Indians in South Africa

[Guest guest]

Namaste. Thanks so much for your input on the violence toward Indians in

South Africa. I have just now been a part of that violence myself. I have a

very close friend who comes from South Africa. Though she presently lives in

the Washington, DC area, she has her mother, sisters and brothers, along with

nephews and nieces in South Africa, mainly Durban.

Just Janmastami night, her 14 year old niece was going to the store to

buy some fruits for offering to the Deity. She did not return home. The next

day a school boy found her, where she had been dumped in one of the wealthier

Indian areas of Durban. She was the victim of a hate crime, and this crime is

now on record as the most malicious and hateful and violent of crimes against

Indians in South African history. This 14 year old girl was found after having

been raped, her ears and lips were cut off, her eyes were gouged out, and she

had been stabbed over 100 times. The knife had been left lodged in her throat

when the boy found her.

They are looking for the killer based on the DNA in the semen sample.

However, many blacks in South Africa escape from punishment, even in crimes as

serious as this. This is naturally bringing the Indian community much closer,

and closer to understanding the seriousness of what is happening in South

Africa. A year ago I had given a class at one of the temples there in Durban

for Janmastami, based on my free ebooklet, "Why Be a Hindu," found on my

website at: http://www.stephen-knapp.com. But I had told the people then that

the crimes that were already so much a part of South African life were going to

get worse, that serious trouble was lurking just over the horizon, and that the

Indians need to get closer to one another and depend on their own community.

They would have no other shelter.

Now I think it is clear that all Indians and whites should leave South

Africa if it is at all possible. The government does not want Indians and

whites in their country. They have made it possible to allow the blacks to get

away with murder. A year ago the daily average of murders was 67 per day. The

blacks in surrounding countries are also giving South Africans advice on ways

and means to make the Indians leave South Africa, and the South Africans are

listening. A new tactic is that blacks drive their automobiles into crowds of

Indians and whites, killing as many as possible. The crime against my friend's

niece was a crime of hate toward all Indians. Indians must stand together, but

they must work together to find a way out. The bloodbath is only getting worse.

And those of us that live in such places as America, England, or India cannot

forget the difficulties that other Indians are undergoing on a regular basis,

some of whom have no way out. This has made me more determined than ever that

we must be pro-active in spreading the genuine spiritual knowledge as found in

the Vedic culture.

Hari Om and Hari bol,

Stephen Knapp (Sri Nandanandana dasa)

-------------------------------

http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/aug/30spec.htm

The Rediff Special/ Ajith Bridgraj

Inspiring the murders of Indians

South African politicians are at pains to de-link a heinous crime wave against

the country's Indian community from a controversial Zulu song titled AmaNdiya

(meaning Indians), but there is a growing sentiment in the community that a

spate of recent murders of Indians has been sparked off by the song.

In the past few months, two female pensioners were brutally murdered in separate

incidents while an Indian businesswoman was gunned down at point-blank range in

the full view of her two young children.

Matters came to a head on August 24, when four Indians were hijacked after a

soccer match at the sprawling former Indian belt of Chatsworth, south of

Durban, which is home to some 250,000 of the country's one million descendants

from India.

The hijacked men had their throats slit before being dumped alongside a deserted

road. One of the victims survived the ordeal by playing dead until his attackers

drove off in the hijacked vehicle.

Earlier this year, internationally acclaimed playwright and songwriter Mbongeni

Ngema created a stir with the release of AmaNdiya in his album Jive Madlokovu.

The song accuses the Indians of being worse oppressors than the erstwhile

racist regime.

AmaNdiya opens with the line 'Oh brothers, oh my fellow brothers, we need strong

and brave men to confront Indians.'

Ngema has steadfastly maintained that the song was meant to stimulate discussion

around Indian-African relations and to promote reconciliation between the two

groups.

urban resident Ramesh Jethalal moved the high court to restrain Ngema and his

music company from selling the album, since the song incited racial hatred. The

case has been adjourned to November 4.

