INTERACTION WITH INDIAN DIASPORA IN SOUTH AFRICA

In early August a web-based interaction with the Indian diaspora in South Africa was organized by the India Empire Magazine—a publishing outfit that has tracked the diaspora since the inception of the erstwhile Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs in 2004. Interacting with a section of the Indian Diaspora in South Africa during the web session Mr K J Alphons, Member of the Indian Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs, mentioned: “The situation in South Africa could not have happened overnight. This is a nation that has learnt how to forgive its oppressors from none other than the great Nelson Mandela with whom I’ve had the privilege of interacting twice in the past. This is a nation that has shown the power of reconciliation after the difficult transition to democracy took place. But undeniably there have been social challenges, poverty being one of them. I’ve myself seen it during my three-day visit to South Africa as a Union Minister from India in 2019. The pandemic has only exacerbated the crisis of unemployment and deprivation. When you see certain communities doing better than others, all you need is a trigger to let loose underlying sentiments of frustration and anger. The arrest of the former president provided just that kind of trigger moment. I’ve taken up this matter with the Foreign Minister of India and his colleagues, and would make an intervention in Indian Parliament.”