User:Ktin/sandbox/Vella Pillay

Vellay Pillay was a South-African economist and anti-apartheid activist.

Early life
Pillay was born on 8 October 1923 in Johannesburg into a family with six children and limited financial means. In his early childhood, he went to a racially segregated school that was designated for Indians and Coloureds. During this time, he would help his mother selling vegetables as a hawker to meet their financial needs. He graduated with a bachelor of commerce degree in 1948 from the University of the Witwatersrand enrolled in a part-time student.

He moved to London in 1949 and enrolled in the London School of Economics for an international economics honors degree. During this time, he worked with Bank of China as a research officer.

Activism
During Pillay's time at university, he was a member of the Federation of Progressive Students and was also a participant in the Transvaal Indian Congress activities. In one of his early activist actions, he led a protest of municipal tenants to the Johannesburg city council, when their water supply was disconnected because of their inability to pay the required fees. His protest had resulted in the water supply being restored to the municipal tenants. He was also a member of the South African Communist Party (SACP) and had also become involved with the leadership of the South African Indian Congress.

He also campaigned against the Pegging Act, 1943, which limited the ability of Indians to hold residence and own property outside of designated regions, and also led a protest against the South African Pass laws that restricted movement of black and coloured South Africans.

Operating out of London, Pillay was involved in the South African Communist Party's overseas operations. When the South African government banned the SACP in 1950, the operations of the party continued to be led by overseas operatives including Pillay. He was the fund manager of the party, and also part of the team that produced the party's periodical, African Communist. He also supervised arrangements for the party's operatives to receive military training in the United Soviet Socialist Republic and in China. The role was not without internal conflicts. When the Sino-Soviet conflict emerged in the 1960s, his role in the party was viewed with suspicion, when the party took a pro-Soviet line. Particularly, his perceived Chinese connections including position with Bank of China, were viewed with suspicion.

In 1960, Pillay was also the founding member of the British Anti-Apartheid Movement and served in multiple roles within the organisation through 1994. He was the organisation's vice-chairman between 1980 and 1986, and had also served as the treasurer of the organisation. As the chairman of the editorial committee of the Anti-Apartheid News, he wrote extensively on the economy under the apartheid regime, labour and trade policies, and operations of the South African administration.

Economic research and advisory
Pillay was inducted into the Greater London Enterprise Board of Ken Livingstone's Greater London Council in 1981. The board was tasked with driving investment's from GLC into the local economy, and drive employment and opportunities for minorities including black people.

Pillay served as an assistant general manager with the Bank of China between 1978 and his retirement in 1988. During this time he contributed to the bank's international finance actions including overseas actions toward managing China's foreign exchange reserves. He was also the bank's economic adviser and continued to serve in a part time capacity after his retirement until 2002.

Pillay returned to South Africa in 1992 in advance of the first non-racial elections in 1994, to coordinate the work amongst multiple economists as a part of the Macroeconomic Research Group (MERG). As a part of the group's report in December 1993, Making Democracy Work, the group recommended social and economic liberation in an attempt to boost living conditions within the country. However, the MERG report was not acted upon, with the government focusing on investments into large-scale housebuilding programs. He received an honorary doctorate, for his contributions with the MERG, from the University of Natal.

Personal life
Pillay married his wife Patsy Pillay in June 1948. He had met her earlier during his time with the SACP. The couple married in the Cape, where marriage was permitted across races at the time. The couple had two sons including mathematician Anand Pillay.

Pillay died on 29 July 2004 at Whittington Hospital, in Highgate, London. He was aged 80.