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The Influence of Indians in the South African Communist Party, 1934-1952

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The Influence of Indians in the South African Communist Party, 1934-1952 Being an Indian Communist the South African Way: The Influence of Indians in the South African Communist Party, 1934-1952 Parvathi Raman School of Oriental and African Studies University of London PhD Thesis August 2002 1 ProQuest Number: 10731369 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10731369 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Abstract The Indians that settled in South Africa were differentiated by class, caste, religion, language and region of origin. Whilst some Indians were imported as indentured labourers to work on the sugar plantations in Natal, others came as merchants and traders and set up businesses in South Africa. In this thesis, I consider the historical background to the construction of Tndianness’ in South Africa, where the idea of ‘community’, a contested and transformative concept, called upon existing cultural traditions brought from India, as well as new ways of life that developed in South Africa. Crucially, central to the construction of Tndianness’ were notions of citizenship and belonging within their new environment. I look at the ways in which sections of the Indian ‘community’ were radicalised through fighting for democratic rights and citizenship in South Africa, and subsequently joined the South African Communist Party. With Indian South African communists, there was, I argue, a complex articulation between the influence of Gandhi and the Indian national movement, socialism and class politics, and the circumstances of their new social and political landscape. Historically, Indians have been disproportionately represented in the South African Communist Party in relation to their numbers in wider South African society. They have played an important part in the development of political strategies within the party and, in particular, have contiibuted to the ongoing debate on the relationship between nationalism and socialism and the practical application of this in party work. In this thesis, I look at the role of Indians in the South African Communist Party and consider the social, cultural and political influences that they brought to the organisation. I examine how these traditions were woven into new fonns of political resistance within the CP, and how these fed into the Defiance Campaign of 1952. 2 Contents Acknowledgements 6 List of Abbreviations 7 Introduction 9 Fieldwork in South Africa 10 The Contradiction of Modernity 14 The Multilectic 18 Class and Identity 21 The Indian Diaspora 25 The Politics of Resistance as the Struggle for Space 26 Chapter Outline 33 Chapter One 36 ‘Leaving ‘Home5. Coolie Dislocation: Indian migration and settlement in South Africa. Sugar production in Natal 3 7 The Origins of Indian Indentured Labour 39 The Muharram Festival 43 Muharram in South Africa 46 The Arrival of Passenger Indians 48 Workers and Patrons: the economic ties that bind 53 Chapter Two 58 Early Indian Political Organisation in South Africa: in defence of ‘The Motherland’. , Gandhi in South Africa 60 Gandhi and South African Indians 62 The Indian National Congress and the Politics of Diaspora 66 Soulmates in Suffering: Gandhi and South African Jews 72 4A New Kind of Indian’: producing the political subject as moral being 79 Chapter Three 82 ‘An Insult to Indian Honour’: the first passive resistance campaign ‘Sons of the Soil’: on brotherhood with Africans 84 ‘Driving Out the Coolies’: The Black Act 86 ‘A Pathway of Suffering’: the beginnings of passive resistance 87 Protesting the Indian Way: ‘indigenous struggle’, not imperial brotherhood 88 ‘The True Self: satyagraha as Indianness 91 Hind Swaraj and the Invention of Tradition 95 The Politics of the Colonial Born Elite 98 The Indentured Tax and Workers Rebellion 107 3 Chapter Four 113 The Origins of the South African Communist Party Early Socialist Organisations in South Africa 114 White Labour and the ‘Racial Vision’ 117 On the Margins: Jewish Radicals and Communism in South Africa 121 ‘Universalist Cake, Segregated Tables’: the CPS A and South African workers 126 Chapter Five 136 Nationalism and Socialism: new horizons The International Origins of Indian Communism 136 Indian N ationalists Abroad 137 The Second Congress of the Communist International 142 Gandhi in India 145 South African Comrades at the Comintern 149 Black Workers and the CPS A 150 The CPSA and African Nationalism 152 The CPSA and the Native Republic Thesis 154 Bunting at the Comintern 156 The National Question 157 Chapter Six 163 Indian Worker Militancy and the CPSA The Comintern in the 193Os 163 Emerging Indian Militancy 166 The Role of Education in the Indian Community 167 Indians and Trade Union Politics 175 The 1920 Tobacco Workers Strike 179 The 1937 Falkirk Strike 184 The 1942 Dunlop Strike 189 Chapter Seven 194 ‘Space to be Indian’: protecting ‘national honour’ in the 1940s. Locating the ‘Coolie’ in ‘Other Spaces’: early attempts at segregation in South Africa 195 The Indian Working Class 200 ‘I Am Colonial-Born’ 202 Merchants 203 The CPSA and the Second World War 205 A Community of Indian Communists? 