YUSUF MOHAMED DADOO
The complaint lodged by India against South Africa on its policy of discrimination
against the South African Indian community once again constitutes an important
item on the agenda at the forthcoming fourth session of the United Nations
General Assembly which opened at Lake Success on September 20. South Africa,
a member State of the United Nations Organisation, has been regularly indicted
before the United Nations Assembly since its first session in 1946 for its
racial policies which were held to be in contravention of the United Nations
Charter.
This question has, in fact, become a hardy annual with the United
Nations Assembly. If anything it underlines the weakness of the United
Nations Organisation in taking effective action against an offending
member State for blatant violation of the Charter and deliberate
defiance of the decisions taken by the Assembly after due deliberations.
If, therefore, the dangers of racial conflagrations and violent
upheavals in South Africa, which may have deleterious repercussions
on the future of world peace and the struggles of the colonial and
semi-colonial countries for national independence and freedom are
to be averted in time, it is necessary to comprehend the nature of
the underlying international factors which make it possible for the
pro-fascist Government of Dr. Malan in South Africa to continue unhampered
with their repugnant racial policies.
Thus a brief review, in this respect, of the history of the South
African question before the commencement of the coming session of
the United Nations Assembly may be helpful and instructive.
In the year 1946 the
Government of General Smuts, in the face of bitter resentment of
the whole of the Indian people of South Africa
and the strongest protests from the Government and people of India,
enacted the notorious Asiatic Land Tenure and Indian Representation
Act which is known to the Indian people as the "Ghetto Act".
The Government of India demonstrated its protest by imposing trade
sanctions on South Africa and by withdrawing its High Commissioner
and also by taking up the matter before the United Nations. The South
African Indian community, with the blessings of Mahatma Gandhi and
the national leaders of India, launched out on a Passive Resistance
struggle in which in two years over 2,000 men and women volunteers
courted imprisonment rather than submit to this unjust law.
General Smuts, Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa at the
time, personally appeared before the first session of the United
Nations Assembly in 1946 and staked his reputation as a world statesman
in defence of the racial and anti-democratic policies pursued at
home by his Government. He fervently pleaded before the international
Assembly that India's complaint was a matter of domestic jurisdiction
and thus U.N.O. was hardly competent to judge the issue. He moved
that the question of competence be referred to the International
Court of Justice.
The United Nations Assembly, of course, quite rightly rejected
such an unconvincing and lame plea and condemned South Africa for
its racial policies by the requisite two-thirds majority. It called
upon South Africa to bring its treatment of the South African Indians
in conformity with the basic principles of the United Nations Charter.
As was not unexpected, the resolution of the United Nations was
deliberately ignored by the South African Government and the matter
again came up before the second session of the Assembly in 1947.
This time a mild resolution calling upon South Africa and India
to meet at a Round Table Conference in order to come to an amicable
settlement of the dispute between the two Governments was passed
by a large majority. However, it failed by a narrow margin to get
a two-thirds majority.
General Smuts's Government again defied this decision. But before
the matter could come up at the 1948 session of the Assembly, General
Smuts's United Party suffered a defeat at the hands of the Nationalist
Party of Dr. Malan in the general elections held in May 1948.
Dr. Malan's party had been returned to power by the white electorate:
the non-white people have no effective say in the election of Parliament.
The Africans or Natives in the Cape Province are entitled, on property
and educational qualification basis, to elect three white members
to the House of Assembly of 153 members; whilst the Indians and the
Coloured people of the same province are on similar qualification
basis, entitled to a vote on the common roll with the Europeans but
are not allowed to stand as candidates themselves - they can only
vote for European candidates.
Dr. Malan assumed office
on a clearly defined programme of "apartheid" or
complete segregation of the various communities into watertight compartments,
the abolition of the existing franchise privileges enjoyed by the
African, Coloured and Indian people of the Cape and the repatriation,
or rather expatriation, of the Indian people as "foreign and
outlandish elements."
At the 1948-49 session of the United Nations Assembly, Dr. Malan's
Government was represented by Mr. Eric Louw, Minister of Economic
Development, a notorious advocate of racialism and Jew-baiter.
