The ANC is battling to resolve intra-Indian tensions within its KwaZulu-Natal ranks, with perceptions rife among Indians that a group which was not at the forefront of the struggle is occupying leadership positions both in the ANC and the government.
The party says it is dealing with sensitive divisions within the ANC's Indian community amid perceptions that the old Natal Indian Congress was mainly Hindu, yet Indian comrades in ANC positions today were from Muslim communities.
The ANC says intra-Indian tensions are weakening its attempts to woo the Indian community to its fold, leaving it vulnerable to electioneering tactics by the IFP and the DA.
Provincial ANC secretary Sipho Gcabashe told his party's KwaZulu-Natal congress at the weekend that there was a "feeling that the Hindu is being marginalised to the point of exclusion of Hindus", citing the departure of former transport minister Mac Maharaj and communications minister Jay Naidoo from the cabinet as examples.
"What gives the IFP and the DP inroads into these communities is the fact that the Indian leaders are mainly from the Hindu faith," Gcabashe said.
The ANC's approach to the contentious issue of Afro-Indian relations had not struck the right chord, he said.
The ANC also said it had noted the emergence of the Concerned Citizens' Group led by Professor Fatima Meer, who had strong historical links with the ANC.
Gcabashe said there was a problem of old ANC activists in the Indian community who were now opposed to the ANC and embracing "ex-collaborators" with apartheid, like Minority Front leader Amichand Rajbansi.
Gcabashe said issues such as rentals and access to water were taken up in the Indian community as if they did not affect African townships in a similar manner.
"As a national matter, we need to discuss our overall strategy to organise different groups and strata. Such a strategy must also address increasing our presence in these (minority) communities and the broader issue of ethnicity in the province.
"Our process of strategising should include some of the comrades from the Natal Indian Congress background," Gcabashe said.
