• CODE NAME RAE, from Swaraj to Swaziland, Rajes Pillay's journey from exile to freedom

CODE NAME RAE, from Swaraj to Swaziland, Rajes Pillay's journey from exile to freedom

: Pillay (R.) et al

R 185.00
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156pp., illus., paperback, SAHO, Cape Town, 2024

ISBN: 9781037085307

 

This publication incudes a short autobiography by Rajes Pillay and a collection of tributes from fellow comrades, including Ronnie Kasrils, Mac Maharaj, Ela Gandhi, Dumisani Nduli and Ebrahim Ebrahim.

uMkhonto we Sizwe soldier Rajaluxmi Pillay (also known as Rajes) was born in 1944 in Pietermaritzburg. She studied in Britain between 1963 and 1966, before returning to South Africa and continuing her studies at the University of Natal, where she met activists such as Paul David, Steve Biko and Ben Ngubane.

During the 1970s, Pillay was recruited into the ANC’s military wing, uMkhonto we Sizwe. She was also an active member of the Natal Indian Congress and worked closely with Phyllis Naidoo, M.D. Naidoo, Cassim Amra and A.K.M. Docrat.

In 1979 she went into exile, first to Swaziland, then to Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe and finally to Angola. After 12 years in exile, she returned to South Africa in 1990. In 2009 she received the Satyagraha Award from the Gandhi Development Trust in recognition of her contribution to the South African liberation struggle. She died in Durban in 2020.