Beaten by instructors
PONKS “Rajender” Maharaj was a laaitie of 15 when he was recruited to the navy in 1977.
He only turned the required age of 16 later that year.
He saw the advert while in Standard 7. With six brothers and a sister, Maharaj believed the navy provided an opportunity to make life easier at home.
Maharaj said the first few months – before they got a liberty pass to visit their families – was tough.
“But I was never a loser so I didn’t think of quitting and going home,” he said.
On his first visit home, his family were impressed with his milk-white suit and shiny buttons.
However, first, he had to search for them because his family were forced to move from their old home in central Pietermaritzburg to Northdale. By then his dad’s health had deteriorated.
Maharaj remembers 1977 as being tough and said they would often be beaten by the instructors if they failed to toe the line.
He left the navy at the end of 1977 and in 1979 – when he was old enough – he joined the police force.
Maharaj said it was different from the navy.
He said in the police force, it was obvious that apartheid existed – by the way he was treated.
In addition, the trainers were harder on him because of his naval background.
At the time of his retirement, he was a colonel and the head of the Visible Policing Unit in Pietermaritzburg.
He had also collected a slew of qualifications along the way, including a national diploma in policing, a BA in criminology, an LLB and he is now considering a Master’s degree.