Racial discrimination was common in the then South African society. Thousands of people were denied their basic rights on the basis of their skin colour. Indians migrated to South Africa to work in the British plantations and farms. The driving force behind their migration was mainly monetary benefits, but the condition of the Indians was very poor compared to their lives in India. They had to struggle to get a meager amount of money and even a loaf of bread.
But some of them were able to overcome these struggles and become as successful as the whites and they became a source of fear for the whites. The whites tried hard to exterminate the Indians in many ways. Various laws were introduced to attack the Indians and to curtail their fundamental rights. This racial segregation in a way touched every aspect of their life. Indians were given the status of ‘coolies’. Merchants were mocked as coolie merchants. For pretty long years, coloured people could ride only in third class cars on South African trains.
