National People's Party (South Africa, 1981)

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The National People's Party (NPP) was a political organization of the Indian minority in South Africa . The party was founded in August 1981. Since the establishment of the three-chamber parliament with the parliamentary elections in 1984, she has been represented by several mandate holders in the Indian Chamber ( House of Delegates ).

history

Amichand Rajbansi has been the party chairman since the party was founded . The emergence of this party was closely related to the political upgrading of the South African Indian Council (SAIC), one by the apartheid governmentsponsored and courted representation of South African Indians. The SAIC was created in 1964 as an organization close to the government in order to oppose the previously existing self-representations of the Indian population, who could be assured of good foreign support to varying degrees, with a directed advisory body. This was intended to create a counter-front to their weakening and to simulate a democratic participation of Indians at home and abroad. Rajbansi was the longtime chairman of the SAIC, in which the NPP represented the majority. At the time of its establishment, the NPP had 34 of the 45 seats in the SAIC.

After the South African government publicly presented its proposals for constitutional reform in 1982, the NPP responded in January 1983 with its conditions for participation in future constitutional bodies, mainly in the planned three-chamber parliament. The points raised by the party included calls for the withdrawal of discriminatory legislation and the lifting of bans on the freedom of movement of people of Indian origin. Although this move was officially rejected by the Minister of Constitutional Development and Planning , Chris Heunis , the NPP pursued further negotiation goals in talks with the government for the purpose of political change for the Indian population in the country. The NPP met with representatives from the KwaZulu Legislative Assembly and agreed to continue talks with the government in Pretoria . Rajbansi opposed such a path at this point. Criticism was raised from the circles of the Natal Indian Congress , according to which Rajbansi had fallen victim to a deception in the form of a “fictitious ballot box” and that he and his party were “waging a war against the black allies within the country and beyond its borders”. want to lead.

In 1986, in view of the declared state of emergency in parts of the country, Rajbansi declared that his party did not support military service for members of the Colored and Indian groups in the South African armed forces . He cited one important reason for the fact that the use of the national armed forces in the township settlements was disadvantageous. On the other hand, it would be better to act with the police, as an institution of social control, against the unrest that has occurred. He also took the view that the ANC would not return to South Africa as it did not fit the country. "The battle for South Africa will be won or lost with internal forces," said Rajbansi.

The NPP MP Ramduth described President Pieter Willem Botha as an “intrepid man” because he was now able to overcome all traces of apartheid and whose policies bring new hope for South Africa. The NPP MP Nizam Khan opposed this position because, in his opinion, only “small politics” are being discussed in the House of Delegates , while the whole country is now “on fire”.

The most important opponent of the party in the House of Delegates was Solidarity until a cooperation agreement was signed . The collaboration with the second largest Indian party led by Jayaram Narainsamy Reddy led to a split in their respective parliamentary groups. The coalition agreement operated by Rajbansi initially failed due to resistance from some Solidarity members and after a judicial interlude before the Supreme Court in Durban .

However, a Solidarity party congress in January 1987 confirmed the coalition agreement. The coalition thus obtained under difficult circumstances only existed for a short period of time. During this collaboration, Jayaram Narainsamy Reddy was accepted into the Minister's Council .

In October 1987, a bomb attack destroyed the NPP's office in Lenasia a few hours after it was officially opened. There was no declaration of confession.

In 1988 the alliance of both parties disintegrated when several members of the parliament left the joint parliamentary group. Under the leadership of Pat Poovalingam , who later founded the Progressive Reform Party , some Solidarity MPs resigned from the coalition in January 1988. In the same month there was a joint meeting of the factions of the NPP and the Labor Party , the latter provided the majority faction in the House of Representatives ( Coloreds ), as a result of which a cooperation agreement was concluded.

Another group led by Baldeo Dookie and Somaroo Pachai left the coalition of NPP and Solidarity after Dookie was withdrawn from the position of Minister of Housing in April 1988 at the instigation of Rajbansi . The departure of several MPs that has now occurred led to the National People's Party losing power in the House of Delegates . In this situation it could no longer provide a majority. In general, the authoritarian leadership style of Rajbansi was considered to be the cause of the collapse. After several unsuccessful votes, three former NPP members were persuaded to return to the parliamentary group. This recovery was publicly controversial, as one of them alleged extortion. Other group members received individual police protection because of physical threats in the power struggle for influence in the Indian Chamber of Deputies.

Mandates in the national parliament

Election to the House of Delegates on August 28, 1984 : 18 out of 40 seats.

  • 1986, June: 26 of the 45 seats in the Indian Chamber of the South African Parliament.
  • 1988: 25 of the 45 seats in the Indian Chamber of the South African Parliament.

Election of September 6, 1989 to the House of Delegates : 8 out of 40 seats.

People and officials

  • Pat Poovalingam: House of Delegates , founded the Progressive Reform Party (PRP) in January 1987 with other NPP and Solidarity members.
  • Amichand Rajbansi : NPP Chairman, Member of Parliament ( House of Delegates ), Chairman of the Minister's Council in the House of Delegates , member of the Botha II Cabinet .
  • Kassie Ramduth: Member of Parliament, Minister of Education and Culture ( House of Delegates ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c SAIRR : Race Relations Survey 1986 Part 1 . Johannesburg 1987, p. 163
  2. ^ SAIRR: Survey of Race Relations in South Africa 1981 . Johannesburg 1982, p. 17
  3. ↑ SAIRR: Survey 1983, pp. 36, 39
  4. ↑ SAIRR: Survey 1983 , p. 39
  5. ↑ SAIRR: Survey 1983 , pp. 40-41
  6. ↑ SAIRR: Survey 1986 Part 1 , p. 164
  7. ↑ SAIRR: Survey 1986 Part 1 , pp. 171-173
  8. ↑ SAIRR: Survey 1987/88 , p. 768
  9. ^ A b Nelson Mandela Foundation : National People's Party . on www.omalley.nelsonmandela.org (English)
  10. ↑ SAIRR: Survey 1987/88 , p. 754
  11. ↑ a b SAIRR: Survey 1987/88 , p. 753
  12. ↑ a b Albert C. Nunley, African Elections Database: Elections in South Africa . at www.africanelections.com (English)
  13. ↑ a b SAIRR: Survey 1987/88 , p. 752