Role of minorities in building democracy cannot be ignored

By Bheki Mngomezulu

The issue of minority groups is inevitably part of South African history and political lexicon. Whether we like it or not, their history is inextricably interwoven with all the narratives about the liberation Struggle.

The irrefutable fact is what informed Mac Maharaj recently when he was reflecting on the history of the Natal Indian Congress (NIC) and that of the Transvaal Indian Congress (TIC). During his address, Maharaj averred that “it is not possible to tell the story of South Africa’s Struggle against colonialism and apartheid without including the significant contribution of the NIC and the TIC.”

Expounding the point, Maharaj said that “any history that does not include their role will remain fatally flawed”. From the historical and political contexts of the liberation Struggle, it is difficult to challenge Maharaj’s view.

Whether the minorities were the oppressive minority, as was the case with the whites in this country, or they were the marginalised population, as evidenced in the coloured, Indian and Khoisan communities, the bottom line is that it is impossible to write minorities out of the narratives about the beleaguered history of the country.

It is a known fact that the Struggle for political liberation in South Africa was a long, tedious and drawn-out process which is as old as the first encounter between the white and black people of the country. The interaction between whites and non-whites intensified after 1948. This was in the aftermath of the institutionalisation of segregation as government’s policy through apartheid which was ushered in by the victory of Dr DF Malan’s National Party.

Beginning with the Defiance Campaign in 1952, the adoption of the Freedom Charter by The Congress of the People in Kliptown, Soweto on June 25, 1955, and other subsequent events, the oppressed masses and other minorities vowed to vent their anger against the apartheid government.

The apartheid government reacted with brutality and killed scores of people under the guise of protecting the state. While it is true that many of the victims were the black majority, it is equally true that the lives of the minority groups who supported the liberation Struggle were not spared.

It is for this reason that the names of Indian and coloured leaders, such as Yussuf Dadoo, Billy Nair, Dr Monty Naicker, Rev Allan Boesak and Robert McBride are invoked each time the history of the liberation Struggle is recounted.

When the Freedom Charter was adopted in 1955, it envisaged a South Africa where people would live in harmony with one another – living a life that would be devoid of any form of discrimination based on race, gender or class. Implicit in the statement was that any specific focus on the existence of minorities would no longer be warranted in a non-racial society.

Decades later, the Interim Constitution of 1993 and the current Constitution, which was enacted in 1996, revived the hope of a united South Africa where the Struggle of the minorities would no longer be necessary because they would be part of the broader South African body politic.

Intriguingly, even in the post-1994 era, minorities continue to exist unabatedly. Importantly, they constantly argue for the need for their continued existence, citing marginalisation and neglect by the current political leadership. Khoisan communities are fighting for their land and the recognition of their indigenous languages. Indian and coloured communities complain about their marginalisation, which has seen their support for the ANC declining in each election.

The formation of political parties such as the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) and the Patriotic Alliance (PA), which define their mandate as that of fighting for the rights of minorities across racial lines, affirms the view that the issue of minorities remains on the South African political agenda.

Whether such parties do this as per their claim remains the subject for debate. What is clear is that minorities feel as excluded now as they were under apartheid. During the days of oppression, ANC president Dr John Langalibalele Dube held the view that Indians were in a better position compared to black people. They could call on India and Britain – an option which did not exist for blacks.

The formation of the Tricameral Parliament in 1983/84 including whites, coloureds and Indians confirmed Dube’s earlier utterances that blacks were in a worst position compared to the two minority groups.

But, as the liberation Struggle continued, blacks, coloureds and Indians found one another. The Dadoo, Xuma, Naicker Pact of 1947 which Maharaj recently cited, confirms the collaboration. Even after the adoption of apartheid as a government policy, the ANC and the NIC joined hands and waged war against the apartheid government until the dawn of democracy in 1994.

The revival of the NIC in 1971 (which had become defunct) reinvigorated the Struggle. Thus, it should not come as a surprise that when Nelson Mandela assembled his leadership team in 1994, minorities were part of the collective.

This synopsis triggers a couple of questions that are worth ventilating. Among them: What role did minorities play in the liberation of the country? To what extent has that role been recognised and acknowledged in the post-1994 political dispensation? Is there any justification for the continued existence of minorities in present-day South Africa?

In addressing the first question, it is critical to reflect on the history of the NIC referred to earlier. This would lead to the conclusion that indeed minorities contributed to the Struggle.

On the second question, the answer is that the role of minorities has been recognised to a lesser extent – otherwise, they would not be complaining and drifting away from the ANC.

Regarding the third question, in the context of the Freedom Charter and the Constitution, there is no need for the continued existence of minorities. However, given their realities and experiences, the continued existence of minorities is justifiable. They have a role to play.

* Prof Bheki Mngomezulu is the director of the Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy (CANRAD) at the Nelson Mandela University

** The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of the IOL or Independent Newspapers