The Ubuntu-democracyand an aati-drug movements the indian southafricans (ISAs): synchronizing the old and the new

Abstract

Today's South Africa is beginning to look back at its euphoric outcry of a 'New South Africa' with more maturity than ever before. Many issues have arisen on the daunting path towards the reconstruction of state and society from 1994 onwards. And suddenly one is fraught with the realisation that South Africa is not only new but it is old as well : It is not only a new rainbow nation but also an old society which has dealt with many pleasant and unpleasant issues of race and colour. It is not only a new bubbling ground of democracy and its related hiccups but also an old polity with some pressing 'carry over' problems of apartheid. Observing the social movements amongst the Durban Indians in South Africa helps us further understand this relationship between the old as well as the new in a nuanced way: From amongst Indian South Afrcians have emanated not only old, reform and self help style social movements through and post-apartheid (Luthra Sinha 2014: 330-340) but also some new, community action based social movements. Adopting an ethnographic methodology, this paper focusses on unearthing the memories, space and temporalities of a contemporary, community based anti-substance abuse movement. Waged and organized by Indian South Africans(ISAs)in Durban, although the movement lifts symbols and frames centred around a 'non-territorial Indianess' to proliferate its network and discources, our research indicates that its actors, who belong largely to the historical Indian Diaspora remain firmly rooted in an inherently South African milieu and landscape.Based on examples from our field-work in Durban and interactions with the Anti-Drug Forum in Chatsworth, we examine the evolving role of the peoples of Indian origin in the larger canvass ofthe Ubuntu- democracy.