Political thinkers and analysts’ world over, are busy contemplating the real reasons behind the nationwide riots that took place in South Africa’s major cities last week. Not only these riots had racial undertone, but the lawlessness seen during the unprecedented riots exposed the vulnerability of democratic governance in racially discriminated counties like South Africa.

These riots were more than spontaneous, triggering of anger resulting by jailing of former President Jacob Zuma. Many experts believe of the involvement of a third force, sympathetic to the former president, incited riots. Strangely enough the widespread riots in South African cities failed to attract the kind of attention the racial reckoning in USA or the xenophobic attacks in Europe did. The so called intellectual liberal media and most western countries remained mute spectators to the unabated racism experienced in South Africa and in other African countries. Assessment of the damage done during 5-6 days of full-blown riots is underway, but the initial estimates are staggering and could be in the tune of at least 20 billion rand or $1.5 billion. The economy is believed to have got a big setback and may take several years to recover and what remains unquantifiable, of course, is the long-term effects on people who lost jobs or whose businesses have ceased to exist. Approximately, 150k people are believed to have already lost jobs because of these riots and the common man on the street is in fear of their lives. This job loss is in addition to 600k formal jobs that have already been lost during Covid-19 pandemic.

These riots are slated to be worst violence in 27 years, after the end of apartheid in South Africa. This appears to be result of the continued legacy of white monopoly capitalism and the parasitic black comprador capitalist that continues the exploitation of majority black population. The riots have been described by many South African political pundits as the darkest hour for the country. The riots mainly targeted the businesses and establishments belonging to former white ruling elites and the Indian community of South Africa. While anti-white racism has always been a perennial problem in South Africa, it is particularly stark for the people of Indian origin, who are targeted by a specific racist narrative related to broad perceptions of exploitation in terms of economic opportunities, political corruption, general lack a socio-cultural ‘fit’ with the rest of South African society. The definition of racism is not dependent on the identity of the perpetrators and the victims. It is abominable regardless of who commits it and who is at the receiving end. it is time that the world acknowledges the anti-white and anti-Indian bigotry witnessed in South Africa.

Whatever the political motives behind these riots may be but the widespread looting arson and the worst kind of vandalism that took around two hundred lives, is certainly deplorable. It needs world condemnation and world media needs to come out of its left liberal bias to report to such racially violent events fairly and honestly. The chaos and vandalism created by the looters ransacking malls and shops created stamped and took several lives as result. The government had to deploy military forces as police failed to control the looting and the violence. The uncontrollable riots forced many people of Indian origin to arm themselves in self defence and to shoo the mob pf looters, away.

The devastation caused by the unrest and the riot in South Africa is slowly becoming clear. More than 20 malls, over a thousand shops and several factories and offices have completely been destroyed or looted by the mobs. It will take years to rebuild the damaged infrastructure. It is always very difficult for small businesses to rise from ashes. The worst thing that has happened after the riots is the disruption in the much-delayed vaccine roll out and treatment of Covid cases as the country suffers from a devastating third wave of infections. – Yugal Parashar