Sir
Because Julius Malema and his lieutenant Floyd Shivambu are no saintly exemplars in promoting racial harmony and co-existence, a counter-intuitive approach is the best way to open up an honest intellectual discourse on the topic.
In my view, Malema is really attacking the relative prosperity of many “Indians” and the cultivated insularity our forebears arrived with to these shores coming from long exposure to the caste system, religious differences and language prejudices prevailing in India. Speaking for myself that is the reality I know.
The “Indian” is a mix of many separate Indians. That is one part of the narrative. The other part relates to “Indians” getting a comparatively better deal from the colonial and apartheid governments than their fellow Africans. In 1990 Solidarity in the House of Delegates opened up all of the schools in its control to all children regardless of their race and colour within the limited budget it was allocated. Dundee Secondary where I completed my schooling, Dawn View Primary where my wife taught and ML Sultan Secondary where I had previously taught, had a significant number of black pupils leading up to 1994.
History will reflect that “Indians” made a contribution to South Africa and still continue to do so in many ways.
Therefore, how Mr Malema determines that “the majority of Indians are racist” is worth ascertaining.
The minority groups in South Africa are being politically excluded from the EFF and ANC tents on the basis of race. The better narrative would be to enlist the support of the wealthy and the middle class to help improve the education of black children and to help propel the sagging economy. That was how Nelson Mandela went about it.
Farouk Cassim (COPE city councillor in Cape Town, former Dundee Secondary student)
