Ashwin Desai ( 2000 ) The Poors of Chatsworth : race , class and social movements in post - apartheid South Africa . Durban : Madiba Publishers

Like its author Ashwin Desai, variously an academic, journalist, teacher, radio talk-show host, activist and member of cricket's national Transformation Monitoring Committee, it is difficult to pigeonhole The Poors of Chatsworth. It is a history ofChatsworth, a narrative of the lives of ordinary South Africans in preand post-apartheid South Africa, an examination of the impact of the ANC government's macroeconomic policies as well as a reflection on the likely mushrooming of social protest movements in post-apartheid South Africa. In his role as a weekly columnist, Desai has been a nonconformist, being critical of government, religion and religious leaders, organised unions, the media and other social, economic and political forces in society. Those who have become accustomed to his sharp wit, sarcasm, brazenness and boldness to speak his mind will not be disappointed with Poors which is based on historical-research, interviews, as well as Desai's role as community activist in the struggle against attempts by the Durban Metro Council to evict its tenants. Poors is a thought-provoking sociological study of South Africans coping with social and economic hardships. The title is taken from a comment by a resident of Chatsworth, Girlie Amod, to a local Councillor who wanted to know why Indians were demanding housing upgrades: 'We are not Indians, we are the poors' (2000:50). The choice of title reflects Desai's concern to deracialise issues by presenting an analysis of race and class in contemporary South Africa. Poors emphasises that class has been and continues to be pivotal in shaping consciousness in South Africa. Thus his comment at the very beginning that in Chatsworth 'Before (lot us get this out of the way), they were all Indian. Now, less so' (4). This is also the