Overview

Through the story of one family, this book captures the history and experiences of the South African Indian pioneers from 1894, when an Ismaili, Jivan Keshavjee, left Kathiawad (Gujarat) and arrived in South Africa, to 1994, when the country attained its multiparty democracy following the release of Nelson Mandela. Keshavjee describes vividly, with a dash of humour and pathos, life in urban South Africa under apartheid and the long struggles for human rights. Using historical sources and numerous remembered anecdotes, he highlights Mahatma Gandhi's early work, which led to the formulation of Satyagraha (Passive Resistance), and Gandhi's interactions with the Indian families that are remembered to this day. The book ends by describing the lives of the exiles in independent Kenya and Uganda?where they were forced out by Amin?and their arrival in Europe and North America. With 60 historical photographs, a family tree, and a facsimile of Mahatma Gandhi's letter to Velshi Keshavjee in 1938, this unique account is not only a multigenerational family history but also a history of the Asians of Africa over a hundred years. With a Foreword by Ahmed Kathrada, leading anti-apartheid activist in South Africa.

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9781927494271

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Reviews

A highly readable narrative on the Khoja Ismailis of Africa, woven around the history of the author's family, and the people among whom they lived at a very interesting time in Africa's colonial and post-colonial era. He captures beautifully the winds of change and how they propelled people to new horizons, giving rise to yet another Diaspora. --Farhad Daftary, author of A Short History of the Ismailis

Author Information

Mohamed ?M. ?Keshavjee is a second generation South African of Indian origin. He attended Queen's University in Canada and attained his LLM and PhD degrees at the?School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. For the past 30 years, he worked with the Aga Khan Development Network in France. He is a specialist in Alternative Dispute Resolution in cross-cultural contexts with an emphasis on diasporic communities, and is a member of the EU team of International Family Mediators. He currently lives in Britain.

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