April 22, 1935 – Sathyandranath Ragunanan Maharaj is born in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal

1952 – Matriculates at St Oswald High School

1956 – Maharaj graduates with a BA in psychology and native administration, then obtains an LLB the next year

1958 – Joins the banned SACP

1959 – Undergoes military training in Germany

1964 – Arrested and charged with Wilton Mkwayi and four others on 177 counts of sabotage

1965 – He is sentenced to 12 years on Robben Island

1976 – Maharaj goes into exile 1985 – He becomes one of the first non-Africans to be elected to the ANC NEC at the Kabwe conference

1988 – Maharaj returns as commander of Operation Vula

1994 – Becomes joint secretary of the Transitional Executive Committee

1994 – Becomes minister of transport until 1999

2003 – With Mo Shaik, Maharaj accuses Bulelani Ngcuka of being a spy with the code name RS452

2004 – The claims against Ngcuka are dismissed

2006 – Maharaj files a Pretoria High Court application to stop the NPA using information it obtained when he was interrogated

2007 – We report that Maharaj and his wife, Zarina, were questioned over amounts totalling just more than R2 million from Schabir Shaik

With acknowledgement to City Press.