The English South African, His History, Culture and Achievements
Now if they had so wished, each nation living within the borders of America could have given itself an entirely new name, as the Afrikaner nation did in South Africa. But this did not happen. The only ones who did really have their own distinctive collective name, were the various tribes of “Indians” in America, such as the Apache, Cherokee, etc. But even they, today, usually refer to themselves as “Native Americans.” And that in itself is far from ideal, for any American who is born in America is, in truth, a “native” American.
Getting back, then, to South Africa: within its borders there are various nations. There is the Afrikaner nation, the Zulu nation, the Xhosa nation, etc. And – there is the English nation! And this nation is made up of people descended from English, but also Scottish, Irish and even other European peoples. Yes, the name is far from ideal, for the English are also a nation within the borders of another country – Britain. But for better or for worse, this for the time being is the collective name of this nation within South Africa. Perhaps one day there will be a better name. But for now, this is it and that is all there is to it. And to argue from this fact that the English South Africans lack a distinctive identity is absurd, foolish, and untrue.
There is another nation, living within the borders of South Africa, which (as far as its collective name is concerned) is in precisely the same boat as the English South African nation, and that is the Indian South African nation (also known, simply, as the Indian nation). Actually there are others as well, but we will confine ourselves to this one, because of its size compared with smaller “tribes” within South Africa (such as Jewish South Africans, Italian South Africans, etc.). Unlike the Afrikaners but just like the English, the Indians retained the name of the land from which they originally hailed: India. And yet would anyone be so foolish as to deny that the Indians here have a distinctive identity? Surely not! Their longer collective name may not be ideal; their shorter one can be confusing; and what is worse, it makes ignorant people think they do not really belong in South Africa. But just as none would deny that Indian South Africans have a very distinctive culture and identity, despite their collective name (either in its longer or shorter versions), so none should deny that English South Africans do too, despite theirs.
The Indian South African belongs in South Africa. This was put very well by Nivashni Nair, an Indian South African, in a news article entitled “Indian Crisis”. She went to study for a while in India, proud of her Indian heritage, but swiftly learned that she did not fit in. Despite being a Hindu, and dressed in traditional Indian garb, she was constantly stared at; and her Indian friend said that although she did not realise it she still looked different, her mannerisms were different, etc. “It was then that it dawned on me,” she wrote, “that I was not Indian and now two months after returning from my four-month stay in India, I have finally accepted my true identity.” [3]
In India, when it was known that she was from South Africa, someone even asked her if she was black or white! “In a confused state,” she wrote, “I went through the first month in India wondering where I fitted in. All my life I had prided myself on being a South African Indian with links to India. However, the general response to me in India was that I did not have any links to the people in India.”
In a speech before she left India she said, “I came to India to follow in my great-grandfather’s footsteps but instead I forged my own path. It was a path that I took as a South African. I accept who I am and I will always be grateful for a fascinating link to Indian culture but while I look like an Indian, my heart will always be South African.”
Precisely. And the English South African can say the same thing. As an English South African, I will always be grateful for a fascinating link to the culture of Great Britain; I rejoice in that heritage, for I am descended from people of a great country; but while in some ways I look like an Englishman, my heart will always be South African – for this is what I truly am. I am not a European, I am not an Englishman; I am an African, I am an English South African. I belong here. I belong here as much as the Zulu, the Afrikaner, or the Indian South African.
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Filed under: History without the humbug