Happy 91st birthday

CELEBRATORY messages from across the nation will be flooding in for living legend and Struggle veteran Swaminathan Gounden of Asherville, Durban, who celebrates his 91st birthday today, coinciding with the Day of Reconciliation.

Gounden, pictured, is one of a handful of South Africans remaining who can say, “I was there in 1955 when the Freedom Charter was written at the Kliptown Conference”.

In a tireless battle against apartheid, he has devoted more than 70 years of his life to the liberation of the country and, at 91, is a goldmine of historic tales and events that paint the picture of a freed South Africa.

Asked how he felt about celebrating another birthday, Gounden replied, “Everybody gets older by the day. Having reached 91, I feel happy about it, because when I joined the organisations I was a young man.

“I joined the Communist Party of South Africa in 1944, the ANC in 1944 and the Natal Indian Congress in 1945.

“I’ve been involved in organisations for 75 years. Fortunately I have been able to continue doing community work.”

Modest about his work during the liberation Struggle and in communities today, Gounden chuckled: “No brother, I am still a backroom boy.”

He was one of the organisers of the Passive Resistance Campaign in 1946 to fight residential segregation, and part of the Defiance Campaign led by the ANC.

In 1958, Gounden joined the Durban Indian Child Welfare Society where he was a senior administrative officer.

In April this year, he was awarded the prestigious Order of Luthuli in Silver.

He has six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren and is retired.