M N PATHER – ONE OF THE DOYENS OF THE STRUGGLES FOR NON-RACIAL SPORT DURING THE DARK DAYS OF THE APARTHEID ERA IN SOUTH AFRICA BY SUBRY GOVENDER

                                                       M N PATHER

                                      INTRODUCTION

One of the legends who struggled for non-racial sport in South Africa despite harassment, threats and intimidation by the apartheid security police and denial of passports was Mr M N Pather of Durban. Mr Pather, who passed away in 1984 at the age of 62, was highly-recognised and respected by the local and the international anti-apartheid fraternity, including the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid and the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa. Veteran journalist, Subry Govender, recalls Mr Pather’s involvement in the struggles for the promotion of non-racial sport in the country. 

                               (M N Pather with Hassan Howa, George Singh and Jakes Gerwel) 

In 1979 when the British Sports Council Fact-Finding Mission visited South Africa to see in which way they could help white South Africa back into international sport, the immediate former secretary general of the internationally-recognised South African Council of Sport (SACOS), Mr Manicum Nadarajan Pather, made arrangements to meet the delegation in Durban.

The delegation included the president of the Sports Council, Mr Dicky Jeeps, and former South African cricket star, Mr Basil D’Oliviera. Mr Pather, who was at this time in the forefront of the fight to isolate apartheid sport, invited me along to meet the British delegation “just to see what these colonialists are up to”.
 At this time, I was working for the Daily News situated at 85 Field Street (now Joe Slovo Street) in central Durban and had become a close confidante of Mr Pather since the early 1970s.
The conversation with the British delegation started off with all the necessary pleasantries and Mr Jeeps gave his version of why they were carrying out the fact-finding mission. After a while when he found he was not having any joy in convincing Mr Pather about the sincerity of his fact-finding mission, Mr Jeeps jumped up from his seat and thumped his hands on the table. “Now tell me Mr Pather what do you people want? Are you people only interested in one man, one vote?”
Without losing his cool, Mr Pather in a calm and diplomatic manner replied: “You can interpret our demands whichever way you want. All we are interested in, is in seeing that our sportsmen and women are treated on equal terms and given full rights in the land of their birth.
“Until such time we achieve our goal, delegations such as yours will be a sheer waste of time. We are not interested in assisting the white man to get back into international sport without our demands first being met.”
Mr Jeeps, visibly shaken, picked up his documents from the table and walked away in an angry mood.
But Mr D’Oliviera, being “one of us”, apologised to Mr Pather and said: “Listen, I am with you people totally. I only came along because I wanted these chaps to be told in my presence of what you people really want.”
Such was the calibre of Mr Pather that he dealt in a similar forthright manner with other international delegations and during this period earned himself the admiration of the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid, the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa, and Third World countries such as India and Nigeria.
Born into a large extended family in Durban in 1922, Mr Pather’s interest in sport began in 1944 when at the age of 22, he joined the Clairwood Lawn Tennis Club. His administrative involvement began a year later when he became an official of the club.
 His anti-apartheid philosophy and commitment to non-racialism began in 1958 when he joined the first non-racial tennis body, the Southern African Lawn Tennis Union. He was elected General Secretary of the non-racial South African Council on Sport (SACOS) in 1973 when he was secretary of the Tennis Association of Southern Africa. 

(M N Pather with Fatima Meer, her husband, Ismail Meer,   George Singh, Monty Naicker)

During the period of his involvement in the promotion of non-racial sport and until his death in 1984 at the age of 62, Mr Pather also served as the International Correspondent of the South African Amateur Weightlifting and Bodybuilding Federation; executive member and representative of the Eastern Province Soccer Board at the level of the South African Soccer Federation (SASF); a management committee official of the Federation Professional Soccer League (FPL) and an executive member of the SASF.
In one of his campaigns Mr Pather in 1973 called on the then Wimbledon champion, Arthur Ashe, and two Japanese tennis players, Jun Kumiwazumi and Toshira Sakai, not to take up an offer to play in the SA Open Championships at Ellis Park in Johannesburg from Nov 14 to 27. 

                     “DON’T PLAY HERE, ASHE URGED” 

 I wrote this article and it was published under the headline: “Don’t play here, Ashe urged”, on November 9 1973. 

 Ashe, who was refused a visa in 1969 by the apartheid Government, confirmed he had received a visa to participate in the 1973 Open Championships. But Mr Pather sent him and the Japanese players a six-page memorandum as to why they should not play in the championships. Mr Pather told this correspondent:
“We have informed both Ashe and the Japanese Union that there is no mixed tennis between Blacks and whites at all. White tennis players do not play with or against Black tennis players. “Merely allowing a half of a dozen black players to compete against white players once a year is not tennis but a clever trick to fool the outside sporting world.”
This was one of the first articles that I had written about Mr Pather’s struggles against apartheid sport.
From 1973 to the end of December 1980, I had written scores of stories about his involvement and got these published in the Daily News. 

                  “MEETING ON ‘UNITY’ IS POSTPONED” 

 In August 1973, Mr Pather, who was the International Correspondent of the non-racial South African Amateur Weightlifting Federation, told me about a move by the international federation to promote unity between his organisation and the white South African Amateur Weightlifting Federation.
But this move was postponed indefinitely after the secretary of the world body, Mr Oscar State, who was to have been chairman of a “unity” meeting, informed Mr Pather that he was unable to travel to South Africa.
I wrote an article after being given the information by Mr Pather and this was published under the headline: “Meeting on ‘unity’ is postponed” on August 21 1973. 

Mr Pather made it crystal clear that they were struggling not only for non-racial sport but also for the creation of a non-racial and democratic South Africa. sport.  And he demonstrated this commitment nearly a year later when Mr Pather told me that they had no intention of promoting unity at a “federal” level with the white weightlifting federation. 

                       

  “THEY WILL NOT LINK UP WITH WHITE LIFTERS” 

This was in June 1974 when Mr Pather weighed in against the call by the International Weightlifting Federation that the non-racial South African Amateur Weightlifting and Bodybuilding Federation should affiliate to the white South African Amateur Weightlifting Union.
Mr Pather informed me about this call by Mr Oscar State, the secretary of the International Federation, and the response of the non-racial Federation. I wrote the story and it was published on June 26 1974 under the headline: “They will not link up with white lifters”. 

