The legacy of Amichand Nirajan Rajbansi: a political journey from humble beginnings to leadership

In South Africa, few figures have left a mark as indelible as the founder and leader of the Minority Front (MF), the late Amichand Nirajan Rajbansi, who was born in Clairwood and became a champion for minority rights. 

On Thursday, a documentary encapsulating his life, titled  The Bengal Tiger - The Rajbansi Story, premiered in Durban. Ahead of the release in cinemas across the country on October 3, Shameen Thakur-Rajbansi, his wife and the current leader of the MF, spoke about his journey. 

Childhood

Rajbansi was born on January 14, 1942, and was the third-born of five children. 

His paternal great-grandfather and maternal grandfather were indentured and came from Uttar Pradesh in northern India. 

Rajbansi's paternal great-grandfather settled in Clairwood after his arrival in 1878. His maternal grandfather arrived in 1860 and settled in Verulam. His father, Ethwaroo Rajbansi, was a carpenter and his mother, Suminthra, a housewife. 

“Mr Rajbansi’s father and his uncles were carpenters. From a young age, Mr Rajbansi was involved in the business. During his childhood he spent a lot of time at the beach or out at sea as his family shared a great relationship with another family of seine-netters. Mr Rajbansi's family built boats for this family and he joined them on fishing trips at sea,” said Thakur-Rajbansi. 

She said Rajbansi’s journey into the political space also started at a young age. 

“At around age 12, he was drawn to the political sphere as a volunteer for the NIC (Natal Indian Congress) and as a member of the ANC Youth League. During political meetings in Clairwood, he used to set up the chairs in the hall, or collect pamphlets from the printing press and hand them out. If there were protests or boycotts, even late at night, he joined in. 

“A moment that stood out for him was being tasked with handing a letter to then British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan. He had pushed through the crowds to get to his car, and give him the letter. It explained the poor conditions that the community lived in because of British rule. 

“As a young boy, Mr Rajbansi met and interacted with political leaders, but he developed a relationship with Inkosi Albert Luthuli. Mr Rajbansi often accompanied Luthuli to watch soccer matches at Curries Fountain. Mr Rajbansi also took a train to meet him at his home in Groutville,” she said.

Education

Rajbansi attended HS Dunn Primary School in Wentworth and thereafter Clairwood Secondary School where he matriculated in 1959. 

During this time, he fought for the rights of fellow pupils. 

“If he felt the school management made decisions that affected other children, he voiced his concerns. Mr Rajbansi was involved in many school activities, including plays, debates and art competitions. He led the school’s debate team and they often won,” said Thakur-Rajbansi. 

She said he participated in the Jan Hofmeyr Speech Contest and won orator of the year. In matric, he entered an art competition held by Rembrandt, a tobacco company, and won as well. 

"He won a gold coin and bursary for his further studies.”

Further studies

Thakur-Rajbansi said Rajbansi's dream was to become a lawyer but due to a lack of finances, he pursued teaching. 

“Unfortunately, the bursary was not enough for him to study law. He instead pursued an education diploma at the University College for Indians at Salisbury Island.”

Career

In 1963, Rajbansi started teaching English, Latin and art at Chatsworth Secondary School. He thereafter taught at Witteklip Secondary and Astra Primary. 

“Mr Rajbansi never believed in giving up on a person. When the teachers complained about not wanting to teach 'dud' or 'naughty' children, he used to tell them to choose the ‘best’ pupils for their classes, and he chose the children they did not want. He wanted to prove those teachers wrong.  

“It was also during this time that Mr Rajbansi was actively involved in sport, especially soccer. When he was about 20, he became a referee and was in charge of games for teams like Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs or Moroka Swallows at Curries Fountain. The white referees were scared of what the crowd would do if they had to give a red card, but Mr Rajbansi was not afraid. He told them what the rules were, and no one troubled him. 

“He taught children soccer and through this, they learnt discipline and the importance of setting goals. Some of these children became doctors and lawyers. Mr Rajbansi saved many children from becoming gangsters or addicted to drugs as their time was instead spent playing soccer,” said Thakur-Rajbansi. 

She said after teaching for about five years, Rajbansi wanted a change of scenery and joined Creamline Dairy as its public relations officer. During this time, he started the Milk Carnival, which was held in Westcliff, Chatsworth. 

“He felt that because the Indian community was supporting the company, it was time they did corporate social responsibility initiatives. One of the events he came up with was the carnival. It was a cultural event with singing, dancing, competitions and sporting activities such as tug-of-war and wrestling.”

Political journey

In the mid-1970s, when Indians were allowed to join the Local Affairs Committee, Rajbansi decided to fight in those elections. 

He won his first election and became a councillor in Arena Park, Chatsworth. 

“He saw this as an opportunity to uplift the people in Chatsworth, but it was not easy. He attended meetings at city hall and had to fight against some white councillors, who said 'don't give Indians a vote, give them the boat’. 

“He also fought for amenities and facilities for Chatsworth as he saw beautiful halls, parks, swimming pools, and stadiums being built in other areas. When he asked for a stadium in Chatsworth, the response was ‘there is no money’. 

