Times of India.png Indian-origin anti-apartheid activist dies in S Africa The Times of India, Mumbai, 18 September 2015 JOHANNESBURG: Indian-origin veteran anti-apartheid activist in South Africa, Reggie Vandeyar has died at the age of 84. Vandeyar, who died on Thursday, was a member of the Transvaal Indian Congress (TIC)' the South African Communist Party (SACP)' the African National Congress (ANC) and Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK). Condoling his demise, ANC spokesman Zizi Kodwa said, "In comrade Reggie we have lost a veteran whose legacy inspired many generations to liberate our country." Kodwa called for Vandeyar's legacy to be preserved and protected. "Vandeyar was a rare calibre of activist and leaders who remained modest despite their mammoth contributions," said Kodwa. Vandeyar was born into a poor family in 1931 after his father came to South Africa from India, lured by the promise of golds and diamonds, only to find racial prejudice amid the predominance of the minority white apartheid government. After several bad experiences at the hands of white students and leaders, a young Vandeyar was inspired by leaders of the Communist Party and TIC to join the resistance movements. By 1961, Vandeyar had become one of the first combatants in Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the armed wing of the ANC, but was soon arrested alongside Shirish Nanabhai and Indres Naidoo. The three became the first Indian-South Africans to be arrested for activities of MK in the then Transvaal province. In 1964, Vandeyar was sentenced to ten years imprisonment on Robben Island alongside Jacob Zuma, who is President of South Africa today. Vandeyar is survived by his wife and 2 children. From: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/nri/other-news/Indian-origin-anti-aparthe id-activist-dies-in-S-Africa/articleshow/49011484.cms -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