 Mr Pather told me that he had informed Mr State in a letter that there was no possibility of the non-racial Federation affiliating to the white union. He said his Federation found it extremely difficult to believe that the world body had made such a suggestion at a time when the whole world denounced racialism in sport.
“We have pointed out to Mr State that we would not gain anything. In fact, it we affiliated, we would only be helping to maintain racial sport in the country.”
The non-racial Federation, he said, believed that all athletes – black or white – should compete on the same platform without any discrimination.
“Multi-national competition is not our cup of tea because this only allows black and white athletes to get together occasionally, instead of meeting regularly.
“We firmly believe that for athletes to rise to the top they must be allowed to compete at all levels.”
Mr Pather said the International Federation was asked if the suggestion by Mr State was the consensus of opinion of the member countries of the IWF.
“We find it extremely odd that such a suggestion should come from a world body.” 

             “TENNIS – CALL FOR CHANGE” 

 At the same time, I wrote another story on June 26 1974 that Mr Pather’s Southern Africa Lawn Tennis Union had called on its white counterparts to work in the interests of all tennis players if it wanted to avoid international harassment.
Mr Pather spoke to me after the International Lawn Tennis Federation stated in London that South Africa faced expulsion from the Davis Cup.
The story was published under the headline: “”Tennis – call for change”. 

 Mr Pather said South Africa could no longer afford to “window dress” and bluff the world because the international tennis nations were fully aware of the situation in the Republic.
“The white union must declare a policy of non-racialism and work towards the betterment of all players, not just white players. The white union must meet us to work out a formula for the implementation of non-racial play at all levels. There is no substitute for non-racial play because the world will not accept any other mode of play.
“Now that the South American countries have aired their views against playing with South Africa, the white Union must make drastic changes to survive internationally.”
Mr Pather said South Africa not only faced expulsion from the Davis Cup competition but also from the International Lawn Tennis Federation at its meeting in Paris on July 11.
 The north African country of Sudan would be proposing South Africa’s expulsion because of its apartheid policies in tennis. 

                   “PATHER’S TELEGRAM CAUSES UPSET”

 In September 1974, Mr Pather was criticised by some of the people in the white sporting fraternity when he sent telegrams of condolences “on behalf of all sports people in South Africa” to Mrs Kirk on the death of her husband, Mr Norman Kirk, who was the Prime Minister of New Zealand at that time.
After speaking to Mr Pather, I wrote a story and it was published under the headline: “Pather’s telegram causes upset”.
Mr Pather sent the telegram on behalf of SACOS, the Southern Africa Lawn Tennis Union and on behalf of all sports people in the country.
A white sportsman living in Westville, Mr R V P Clark, questioned Mr Pather’s action because he did not represent the white sportsmen of the country. He said Mr Pather, therefore, had no right to send telegrams on behalf of all sports people in South Africa. 

                    “BOYCOTT CUP, SAY INDIANS” 

 And then a month later in October 1974, Mr Pather again captured the headlines when he sent urgent telegrams to then Prime Minister of India, Mrs Indira Gandhi, and the Indian Sports Minister asking them to stop the Indian Davis Cup tennis players from playing South Africa in Davis Cup final.
 I spoke to Mr Pather and wrote an article which was published on October 8 1974 under the headline: “Boycott Cup, say Indians”.
 In his telegram, Mr Pather said: “We have for years requested the white South African Lawn Tennis Union to abolish its racial tennis but all our efforts and that of the sporting fraternity within this country and abroad supporting our views have been in vain.
 “Although you may be requested to consider India’s participation in Davis Cup final, your respected opinions over past years on such matters must be maintained.” 

                   “TENNIS BLAME ON WHITES” 

 Soon after Mr Pather’s call to Mrs Gandhi and her Sports Minister, the Indian Government stopped the Indian tennis team from playing South Africa in the Davis Cup final. Mr Pather informed me about this and I got the article published on October 11 1974 under the headline: “Tennis blame on whites”.
Mr Pather supported the Indian Government’s stance and said it was because of the failure of the white tennis union to enter into meaningful discussions to bring about non-racial tennis that India pulled out of the final against South Africa.
Mr Pather agreed with the secretary of the All-India Lawn Tennis Association, Mr Raj Khanna, that there was no real mixed tennis in South Africa. Mr Khanna said in Bombay:
“We do not consider it multi-racial if whites and blacks play separately and selections are made on the basis of each individual performance by a committee that is wholly white.
 “It is an eyewash.”
Mr Pather told me that his non-racial tennis union had been prepared to disband had the all-white union considered selection on merit and had accepted the norm that selection on merit was only possible from mixed play at club level.
 “It is ironical that the officials of the South African Lawn Tennis Union and the secretary of the International Lawn Tennis Federation, Mr Basil Reay, should now make overtures to the Prime Minister of India to get India to play the all-white team.
“It will be a wonderful piece of work on the part of these people if they make representations to the Prime Minister, Mr John Vorster, for the introduction of mixed play in the country.
“After all, India does not practise discrimination in sport.”
Mr Pather said his union had been negotiating since 1957 for the introduction for mixed play from club level.
“All our efforts were in vain simply because the white union believed it only had the right to administer and the right to play. And as we were not its equal, we were offered federal membership, and on each occasion told that there would be no mixed play.” 

 “MEXICO WILL NOT PLAY SA IN DAVIS CUP” 

 In April 1975 Mr Pather disclosed to me that Mexico had refused to play South Africa in the Davis Cup following India’s decision in 1974 not to play against South Africa in the Davis Cup final. I wrote an article about this development and it was published in the Daily News on April 22 1975.

               “ANTI-SA MAN TO BE INVITED” 

 Two weeks after this development in May 1975, Mr Pather told me that the South African Council of Sport (SACOS) would invite a top-ranking international anti-apartheid sports leader to address its conference in Durban in June 1975. This article was published under the headline “Anti-SA man to be invited” on May 1 1975. The likely candidates were Peter Hain, leader of the British Anti-Apartheid Movement; Trevor Richards, chairman of the New Zealand Halt All Racial Tours Movement (HART); Mr Tom Newham, head of Australia’s Association for Racial Equality; and the Rev David Sheppard and Mr Lesly Huckfield of Britain. 

