Amichand Rajbansi (14 January 1942 – 29 December 2011) was a South African
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
. He was a former Chairman of the Ministers' Council of the
House of Delegates Tricameral
Tricameralism is the practice of having three legislative or parliamentary chambers. It is contrasted with unicameralism and bicameralism, each of which is far more common.
Varieties of tricameralism
A disputed type of tricameralism is one whe ...
parliamentary chamber for
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
people, and leader of the
Minority Front
The Minority Front is a political party in South Africa. The party represents all minorities of South Africa, however, its support comes mainly from the South African Indian community. Its voter base is in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The e ...
.
Amichand Rajbansi, nicknamed the Bengal Tiger, was born in
Clairwood,
Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
on 14 January 1942. He attended
Clairwood Secondary School and the
Indian University College to study
History
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
and
Psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
as major subjects.
After a long service as a sports administrator, professional soccer referee, civic leader, and serving in local government structures dealing with local affairs, Rajbansi was elected to the
South African Indian Council
The South African Indian Council was a body created by the apartheid-era South African government in 1968 to make recommendations to the government about matters affecting Indians. It was the first time that Indians were granted any sort of re ...
in 1974. This council was rejected by most Indians.
In 1976 Rajbansi resigned from the Indian Council protesting the inter Cabinet council between the Indian Council and government cabinet of Prime Minister
John Vorster
Balthazar Johannes "B. J." Vorster (; also known as John Vorster; 13 December 1915 – 10 September 1983) was a South African apartheid politician who served as the prime minister of South Africa from 1966 to 1978 and the fourth state presiden ...
. In 1981 he formed the
National People's Party (NPP) and was elected leader of this new party. The NPP successfully competed for the election to the South African Indian Council and took control of SAIC, although only 6% of the Indian electorate participated in the 1981 elections for the council.
In 1984, following Prime Minister
PW Botha
Pieter Willem Botha, (; 12 January 1916 – 31 October 2006), commonly known as P. W. and af, Die Groot Krokodil (The Big Crocodile), was a South African politician. He served as the last prime minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 an ...
's
constitutional reforms, the NPP stood for the newly constituted
House of Delegates, the Indian only parliamentary chamber, and won the majority of seats in the House. As a result, Rajbansi became a member of the
South African Cabinet and chairman for the Ministers' Council for Indian Affairs.
Rajbansi's leadership of the House of Delegates was often controversial, and in May 1987, his NPP lost its majority to an opposition coalition. However, Rajbansi did not resign his chairmanship, and he survived the leadership challenge with the help of P.W. Botha. A Parliamentary select committee later in 1987 found that Rajbansi accepted R10 000 for his party in order to "facilitate the obtaining of land and contracts", and he was suspended from the House of Delegates. He was suspended from P.W. Botha's cabinet, and Botha appointed a
commission of enquiry under Justice Neville James to investigate allegations of corruption in the House of Delegates Administration. He was later found guilty by another parliamentary committee of "glaring" maladministration in forcing the purchase of a cultural centre for an inflated price. Botha fired Rajbansi from his cabinet and his Minister's Council in December 1988, following the preliminary report from the James Commission. The final report of the commission described Rajbansi as "arrogant", "unscrupulous", "ruthless" and a "mean-minded bully". The commission found that Rajbansi had lied to Parliament, committed statutory
perjury
Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...
, had given false evidence to the commission, and misused his position. It also recommended that he never again be employed as a minister in the House of Delegates or in any official or semi-official post which called for integrity. He later resigned as leader of the NPP, and was suspended from the House of Delegates, only to be reinstated a few months later. In June 1990, he was convicted on 2 counts of fraud, and was fined R10 000 for using "fronts" to obtain premises for his businesses when he was a member of the SA Indian Council.
After South Africa's transition to
multi-racial
Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-eth ...
democracy in 1994, the NPP became the Minority Front and continued to draw support from parts of the
Indian community.
After the 2004 elections, Rajbansi made an alliance with the
African National Congress
The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...
and he became MEC for Sports and Recreation for
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
Province. In January 2009, Mr Rajbansi received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the
India International Friendship Society
The India International Friendship Society (IIFS) is a private voluntary organisation based in New Delhi, India. Its stated aim is to strengthen the ties between India and its expatriate community in the hope of using the resources and potential o ...
in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
, in recognition of his selfless service to humanity. He was the only African to receive this award.
On 29 December 2011, Rajbansi died from natural causes.
Personal life
Rajbansi was formerly married to Asha Devi, a journalist and popular figure in local government. Devi spoke to
Jani Allan
Jani Allan (born 11 September 1952) is a South African journalist, columnist, writer and broadcaster. She became one of the country's first media celebrities in the 1980s and 1990s.
In 1980, Allan became a columnist for the centrist newspaper, ...
in an interview published by the ''
Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' in the 1980s about her affection for her husband. She referred to her husband as "her hero". "Even if it means sleeping on a bed of nails or walking on coals for him, I will do it ... I will always stand by him." They also had four daughters and a son together. Their relationship soured when Devi joined the
IFP. The couple separated in 1998, with political and alleged
paranormal activity
Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Nota ...
in their marital home being cited as reasons attributed to their separation. The couple divorced in 2000. A year later Rajbansi married
Shameen Thakur.
In 2003 Rajbansi's ex-daughter-in-law, Karnagie Tandree was strangled to death Police have deliberated over both murder and suicide as a cause of the death.
The Final Twist: Rory Carroll on a murder case that has rocked South Africa
The Guardian. 19 January 2004
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajbansi, Amichand
1942 births
2011 deaths
Minority Front politicians
Members of the House of Delegates of South Africa
Members of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature
People from Durban
South African people of Indian descent
South African fraudsters
South African businesspeople
People from eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality
South African politicians
Apartheid in South Africa
Apartheid government
Racial segregation
South African sports executives and administrators