by

illiteracy of new generations about the

arrival of Indians in this country, their

struggles for freedom and liberation and the

resultant successes, which were achieved

through determination and perseverance.

This illiteracy and its ramifications are

further fuelled by the term "Indian" to

describe South Africans of Asian descent.

I have written to the Human Rights

Commission, with no reply, and I now

humbly request that the Kathrada

Foundation might address this issue.

Many "Indians" born in South Africa have

not visited India, have no land or wealth

there, have no known family there.

There are many who hail from the Asian

continent, but not necessarily from India.

For many, there is no link, memory or

connection to the individual who came to South Africa.

In as much as we claim to be free from the

shackles of Apartheid, we remain

imprisoned. A weapon of apartheid was to

destabilize people by altering their identity.

Names, surnames and date of birth of

individuals were amended at the will of

presiding officers.

A further traumatic destabilization was racial groupings and the allocation of

identities: white, black, coloured, Indian.

As fickle as it may sound, if three out four

groupings were allocated a colour, why is

only one grouping allocated the nationality

of another country?

"Indian" means people born in India -

citizens of India.

South African INDIAN is a contradiction.

Asian is no great help either.

Asia has 48 countries and 4.4 billion people.

How can 2.5% of our population be given

the nationality of a country they have no

active link to, or to a continent they possibly

know nothing about?

Unless and until this misrepresentation is

not addressed, "Indians" will continue to be

singled out, abused, violated and harassed. I

call on the Kathrada Foundation to revisit

the strategies in place, to protect the social

safety of "Indians" and to embark on an

education and advocacy campaign to

remind all South Africans about the massive

contribution Indians made during the

struggle to overcome Apartheid and during

the post-apartheid era to contribute to

building an economically sound country.

It is time to advocate for history books to

recognize all role players in the fight for

freedom.

The idolization of selected comrades like

Madiba, Hector Peterson, O.R Tambo with

the exclusion of others is feeding a

generation of ignorant ingrates with a sense

of entitlement, which is fuelled by

radicalists like Malema.

Embark on the education and advocacy

campaign with the contribution of Indians at

the core.

Address the mis-grouping and

misrepresentation of South Africans of

Asian descent. The time has come for us to

be rightfully integrated into this country,

based purely on the merit of our

contributions dating back to 1860.

Contributions which have largely benefitted

people of all races.

Please heed my call to:

Embark on the education and advocacy