“This did not deter him. While probing into the finances in the city’s budget committee, he found that Chatsworth had a facilities fund. The city was taking money collected from the rates and keeping it in some-what of a contingency fund. He approached the council about his request for a stadium again and they told him there was no money. Mr Rajbansi told them about the fund and said the money belonged to the people of Chatsworth. That was how the stadium was built,” said Thakur-Rajbansi.  

In the early 1980s, Rajbansi, who started his own political party, the National People’s Party, joined the House of Delegates Tricameral parliamentary chamber for Indian people. 

He served as the chairperson. 

“There was opposition to Mr Rajbansi joining the House of Delegates, but he had a purpose, which was to fight the apartheid system from the inside. He used this as an opportunity to ensure that all of the resources that the government had, which was also from Indian taxpayers, was used to better their lives. He started building houses, schools, halls, and other facilities across the country. He worked day and night.

“Eventually, the government, who saw him as a threat, orchestrated the James Commission, chaired by Neville James, to take him out. But Mr Rajbansi did not care. He knew they had already made up their minds, and he had already done a lot of what he wanted to achieve. They found him guilty of what he was accused of and he was removed.

“Shortly thereafter, the late Nelson Mandela, with whom he shared a good relationship, was released from prison and there were talks of democracy. Mr Rajbansi was asked to be part of the Convention for a Democratic South Africa committee, and he became one of the top four negotiators,” said Thakur-Rajbansi. 

Minority Front

Rajbansi went on to form the MF in 1993. 

“They were asked to form political parties ahead of the elections the next year. He chose to start his own party even though Mandela asked him to join the ANC. Mr Rajbansi did not want to ‘piggy back’ on anyone. He was focused on the Indian community, and with a new government, he wanted to ensure they were taken care of. He knew with a new government there would be challenges and he wanted to ensure no one took advantage of Indians. 

“Through the MF, he became a constant watchdog. Whenever there were legislations that were race-based, new quotas introduced, or anything where Indian people were being marginalised, he fought against it. He said even though the Indian community was much smaller in number, the quantity did not matter, but rather the quality,” said Thakur-Rajbansi. 

Rajbansi also served as the MEC for Sports and Recreation in KwaZulu-Natal from 2004 to 2009.

Accolades 

He received numerous awards from local and international organisations. 

“He received many lifetime achievement awards, and recognition from the Government of India. However, Mr Rajbansi believed it was better to be an honourable person than to be honoured. He said people elected politicians to these positions within government because they believed in them, and the honourable thing to do was to maintain that trust.” 

Family

In 1964, Rajbansi married his first wife and had four children. He and Thakur-Rajbansi married in 2001. 

She said her fondest memory of him was that he ensured they had a good balance and quality of life together. 

“We had a simple home in Chatsworth. There was peace and harmony. Mr Rajbansi never brought political work into the home. We only discussed family and the activities we would do together as a family. We were both involved in the lives of the children, both his and my late son, Pradhil Thakur-Kooblall, who he took good care of. 

“He was also supportive, encouraging, and empowering when it came to me and anything I wanted to such as furthering my studies. I lost my father, who was an empowering man, when I was 17. When I married Mr Rajbansi, I had that sense of comfort because he was not selfish when it came to women being empowered,” said Thakur-Rajbansi.

Following Rajbansi’s death due to illness at age 69 in 2011, Thakur-Rajbansi was appointed as the MF's leader in 2012. 

Documentary

She said the documentary stemmed from Rajbansi wanting to tell his life story. 

“After celebrating his 68th birthday, he told me he wanted to have a book about his life story. However, the book should have more pictures than words. He told me to get a notebook and he would dictate. However, every time I got the book, he began talking about something else that was important.

“During the Covid-19 pandemic, my son and his fiancée asked what they could do as they could not leave the house due to restrictions at the time. I told them to sort out the library. My son, who loved watching documentaries, especially on the lives of people, rushed back and said there are so many boxes with Mr Rajbansi’s things, such as newspaper and magazine articles, scrapbooks, pictures, VHS tapes, CDs and reels from the Milk Carnival. He suggested we make a movie on Mr Rajbansi's life. I told them to sort it all out, and then we would start planning. 

“My son had also made friends with filmmaker Arish Sirkissoon on Facebook, who was about to release a movie. He suggested we ask Arish to help us. Two months after signing the agreement, my son and his fiancée passed away. I went into mourning and everything came to a standstill,” said Thakur-Rajbansi.   

Her son and his fiancée, Priyanka Nundkumar, died in a car accident in November 2022. 

In 2023, Sirkissoon approached Thakur-Rajbansi.  

“He said it was my son and his fiancée's wish for the movie to be done, so I told him we will start working on the project as I had all the material. He suggested we do it as a documentary and interview people who knew Mr Rajbansi. I am grateful to the MF staff, who put all the material in order, and we organised the interviews.  

“Now that the documentary is about to be released, there is a sense of calmness and contentment in my heart. I feel I have honoured my duty as a mother to fulfill the children’s wish, as well as my duty as a wife to honour the legacy of my husband. Mr Rajbansi always said politics was a thankless task, but I see the documentary as my way of thanking him for everything he did. I hope the documentary serves as an inspiration for the youth and the future generations,” she said. 

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