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2 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Celebrating 85 years of Ela Gandhi
Peace activist, former social worker and parliamentarian, Ela Gandhi, has been chosen to be part of an eminent persons group to guide and champion the National Dialogue later this year. Image: Nadia Khan HAVING been at the helm in the fight for peace and social justice in South Africa, Ela Gandhi's journey serves as an enduring reminder of the power of personal commitment to social change and the profound impact of dedicated activism. Childhood Gandhi, who celebrated her 85th birthday yesterday (Tuesday), said her journey to becoming a peace activist, social worker and later a parliamentarian, started from humble beginnings. She grew up in the Phoenix Settlement in Inanda, which was established by her grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi. He initially came to South Africa to work on a legal case for a merchant in 1893. Ela Gandhi, the youngest of three children, was born on July 1, said her father, Manilal, uncle Harilal, and grandmother, Kasturba Gandhi, joined her grandfather in South Africa in 1897. Gandhi, who was the only woman and Mewalal 'Mewa' Ramgobin (far right) during a placard demonstration on the stairs of the Durban City Hall in 1958. Image: Supplied 'My father was about 4 or 5 years old when they came to South Africa. His two other siblings were born here. However, my grandfather, who had a beautiful house in Beach Grove, returned to India a few years later. When he came back to South Africa, he set up his law practice in Johannesburg. 'However, they later moved to Durban and my grandfather started the newspaper, Indian Opinion. It was during this time that my grandfather became involved in politics and activism. When he first came here he was 24, and thought because he was a lawyer it was a high status symbol. 'Over time all that changed, and he began to realise there was no such thing as status. Everybody has dignity and we should ensure that we treat everyone with dignity, no matter what they do. He also began to look at equality among all people, particularly African people,' she said. Gandhi said in 1904 her grandfather bought the land in Inanda, known as the Phoenix Settlement. She lived there with her father; mother Sushila, and two elder siblings, Sita and Arun Manilal, who have since passed on. 'My grandfather moved the printing press to the settlement. My father, who did not have a formal education as my grandfather, believed the British schooling system was not suitable and was 'brainwashing' children. He later became the editor. Gandhi (centre) with,from left, Asha (daughter), Arti (daughter), Kidar (son) and Neervana (daughter-in-law). Image: Supplied 'However, my father and his siblings were taught at home. When my grandfather returned to India, my parents continued to run the newspaper.'Gandhi said in 1947, when she was 7 years old, she met her grandfather during a visit to India. 'We visited the (Gandhi) Sevagram Ashram where my grandfather was living at the time. We stayed with him in the ashram for about three months.' Gandhi said she had fond memories of growing up in the settlement which was damaged during the 1985 Inanda Riots. It has since been restored and is now a national heritage site. 'There were a lot of residents around us, including the indentured labourers. Over the years, many people lived on the settlement, either to work in the newspaper printing business or to volunteer. I remember we used to gather every evening and say prayers. The prayers were always interfaith. We also learnt the prayers of all faiths.' Gandhi was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Lincoln University in the United Kingdom. Image: Supplied Education Gandhi said she attended the Inanda State-aided Indian School at age 10. 'The school was a wood-and-iron structure with pit toilets. One had to walk through the sugar cane fields for more than a kilometre. My parents said I did not like the school and I got tired with the long walk. My father also said: 'You don't have to go to school to learn. Look at me, I am an editor because I taught myself. There are many ways of learning.' 'But, in actual fact, they did not want to send me to school as they also thought, like my grandfather, that I would be brainwashed. But I insisted on going to school like the other children. However, while I was at home, a British lady who lived with us and helped my father with the press, taught me to read and write. After a while, a teacher from the school came to our home in the afternoons to teach me. It was only when I was 10 years old that I started Standard 4 (Grade 6) at the school. They tested me to see if I could read and write, which I did, so I didn't have to start at Class 1,' she said. Gandhi and her husband, Mewalal 'Mewa' Ramgobin with a group of Buddhist Monks standing on the platform of what was her grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi's home in the Phoenix Settlement in 1998. Image: Supplied Gandhi said she attended Durban Girls' Indian High School from Standard 7 until matric, which she completed in 1957. 