A Fortunate Man

by Meer, Ismail

• ISBN13: 9781868726646
• ISBN10: 1868726649
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-10-01
• Publisher: Struik Pub
• More Book Details
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Summary

When Nelson Mandela was released from prison, he invited Ismail Meer to be his traveling companion and speechwriter on his trips abroad. Meer is one of the unsung heroes of South African history. A prominent Indian activist, he helped convince the young Mandela, decades earlier, to broaden his vision beyond Africans only. In this autobiography, Meer vividly describes the journey from his childhood world of the 1920s to his political involvement in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond. the book takes the reader back to conversations with figures such as Albert Luthuli, paints a picture of Nelson Mandela and other political leaders as young men, and give little known details about Joe Slovo and Ruth First. With its elegant writing style, its vivid recreation of past times and its touches of humor, this is a substantial history, in the tradition of "Long Walk to Freedom and "Rivonia's Children.

Table of Contents

FOREWORD	vii
INTRODUCTORY NOTE	xiii
ABBREVIATIONS	xv
1 Waschbank	1	(20)
2 Durban	21	(10)
3 Political Activism	31	(22)
4 Events During World War II	53	(16)
5 Johannesburg	69	(18)
6 Passive Resistance	87	(22)
7 The End of Indian Passive Resistance and the Beginning of Apartheid	109	(4)
8 Violence and Unity	113	(14)
9 Settling Down to Family and Work	127	(14)
10 The Defiance Campaign	141	(16)
11 The Verulam Practice and Some Cases	157	(10)
12 Freedom Charter	167	(10)
13 The Treason Trial and the Family	177	(38)
14 Sharpeville, the State of Emergency and the Birth of Umkhonto we Sizwe	215	(10)
15 Students Take Over	225	(14)
16 Travelling Abroad	239	(20)
17 Moving into Non-Racial South African Democracy	259	(8)
EPILOGUE	267	(2)
APPENDIX 1 An address at Mr IC Meer's eightieth birthday celebrations by Chief Justice Ismail Mahomed	269	(2)
APPENDIX 2 IC Meer in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature by Dr Michael Sutcliffe	271	(3)
NOTES	274	(3)
GLOSSARY	277	(2)
INDEX	279