The Ubuntu code for confronting the TikTok smear against SA’s Indian community

TWO weeks ago, a short, venomous video appeared on TikTok.

- SIVA NAIDOO

In it, a speaker claims that South Africans of Indian origin - some whose families have lived here for more than 165 years —are not really part of “us”.

“They have their own country ... they can always go to India,” it suggests.

“If shit hits the fan, they got India to run to not South Africa.”

The reaction was swift. Leaders across society condemned it as dangerous and divisive.

But the uncomfortable question remains: why does this poison still find fertile ground in 2025?

The answer lies not just in the failure of our laws, but in the failure to install a shared moral operating system in our society. To build true social cohesion and national character, we must actively integrate the core tenets of Ubuntu and human values into our response.

This incident is a stark test of whether we are running on the outdated, corrupted software of “us vs them”, or the open-source, resilient code of “I am because we are”.

To dismiss South Africans of Indian origin as perpetual foreigners is not just an insult; it is a wilful deletion of their lines from our shared codebase.

For over 165 years, this community has lived, struggled, sacrificed and built alongside others. From indentured labourers in Natal’s foundations to founders of businesses, schools, and civic institutions like the Natal Indian Congress —a pillar of the anti-apartheid struggle - their contributions are woven into our national fabric.

Ubuntu recognises that my dignity is tied to yours, and my history is intertwined with yours. Erasing the Indian community's legacy is an attack on the integrity of our collective story, damaging the system for everyone.

That such content resonates points to critical bugs in our societal operating system:

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