South Africa mourns death of Indian-origin anti-apartheid icon Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim
Johannesburg (PTI): Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim, an Indian-origin anti-apartheid icon in South Africa, who spent years imprisoned on Robben Island alongside Nelson Mandela and Ahmed Kathrada, has died. He was 84.
Ebrahim died after a long illness at his home here on Monday, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) said in a statement.
"The ANC learnt with deep sadness of the passing of Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim. We offer our heartfelt condolences to his wife and children, as well as their extended family, friends and comrades," it said in the statement shared on Twitter.
"Comrade Ebi, as he was affectionately known, was a longstanding member of the ANC, a patriot who served his country in different capacities with humility, dedication and distinction," the party said.
Ebrahim served time on Robben Island as a political prisoner alongside Mandela, Kathrada and others. After his father was arrested twice for defying laws that restricted the movement of Indians in South Africa, he joined the liberation struggle at the age of 13.
He often stated how he had been inspired by the Satyagraha style of Mahatma Gandhi, which he used in his passionate representation of the ANC in global conflict situations in Sri Lanka, Palestine, Rwanda, Kosovo, Bolivia and Nepal.
Ebrahim was arrested in 1963 and imprisoned on Robben Island, where he shared a cell with former president Jacob Zuma, whose role in state capture and corruption he later decried.
After his release, Ebrahim went into exile to continue his work with the ANC, but was abducted by apartheid-era security police from neighbouring Swaziland, tortured and sentenced to a second term on Robben Island.
He obtained two university degrees while on Robben Island.
After the release of all political prisoners and the election of Mandela as South Africa's first democratic president, Ebrahim served in various capacities, including as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Parliamentary Counsellor to Mandela.
Condoling his death, human rights organisation #Africa4Palestine acknowledged the role Ebrahim played in the ANC resolution for the immediate and unconditional downgrade of the South African Embassy in Israel to a Liaison Office in 2017.
The Congress of Business and Economics, an offshoot of the erstwhile Transvaal Indian Congress, honoured Ebrahim with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.
Comrade Ebie, as he was fondly known, recalled at the time how he had spent half of his adult life in prison but that he would do it all over again if he had to because of his firm belief in struggling for peace, justice and the end of the scourge of apartheid and racism across the world, CBE Executive Director Yusuf Moosajee said.
In all my interactions with Ebie, both locally and abroad, he was always passionate about South Africa and its role in world politics, internationally-renowned filmmaker Anant Singh said in a tribute.
Ebrahim is survived by his wife Shannon, a celebrated foreign news writer for the Independent Media group, and two children.
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SC issues pan-India directions for road safety, says expressways should not become corridor of peril
New Delhi (PTI): Observing that expressways must not become corridors of peril due to administrative lethargy or infrastructural gaps, the Supreme Court has issued a slew of pan-India guidelines for enhancing road safety, including a ban on parking of heavy vehicles on such roads.
A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and AS Chandurkar pointed out that national highways constitute two percent of India’s total road length but account for nearly 30 percent of all road fatalities.
A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and AS Chandurkar issued directions to the Ministry of Road and Transport, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and States and Union Territories to make roads safer, observing that the loss of even a single life to avoidable hazards like illegal parking or blackspots etc., represents a failure of the State’s protective umbrella.
"The loss of even a single life to avoidable hazards like illegal parking or blackspots etc., represents a failure of the State's protective umbrella. The 'Right to Life' enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India is not merely a guarantee against the unlawful taking of life, but a positive mandate upon the State to ensure a safe environment where human life is preserved and valued," the top court said in its order of April 13.
It passed the order in a suo motu case registered in the aftermath of the loss of 34 lives in successive road accidents on November 2 and 3, 2025, in Phalodi in Rajasthan, and Rangareddy in Telangana on the systemic negligence and catastrophic infrastructure failures that led to these inevitable casualties.
The bench, which issued pan-India directions said, “Recognising the safety of the commuter as an integral facet of the right to live with dignity as a constitutional obligation under Article 21 of Constitution of India, it is necessary in the interest to address the systematic root causes that these interim directions are issued in exercise of powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India.”
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The bench said the court reiterates that no pecuniary or administrative constraint can outweigh the sanctity of human life, and the strict timelines provided herein reflect the urgency of this constitutional obligation.
It directed no heavy or commercial vehicle shall park/stop on any national highway carriageway or paved shoulder except at a designated bay, lay-bye, or wayside amenity.
It said enforcement of the direction shall be effected through the Advanced Traffic Management System – ATMS real-time alerts to State Police, GPS – timestamped photographic evidence, and integrated eChallan generation.
"These directions must be complied with by the officials and personnel of National Highway Authority of India, state police, state transport department. The district magistrates of the concerned districts shall set-up a standard operating procedure for this purpose as regards periodical inspections and patrolling by all these authorities. These directions must be complied within 60 days from the date of this order," it said.
One of the important directions included prohibition with immediate effect on construction/operation of any new dhaba, eatery, or commercial structure within the Right of Way (ROW) of any national highway.
"District magistrates shall enforce demolition/removal of all new or existing unauthorised structures within 60 days, in terms of the CNH Act procedure and SOP dated August 7, 2025," the bench directed.
It said no department, authority, or local body shall grant or renew any licence, NOC, or trade approval for any site within highway safety zones without prior NHAI/PWD clearance and all such existing licences for such sites shall be reviewed within 30 days.
The bench further directed, "In every district wherever the national highway passes through, the concerned district magistrate within 15 days of this order constitute a district highway safety task force in every district across India within seven days of this order, comprising officers of the district administration, police, NHAI (or concerned land-owning agency), PWD, and local bodies."
Similarly, it further directed surveillance, patrolling and illegal parking surveillance of national highways, operationalisation of Advanced Traffic Management System – ATMS comprising cameras, speed detectors, emergency response and wayside amenities, construction of truck lay-bye facilities, accident blackspots and lighting and institutional co-ordination, reporting and road safety committee.
It directed MoRTH to file a compliance report after seeking data from different states and agencies before this court within 75 days from the date of uploading of this order.
"The respective authorities may take appropriate steps to coordinate with and facilitate all stakeholders for the purpose of carrying out the directions passed by this court. It is further made clear that, in case there are issues regarding compliance, the parties are at liberty to approach this Court," the bench said, as it has posted the matter for compliance after two months.
On December 15, last year, the top court mulled formulating pan-India guidelines to prevent road accidents on expressways and national highways.
