Mac Maharaj

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Sathyandranath Ragunanan "Mac" Maharaj (born April 22, 1935 in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa) is a South African politician affiliated to the African National Congress, academic and businessman of Indian origin.

Maharaj was a political activist who worked closely on anti-apartheid activities with Nelson Mandela, with whom he was incarcerated following the Little Rivonia Trial on Robben Island. A member of the South African Communist Party, [1] in prison he secretly transcribed Mandela's memoir Long Walk to Freedom and smuggled it out of the prison in 1976.[2]

From 1988 to 1990 he commanded Operation Vula, an underground program of armed resistance.

He was democratic South Africa's first Minister of Transport, a post he took on May 11, 1994 and kept until 1999.

In 2005 he joined the faculty of Bennington College in Vermont, USA.

[edit] Quotes

  • "You don't have to carry a gun to be a freedom fighter."[3]
  • "Revenge should not be our motivation."[3]

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ biography of MAC MAHARAJ
  2. ^ Mac Maharaj and Zoe Daniel, 14 November 2006, ABC Melbourne, Retrieved on 25 May 2007.
  3. ^ a b Empowerment Radio with Tunde Obazee KNON 89.3 FM Dallas, Tx - Live Broadcast Oct. 23, 2006