First Quote Added
April 10, 2026
Latest Quote Added
"Apartheid will not put us down. It will not make us look like we are oppressed. We are going to defy it."
"I wanted them to see that I was as good as any of them, and that's how our women did. We were women of determination. Women of intent. Women who were prepared to go to any lengths so that we can win our own freedom."
"We are here! Not because the men say so or not because somebody has done us a favour, but because we were there when it was fought for and we were part of the fight for freedom."
"With all the difficulties, it was a life well-lived. If I had to do it again, I'd do exactly the same thing."
"I'd like to be remembered as a cadre of the African National Congress (ANC), a cadre who was called and answered. A cadre who carried out the commands and instructions of the African National Congress up to the end."
"Mme Ruth Mompati: A Life of Courage and Service"
"“Mme Ruth dedicated her entire life to the struggle and was a champion for the poor. We are saddened by her untimely death, however we are grateful for the contribution she made to help bring about transformation and democracy in South Africa,”"
Young though he was, his radiant energy produced such an impression of absolute reliability that Hedgewar made him the first sarkaryavah, or general secretary, of the RSS.
- Gopal Mukund Huddar
Largely because of the influence of communists in London, Huddar's conversion into an enthusiastic supporter of the fight against fascism was quick and smooth. The ease with which he crossed from one worldview to another betrays the fact that he had not properly understood the world he had grown in.
Huddar would have been 101 now had he been alive. But then centenaries are not celebrated only to register how old so and so would have been and when. They are usually celebrated to explore how much poorer our lives are without them. Maharashtrian public life is poorer without him. It is poorer for not having made the effort to recall an extraordinary life.
I regret I was not there to listen to Balaji Huddar's speech [...] No matter how many times you listen to him, his speeches are so delightful that you feel like listening to them again and again.
By the time he came out of Franco's prison, Huddar had relinquished many of his old ideas. He displayed a worldview completely different from that of the RSS, even though he continued to remain deferential to Hedgewar and maintained a personal relationship with him.