 “GARY SHOULD CAMPAIGN FOR CHANGE HERE, NOT ABROAD” 

 A month after being denied his passport to travel to London with his son, Kooselan, Mr Pather spoke out against Gary Player who made an allegation that “a militant Durban group” was feeding wrong information to anti-apartheid organisations outside South Africa about the country’s sport.
Player made the allegation after making a donation of R10 000 to the London-based Committee for Fairness in Sport, which used to carry out extensive propaganda campaigns to show that there was no discrimination in sport in South Africa.
I interviewed Mr Pather about Gary Player’s charges and wrote an article in which he said Gary Player should concentrate on problems inside the country rather than financing foreign propaganda agents of apartheid. This article was published under the headline: “Gary should campaign for change here, not abroad”, on November 5 1975. 

 Mr Pather said in a statement that it would shock everybody to know that there was not a single decent 18-hole golf course for blacks in South Africa.
 “Instead of spending a lot of money on overseas propaganda to show that there is no discrimination in South African sport, such as is being done by the Committee for Fairness in Sport to which Gary Player has donated R10 000, would it not be better to concentrate on the problems in South Africa?” He said he was not aware of any “militant group” among sports people in South Africa, and more particularly in Durban, which had fed wrong information to anti-apartheid organisations in other countries.
“The South African Council of Sport and all its affiliates representing all the major sporting codes merely clamour for equal opportunity and merit selection. “There is no militancy attached to this plea from the Black sports people and the statement by Gary Player is therefore rash and misinformed. “SACOS is not anti-white. It merely cries for equal opportunities for all sportsmen and women, irrespective of race, colour or creed.” 

 “FATHER AND SON BARRED FROM TRAVEL” 

 But because of this kind of total commitment to the upliftment of the black sportsmen and women, Mr Pather paid a very heavy price for his principles. He had been refused a passport more than six times, and when finally he was issued with one in 1979, it was withdrawn after being interrogated by the then notorious security police. He had his telephone and mail tapped, his home shot at by unknown gunmen and made to suffer when his family members were refused passports.
His younger son, Kooselan, was refused a passport in 1976 to travel to London to study veterinary science; and his eldest son, Harisagaran, was refused a passport to travel to London and India in September 1977. I wrote an article about Mr Pather and his son, Kooselan, being denied their passports and this was published in October 1975 under the headline: “Passport Ban” and sub-headline: “Father and son barred from travel”. 

 Mr Pather was also forced to forego overseas invitations, including one from the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid; the Quebec Council of Peace and the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa to visit Algeria during the All-Africa Games in 1978.
Mr Pather and the then president of SACOS, Mr Hassan Howa, were invited to address the three-day conference of the Supreme Council on Sport in South Africa.
Mr Pather was granted a passport suddenly in 1979 when the British Jeeps’ Commission was visiting the country. This was at a time when he was invited to address the United Nations in New York. He was invited to spend three months with the UN Special Committee Against Apartheid but on the eve of his departure his passport was seized by the security police.
In all his years as a non-racial sports administrator, Mr Pather was, on the one hand, highly respected and admired for his courage by black news persons, but on the other, he only met with nasty comments from most white sports writers.
HE WAS ASKED: “ARE YOU NOT PLAYING POLITICS?” 

 In one interview with one of the white sports writers he dealt firmly with him when he was asked if he was not playing politics.
 This is how Mr Pather responded: “Everything is politics in this country. The whole structure of South Africa is political. It is not created by us but by your white Government.”
On another occasion when he was asked by a visiting German journalist whether the slogan “No normal sport in an abnormal society” was a hard-line attitude, Mr Pather replied:
“We are committed to the non-racial ideology and we will not deviate from our stance until all discriminatory laws affecting sports and society are removed and all Black people given the vote and have a meaningful say in running the country. “Even the UN has resolved that there should be no sports contact until the liberation forces say so.” 

Mr Pather also expressed similar sentiments on numerous occasions to this correspondent when I used to visit him at his estate agency office situated in a building next to the former Naaz Cinema in the former Queen Street (now Denis Hurley Street) area of Durban. Once when I asked him, “Mr Pather, when will you be satisfied for South Africa’s return to international sport?”, he responded by saying:
“Subry, my fellow anti-apartheid colleagues and I will only be happy when every sportsmen and women are given equal opportunities and rights to rise to the top. When that happens and when every national team is selected on merit, then we will know that we have achieved our goals. We will not care whether the national team that is selected is all black or all white.” 

                      “DAILY NEWS’ ROLE PRAISED”

 Mr Pather appreciated the courage of the Daily News in publishing articles about the promotion of non-racial sport in South Africa at a time when most newspapers and journalists failed to stand up to the apartheid regime.
In November 1976 Mr Pather issued a statement praising the Daily News for its bravery. This article was published on November 12 1976 under the headline: “Daily News’ role praised”.
Mr Pather’s statement came at a time when the Daily News published articles I had written about moves by black and white cricketers to play cricket together. Mr Pather said it was encouraging to note that over the past few days the Daily News had played an important role in encouraging sports administrators to realise the significance of non-racial sport in the country. 

The Daily News even published an editorial on January 9 1976 under the headline: "Faint Praise" about the struggles for non-racial sport. 

This is what Mr Pather said about the Daily News:

“In every country the publication at regular intervals of news reports, editorial opinions and cartoons plays an important role in moulding society. The Daily News in South Africa is a newspaper which certainly does this.
 “The dissemination of sports news, opinions and cartoons were encouraging and the change by some sportsmen and administrators to normal cricket could be attributed to the Daily News.
“Of late the Daily News has played a significant role in getting the cricket administrators to agree to mixed cricket.
“I do hope it will continue to influence the rank and file to participate in non-racial play in this country and that other newspapers will follow this lead.” 

Mr Pather, throughout his years of struggles for non-racial sport, worked with anti-apartheid activists and leaders of the calibre of Mr Hassan Howa, Mr George Singh, Jakes Gerwell, Mr Norman Middleton, Mr R K Naidoo, Mr Don Kali, Mr Morgan Naidoo, Mr Ramhori Lutchman, Mr Cassim Bassa, Mr S K Chetty, Mr Dharam Ramlall, Mr Abdullah Khan, Mr Sam Ramsamy, and Mr Krish Mackerdhuj. (Bring in more articles) 

 In addition to the anti-apartheid sporting arena, Mr Pather was also involved in the cultural sector. At the time of his death in 1984, he served as secretary of the Natal Tamil Vedic Society Trust. Today, Mr Pather who did not give in one inch in his fight for the oppressed sports people of South Africa, is no longer with us. He died on Sunday, November 19 (1984) at Durban’s St Aidan’s Hospital at the age of 62 after suffering a heart attack. 

