Swami Gounden

Born in 1927 in Durban,^[1] Gounden entered politics through the trade union movement and joined the Communist Party of South Africa at Magazine Barracks in 1944.^[2] The following year, he was a member of the progressive faction of the Natal Indian Congress that installed Monty Naicker at the head of the congress, ousting its conservative incumbent leadership.^[2] He was active in the congress's passive resistance campaign against the so-called Ghetto Act.^[1]

He joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1950 and participated in the 1952 Defiance Campaign and 1955 Congress of the People.^[1] Over the next five decades, he was active in civic organisations in Natal, notably residents' associations in Asherville and the United Democratic Front.^[1] In 2018, President Cyril Ramaphosa awarded him the Order of Luthuli in Silver, "For his life-long and courageous fight against apartheid oppression".^[3]

He died on 30 November 2021, aged 93,^[4] and was granted an official provincial funeral, at which KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala delivered the eulogy.^[2]