South African Indian Council

Not to be confused with South African Indian Congress.

The South African Indian Council was a body created by the apartheid-era South African government in 1968 to make recommendations to the government about matters affecting Indians. It was the first time that Indians had enjoyed any sort of representation at the national level. Nonetheless, it was widely rejected by South African Indians.

In 1974, it was reconstituted as a body where 50% of the members were elected by Indians (in the 1981 election for example, only 6% of voted).

Amichand Rajbansi's National People's Party dominated the council, as it did the later House of Delegates in the Tricameral Parliament, although neither body enjoyed the support of the majority of Indians. [1]