Paying tribute to Mr Pather at his funeral in 1984, Mr Don Kali, an executive member of TASA who practised as an attorney in Durban at this time, said: 

“M N made sterling contributions in the struggles for equality in sport in particular and social justice in general. 

“In the wider perspective, M N will be remembered for the building of a new South African nation which will be free of racism and exploitation of man by man.” 

 If he was still around today, Mr Pather would have been relieved with the achievement of a non-racial and democratic society in 1994. But it’s certain he would have been disappointed and disillusioned that millions of young people all over the country do not have the opportunities and facilities to rise to the top in most sporting fields. 

 Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com July 7 2020

MRS VICTORIA NONYAMEZELO MXENGE – POLITICAL TRIALS LAWYER AND ACTIVIST REMEMBERED ON THE 35TH ANNIVERSARY OF HER BRUTAL MURDER AT THE HANDS OF MEMBERS OF THE FORMER APARTHEID DEATH SQUAD IN UMLAZI, DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, ON AUGUST 1 1985

INTRODUCTION
On August 8 1985, the Press Trust of SA Third World News Agency, which paid a heavy price for supplying the world with news and reports about the struggles in South Africa at that time, published a lengthy article about the life of political trials lawyer, Mrs Victoria Nonyamezelo Mxenge. We at PTSA had written the profile only seven days after Mrs Mxenge was brutally murdered in the driveway of her home in the Umlazi township in Durban. She was stabbed and shot to death by four unknown assailants after she got out of a car driven by the Reverend Mcebisi Xundu, who was the chairperson of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Natal at that time. Her husband, political activist, political trials lawyer and former Robben Island prisoner, Griffith Mxenge, was stabbed to death brutally more than 40 times five years earlier in 1981. Her death raised suspicions that apartheid death squads were cold-bloodedly culling the ranks of black activists in South Africa. Mrs Mxenge, who was one of the defence attorneys in the trial in which 16 UDF leaders faced high treason charges, was the 40th black activist to have been killed brutally or to have disappeared mysteriously since the violence in the townships erupted once again in September 1984. After our freedom in 1994, it was disclosed that apartheid security agents, led by Dirk Coetzee, had been responsible for their brutal murders. Sadly, they were granted amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) after they disclosed their roles in the murders of the Mxenges. This article, written as a tribute to Mrs Mxenge’s sacrifices and dedication to the struggle, was supplied to news organisations and radio stations around the world in August 1985. The article was based mainly on interviews that this correspondent, Subry Govender, had conducted with her after the brutal death of Griffith Mxenge in November 1981.

(SOME WOMEN STALWARTS ATTENDING HER FUNERAL IN KING WILLIAM'S TOWN IN 1985) BLACK SOUTH AFRICA LOSES ANOTHER CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER AT THE HANDS OF A DEATH SQUAD 

Mrs Victoria Nonyamezelo Mxenge was only 43-years-old when she was brutally murdered.
She had been a widow for almost five years since the murder of her husband, prominent political trials lawyer and activist, Mr Griffith Mxenge. He was found with 45 stab wounds at the Umlazi stadium, near the port city of Durban, on 18 November 1981.
At the time of Mrs Mxenge’s murder in August 1985, the brutal murder of Griffith Mxenge remained unsolved. Mrs Mxenge had come a long way from growing up as a country girl in a little village in the Eastern Cape region of the country.
When I interviewed her in 1982, she represented the life of being a typical political widow who had been forced out of circumstances to fill the roles of mother, father, breadwinner and even a political personality in the community. 

                                   BORN IN TAMARA IN THE EASTERN CAPE

 Nonyameselo was born in January 1942 in the dusty village of Tamara, which was cut off from the strife and bustle of the larger towns and cities. In this little village, she grew up with a sister and two brothers who spent their young lives in carefree oblivion of the political situation developing in the rest of the country.
Nonameselo, the second child of simple and humble parents who were ordinary teachers, began her education in the local village school where she was one of the top pupils in her class. At the tender age of 12 she had to leave home to attend secondary school at Beaufort West, also in the Eastern Cape. After obtaining her matriculation certificate, she joined the Lovedale Hospital in the university town of Alice to train as a nurse. 

                                                  MET GRIFFITH MXENGE

It was during her student days at the hospital that the young and idealistic Griffith Mxenge came into her life when he visited an aunt in Tamara.
The young couple became friends after their first introduction. Nonyameselo and Griffith, who was studying for his law degree at the University of Fort Hare at this time, began dating and by the time he went to Durban to complete his LLB (Bachelor of Law) degree at the University of Natal, their romance had blossomed. 

                                       MOVED TO DURBAN IN 1964

They continued to meet during Griffith’s holiday breaks and married in November 1964. In 1965, Nonyameselo moved to the then Natal province to join her husband and enrolled at the King Edward V111 Hospital for a course in midwifery.

The young couple got their first taste of Pretoria’s political repression against opponents of apartheid when in April 1966 Griffith was detained by the then dreaded security police for 190 days.
 At the end of the detention, he was charged under the Suppression of Communism Act and taken to Johannesburg where he and a friend, Albert Dlomo, were asked to be state witnesses in the trial of Durban attorney, Roley Arenstein. But Griffith and Dlomo refused to turn traitors against a fellow freedom fighter and in February 1967 were convicted for three and two years respectively.

They were imprisoned and Griffith served a part of his sentence on Robben Island with such greats as Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Raymond Mahlaba, Govan Mbeki, Andrew Mlangeni and Ahmed Kathrada. While Griffith was one the island, Nonyameselo gave birth to their first child, Madasa. She told me in the interview that it was a difficult period because, although she had always known of her husband’s political views, she was not ready to be cast into the role of a “political prisoner’s widow”.

But, she said, after her first visit to Griffith on Robben Island, she was able to cope with the situation better because he himself had accepted his imprisonment cheerfully and as part of the sacrifice in the freedom struggle.


“That was typical of him. He never moaned about the unpleasant things in life. If he thought something was wrong or bad, he would fight rather than become bitter. “It was for this reason that he joined the African National Congress during his student days while the organisation was still legal.”

Although life with a newly-born son and without work was traumatic, she managed to make ends meet with the help of friends. When Griffith was released at the end of his three-year term, he was served with a two-year banning order and prevented from continuing with his studies at the University of Natal. All was, however, not lost.
The head of the law department, Professor Tony Matthews, assisted him with written lectures and even helped him with his studies at his home in the Umlazi township, near Durban. Despite the pressures of security police harassment and financial problems, Griffith completed his law degree in February 1968. 