'However, when I look back, I realise my grounding at home taught me critical thinking, self-confidence and values, which are qualities that get entrenched in children from 0 to 10 years.' Gandhi (standing - second from right), in a needlework class at the Inanda State-Aided Indian School in the early 1950s. Image: Supplied Gandhi(front), with her grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi, during a visit to India. Image: Supplied Early years in activism Gandhi said from a young age, she became aware of the challenges faced by people in communities. 'While I was in primary school, some of my teachers were involved in welfare programmes such as making food hampers for families in need in Inanda. When I was 12, I joined them as a volunteer and collected things such as food. I became conscious of the welfare movement at that time, which I believe sparked my interest in getting involved with social work later on in my life.' Gandhi said she and her siblings joined their parents during the Defiance Campaign in the early 1950s. The campaign was a major act of civil disobedience against apartheid in South Africa, launched by the ANC and the South African Indian Congress in 1952. 'I was quite young, then but was part of the thousands of people who gathered at Red Square in central Durban. During this meeting, about 20 people volunteered to defy one of the laws, such as entering through the whites-only entrance at the post office or going into the whites-only library. We were outside supporting them.' Further studies Gandhi pursued a BA degree with law subjects at the then Natal University. 'I initially wanted to become a lawyer. My majors were English and political science, with law subjects, Roman Dutch Law, Roman Law and Native Administration. But those plans later changed.' Family Gandhi said in 1961, while at university, she married her childhood sweetheart, Mewalal 'Mewa' Ramgobin, an anti-apartheid activist and politician. He died at the age of 83 in 2016. 'We grew up together and were studying at the university. He was active in the Struggle and he got banned. He was unable to attend university, so it was difficult for me as well. However, we continued with our studies part-time and eventually graduated.' Career Gandhi said she worked at the Durban Indian Child and Family Welfare Society in the early 1960s. 'I worked there on and off for a few years as I became a mother during those years. But while working, I continued with my studies and graduated with a BA degree in social science through Unisa. I later joined the Verulam Child and Family Welfare Society where I remained for about 15 years. During this time, I also graduated with an Honours degree in social science from Unisa,' she said. Children Gandhi had five children – Kidar Ramgobin, 62; Kush Ramgobin, 29, who was killed in 1993; Asha Ramgobin, 58; and twin daughters, Arti and Ashish, 55. She also has two grandchildren. Natal Indian Congress Gandhi said in the late 1960s, her husband decided to start a clemency committee after travelling to Cape Town for a family holiday. 'It was during this time that Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island. During this time, we met some academics and other activists. After speaking to them, he said to me: 'Don't you think we should ask for the release of all the prisoners?' 'When we returned to Durban, he formed a clemency committee. However, we first met with the community to get a mandate, and there was a lot of enthusiasm. But they also found there was a need for political direction. So, we thought 'let us use this opportunity to revive the Natal Indian Congress (NIC)',' she said. The NIC, a political organisation, was established in 1894 by Mahatma Gandhi to fight discrimination against Indians in the then Natal colony. Gandhi said she became one of the vice presidents after her husband was banned and placed under house arrest. 'I was initially in the background but came to the forefront when my husband was banned. We held demonstrations against the Tricameral System. However, in the early 1970s I was banned for eight years and placed under house arrest for five years. It was a terrible period, but as a social worker, I still had access to the community and worked underground. As soon as my ban was over, I joined the NIC again.' Parliament Gandhi said after leaving child welfare, she worked at the Diakonia Centre, which was known as the home for agencies committed to justice, peace and development. 'I worked in the career information centre, helping young people. While I was there, I was asked to be part of the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (Codesa). I was on the negotiation committee ahead of the 1994 elections. After the elections, I joined Parliament from 1994 to 2003. I resigned before my term ended in 2004.' While in Parliament, she focused on welfare programmes and motherhood support. In 2007, Gandhi was also appointed the chancellor at the Durban University of Technology and held the position until 2012. 