In view of the gravity of the situation in South Africa resulting
from the policy and programme of Dr. Malan's Government, which was
in no small way responsible for the pogrom against Durban Indians,
the Indian delegation to the United Nations pressed at the Assembly
session for a United Nations Commission of Enquiry to go out to South
Africa to investigate the matter at first hand. At a later stage
in the proceedings, however, the Indian delegation withdrew its resolution
calling upon the Governments of India, Pakistan and South Africa
to meet at a Round Table Conference.
During the last two months, in terms of this resolution, the Government
of India have already approached the South African Government to
arrange for the Round Table talks. The reply of Dr. Malan has been
that his Government still adheres to the attitude that, firstly,
the Indian question in South Africa is a matter of domestic concern
and, secondly, the declaration of human rights adopted by the United
Nations is more idealistic than practical.
However, in spite of these objections, the South African Government
have suggested preliminary talks between the representatives of India,
Pakistan and South Africa in order to discuss an agenda for a Round
Table Conference.
The latter suggestion was forthwith accepted by Pandit Nehru, who
invited Dr. Malan to advise him of the venue and date for such preliminary
talks. South Africa made a move when only two weeks remained before
the United Nations Assembly began its work.
In these proceedings on the South African question at the United
Nations certain factors are worthy of our consideration. The most
glaring fact is the shameful role played by the United States of
America, Britain, the white Dominions and the colonial Powers making
it almost impossible for the United Nations to take effective steps
against South Africa. Although they could not openly rally in defence
of racialism, the actions of those States, both inside and outside
of the Assembly, were aimed at rendering as much support as possible
to the South African Government.
In the early stages, they sided with South Africa in the contention
that the matter should go before the International Court of Justice
and when that was rejected by the Assembly, they threw in their weight
on the side which sought to make any resolution on South Africa as
ineffective as possible. It is an open secret that they brought to
bear their influence on other satellite States to take up the same
attitude. Thus it can be seen in so far as America and Britain particularly
are concerned, they have been following generally a policy of appeasement
towards South Africa.
Thus having been assured of the not unhelpful attitude of Britain
and America, Dr. Malan's Government have been emboldened to defy
with impunity the decisions of the United Nations.
In the face of the Assembly's resolution on South West Africa,
the South African Government has virtually annexed this mandated
territory by giving its white population direct representation in
the Union Parliament and by its refusal to submit annual reports
to the Trusteeship Council.
In regard to the South
African question, subsequent to the United Nations resolution adopted
this year, Dr. Malan has personally piloted
an amending Act through the South African Parliament, making the
restrictions imposed by the "Ghetto Act" mare drastic and
stringent. This constitutes nothing less than the most blatant and
open defiance of the authority, and an utter disregard of the prestige
of the United Nations.
In view of the grave situation which has arisen as a result of
the intransigence of the South African Government, it will be necessary
for the United Nations Assembly to act with the utmost severity and
despatch if a serious danger to world peace is to be averted.
In my opinion the Government of India should instruct its United
Nations delegation to call at the United Nations Assembly for the
most drastic action in terms of the Charter against the racial policies
of the South African Government. The question whether the requisite
majority will be obtained or not should not be allowed to influence
this demand for necessary and timely action.
A watered-down resolution without proper sanctions to enforce the
decision of the United Nations can, in present circumstances, serve
no useful purpose. Such a resolution can only help to maintain the
illusion which has lasted long enough that something is being done
by the United Nations.
It would be preferable on the other hand, to risk failure on a
stronger resolution. It would at least unmask the role of the imperialist
Powers.
If President Truman and Prime Minister Attlee can intervene in
the Kashmir dispute on the pretext that it endangers the peace of
the world, why can they not intervene in the Indo-South African deadlock?
The conditions of fascist tyranny under which nine million African,
Indian and Coloured people are forced to live constitute a violation
of all democratic principles and offer a studied insult to the Asian
and Coloured races of the world.
The duty of India is clear in the matter. Millions of oppressed
people throughout the world are looking to it for leadership and
guidance. India must not allow itself to become a pawn in the imperialist
strategy of America and Britain. Commonwealth connections and dollar
aid mean nothing if they stand for the perpetuation of racialism
and colonialism, for the utilisation of the newly-won status of Asian
countries for the maintenance and extension of imperialist interest
and domination.
In dealing therefore with the question of racial discrimination
in South Africa - the United Nations is called upon to answer the
question: peace or war. And India, the question: national independence
or subservience to Anglo-American policy.