                         

(PROMINENT PEOPLE ATTEND MRS MXENGE'S FUNERAL IN KING WILLIAM'S TOWN IN 1985)

                   
GRIFFITH MXENGE JOINS RABBI BUGWANDEEN'S LAW FORM AS AN ARTICLED CLERK

And when his banning order expired at the end of 1971, Griffith joined Natal Indian Congress official, Rabbi Bugwandeen’s law form as an articled clerk.
But the security police and the apartheid system did not leave him alone. Just when he was about to complete his articles in 1973, he was slapped with another banning order. Although they had to put up with the accompanying difficulties and problems, the marriage of Nonyameselo and Griffith thrived and in December 1973 their second son, Viwe, was born.
By this time, Nonyameselo had completed her midwifery course and joined a clinic in Umlazi where she worked with a “wonderful white doctor”, Dr Wolfgang Bordenstein. “When I went for an interview, I told the doctor all about Griff’s political activities but the good doctor accepted me without any question.
“The matter, however, did not rest there. A few days after I began work, the security police called on Dr Bordenstein and told him about my background. But since he was already aware of my position, he treated me with the greatest of respect.”
She said that the years at the clinic and her activities as a community health worker, opened her eyes to the harsh realities of the apartheid system. For the first time she realised that the diseases and sickness that beset black people were not caused by ignorance but by the socio-political factors. When she visited patients suffering from malnutrition in their shanty homes, she realised that malnutrition was caused by abject poverty and nothing else. In 1975, with the birth of their daughter, Nounhla, Griffith who had just started his own legal practice in the Grey Street area of Durban, insisted that Nonyameselo stay at home to look after the children.
At this time the Mxenges were not only supporting their own children but five others from the homes of less-privileged relatives. Nonyameselo gave up her job and stayed at home. But soon became bored and frustrated because she had nothing to do once she had completed her household chores. In the meantime, her husband’s newly-established legal practice was booming and Griffith was finding it difficult to cope with the work-load. He was looking for someone to assist him and soon found that he could not find a better person than Nonyameselo. 

 

VICTORIA MXENGE JOINS HER HUSBAND'S LAW FIRM AS A CLERK

After some cajoling on her part, Griffith employed her as his clerk. From the life of a nurse-housewife, legal work was a completely new field for Nonyameselo and she found that working in a legal office gave her a completely new perspective of life. She used to regard lawyers as “cavorters of criminals” but now became intrigued and fascinated by law. Totally engrossed in her work and sometimes putting in more hours than any other staff member, Nonyameselo realised that the only way she could talk to her husband on equal terms in the legal field was by furthering her studies. She enrolled with the University of South Africa and by the end of 1979 had passed all her subjects except for one – Afrikaans. 

GRIFFITH MXENGE BRUTALLY BUTCHERED TO DEATH IN NOVEMBER 18 1981 BY MEMBERS OF THE APARTHEID DEADTH SQUAD

With the assistance of a friend, she passed Afrikaans in 1980 and in 1981 joined Griffith as a fully-fledged lawyer in her own right. But just when Griffith and Nonyameselo had earned the respect of the entire black community as dedicated political trial lawyers, she was woken up in the early hours of November 18 1981 and told her husband was found dead at the local Umlazi stadium.
When discussing her husband’s death, Nonyameselo conceded that she was very bitter.
“The perpetrators of the dastardly deed were not satisfied with the taking of his life only but like the butchers they are, they savaged every part of his body. “Every vital organ in his body was savaged. His ears, stomach and even his liver was ripped open,” she whispered and the pain was clearly etched on her face. And as if the brutality inflicted on her husband was not enough, she had to bear the further pain of seeing the confusion suffered by her children, who could not understand why their father had been butchered in such a manner.
“My six-year-old daughter wanted to know why her father, who was so young had to die when her grandfather was still alive?” “What could I tell her?”, she asked with tears streaming down her face.
“And my eldest son, who was in the middle of his Junior Certificate examination, became a ‘zombie’ after he learnt of his father’s death. “He was completely unapproachable. He did not shed a tear but just drew into himself. As his mother I could not even talk to him because I did not know what to say to him. “Yet he completed his examination and after writing his last paper, flew with his father’s body from Durban to King William’s Town where the funeral took place. “Amazingly he passed his examination. Today at 16 he seems to have overcome the initial shock of his father’s death and has matured far beyond his tender years. He sees himself as ‘the man of the house’ and behaves like one.”
In 1982, almost a year after Griffith death, Nonyameselo Mxenge was picking up the pieces and building a new life for herself and her children without her beloved husband. She and her children were going about their lives in the full knowledge that Griffith had not died in vain – they were in fact confident that freedom struggle would be won with a matter of a few years.
 “One day – in the lifetime of my children and myself – we will be free and independent.” 

                                  Some prominent people at the funeral in August 1985

VICTORIA MXENGE ALSO KILLED BRUTALLY ON AUGUST 1 1985

But, sadly she was not able to witness the arrival of freedom and the installation of Nelson Mandela as the first democratic president after the elections in April 1994.
 Like her husband, Griffith, she too was brutally hacked to death on August 1 1985.
Nonyameselo Mxenge had come a long way from the carefree days in the dusty backdrop of Tamara in the Eastern Cape and had filled an important position in the black community.

It was a painful and sorrowful life and, one hopes that she and her husband had not sacrificed their lives in vain. Their lives should become part of our history and not forgotten in our new South Africa. Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com August 3 2020

PAUL DEVADAS DAVID - FUNERAL. CLOSE FAMILY MEMBERS SAY FAREWELL TO STRUGGLE STALWART AT HIS FUNERAL IN KWADUKUZA (STANGER), NORTH OF DURBAN, IN SOUTH AFRICA'S KWA-ZULU-NATAL PROVINCE ON AUGUST 14 2020

(PAUL DAVID AT A SERVICE FOR HIS LATE SISTER, PHYLLIS NAIDOO) The funeral of struggle stalwart, Paul Devadas David, who passed away on Thursday morning (August 13) at the age of 80, was held today (August 14) in KwaDukuza (Stanger), north of Durban, in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. It was a private cremation ceremony attended mainly by his close family members, children, and grand-children. According to his family, Paul wanted a private funeral. When asked whether a memorial service would be held for Paul, the family member said: “Uncle Subry, he did not want any memorials or ceremonies.”

