Search for a United Front against Racism
Search for a United Front against Racism
Explanatory Note
While the Passive Resistance Campaign was essentially an Indian campaign, targeted primarily against an Act that affected the Indian people, the leaders often called attention to the fact that the campaign was against racism in general. At the United Nations too, while India officially tabled the issue as discrimination against Indians, she focussed on racial oppression in general.
This encouraged African and coloured leaders to come out in support of the campaign, which also attracted some white support from the liberal ranks. A few Africans and whites also joined the Resisters and served imprisonment.
The idea of a united front against racism was first mooted 1927 when Dr Abdurrahman, of the African People's Organisation (APO) convened the first Non-European Conference, which was attended by delegates from both the African National Congress and the South African Indian Congress.
At the third Non-European Conference in 1931, the delegates had resolved to set up a central body of African, coloured and Indian organisations and in 1943, the All-African Convention had established the Non-European Unity Movement with its ten point programme of democratic rights. Many of the new leaders of the NIC and TIC had cut their teeth in the Non-European Front and they were committed to forging that unity.
This section brings together some of the statements and resolution of the time that reflected a movement towards a united front against racism.
