Indian-origin residents took up arms to escape violence in South Africa

Indian-origin residents in South Africa have formed armed groups to protect their families and businesses following the ongoing mob violence in the country since July 7.

Dr Pritam Naidu (name changed for security reasons) said, We are compelled to buy weapons and organize defense groups to defend ourselves. We are successful in business and businesses and many locals envy us. They just want a chance to rob us.

Naidu hails from Durban, which is home to one million Indian-origin residents.
Naidu said the local police had become mere spectators and in some cases joined the mob of sab looto, jaldo, who have asked Indians to leave.

Rajesh Patel, who runs a chain of grocery stores in Gauteng, one of the two worst-affected provinces along with KwaZulu Natal (KZN), said, “We have been here for generations. Now some Zulu vigilantes are asking us to leave the country saying this is not your country.
In Durban alone, 50,000 businesses have been destroyed, most of them owned by people of Indian origin.

Janelle Khomo of the Durban Chamber of Commerce said losses were estimated to be around 16 billion rand.
The South African government said the army had been deployed to the violence-hit areas on Thursday night.
The government acknowledged that 117 people, mostly of Indian origin, had died in the violence.

It claimed that normalcy was returning in Johannesburg, but the situation in Durban was still tense.

Trader Joseph Kamath (name changed) said, if the mob comes again, we will shoot them.

They looted our areas, our shops and malls were destroyed, but if they come for our homes now, we will fight and die to maintain the honor of the family.
South Africa has been in a state of chaos and unrest since the arrest of former President Jacob Zuma on 7 July.

Zuma, once known for his fight against apartheid, has been imprisoned for 15 months at the Estcourt Correctional Center for defying court orders.
He did not testify before the judicial commission, which was investigating corruption charges against him between 2009-2018.

Many South Africans took to the streets to protest the punishment of Zuma and soon the demonstrations turned violent against people of Indian origin.
Images and videos of mass arson, shootings and looting emerged as violence on the streets of Gauteng and KZN provinces.

Some of the photographs also show how the Indians themselves took up arms to protect themselves and their wealth.
They are fully armed and equipped with walkie-talkies conducting night patrols.
As the violence continued unabated, South Africans took to Twitter to attack the Indian community, particularly the Gupta Brothers, who have long been convicted of corruption backing Zuma.
A South African man was found inciting violence via a tweet in which he asked his brothers to remember how Jacob Zuma sold the country to Indian Monopoly Capital.