His passing had drawn messages of condolences from former activists and people, far and wide. A former Durban youth activist, Ramola Naidoo, who assisted Paul David’s brother-in-law, M D Naidoo, in New York and London where she was studying for a doctoral law degree in the late 1970s, said she first came to know Paul when he addressed an anti-Indian Council meeting in her home town of Kharwastan, near Chatsworth, in the 1970s. In a note to this correspondent yesterday (August 13), she said: “I knew Paul David when I was still at high school. He came to address the Kharwastan Civic Association of which my late dad, Beema Naidoo, was a founder and trustee. During this time, Paul David and later, Yunus Mohamed, came to give talks on the SAIC. “But I recall the first meetings took place in the 1970s at the Penguin Street Sports Ground. Kharwastan was one of the few suburbs (Asherville and Merebank were the others) which took a firm stance and boycotted the SAIC elections and opposed the SAIC.” Ms Naidoo, who is now resident in Pretoria, said she held Paul David in “very high regard”. “I never met him after this time, although I did meet M D Naidoo in New York in 1980-1 and later in London in 1987. It was M D Naidoo who told me that he had married Paul David's sister, Phyllis. I assisted M D Naidoo in New York when he was organising an anti-apartheid conference. The planned venue was Riverside Church. “I proposed Columbia University where I was studying at the Law School and arranged for the venue with the CLS Black Lawyers' Association. M D Naidoo agreed and this conference was a huge success in 1981. “M D spoke very highly of Paul David. Alas I did not meet Paul David again to share those memories. I also lost contact with M D Naidoo. But I do believe that Paul David was one of the leading anti-apartheid activists long before the major protests of the 1980s which catapulted others into political leadership.” She added: “I wish my dad, Beema, was alive today so that he could share his recollections of Paul David. My dad passed away in 2013 and would have been 100 years old this year. He may well have taken a photo of those meetings in Kharwastan. All our things are now packed away.” Ms Naidoo worked as an advocate at the Legal Resources Centre in Johannesburg after she returned from her studies in the United States. Hundreds of other messages have been published in the social media over the past 24 hours.

Former black consciousness leader and activist and retired Anglican Bishop of Natal, Rubin Philip, said in a message: “Paul was exemplary in every way. He has fought the good fight.” A former resident of Ottawa, Dr Kemraj Sivasunker, who is now living in London, said in his message on the Ottawa what’s up social media site: “Saddened to hear of Paul’s demise. He was a year ahead of me at Verulam High School and an excellent debater.” Mr Ujen Singh in a message on the Verulam 1980s Activists what’s up platform summed up the thoughts of many when he said Paul David had inspired many of them to join the struggles. He said: “Paul David always led with wisdom and a strong passion for justice, never talking down to us younger activists. He always encouraged us to be better and smarter in our thoughts and actions. “A true leader and patriot. He will be missed but never forgotten. Rest in peace, uncle Paul.” In view of the special role that Paul played in the struggles for a non-racial and democratic South Africa, I am re-publishing a radio documentary that I compiled on his life in 2009. Let’s hope that his life will remind us of the sacrifices and contributions made by people of his calibre. Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com Aug 14 2020

PAUL DEVADAS DAVID - ONE OF THE VETERANS OF THE STRUGGLES FOR A NON-RACIAL AND DEMOCRATIC SOUTH AFRICA

Another veteran of the struggles for a non-racial and democratic South Africa, Paul Devadas David, passed away early today (August 13) at his home in KwaDukuza(Stanger), north of Durban, in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. He would have turned 80 on August 26 this month. Below is a radio documentary that I compiled on the life of Paul David in 2009 when I interviewed him about the political situation at that time.

The article below is one I compiled in April 2020 related to the radio documentary. POLITICAL FORUM OR LOBBY GROUP Another struggle activist I had spoken to in 2008 about the political developments at that time was Paul Devadas David, who is now 80-years-old and lives in KwaDukuza, formerly Stanger, on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast. David, a senior official of the Natal Indian Congress and the United Democratic Front, was involved in anti-apartheid and anti-regime activities for most of his life. He was among the six freedom activists who sought refuge at the British Consulate in central Durban in the mid-1980s after being hunted by the then apartheid security police. The other leaders were Mewa Ramgobin, Archie Gumede, M J Naidoo, George Sewpersadh and Billy Nair.

