Indian Rights Campaigner Bhawani Sannyassi Dayal is born

Bhawani Sannyassi Dayal, a journalist and campaigner for Indian rights, was born in Johannesburg as son of Jariam Singh, a former president of the Transvaal Indian Association. In 1913 he was one of the organisers of the Indian strike led by Mohandas Gandhi as part of the Sathyagraha Campaign. In 1927 Dayal became the first South African to be admitted to the Order of Sannyassis, which members were known for their service to mankind. In the same year Dayal was one of the South African Indian Congress (SAIC) representatives who guided Indian resisters in the northern districts of Natal, particularly in Utrecht and Vryheid, and explained the implications of the Asiatic Act of 1927 to them. He also authored several books in Hindi, namely History of passive resistance in South Africa, My experiences of South Africa, Story of my prison-life, Biography of Mahatma Gandhi, Indians in Transvaal, Natalian Hindu, Vedic religion and Aryan culture, education and cultivator, and The Vedic prayer. Sources: Sonderling, N.E. (ed.) New Dictionary of South African Biography, v. 2.