208 A Change in Direction for the CPSA 212 ‘A Slur on the Indian Nation’: The Pegging Act of 1943 214 4 Chapter Eight 219 Being Indian The South African Way: finding a place in the urban landscape The Politics of Space: passive resistance 1946-1948 220 ‘Making a Home’: community redefined 228 The Homeland Reimagined 229 Integrated Spaces: ‘it was how we lived our lives’ 233 ‘Marvellous People’: Indian heroes and communist struggle 234 The Franchise and the Popular Front 235 Chapter Nine 243 Remembering The Durban Riots Contested Space: the growth of Cato Manor 247 ‘The Children of Shaka’: Indians on Africans 250 The National Party and Native Policy 255 ‘Petrol, Sticks and Blackened Faces’: Europeans and the riot 258 The Response of the CPSA 264 Chapter Ten 268 Conclusions Bibliography 282 5 Acknowledgements I owe Professor Shula Marks more than I can say. Not only has she kept me on the straight and narrow intellectually, her faith in me has helped me complete this thesis. My thanks also to the British Academy for funding me. I also have to thank all the people I met during fieldwork, especially the amazing and courageous men and women who I interviewed, and all of those who helped me in the libraries of the Universities of the Witwatersrand, Durban Westville and Natal, SOAS, the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and the Public Records Office. Many thanks to Rezia and Resh, both for the hospitality and pointing me in the right direction. Thanks to Dr. Goolam Vahed for long-distance assistance, and to Priti Patel for letting me use her interviews on the Durban Riots. Also to Aiysha and Diresh, who helped facilitate both my social and working life, Mr Hassim Seedat and his family for their warm hospitality and the use of their private collection of documents. Also Peter Eastman for help with sources in the early days. But most of all to Caroline J, who came with me, helped me work and play, and kept me sane. Also to all the people I have met, made friends with, and intellectually benefited from at SOAS. I would like to mention my very patient colleagues in the anthropology department, including Dr Nancy Lindisfame, Dr Kit Davis, Professor Richard Fardon, and Professor Johan Pottier. I would also like to thank all the students I have taught over the last few years, from whom I have learned a lot. In addition, Karen not only for your friendship, but also for all the long chats on ‘obscure’ topics. Also Alistair, Kumar, Titchy, Stan, David, Subir and Rashmi, Nayanika, (thanks especially for looking after me these last few weeks!), Greg, Rathin and Anjali, Stefan, Suhit, Daud, Clem, Lindi, Trevor, Sheila, Shruti, Sandy D, Nicky, Nicol E, Duncan, Sandy, Heike, Anna and Chris Jensen, a good man who knows how to create a good space! To Cass and George, who both died while I was writing this thesis, and whom I often think about with affection. I owe George special thanks for the discussion on dialectics. And also to Anisah, Reqaiyah, Zulaiqha and Farhaan, who are now a part of my family. I also want to thank my colleagues at Goldsmiths College, where I have made new friendships and had some excellent discussions: Helen, James, Martin, Len, Lez, Ronnie and Mick I want to mention my oldest friends, Chris and Richard, Glynis, Caroline, and Simon, for happy times, memories and support. Richard T, for all our youthful travels and adventures and my two lovely children. Also, all those who ‘came from SW19’: Ruth, a very special person, who has been there in times of need, and John, Jean and John, Vicky and Andy, Robin and Sue, and (of course!) Joanna and Rachel. Also, my lovely cousin Nandu and her husband Dilip and daughters Chintu and Mintu. Thank you for making Madras my ‘home’. My mother, who has waited a long time for this. And my father, who I still miss very much. And Nalini and Tara, my newly graduated daughters, thank you for riding the storms, I’m very proud of you both. This is for you with love. 6 List of
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