# 12 Sugar Industry is the Father and Mother of Racialism in South Africa

1.  The Dutch were the first Europeans to settle in Cape, about 1652.
2.  They were searching for India for plundering  their gold and spices.  
3.  Cape seas seas were rough, so they called it CAPE OF STORMS, later changed to CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.
4. The Dutch were not strictly racially exclusive like the later English colonists.
5. The Dutch appear to marry  Blacks quite happily, and this saw the emergence of the so-called 'Coloured' people. 
6. One Dutch Governor had a black wife. 
7.  The English, with their Scottish partners, had gained a major control in ruling South Africa.
8.  The English planted sugar cane in  coastal Natal, and needed labour. They were not happy with the local Zulu people.
9.  The English  had slave like labour in China, Ceylon and in in in India in tea plantains.
10.  The Englsh-Scottish farmers 'imported' into Natal labour from India,  by recruiting them by an  AGREEMENT 
11.  This was from the Indian port of Madras (now Chennai).  These labourers were called "geermittia" based on the word "AGREEMENT", ("Contract" in terms of U.S. language).
12.  They landed in Durban in1860.
13.  I would describe the so called agreement as legalized slavery.  The labourer's  thumb print on it was their "signature". 
14.  Some Indians boarded the ship for Durban from the Indian port of Calcutta (now Kolkata).
15. These Indians paid for the ticket and were called "PASSENGER INDIANS".  Those who boarded the ship were called "Calcuttias". They spoke Hindi, may be Bhojpuri Hindi.  
16. Similarly a few Indians came from West India boarding the ship from Bombay (now Mumbai) and Porbander.  Amongst them were some Indian Muslim Memons who were the nucleus of the Indian merchants. Few  Gujarati Hindu "Mehta's" were clerks and book- keepers came a little later.        
17. It was from one amongst these Memon traders that committed some crime under the legal law, (may not be against the TEN COMMANDMENTS), that the alleged criminal invited solicitor,  Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, to come from Porbandar, India and defend him. Mr Gandhi bought a first class train ticket, Durban to Johannesburg-Pretoria to meet his client.
18. I  salute this "insignificant" trader whose act changed the history of the world and made the solicitor the Mahatma Gandhi. I also thank the English Gentleman who objected to Mr Gandhi sitting in the same cabin as him, and the Dutch ticket examiner throwing Gandhi out of the cabin onto the platform. I have a feeling that the  English objector may have objected also to a Jew,  English-Jew, Dutch,  Genteel other European or any non-european. The English learnt the Hindu caste system while ruling India. They took this system to London, perfected it in to RACIALISM and exported it to all countries in the Empire, Colonies and Second World War's "trusteeship" areas and all stolen lands like Australia and 
19. New Zealand etc.
20. My birthplace is Tongaat, 25 miles away from Durban. Some miles away was a large Sugar Mill owned by the Saunders family. (Edward, Douglas, Christopher).  The latter's brother was/is an academic.  I knew Douglas and Christopher. In all my dealings Christopher was/is a fine person. So is his wife, Pam. Both of them, my wife and our daughter and I travelled on a cruise to Mozambique and our cabins were adjoining each other. In Beira Pam joined us to tour Beira while Christopher remained on the ship. I GUESS he was busy scheming to resist the hostile bid by Hullets to take over the Saunders' Empire. Finally Hullets lost and Saunders took over Hullets. 
21. I witnessed the GREAT WAR between SAUNDERS (TONGAAT) and HULLETS with the Standard Bank supporting Saunders and Barclays supporting Hullets.
22. 
    
