Rensil D'Silva: How to Make it in Bollywood Education in the Gulf ...

DIASPORA
th
16
ANNI V ERSARY
74
On the 9th of August 1956,
twenty thousand women of all
races marched on the Union
Buildings in Pretoria to protest
the proposed ammendments to the
Utban Areas Act, commonly known
as the Pass Laws of 1950. the
women stood together, arms raised
Natal), Pennsylvania College
of Optometry (U.S.A.), Temple
University (U.S.A.) and University
of New South Wales (Australia).
There is an ongoing
question about whether or not
it is meaningful to still discuss
matters centred on race. When
do we let go of old, offensive
classifications? The vestiges
of apartheid still impinge upon
aspects of South African politics
and society. Our Constitution
promises equality, but we have
a long way to go before this is
achieved. The lived-experiences
of so many South Africans are still
shaped by apartheid’s blueprint.
Sershan notes that fifteen
years is not enough to address
The International Indian
the wrongs of the past. A few years ago he
visited a project in an area of the Drakensberg
that he had not travelled to for two decades.
“I drove down that road and it seemed like
I was in a time warp. Nothing had changed.
Well there was one change, the people had the
vote”.
Professor Kovin observes that geography
affects the role of race, as well as the perception
of race. “It seems that in Durban and KZN because
of competition for limited jobs between people
of Indian origin and people of African origin
relationships are more strained. In the rest of the
country the issue of being Indian seems to be less
of an issue. It does not help also that there is not
much effort by all racial groups in KZN to integrate.
“Even in political organizations many who join
go there to be Indian and to benefit from contracts
etc rather than to truly integrate and work for a
better South Africa. I was deployed by the ANC
in the African townships and hostels for six years
while I served as a regional executive committee
member. Throughout this period I did not
experience any racial issues and soon forgot I was
different-looking. This is the benefit of qualitative
interaction,” he declares.
The old structures of inequality cross class,
as well as race lines. The affects, for example of
different standards of schooling for different races, are still felt. Nita
says “today, I still hear the insinuations in voices of the privileged when
they speak disparagingly of ‘them’ – referring to Black people. More
painfully though, I feel the piercing silent accusations of Black and
Coloured people when yet another ‘Indian’ is appointed or promoted. I
want to scream out – I, too, am Black!”
Racial discrimination often means being categorised according to
certain stereotypes. Stereotypes function as an easy way to categorise
and respond to people, but because they generalise and over-simplify
they tend to be useless misconceptions. “I am annoyed by people who
judge you before they know you. There are bad people in all race
groups and from all backgrounds,” insists Sershan. “I don’t have to
prove anything to anyone. I do what is required of me to the best of
my ability and I am always willing to learn from others, irrespective of
their background or ‘level’ in society/workplace. We all can learn from
the most unsuspecting person we might meet”.
Nita explains, “I am African before I am Indian. I was born in
South Africa, as were my parents and their parents. I have no familial
connections in India. I do, however, live my life in accordance with Indian
cultural beliefs and values. This is partly due to the apartheid regime
in the air and in the clenched
fist of the Congress salut and sang
‘You strike a woman, You strike
rock’. It is remembered as one of
the major milestones in the struggle
againts the apartheid regime and
the date is now commemorated as
Women’s Day.
in South Africa which ‘classified’
me as ‘Indian’ and forced me to
live a life of separateness. Living
in a country which alienated me
from other people forced me to
experience racism most palpably.
I was forced to believe that I
was a ‘less-than’, a “non”-white
– how anyone can accept being
a “non anything” is beyond my
comprehension!”
The policies of apartheid
place emphasis on the inferiority
of people who were not white.
“When I was younger I felt
inferior to the white man and
always thought they were better
than we were,” says Arushen.
“I started racing just after the
apartheid ended. Although it
‘ended’ the minds of many
whites had still to change. They
continued seeing Indians as
inferior and so I was always
given inferior equipment to race
on. The teams used me for black
empowerment to secure racing
sponsorships in the new ‘black’
South Africa. But once they got
the funding I was given the cold
shoulder,” reveals Arushen.
Nita recalls the feelings of
belittlement, insignificance and
insecurity she experienced after
a racist incident. She was at a
holiday resort in Rustenburg in
late 1991. She notes that, booked
under the name ‘Lawton’ her
family may have been mistaken
as white. “I took my six month
old baby into the children’s pool
and suddenly all the mommies
rushed to the swimming pool to
take their children out! While I
pretended to flippantly laugh it
off with an “at least we have to
pool to ourselves” remark, the
hurt that my innocent baby would
‘infect’ those white children had penetrated deep within my psyche”.
Nita responded to the callous discrimination with a determination
to empower herself and prove that she, too, is God’s child with more
depth, as much (or more) intellectual capacity and the same ability to
feel pain and love.
While Professor Kovin has been subjected to racism in the past,
he has noticed things are changing. “I must admit I don’t have this
happening to me. It may be a result of my socially integrated circle,
which often sends out a signal that I am not in a particular racial box. It
happens more to me outside South Africa”. Avishkar too confirms, “I
personally have never been the victim of racism nor have I perpetrated
racism, I was born with complete freedom, albeit during apartheid, in
Durban which is an Indian city, in South Africa”.
It remains important to not use race as a ‘scapegoat’ when other
factors may be to blame. Race may be the reason, but we need to be
self-reflective and assess
other possibilities. In
response to a question on
being subjected to racism,
Nita observes, “Before I
respond to this question
I’d like to qualify that it is
very easy to construe (or
misconstrue) unfavourable
experiences as “racist”.
I’d like to believe that I’ve
been able to let go – that
I don’t hold on to the past
as an excuse for everything
that doesn’t work in my
favour. It is imperative that
we (as Ramphele Mamphele
advocates) “lay our ghosts
to rest” as we move forward.
Having said that my entire
childhood and youth was
experienced the way it was
as a result of a racist SA.
The lack of free will and free
choice was determined by a
racist regime,” Nita regrets.
Dr Mamphela Ramphele
was one of the founders of
the Black Consciousness
Movement (BCM), along
with Steve Biko.Due to her
political activities, she was
internally banished by the
Poster on the beach during Apartheid in South Africa
The International Indian 75