Indres Elatchininathan Naidoo (26 August 1936 – 8 January 2016) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. An early member of the people's liberation army, Umkhonto we Sizwe, Naidoo served 10 years in prison on

Robben Island Robben Island ( af, Robbeneiland) is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, north of Cape Town, South Africa. It takes its name from the Dutch word for seals (''robben''), hence the Dutch/Afrik ...

for sabotage between 1963 and 1973. After his release from prison, Naidoo played a leading role in the revival of the struggle in the 1970s until he was obliged to go into exile in 1977. He served the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

(ANC) in

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

and in the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

. The ANC was unbanned in 1990, and Naidoo returned to South Africa the following year. When the ANC won the 1994 general election, Naidoo was appointed to the Senate and served in Parliament until 1999. In 2014, Naidoo was awarded the Order of Mendi for Bravery in Silver. Indres Naidoo was the son of Roy Naidoo and Manonmoney “Ama” Naidoo, grandson of

Thambi Naidoo Thambi Naidoo (1875 - 1933) was an early collaborator of Mahatma Gandhi. Born in 1875 in Mauritius to Tamil migrants from India, he migrated to Kimberley (then part of the Cape Colony) in 1889. He moved to Johannesburg in 1892 where he worked as ...

, and brother of Shanthie Naidoo and Prema Naidoo.

References

South African activists Order of Mendi for Bravery 1936 births 2016 deaths {{AntiApartheid-activist-stub