Mrs. N. Pillay (Parenithama), mother-in-law of Govindasamy Krishnasamy Thambi Naidoo, was part of the first group of Transvaal women who went to Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal) during the third phase of the Satyagraha in 1913.
She informed Indian workers in the mines and railways about the injustice of the three pound poll tax, and persuaded them to suspend work.
The strikers were arrested in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal on 21 October 1913, and sentenced to three months with hard labour under the Vagrancy Act. They were held in Pietermaritzburg prison.
Mrs. Pillay was the oldest of the women satyagrahis.
* Thambi Naidoo was always referred to in the Indian Opinion as C.K. Thambi Naidoo. However, an obituary in the Rand Daily Mail (1 November 1933) gave a full name (Govindasamy Krishnasamy Thambi Naidoo) which the author, Mr ES Reddy, believes is the correct name.
• E.S.Reddy. (2012). From an email to SAHO, from Mr E S Reddy, dated 30 June 2012.