23. Just I say the FATHER and MOTHER of Racialism is the sugar industry, the banks are brothers of racialism.  The foundation of racialism  in South Africa started  on the Natal soil. So also the world renownd GROUP AREAS ACT, the father of the Pegging Act enacted by the English community under 
24. General Smuts, Prime Minister.
25. Racial  laws was mainly directed as ANTI-ASIATIC, elsewhere in the British Empire and in colonies as ANTI-ASIAN. The laws were drafted in London and were first legalized in Australia.  In South Africa the racial laws had a cosy home in NPA, NATALIA in Pietermaritzburg, and also in Durban, Pinetown, Westville, South Coast town of Margate, Drakensberg etc. 
26. The Natal Parks Board was, in my opinion, the worst anti Indian Board in South Africa, as bad as or worse than the Pegging Act or Group Areas Act. It was a European Board, and  later when marching towards freedom  it  became racially a Grey Board with some Black members the white CEO will not allow my letters  to reach  the Black  members. He would intercept and only chat with me for my letters.
27. The Natal Parks Board glorifies the Administrator of Natal,  Douglas Mitchell. It was he who said in parliament that if Indians want to swim in the Indian Ocean they must do so outside the International limit of THREE MILES. It was he who sabotaged the SMUTS-KAJEE agreement on  the "INDIAN PROBLEM".
28. The National Parks Board gave inferior facility to Indians.  BUT the then Natal Parks Board debarred  us totally. But when it opened one facility at Spionkop the lower portion  was for  Non-Europeans and the upper area was for Europeans. The sting was that Non-Europeans cannot dive their cars on roads  abuttingin the European homes.  UNIQUE ROAD APARTHEID. 
29. I exposed this unique apartheid in the newspaper, Natal Mercury, and the road sign of Europeans only was reluctantly removed.
30. Going back to the Sugar Industry. The Saunders Mill had a co-op business for their staff. Our large family departmental store  was allowed to give goods  on account of Co-OP  to any      European staff. The Co-OP will pay us LESS 10%. The Sugar Mills CO-OP was a convenience store and  also catered for the basic needs of non-europeans  whose purchases made a profit for co-op.  The members of the CO-OP were the Europeans and the profits made by the CO-OP  on sale to Non-Europeans was allotted to the European members.
31. A cottage adjoining the CO-OP store served as a medical clinic. European patients had their waiting room inside the cottage and the non-european "waiting room" was on the grass lawn outside regardless of the weather.
32. This sugar mill crushed sugar cane grown by European farmers separately from sugar cane grown by non-europeans. Mostly on Friday afternoons non-european owned and grown cane would be milled. And there was APARTHEID accounting. The sucrose content was recorded  race wise. (The European owned sugar cane was laboured and grown by non-europeans but European directed!!!!!!!!)
33. Sugar mills golf course was used by Europeans during daylight. In the late afternoon it may used by non-europeans  during failing sunlight and when not required by europeans. Those days there was NO lighting like to-day.
34. Mahatma Gandhi said that England ruled the Empire, Colonies and Trusteeship countries through clubs and commercial associations.  I have vast experience in the Durban Chamber of Commerce riddled in racialism and which I fought at most times successfully. The Chamber was under the influence of the sugar barons.
35. There were separate Cane Growers Associations. European and Non-European.
36. When the time came to abandon SEPARATE cultures the GENIUS of the MOTHER AND FATHER of RACIALISM invented a mechanism to retain effectively apartheid control for europeans. The VOTING for members was based on the quantum of sugar cane sent for milling. European farmers might be sending, say 85% of total, so they will have 85% voting power. What honesty for this democracy.
37. There was a housing around the Mill and all the houses were occupied by the European staff. There was an entrance  and exit  sides with cape Dutch architecture entrance display gates. No locking gates but guarded by security. My uncle and I had the privilege of entry and exit any time but all other non-euroopeans needed permission to enter the main housing area of  the mill and european staff quarters.Generally they were disallowed after business hours.
38. There was a club house, a nursery. tennis court for Europeans. Some facility for Indians and Blacks came elsewhere after many years in distant sites.
39. Similar or more strict anti non-white rules applied elsewhere in sugar industry.
40. In Mount Edgecombe there were red brick homes for Indian staff. No running water and no electricity. The family can stay but when the son becomes a major he must vacate unless he joins the staff in the company which is owned by a white  group. If the son gets married the wife will be permitted to share the house, IF SHE SLEEPS THE HONEYMOON NIGHT WITH THE OWNER OR HIS SON.  Another farmer who later lived near Pinetown and sold sugar mill equipment  in central Durban had similar rules.  One  Indian Principal in SASTRY COLLEGE told me that he was the product of such a honey moon union.
41.  In my Matric study I read the memoirs of Julius Caesar who conquered England in 54 BC. In his despatches to the Roman Emperor he described English social structure. Most wore skins, ONLY THE ELDEST SON got married and his wife was shared by all the brothers, and all children are registered as children of the eldest son. (see Caesar's Gallic Wars Book V.)  About this time  Emperor Ashoka ruled in  India, there was literacy, people wore cotton and silk, had marriage  and social laws and all the trappings of civilization. But this did not matter to the sugar barons. Some names of the Sugar Barons are  enshrined in the streets and round abouts in Umhlanga.

Note:   The above narration is a preliminary draft and I am publishing it as such. In the very near future I will revise, correct, place paras in proper sequence etc etc. In future I will relate other experiences relating to travel, educational schools around  Curries fountain, discrimination on various British passenger ships, Automobile Association, Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Industries etc.           I was  custodian of Mahatma Gandhi's ashes for 24 hours travelling to Johannresburg and return. The South African ambassador in Italy shook hands with me in defiance of Ministerial order of NO GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL SHOULD SHAKE HANDS WITH NON EUROPEANS. He said: In Rome do as the Romans do.  I was with Prof Malherbe then Educatioal Head in the South African army. I was Guest of  Commander in Chief of India, Dinner with PM of India with Mandela, Dinner  with Japan Prime Minister and President of India, President of Israel invite to Music function. Nat. Party Minister dismissing chairman and senior member in the Travel Agents Board and  appointing me a member. Later  on narration about Laws.
          
           
 As requested I have removed name of one Samir Mistry and removed the Kendra listed official  e-mail address of Judge President KZN High Court, Chiman Patel, at his request  with    
 an apology to his Lordship. I am now in  my 89th year. 
          
         Jayantilal V Desai,  
         (J V Desai).
         5989 Hudson Street, Vancouver BC., V6M 2Z4.
         e-mail:  jvdesai1925@hotmail.com
         18th February 2014.

          Where ignorance is bliss it folly to be wise.
          Mahatma Gandhi wrote: TRUTH IS GOD :  and signed it on his portrait.