David was also among the 15 activists with Ramgobin who were charged with High Treason in 1985. The others were Isaac Duze Ngcobo, Archie Gumede, Curtis Nkondo, Sisa Njikelana, Aubrey Mokoena, Sam Kikine, M J Naidoo, Albertina Sisulu, Essop Jassat, Cassim Salojee, George Sewpersadh, Frank Chikane and Thozamile Gqweta. Born on August 26 1940 in Pietermaritzburg into a devout Catholic family, David’s grand-parents came from a little village in Tamil Nadu in South India to the then Natal Colony as indentured labourers. His father Simon David was a school teacher and principal and as such was a strict disciplinarian. He instilled the values of respect for elders and commitment to education to David and his three other sons and three daughters. One of David’s sisters, Phyllis Naidoo, was also a struggle stalwart who was called to rest on February 13 2013. Paul David came under the influence of Phyllis and his brother-in-law, M D Naidoo, while still at high school and became the secretary of the Natal Indian Youth Congress in 1959. He became actively involved in the political struggles when he joined Mewa Ramgobin and other activists in the revival of the Natal Indian Congress in the early 1970s and was elected the vice-president of the NIC in 1979. He was also involved with the Release Mandela Committee and was elected its secretary in 1983 and in 1984 became fully involved with the United Democratic Front(UDF). In addition to his political involvement at all levels, Paul David also became involved in anti-apartheid work at community levels in ratepayers’ organisations in Verulam, Stanger and Durban. He was also involved in non-racial sport in organisations such as the Southern Natal Soccer Board, South African Soccer Federation, Natal Cricket Board, Natal Council of Sport, South African Council of Sport and at local levels in Verulam and Stanger. In 2009, 15 years after the advent of our non-racial and democratic South Africa I had the opportunity of talking to Paul David about his thoughts about the new South Africa at his offices in KwaDukuza (formerly Stanger), north of Durban. He was blunt in his views that there was a need for a non-racial forum to help the ruling ANC in furthering the social, political and economic development of the new South Africa. His views and thoughts expressed then were very relevant at a time when the ANC faced serious and deep divisions within its ranks over the lack of proper leadership and the hunger among some people who had joined the ruling party to enrich themselves through fraud and corruption. This is the radio feature that I had compiled after speaking to Paul David more than 10 years ago. THE FOLLOWING IS AN ARTICLE THAT I HAD WRITTEN ABOUT PAUL DAVID BEING ONE OF THE SPEAKERS AT THE FUNERAL OF ANOTHER FREEDOM STALWART, MEWA RAMGOBIN, AT THE VERULAM CIVIC CENTRE, NORTH OF DURBAN, ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23 2016. Paul Devadas David (November 1 2016) One of the leaders who spoke at the funeral service of Mewa Ramgobin at the Verulam Civic Centre, north of Durban, in South Africa on Sunday, Oct 23 2016, was another struggle stalwart, 76-year-old Paul Devadas David. David with Ramgobin was among the six freedom activists who sought refuge at the British Consulate in central Durban after being hunted by the then apartheid security police. The other leaders were the late Archie Gumede, M J Naidoo, George Sewpersadh and Billy Nair. David was also among the 15 activists with Ramgobin who were charged with High Treason in 1985. The others were Isaac Duze Ngcobo, Archie Gumede, Curtis Nkondo, Sisa Njikelana, Aubrey Mokoena, Sam Kikine, M J Naidoo, Albertina Sisulu, Essop Jassat, Cassim Salojee, George Sewpersadh, Frank Chikane and Thozamile Gqweta. Born on August 26 1940 in Pietermaritzburg into a devout Catholic family, David’s grand-parents came from a little village in Tamil Nadu in South India to the then Natal Colony as indentured labourers. His father Simon David was a school teacher and principal and as such was a strict disciplinarian. He instilled the values of respect for elders and commitment to education to David and his three other sons and three daughters. One of his David’s sisters, Phyllis Naidoo, was also a struggle stalwart who was called to rest on February 13 2013. Paul David came under the influence of Phyllis and his brother-in-law, M D Naidoo, while still at high school and became the secretary of the Natal Indian Youth Congress in 1959. He became actively involved in the political struggles when he joined Mewa Ramgobin and other activists in the revival of the Natal Indian Congress in the early 1970s and was elected the vice-president of the NIC in 1979. He was also involved with the Release Mandela Committee and was elected its secretary in 1983 and in 1984 became fully involved with the United Democratic Front(UDF). In addition to his political involvement at all levels, Paul David also became involved in anti-apartheid work at community levels in ratepayers’ organisations in Verulam, Stanger and Durban. He was also involved in non-racial sport in organisations such as the Southern Natal Soccer Board, South African Soccer Federation, Natal Cricket Board, Natal Council of Sport, South African Council of Sport and at local levels in Verulam and Stanger. In 2009, 15 years after the advent of our non-racial and democratic South Africa I had the opportunity of talking to Paul David about his thoughts about the new South Africa at his offices in KwaDukuza (formerly Stanger), north of Durban. He was blunt in his views that there was a need for a non-racial forum to help the ruling ANC in furthering the social, political and economic development of the new South Africa. His views and thoughts expressed then are very relevant today when the ANC faces serious and deep divisions within its ranks over the lack of proper leadership and the hunger among some people who have joined the ruling party to enrich themselves through fraud and corruption. This is the radio feature that I had compiled after speaking to Paul David seven years ago in September 2009.

BARBARA ANN HOGAN – ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN NOVEMBER 1982 BY THE PRESS TRUST OF SA NEWS AGENCY AT THAT TIME AFTER SHE WAS CONVICTED OF HIGH TREASON AND SENTENCED TO 14 YEARS IN PRISON

