a collection of papers by
Published by: The University of Durban-Westville, Durban. Occasional Papers Series No. 1, 1991.
The contribution made by Indians to the struggle against apartheid does not only derive from historic links that go back to the second half of the nineteenth century when the first Indian indentured labourers arrived in Natal. These papers by E.S. Reddy demonstrate that India's role must be located within a broader international movement of struggle against racial discrimination and the apartheid policies of successive South African governments. Furthermore, it was deeply rooted in India's own struggle for freedom from British rule.
While most observers are familiar with the contribution of Mahatma Gandhi to the South African struggle, Mr. Reddy's essays show that many others, including Jawaharlal Nehru, played a vital role in keeping alive the international movement against apartheid in the 1950s and 1960s, after Gandhiji's death, at a time when some Western countries adopted an accommodative approach to the apartheid State. In the fascinating final article in this collection, Mr. Reddy discusses the little-known question of Indian slaves in South Africa and provides evidence that Indians were shipped to the Cape Colony as slaves for domestic and farm work soon after the arrival of Jan van Riebeeck.
At the present decisive conjuncture in South Africa's history, on the eve of the birth of a free, nonracial democracy in this country, these essays deepen our understanding of sonic crucial aspects of Indo-South African relations and history.
hi the light of its own history and its struggle for change hi the context of resistance to apartheid, the University of Durban-Westville is happy, indeed privileged, to publish this collection of papers by E.S. Reddy. Mr. Reddy himself, in his capacity as director of the United Nations Centre against Apartheid and in other ways, played a significant role iii keeping the struggle against apartheid alive at the highest international level.
We were delighted to host Mr. Reddy on his recent visit to Durban and share in his excitement at the chance of meeting again with many old friends. We thank him, too, for his generous donation to the University's Documentation Centre of an invaluable collection of papers and documents on Indo-South African relations and on the United Nations' role in the struggle against apartheid, as well as many other valuable books and pamphlets on international politics. His support for the University, in these and other ways, is greatly appreciated.
Professor Jairam Reddy
Vice-Chancellor and Rector
University of Durban-Westville
21 November 1991