SIVA NAIDOO
It's not easy to pen these words to a fallen comrade like Rama Govenden whom I have known since my childhood. We were particularly close during the Struggle era. We had similar interests for food, beverages, culture, heritage and spirituality.
He chose me to speak at his wedding held at the Sri Siva Soobramanium Temple in Umdloti Drift, Verulam, in 1996.
Rama hails from the illustrious Kolendeval family whose sterling contribution to the cultural life of the Tongaat community is yet to be told.
Like many student activists, Rama had become socially and politically conscious while he was a first-year student in 1978 at the erstwhile University of Durban-Westville.
He was active in the SRC, and an integral part of student mobilisation and organisation in campus. Rama was in the forefront of innumerable demonstrations and boycotts against a belligerent administration.
He was drawn into community and political structures in the late ‘70s and became one of our key operatives within our democratic movement.
His hometown, Tongaat, was a hotbed for community and political struggles in the late ‘70s and beyond. Rama joined the the Tongaat Civic Association and its progressive ally, the Tongaat Child Welfare Society, and he came under the influence and political tutelage of its first community worker Vishwaprea Suparsad.
He worked side by side with a plethora of young activists that Tongaat produced at that time.
The late Tees Mistry, who was already an operative of the then banned ANC, played a major role in shaping and melding Rama’s political thinking and consciousness.
His analytical and leadership skills were well utilised to build a strong progressive civic and welfare organisation in a period that was characterised by apartheid repression.
His courage and resilience coupled with an incisive mind and intellect made him an ideal candidate for clandestine work in the underground structures of the liberation movement.
He was especially chosen by the political leadership in Natal to represent the youth sector when a broad South African delegation of leaders met with the ANC in Lusaka, Zambia, in 1988.
Rama held no formal positions in local organs of civil society in Tongaat but brought his influence to bear on matters of organisational policy and direction.
He was a strategic thinker – a backroom worker whose views and ideas were sought after by the Tongaat political collective.
Rama was singularly tasked to co-ordinate the distribution of political literature in Tongaat.
These included, among others, the South African Student Press Union National, and the Work in Progress publications. He ensured that every activist in Tongaat received a copy.
Rama was well read in revolutionary theory and on dialectical materialism. He understood the plight of the working people as he is a product of the working class.
His father, Parry Govender, gave his blood, sweat and tears for the sugar barons on the Natal North Coast for nearly 50 years.
Cadre Rama was undeniably a great intellectual, who sought no position or limelight in the Struggle.
After he relocated to Johannesburg, he had a remarkable career in the financial services sector where he was well respected in the pension-and-retirement-fund industry.
Whenever we chatted, the discussions would quickly move from the personal to matters of national and international interest and importance.
Rama was the first to concede that those of us who were involved in the liberation of the country should have raised our voices against all forms of corruption and malfeasance more loudly in the formative years of our democracy.
He was and remained principled and committed to the creation of a just society where the right to dignity would rule supreme.
Rama epitomised the concept of "a true son of the soil" in his dedication and commitment towards a socially just, economically prosperous and politically democratic society. He embraced the principles enshrined in the Freedom Charter and truly believed in the establishment of a non-racial, non-sexist and democratic South Africa.
The profound spirituality of Rama, a devout Sai devotee, deeply informed his political views.
In tune with these lofty principles and ideas Rama embraced and espoused the teachings of his Master, which emphasised the importance of love, service and compassion.
He embodied these principles in his own life, working tirelessly for the betterment of society and standing up for justice.
His understanding of the inherent oneness of all souls, their connection to the divine, shaped his activism. He believed that this inclusivity and unity should be the driving force behind a unified South African citizenry, working together as one.
His vision transcended political divides, emphasising the shared humanity that binds all people.
He is survived by his wife, Charmaine, son, Vyasa, and family. Rama, 64, was from Benoni on the East Rand.
His funeral was held on October 30 at the Clare Estate Crematorium in Durban.
Siva Naidoo is an activist, formerly from Tongaat. He is an ubuntu and human values practitioner and currently resides in Sandton, Gauteng.