'It was a great responsibility, but it was wonderful as I graduated many of the students. Since then, I have immersed myself in satyagraha work.' Satyagraha is a philosophy of non-violent resistance developed by Mahatma Gandhi. Inspired by her grandfather's philosophy, in 2000 Gandhi started a monthly newspaper called Satyagraha – In Pursuit of Truth. The newspaper focused on education and fostering interracial and intercultural understanding. She is also the chairperson of the Gandhi Development Trust, and an executive member of the Mahatma Gandhi Salt March Committee. Gandhi added that one of her highlights was being able to get the international community to accept the peace agenda and being able to promote respect for all. 'I serve on a number of international committees, including as a co-president of Religions for Peace (RFP), which is the world's largest and most representative multi-religious coalition, working to advance common action for peace. 'One of my goals through my peace activism is to change the mentality of people, to make them realise you can't just do something bad to another human. The golden rule in every religion is that: 'In everything, do to others as you would have them do to you'.' Gandhi said she was also involved in the anti-nuclear movement, which called for nuclear weapons to be abolished. 'While in Parliament, I joined the Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament. I attended many international conferences and worked on campaigns for nuclear disarmament through RFP and the hibakusha, the survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 'We have done a lot of research that shows the amount of money that goes into the production of nuclear bombs or anything that is destructive. I believe if you put that same money into education or health care, you will achieve far more,' she said. Accolades Gandhi has received numerous recognitions, including the Community of Christ International Peace Award in 2002, the Padma Bhushan award from the Government of India in 2007, and the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, which is the highest honour conferred on overseas Indians by the Government of India's Ministry of External Affairs in 2014. She has also received honorary doctorates from the Durban University of Technology, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Sidharth University in India, and Lincoln University in the UK. National Dialogue President Cyril Ramaphosa recently announced that Gandhi was chosen as a member of the eminent persons group to guide and champion the national dialogue later this year. Gandhi said she was humbled and honoured for the opportunity. 'However, I will not be a rose in a vase at that table. I am hoping to provide significant input on how we can address critical issues in our country, especially for the future generation. I will be speaking to people about what they believe needs to be done.' THE POST
IOL News
27-04-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
The railroad of death: Angola and the ticket stamped no return
It was in this context that the indentured sought to find ways to escape this mounting threat to their lives and livelihood. In this context a group left Durban, their destination, Angola. The British were building the Benguela Railway, so that Lobito Bay could be available for minerals mined in Katanga in the Congo. The white colonists also heaped a £3 tax on the indentured to force them to re-indenture or go back to India. It was a way to prevent them from making a life in the city, freed from the shackles of indenture. So callous was the local white colonist that even the arch-imperialist Winston Churchill remarked that Natal was 'the hooligan of the British Empire'. One of the ironies is that one of the charges against Indians was that they were dominating trade and outcompeting whites. If their competitors were "mere refuse" then what did that imply about their own capacities? For the white colonists Indians were here to do their bidding. As Gandhi's supporter Henry Polak put it, "the Indian labourer is often regarded by his employer as of less account that a good beast, for the latter costs money to replace, whereas the former is a cheap commodity". THE early 1900s saw an intensification of white antipathy towards Indians. Durban had witnessed Gandhi being hounded by white racists when he arrived back from India. Anti-Indian legislation multiplied. The main white newspapers railed against the Indian presence, raising a multitude of issues. For whites Natal had become "a mere dumping ground for the refuse population of India". It is that time of the year where stories of freedom echo through South Africa. It is a remarkable narrative of a