Monty Naicker | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gangathura Mohambry Naicker 30 September 1910 |
| Died | 12 January 1978 (aged 67) Durban, South Africa |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
| Known for | President of the Natal Indian Congress, 1945–1963 |
| Other political affiliations | South African Indian Congress |
| Spouse |
Marie Apavoo (m. 1936) |
Gangathura Mohambry "Monty" Naicker OLS (30 September 1910 – 12 January 1978) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. He is best known for his tenure as president of the Natal Indian Congress (NIC) between 1945 and 1963. He also served as president of the South African Indian Congress.
A medical doctor by training, Naicker rose to political prominence in his hometown of Durban as a member of the NIC's left wing. After his election as NIC president in October 1945, he led the organisation in its campaign of passive resistance to the Ghetto Act from 1946 to 1948. He became an important proponent of the Congress Alliance and of the anti-apartheid movement's ascendant non-racialism, but he was a committed Gandhian and opposed the movement's turn to armed struggle in 1960.
Because of his activism, Naicker was jailed eight times, charged in the Treason Trial, and subjected to banning orders that lasted, cumulatively, 14 years.[1] Most notably, he was banned between 1963 and 1973, during which time the NIC fell into dormancy. After his return to public life in 1973, he retired from politics, though he participated in the NIC's subsequent campaign against the South African Indian Council.