Ismail Ahmed Cachalia | |
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| Born | (1908-12-05)5 December 1908 Transvaal, South Africa |
| Died | 8 August 2003(2003-08-08) (aged 94) Bethal,Mpumalanga, South Africa |
| Resting place | Bethal,Mpumalanga, South Africa |
| Other names | Moulvi |
| Occupation | Political activist |
| Years active | 1931-1972 |
| Known for | Anti apartheid activism |
| Spouse | Rabia |
| Children | 5 children |
| Parent(s) | Sheth Ahmad Mohammad Cachalia Khatija |
| Awards | Padma Shri World Peace Council Prize |
Ismail Ahmed Cachalia (1908-2003), popularly known asMoulvi, was a South African political activist and a leader ofTransvaal Indian Congress and theAfrican National Congress.[1] He was one of the leaders of theIndian Passive Resistance Campaign of 1946 and theDefiance Campaign in 1952.[2] TheGovernment of India awarded the fourth highest Indian civilian honour ofPadma Shri in 1977.[3]
Moulvi Ismail Ahmed Cachalia, who stepped beyond the verge on August 8 at the age of 95, straddled two centuries and two continents. What was remarkable was his bearing the legacy of two cultures — African and Asian, saidGopalkrishna Gandhi, the former Indian ambassador to Norway, on hearing the news of Cachalia's death.[1]
Ismail Ahmed Cachalia was born in the South African province ofTransvaal on 5 December 1908 to Khatija (Naani) and Sheth Ahmad Mohammad Cachalia,[4] an antiapartheid campaigner and a businessman of Indian origin who was in prison at the time of Ismail's birth.[2] The senior Cachalia was the chairman of theTransvaal British Indian Association who was forced into bankruptcy due to his connection with the organization and the young Ismail grew up amidst antiapartheid struggles.[1] He completed his primary education up to class 5 at Bree Street Indian School,Johannesburg and moved toUttar Pradesh in India, and studied Scriptures andArabic at the Muslim Theological college inDeoband to become anAalim (priest).[1][2][5] He is reported to have participated in thenon-cooperation movement in India during that time but returned to South Africa in 1931 to join his brother,Yusuf Cachalia, in family business.[1] In the 1930s, he and his brother joined withYusuf Dadoo andMonty Naicker, in their anti apartheid activities mobilizing youths for militant action[5] but later changed to non violent methods and became one of the leaders of theIndian Passive Resistance Movement which led to the arrest of over 2000 Indians in 1946.[1] However the movement helped in uniting African National Congress and the Indian resistance group together[2] which was formalized by the Dadoo-Naicker-Xuma Pact of 1947.[6]
During the next six years, Cachalia worked with other leaders of theAfrican National Congress, includingNelson Mandela andAlbert Lutuli, in the non violent struggle against the oppression of the apartheid regime and led theDefiance Campaign of 1952 as its Deputy Volunteer-in-Chief;[2][7] Nelson Mandela was the Volunteer-in Chief.[8] He was arrested and sentenced to a suspended 18 months in prison, subject to keeping away from political activities.[1] In 1955, he attended theAfro-Asian Conference in Bandung[9] as a delegate of the African National Congress and theSouth African Indian Congress, along withMoses Kotane.[5] On the way to the conference, Cachalia had the opportunity to meetV. K. Krishna Menon at London andJawaharlal Nehru at Delhi.[1] He was detained at Cairo for a brief period on his return to South Africa,[9] but continued his activities and, after theSharpeville massacre of 1960 which resulted in the death of 69 people, he escaped, in order to escape incarceration,[10] to India via Botswana.[1] In India, he established the ANC Mission in Delhi,[2][11] along withAlfred Nzo who would later become the first foreign minister of post apartheid South Africa.[1] Cachalia became the deputy chief representative of the Mission.[1]
By 1972, Cachalia retired from active politics due to ill health and shifted his residence to Kala Kacha,Navsari in the Indian state ofGujarat where his ancestors came from,[5] but divided his time between the two countries.[1][2] After the dismantling of apartheid regime, ANC requested him to take part in their campaign in the first general election with universal suffrage in 1994 which he could not.[2] He was present at the function of the dedication of the memorials ofThillaiaadi Valliammai and Swami Nagappen Padayachee[12] to the nation at theBraamfontein cemetery on 15 July 1994 along withWalter Sisulu and also duringJyoti Basu's visit to Johannesburg in 1997.[1] He died on 8 August 2003 at the age of 94.[2] Cachalia was married three times. His first wife died, as well as his first child shortly after her. Maryam Bhana was his second wife with whom he had one son, Yahya, and four daughters, Hafsa, Saeedah, Rashida and Khaleeda.[4] After Maryam died he married a Rabia in India. Khaleeda preceded him in death by one year.[9] His mortal remains were buried atBethal, a town known for potato farming inMpumalanga, South Africa.[9]
Cachalia received theWorld Peace Council Prize in 1955.[2][5] TheGovernment of India awarded him the civilian honour ofPadma Shri in 1977.[3] Nelson Mandela's autobiography,Conversations With Myself, carries a short biography of Ismail Cachalia.[13]
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