prisoner Nelson Mandela becoming president of a democratic South Africa. But often we get lost in the grand fairy-tales of struggle and liberation. In this column, we bring to life a story of working class Indians from Natal, who left to Lobito Bay for a better life. Their story has largely been forgotten. But it is bloody reminder of the price people paid to find a home in Africa. The Indian government agreed to the scheme on March 25, 1907, as the Natal authorities insisted that the alternative was unemployment and repatriation. While waiting to depart, the workers were housed in Brickhill Road for six weeks in what the Indian Opinion described as "overcrowded, dilapidated, and filthy conditions". Griffiths approached John Stone, a contractor involved in the construction of the railways in Natal, to negotiate with the Natal government for 2 000 workers. With conditions on the plantations harsh, debts mounting and the future without hope, Indian workers signed up. By the end of February 1907, 1 200 Indians signed up on two year contracts at £2 per month, and food, accommodation and medical care. Recruits, however, had to pay £2 for transport to Lobito Bay and settle their tax debt to the Natal government. Finance and labour were serious problems. Disease and the slave trade had depleted the local African population. Norton Griffiths and Company, contracted to build the railway, turned to Natal's working-class Indians. Indians were seen as a good labour source because many had worked on the railways and gained a favourable reputation. Of these, 823 had arrived in Natal under Law 25 of 1891, which permitted them to return to the colony after completing their contract; the remainder were subject to the immigration law of 1895. By leaving Natal, they forfeited their right to return and their free passage to India. Workers had been told by Stone that they would work 200 kilometres inland from Lobito Bay, where the weather was "similar to Madras" from whence the majority originated. They were in for a shock. The climate was terribly dry and the terrain hazardous. The country was mountainous and almost waterless as the annual rainfall was a mere 250 millimetres per annum. A headline in a Natal Advertiser report on July 5, 1907, summed up the plight of Indians: 'A dismal tale.' The stories of some the workers are harrowing. P Moonsamy, a free Indian, had travelled to Lobito Bay to open a store, returned to Natal in early July and told the Protector that conditions were terrible. The workers were used mainly to do the onerous work of clearing the land. They were given a little tin of "oily, sticky water" for a whole day. For the two months he had been there, Moonsamy reported that many workers were not able to bath and were "covered in dirt and infested with flies". Some died and others deserted to Damaraland in present-day Namibia. There were no medical facilities and correspondence to family in Natal was intercepted and destroyed. Only 700 Indians remained in Lobito Bay when Moonsamy left. Moonsamy's allegations were supported by a report from the British consul at Luanda, HA Mackie, who confirmed in July 1907 that large numbers of Indians were deserting, most in an 'emaciated condition'. The Natal government refused to get involved but when reports continued to filter through to Natal, Governor Nathan asked Mackie to prepare an official report. He reported in January 1908 that desertions were continuing, suicides had been reported, and malaria, sleeping sickness and jigger flea were rife. In March 1908, 540 Indians departed from Lobito Bay on the Newark Castle. They reached Durban on April 6. It was a ship of disease and death. There were 80 cases of malaria, 20 of dysentery, 150 of jigger flea and several instances of enteric fever and beriberi, a disease of the nervous system that resulted in partial paralysis of the limbs. Four died during the voyage and five had their legs amputated because of gangrene. Another 615 Indians returned on the Alnwick Castle in May 1908. When the ship reached Durban, there were 50 cases of malaria and 400 cases of jigger flea, while others suffered from phthisis, dysentery and acute lung diseases like bronchitis and pneumonia. Dr Fernandez described "the general condition of practically the whole of the Indians constituting this shipment as one of extreme debility". Four amputations of legs were performed at Addington, nine returnees died, and forty were hospitalised. An estimated 600 Indians died in Angola. It was a massacre. Indian Opinion described the returnees as most "repulsive looking". Their clothes were 'appalling' even in 'comparison to indentured Indians'. The 'dirt rags were barely sufficient to hide their nakedness, while their long tangled hair presented a picture of barbarism'. The Angolan venture had turned into a killing field. But this was only the beginning of the nightmare. The Natal government insisted that by leaving the colony, they lost the right to remain in Natal. Of