Veteran Indian politician Amichand Rajbansi, leader of the Minority Front in

KwaZulu-Natal, conceded that there was widespread suspicion among Indians that

the cold-blooded killing of the three Chatsworth men was motivated by Ngema's

song.

"This is what Indians are saying on the street and what was widely stated at the

crematorium where these men were laid to rest," said Rajbansi. "There is

widespread anger in the community."

Even though Rajbansi described the song's opening line as "provocative," he was

loath to link this -- and the other incidents -- to the song. "Africans are

also being killed by the criminal elements in our society, so we should refrain

from attaching a racial tag to these incidents," he said.

But he disclosed that unconfirmed reports claimed the sole survivor of the

Chatsworth hijacking incident had said the assailants mentioned AmaNdiya as

they attacked him and his friends. "I will be speaking to the survivor soon to

establish if this is indeed the case," Rajbansi said, calling for tougher

legislation and greater enforcement to stamp out such incidents.

The Inkatha Freedom Party's agriculture minister in KwaZulu Natal, Narend Singh,

stated he did not believe "the song had anything to do with the attacks on

Indians.People of all races are being attacked and killed," remarked Singh,

while slamming President Thabo Mbeki's government for granting amnesty to

"hardened criminals."

"This exacerbates the rate of crime and sends a wrong signal to criminals who

believe they can act with impunity."

Mtholephi Mthimkulu, provincial spokesperson of the African National Congress in

KZN, too dismissed talk that Indians were being targeted as a consequence of

Ngema's song. "We cannot rule out the possibility that family feuds may have

been at the centre of some of these killings."

KZN police are tight-lipped about their investigations, saying that public

statements could hamper their investigations.

But Ron Reddy, a community figure in Chatsworth, remains convinced that the

upsurge in attacks against Indians was "definitely linked to the song. From

being isolated incidents, attacks against Indians are becoming common-place

following the release of the song."

It was not unusual to hear comments from blacks on the streets of Chatsworth

accusing Indians of living a life in South Africa that was "too comfortable for

too long," he said.

While crime was rampant in South Africa, the nature of attacks against Indians

since the release of the song had become "extremely violent and brutal," agreed

Durban lecturer Shakti Maharaj. "It would appear that these have now become

crimes of revenge and deep-seated hatred. The way in which the victims were

mercilessly killed suggests that the perpetrators are

determined to terrorize the Indian community in South Africa."

"Apartheid has left a legacy of illiteracy in South Africa. The vast majority

don't understand what Ngema claims was his intention in writing the song. As a

result, they may interpret the song literally and see it as a license to attack

Indians," she said.

She stated that the tragedy of Indian South Africans is that while earlier under

apartheid they were regarded as "not white enough," now they are "not black

enough" for the new South Africa. "We've always been the filling in the

sandwich that everyone wants to take a bite of," she added.

Ajith Bridgraj is based in Durban, South Africa

Friends the problem with Indians is that are afraid to speak up their mind, are

not united and do not take to violence or strategic thinking easily.

cheers and om sanjeev

Discover your Indian Roots at - http://www.esamskriti.com

Long Live Sanathan / Kshatriya Dharam. Become an Intellectual Kshatriya

Generate Positive Vibrations lifelong worldwide.

Aap ka din mangalmaya rahe or Shubh dinam astu or Have a Nice Day

Unity preceedes Strength

Synchronize your efforts, avoid duplication.

THINK, ACT, INFLUENCE, to Un write back.

Create Positive Karmas by being Focussed, controlling senses, will power & determination

Never boasts about yr victory and success, enjoy & share the fruit

Knowledge, Wealth, Happiness are meant to be shared

Be Open Minded, pick up what yu like from the world

Be Thick skinned, internalize criticism, do what yu think is right

Let not the power of your enemy deter yu, fortitude is what the Geeta teaches

Stop cribbing, ACTION is what the Indian scriptures talk about

Take the battle into the enemy camp, SET THE AGENDA, be proactive

In an argument, no emotions, be detached, get yr facts right, then attack with

the precision of a missile