She was the first Indian woman uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) soldier who fought for her country during apartheid, and today she will be honoured with a special tribute at the 1860 Heritage Centre in Durban.
Rajes Pillay, who died in 2020, was not well known to the public because of the underground nature of her work and contribution.
An “In Conversation” with Sinthi Qono, that aims to pay tribute to Pillay, will take place today from 11am at the Centre in Derby Street, Durban.
As a young adult with her family in London, Pillay came into contact with ANC president Oliver Tambo, chairperson of the SA Communist Party, Yusuf Dadoo, and various other leaders who were in exile. Pillay returned to South Africa and continued with her studies and interacted with student leaders.
She joined the Natal Indian Congress and became active in the ANC underground. Pillay had to leave South Africa or face arrest and interrogation after her underground activities were exposed in 1978.
With the security forces hot on her trail, she escaped to Swaziland where she spent 14 years. In the early 1980s, while undergoing training in Angola she was injured in a hand grenade explosion. After her accident and time in exile she returned home in 1990, resumed her studies and completed a Diploma in Library Science at the Technikon, volunteered at various NGOs and community organisations, and joined a local ANC branch.
A year after Pillay's passing, an eBook titled: Beyond Borders: From Swaraj to Swaziland - Rajes Pillay’s Journey from exile to freedom put together by Sinthi Qono, Kogie Archary and Indu Moodley was launched.
The publication is housed at the Gandhi-Luthuli Documentation Centre at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
The book honours and celebrates Pillay's life. She came from an upper-middle class background but chose to spend the best years of her life in the struggle.
Moodley, who is Pillay's cousin, said she was a force to be reckoned with and attacked injustice wherever she found it. "Back in the day, her battle with Afrikaners in their own language was indeed a sight to behold. Special branch officers that were sent to intimidate her often themselves felt intimidated by her. She had no time for small mindedness and conformity.
"Rajes was a warrior. She always embodied a revolutionary spirit and was never one to back down in the face of unfairness and bigotry. She was a brave, passionate woman driven by the dictates of her conscience, her principles and her unwavering commitment to a free and fair South Africa," said Moodley.
Qono said Pillay was a great comrade, who would have turned 80 on August 4. "It was rare for someone from the Indian community to become an MK soldier. Rajes was a brave and selfless woman who gave her life to the struggle.
“She sacrificed her personal life and broke away from the mould that most Indians grew up in. She was so involved in the political struggle yet so little has been said about her," said Qono.
She added that Pillay should be awarded posthumously for her contributions.