the 1 606 Indians who returned, 658 were allowed to remain but the remainder had to go to India. The Natal Indian Congress took up the issue with the government as many did not want to return to India, while others were in no condition to walk, let alone get on a ship. But the Natal government were unrelenting. They point blank refused to talk to the Congress. After visiting Lobito returnees at the Bluff in Durban, NIC president Dawood Mahomed told Indian Opinion that the men complained bitterly that although many were of 10 years standing in the colony, they were being sent to India against their will. They "knew Natal more than India". The Congress communicated its concerns to the government on April 27, 1908: 'Committee met Indians returned from Lobito Bay. They did not want to go to India and claimed domicile rights. Request information as to why men who were in the colony in the first instance have been sent to India. Respectfully enquire whether any arrangement has been made regarding looking after these men in India.' This enquiry was simply ignored. This was the behaviour of Churchill's 'wretched colony'. Protector Polkinghorne simply wrote to the Colonial Secretary on April 27, 1908, in legalese; 'although some of the Indians would, no doubt, have remained in the colony if they had been allowed to do so… (t)he contract entered into before going to Lobito Bay expressly stated that they were not allowed to return to Natal again". Repatriation went ahead. By June 1908, virtually all the returnees were sent to India. Three women were "saved" from deportation. Their husbands died at Lobito and colonial-born children, and friends in Natal and none in India, they refused to go back. As local Indians raised their voices in protest, Protector Polkinghorne petitioned the government. In a rare instance of mercy they were allowed to stay. But their meanness could not be offset as they insisted outstanding tax debts had to be met. Research allows us to write their lives into ours. One of the three women was Adiamma Venketramadu. She had come to Natal on February 6, 1898, from Chingleput with her husband Nagadu Ramadu. Ramadu's death left her with three children aged 16, 15 and 12. Adiamma lived for almost half a century until her death in Overport in 1953. Ragi Nagadu was a "Lobito widow" at 32 as her husband, Veersamy Ramdu died there. If Ragi had left her village in search of a better life, her story was especially tragic. She lost her eight-year-old daughter, Ankammah, in 1901. Her son Nagadu, aged 14, died in Lobito Bay, leaving her alone. Her brother-in-law Parasamder, who was working in Natal, promised to take care of her. Ragi disappears from the records at this point. Muniamma Annappa was also allowed to remain as her children Arkadu, Muniamma, Muni and Gungadu, were colonial born. She and her husband Chengadu had arrived on February 6, 1898, from Chingelput. After serving their indentures in Mount Edgecombe, they struggled under the weight of tax – they would have had to pay £15 per annum – and saw the Lobito option as a stroke of good fortune. Chengadu died in February 1908. Muniamma continued to live in Natal until her death in 1940 at the age of 70. She was a hawker of fruits and vegetables, and at the time of her death was living in Sydenham. The details of the lives of the three women, albeit routine on the one hand, are revealing because they give us a window into the trajectory of the generations that came after indenture. But it is more than that. It shows the depth of this idea of Natal as "home", irrespective of the harsh conditions. Muniamma, for example, could very well have succumbed to the pressures and left for India. But she chose to make Natal home, and by the time of her death in 1940 had 19 grandchildren and a legacy that continues to the present. How do we think of the past in the present? The long struggle to belong? It is not just a tale of redemption but also one of caution. The other side of belonging is often othering. We saw that through the nineteenth and most of the twentieth century as headlines warned of the 'Asiatic Menace' and government commissions demanded repatriation. We see it today in South Africa with the rise of ethno-nationalist demagogues who seek, like the racist regimes of the past, to define belonging in narrow and narrower terms. In this time when racial divisions once more fill the airwaves, where the right to belong is questioned, maybe we should ponder the words of the very first President of a democratic South Africa: "each of us is intimately attached to the soil of this beautiful country as are the jacaranda trees of Pretoria and mimosa trees of the bushveld". We would add to Mandela's list the cane fields of the south and north coast of KZN. It was here, that the desire to belong was grounded more deeply than any colonial plantation. While this is a tale of death we should always remember as Joan Didion put it "we tell ourselves stories in order to live".