INTRO: One of the activists of the 1970s and 1980s who paid a heavy price for freedom was 68-year-old Barbara Ann Hogan of Johannesburg. When she was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment in November 1982 for High Treason, the independent Press Trust of S A News Agency at that time published the following article and distributed it around the world. After she was released in 1990 when political leaders such as Nelson Mandela were released and the ANC and other organisations were unbanned, Hogan became an active member and official of the ANC. She served as a Minister of Health and Minister of Public Enterprises under President Kgalema Motlanthe. But she was sacked by President Jacob Zuma in 2010 when he was elected to power. Barbara Hogan was married to the late struggle stalwart, Ahmed Kathrada, who passed away in April 2017. The article published by the Press Trust News Agency at that time in 1982 is a tribute to a struggle stalwart who sacrificed a great deal for the freedom of all South Africans. BARBARA HOGAN AS PUBLISHED BY PRESS TRUST OF SA NEWS AGENCY IN NOVEMBER 1982 Barbara Ann Hogan, a human rights activist in South Africa, hit the high note in October 1982 when she became the first woman in the country to be convicted for high treason. Barbara, 30, was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment at the Johannesburg Rand Supreme Court for being a member of the African National Congress (ANC), which is banned in South Africa, and for furthering the aims of the organisation. With so many political trials taking place in South Africa, Barbara would have been a mere statistic. But then, in the South African context she is quite different because as a young white woman with a masters’ degree and coming as she did from a comfortable background, she had the world at her feet. But yet she scorned all the material benefits that awaited her at the end of the rainbow, benefits that come automatically in South Africa if you are a white person. She chose instead to fight for her ideals. During the six-month trial that preceded her sentencing, she would occasionally turn around in the dock and smile bravely at her friends and family members who faithfully attended her trial on each and every day. Scores of her other friends were missing from the public gallery in court; either detained or even dead, as was her friend, Dr Neil Aggett, who was murdered while in detention in February this year (1982). In sentencing her to 14 years in jail, of which she will serve an effective sentence of 10 years, the judge, Mr Justice Van Dyk, said Ms Hogan had carried out her activities for the ANC with enthusiasm and dedication. The judge also noted that the ANC's aim was to overthrow the South African Government by violence and by crippling the economy. After months of high drama as her involvement in the underground activities of the ANC unravelled, sentence was passed in a hushed courtroom. After the sentence was passed, undaunted and wearing green and black and carrying a yellow rose; which also happens to be the ANC colours, she cried out: “Amandla”. There was such power and conviction in her voice that the packed gallery responded to her "power to the people" cry with one voice: "Ngawethu” came the resounding response: "Power is ours". She was led from the dock to begin her sentence. Leave to appeal against the sentence was refused. Who is exactly Barbara Hogan, what drove her to do what she did, and to sacrifice material comfort and privilege? Barbara Hogan belongs to a brave breed of white South Africans, a small and even diminishing breed who abhor apartheid as much as the millions of black South Africans. In South Africa, a country which believes in contrasts - black and white, leftist and rightist politics, them and us, this breed is called the white left. It is a stoic and determined group of people ranging from radical students to such stalwart opponents of apartheid like Helen Joseph, Beyers Naude and a host of others. Just a month before Barbara was sentenced another young person, who also happened to be white, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for ANC activities. His name is Rob Adams. UNDERGROUND ACTIVIST OF THE ANC Barbara Hogan is a self-confessed member of the ANC. She had been assigned to establish a secret communications network and learned a secret code so as to communicate with other ANC networks. Born in a small conservative Transvaal town of Benoni, she attended primary school at the St Dominic Convent and afterwards attended high school in a neighbouring town called Boksburg, She showed her leadership while still at school, becoming Benoni's deputy junior mayor and her school's sports captain. She studied for a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of the Witwatersrand, an institution which has produced more than a fair share of opponents of apartheid, ranging from Mrs Helen Suzman, now a leading member of the official opposition party, to Dr Nthato Motlana of the Soweto Civic Association and chairman of the Committee of Ten. In 1971 Barbara took part in a prohibited demonstration against the detention and solitary confinement of 22 fellow students. COMRADE OF DR NEIL AGGETT She belonged to a close-knit group of people who worked with black trade unions in various capacities, assisting wherever they could. It was at that level that she got to know and befriended Dr Neil Aggett. In fact she and Dr Aggett and scores of leading black trade unionists were detained at about the same time. It is perhaps Barbara's elderly parents who could best sum up the character and hopes of their daughter. Her parents never missed a day of the court proceedings, Barbara's mother, Jean was a nursing sister at Baragranath Hospital, the sprawling hospital complex for blacks which is situated on the outskirts of Soweto. She died in 1967 and Barbara's father remarried when she was 15 years-old. Said her stepmother, Mrs Elizabeth Hogan: "I was always accused of regarding Barbara as my favourite child. She was such a happy person, always laughing and smiling.” She added: "In her spare time she taught people to read and write. She felt that they could look after themselves better if they knew that.” In the tense days prior to judgement day in court, she pleaded in mitigation but to no avail. FAMILY RECALLS HER EARLY LIFE Mrs Hogan said her stepdaughter was a committed South African, who was committed to resolving its problems. “She always tried to fight for the underprivileged and oppressed." Barbara's father recalls that she was never worried about money. He recalls too that as a young girl Barbara kept a press-clippings scrapbook. “One of the first items was about cricketer Basil D'0lviera. She could not understand why D’Oliviera, a fine cricketer, could play test cricket for England but not for South Africa, his own country.” D’Oliviera was a talented coloured cricketer who could not play for the South African cricket side because of apartheid. In 1974 Barbara worked for the Industrial Aid Society as an education worker and in 1977 returned to Wits University to complete her honours' degree in developmental studies. Thereafter she worked for numerous black self-help projects, including the Johannesburg Organisation to Boost Self-Help (Jobs), the Human Awareness Programme and the Rural Development Trust Fund. The Fund assisted with small-scale developmental projects in rural areas. Strong willed but kind, she will be missed by many of her friends. "Inside I know she is feeling deeply," her father said after the sentence. “But she won’t show it." Mr Paul Hogan, 69, used to be a boilermaker and now owns a company which reconditions mining and welding equipment. He said about his daughter: “She was a very quiet and religious girl.” He recalls with amusement how as a young girl she used to love to listen to the radio programme on religion. "She used to be very annoyed when anyone spoke during the programme.” A HEROINE OF THE MAJORITY A statement prepared by the Hogan family and released by her sister, Mrs Sall Cook, following her imprisonment, summed up their feelings about the whole tragedy that is South Africa today. The statement read: “Barbara was not a traitor. It is a tragedy for South Africa that someone like her, who is regarded by the majority of people in this country as being on their side, should be regarded as a traitor by others. “We are proud of Barbara and we admire her for the strength she showed for the 13 months in detention and awaiting trial. She will be 40 years when she is released and it is deeply disappointing that a person of her calibre and commitment should be prevented from making her contribution for so such long a time. A traitor to some but a heroine to the majority of South Africans. It will be wait for Barbara Ann Hogan. Ends – November 1982

CAUVERY THAAYE SONG - ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SONGS COMPOSED IN THE THE BATTLES TO SAVE THE RIVER CAUVERY FROM DRYING UP

ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SONGS I HAVE EVER HEARD IS ABOUT THE STRUGGLES TO SAVE THE RIVER CAUVERY IN TAMIL NADU, INDIA, FROM DRYING UP. READING THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN, I FOUND THAT THE STRUGGLE IS BEING HEADED BY THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND SPIRITUAL LEADER, SADHGURU. HE COMPILED THE BEAUTIFUL AND EMOTIONAL LYRICS FOR THE SONG. THE SONG WAS SUNG BY SHANKAR MAHADEVAN, WHO IS FREQUENT ON VIJAY TV. THE SONG BROUGHT BACK MEMORIES OF OUR STRUGGLES IN A LITTLE VILLAGE CALLED OTTAWA, NEAR DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA. THE RESIDENTS OF THIS LITTLE VILLAGE USED TO ENJOY THE OTTAWA RIVER PASSING THROUGH ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE VILLAGE. IT PROVIDED WATER TO BE BE USED FOR DRINKING, WASHING CLOTHES, AND OTHER ESSENTIAL NECESSITIES. THE RIVER ALSO PROVIDED A VENUE FOR THE YOUNGSTERS TO MEET REGULARLY FOR FISHING AND PLAYING SOCCER AND CRICKET. BUT IN THE 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s UNSCRUPULOUS BUSINESSMEN AND OTHERS RAPED THE RIVER OF ALL ITS SAND AND LEFT THE RIVER DRY. IT WAS THE LIFEBLOOD FOR THE PEOPLE BUT TODAY IN THE 2020s IT'S NOTHING MORE THAN A STREAM COVERED BY FILTH, RUBBISH, BUSH AND ALL KIND OF LITTER. WHAT A TRAGEDY. THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES ARE DOING NOTHING TO SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT OR THE RIVER. ONE HOPES THEY WILL LEARN. THE CAUVERY SONG IS JUST TOO BEAUTIFUL AND ONE HOPES THAT ALL THE WORK DONE BY SADHGURU, MAHADEVAN AND OTHERS WILL SAVE THE RIVER FROM DRYING UP.