JN Reddy defied odds to improve the lot of South African Indians
Some were critical of him for ‘genuflecting’ before apartheid masters
WHILE using racist platforms from which to improve the lot of Indians, Dr Jayaram “JN” Reddy was derided by his detractors as a “collaborator, traitor and lackey”. This did not deter him.
He justified participation in racially-created political arenas as a means “to get the foot in the door and then ask for more”.
He once said: “Whilst our objective is the creation of a democratic parliamentary institution, we will make the optimum use of the SA Indian Council for the economic and social well-being of the Indian community. At the same time, we will be working for change by a process of evolution and not revolution in order to avoid conflict and confrontation and the grave consequences which are likely to flow therefrom.”
Surrounded by close family members, Dr Reddy passed away at his Wyebank home last Friday afternoon from age-related illness at the age of 94.
While the large crowd at the Clare Estate Crematorium bore testimony to the high regard in which he was held for advancing the welfare of Indians in a pre-democratic South Africa, and some people were critical of him on social media for genuflecting before apartheid masters, there was one thing in common said about “JN”: he was a “true gentleman”.
Reddy was born on October 24, 1925.
His father, Narainsamy Reddy, was born in the village of Puthoor, Thiruvanamalay, in Tamilnadu, India, and arrived in Durban as a five-year old boy with his parents.
As a young man, Narainsamy Reddy ran errands for Mahatma Gandhi during his stay in Durban and took an active part in the Natal Indian Congress.
The young Dr Reddy, who was one of seven children, had his early education at the Seaview State-Aided Indian School and secondary schooling at Sastri College.
In the early 1940s, Dr Reddy worked through a branch of the Natal Indian Congress in Seaview to oppose plans to remove Indians from areas where they had been settled for many decades.
He also worked within the farming communities of Zeekoe Valley, Cavendish and Welbedacht to whip up support for the Passive Resistance Movement.
Dr Reddy was involved in opposing injustice from his youth and was one of a handful of delegates from the Natal Indian Congress who attended the meeting outside Johannesburg which opted for the Freedom Charter in the 1950s.
Dr Reddy began his working life as a junior customs clerk and rose to the position of consultant in the freight forwarding and customs clearing division, specialising in customs tariff classifications and the application of import and export duties.
Recognised as a doyen in this field, in 1965 Dr Reddy was invited by the South African Freight Forwarding Agents Association to institute classes in subjects associated with the import and export trade at the then ML Sultan Technical College.
In April 1965, Dr Reddy launched his own company, Sealandair Shipping and Forwarding (Pty) Ltd, to handle freight, clearing and forwarding nationally. The launching of Sealandair brought to an end the domination of this area of business by whites and opened the way for the gradual entry of persons of colour into this highly specialised field.
In 1970 Dr Reddy launched the New Republic Bank Ltd and rose to the position of chairman of the board.
The pioneering work associated with the launching of the bank paved the way for other such institutions as the African Bank Ltd, which followed soon afterwards.
Only after the launch of NRB did the white banking sector respond positively to the appeal made over several decades for the employment of personnel of colour.
Because of his interest in education as a means to promote the forward mobility of the underprivileged members of our society, he was invited to serve on the councils of the University of Durban-Westville and the ML Sultan Technikon.
While a member of the Council of the ML Sultan Technikon, Dr Reddy initiated discussions with Sasol, Eskom, Iscor and Telkom and prevailed on these groups to provide training and employment for apprentices and technicians, who had completed their studies at the Technikon.
Thanks to Dr Reddy’s endeavours, hundreds of young Indians landed jobs in Sasolburg and Secunda as coded welders, boilermakers, fitters and turners, plumbers and electricians.
The obtaining of articles for the training of chartered accountants of colour in Natal, despite the efforts of the then University of Durban-Westville and black businessmen, remained unresolved as the all-white Natal Society of Accountants was not prepared to change their policy.
Dr Reddy marshalled the support of white business friends from commerce and industry and then confronted the Natal Society of Accountants, who were ultimately persuaded to change their attitude and provide articles to persons of colour.
The training of people of colour as telephone technicians was another challenge which Dr Reddy accepted in 1968 and, despite several negative responses from the Postal Staff Association, he successfully prevailed on the then minister of posts and telegraphs to intervene.
Dr Reddy also served as a director of the Rembrandt Group Limited and Rembrandt Controlling Investments Ltd.
Following an invitation from Dr Anton Rupert, Dr Reddy joined the Board of the Small Business Development Corporation.
He was also responsible for launching the state-funded Indian Industrial Development Corporation Ltd, which provided funding and technical assistance to promote industrial development by Indian entrepreneurs.
He also brought pressure to bear on the government to provide incentives to enable Indian businessmen to promote industrial activity in Stanger, Verulam, Tongaat, Pietermaritzburg, Port Shepstone and Umzinto, thus creating work opportunities.
Dr Reddy was a founder director of the New National Assurance Company Ltd and served on the Natal Board of the Standard Bank of South Africa Ltd, the South African Permanent Building Society Ltd, and CG Smith and Company Ltd.
He was the first person of colour to be elected as a full director of the Durban Chamber of Commerce.
He was also a member of the State President’s Economic Advisory Council.
It was largely through Dr Reddy’s efforts that the government of the day, despite strong opposition from white public representatives, relented and returned a portion of Cato Manor to Indians who had been displaced in terms of the notorious Group Areas Act.
When Indians north of Tugela River were to be removed and restricted to south of the Tugela River, Dr Reddy fought hard to ensure Indians could remain in Richards Bay and surrounding areas.
He resigned his various business appointments to enter Parliament in 1984 as leader of the official opposition Solidarity Party and served on the Parliamentary Standing Committees on Finance and Trade and Industry.
He subsequently became minister of budget and auxiliary services and thereafter chairman of the Ministers Council and minister of housing in the House of Delegates.
Dr Reddy participated in proceedings at the Convention for a Democratic South Africa, a negotiating forum comprising 20 political organisations which negotiated a peaceful settlement with the apartheid government and paved the way for a democratic South Africa.
For his valuable contributions to the development of job and investment opportunities in commerce and industry for those hitherto denied participation, Dr Reddy was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Commerce by the then University of Durban-Westville in 1984.
Later, in-system organisations such as the South African Indian Council and the House of Delegates – although derided for playing into the apartheid government’s plan to divide and rule – had limited political power over education, social welfare, housing, local government, arts, culture and recreation.
Despite these latter two bodies having little credibility amongst the Indian electorate, Dr Reddy opted to work within the system and succeeded in opening many doors that had hitherto been closed to Indians.
Devan is a media consultant and social commentator. Share your comments with him on: yogind@meropa. co.za