Imprinting education on Indians
N VIEW of contemporary South Africa, this year marks the centenary of the abolition of the indenture system.
What can be reflected from this exploitative system, a century after its termination, is that it was not only significant in that it contributed specifically to the historic urban and agricultural economies of South Africa, but it also enriched the social and cultural pluralism of this country.
In addition to these pioneers, the advent of passenger Indians (traders who paid for their passage in 1874) also contributed influentially to the commercial and urban form of cities in the country.
Passenger and indentured Indians shared a symbiotic relationship, both having a common enemy in South Africa – apartheid.
This relationship was particularly evident in the Durban CBD since the late 19th century.
Upon expiry of their contracts, ex-indentured Indians diversified their occupational profiles and found various employment opportunities in Durban, while passenger Indians were already well-established in the centre of Durban.
As pointed out by Dr DS Rajah (1981), the continuous success of Indian traders antagonised white merchants particularly during the economic recession between 1882 to 1886 when quintessentially employment was limited and trading volumes were restricted.
It was during this specific period that most black and Indian consumers became avid customers to Indian traders.
Thus an “Indian hub” began to emerge and geo-strategically position itself in the Durban city centre.
Due to the profile of the urban consumer market in this centralised and new-found Indian hub, services and products for this community expanded very rapidly and subsequently, this precinct became known as the “Indian CBD” – that which is the Grey Street Complex of Durban.
It was in the Grey Street Complex, where many Indians in KZN first began to create all elements of a community life despite the drawbacks of the apartheid government.
The Grey Street Complex became a cultural chronotope on the sociospatial timeline of South African history.
The Indian community that made up this precinct became a microcosm of culture with cohesion and integration, one where the heritage of its residents existed in harmony.
Residents of this precinct still have a place connection to the cohesive flare of cultures that existed in this part of the city during apartheid.
Evidently, what the community of the Grey Street Complex never failed to achieve was to educate their future generations about their rich religious and cultural heritage.
Religion, culture and education were essential to create the value system within which the Indians lived as a community.
Being the pioneers that they were, they took it upon themselves to create associations, societies, samajs, sabhas and madressas not only to cater for the present, but also to make certain that these will continue to persist for generations to come.
It must be emphasised that Indians held education and religion as paramount.
Many adjustments were made at the dinner table just to accommodate funding to purchase the necessary stationary for children’s education – both western and eastern.
The community built patshalas and madressas and all attended these after English classes at their schools.
To this day, it is observed that the Indian community still considers education a fundamental component to their living.
Historically, small vernacular units served as the catalyst for the creation of religious institutions and organisations.
The three major religious groups that were present in the Grey Street complex were Muslims, Hindus and Christians.
These religious groups worked in harmony to establish various organisations and institutions to preserve culture, religion and provide the community of this precinct with an opportunity to receive an education. Each religious group created organisations, which not only served the religious and cultural needs of the people but also provided an education to the community of the Grey Street Complex as well as many pupils who did not reside in the CBD.
Christian missionaries developed places of worship as early as the mid-1800s.
Some of their establishments in this precinct included: St Joseph’s Church in 1852 (one of the first churches in South Africa), which later became Emmanuel Cathedral in 1902, St Aidan’s Church in 1887 and Bethesda Temple in 1931.
Christian education institutions included: St Anthony’s primary and high schools and Saint Aidan’s Provincial Training College for teachers.
In terms of the Grey Street Complex, the Islamic faith and traditions are associated with one of the most well-known cultural and architectural hallmarks of Islam in this precinct, the Juma Masjid (Grey Street Mosque), which was the first mosque to be constructed in South Africa in 1884, and is also the largest in the southern hemisphere. They also established the West Street Masjid in 1885.
This community also developed the Juma Masjid and Anjuman Islamic Schools as well as the Orient Islamic Education Institution.
The Hindu community established nine organisations since the early 1900s – some of which included the South African Hindu Maha Sabha in 1912, the Surat Hindu Association in 1907, the Shree Sanathan Dharma Sabha of South Africa during 1941, the Natal Tamil Vedic Society in 1951 and the Andhra Maha Sabha in 1931.
Some of the education institutions developed by Hindus were Surat Hindu School, Hindu-Tamil Institute, Manilal-Valjee Primary and Gandhi-Desai High schools.
It must be placed on record that these schools established by the Muslim and Hindu communities, in particular, were funded and developed entirely by those communities with no financial aid provided by the apartheid government.
These schools could only qualify for state funding once they were fully established and functioning as per the requirements of the government.
Other formal schools developed by the state were Dartnell Crescent Girls’ Primary School and Durban Girl’s Primary and High schools, as well as Sastri College State-owned High School for boys.
The only tertiary education institution in the Grey Street Complex was the ML Sultan Technical College.
This tertiary institution made its mark in educating the Indian community through the establishment of the first Indian technical college that trained many and awarded certificates to successful recipients.
A singular note of distinction is that the ML Sultan institutions were open to all regardless of creed, race and ethnicity.
Thus in view of such developments, it is evident that the Grey Street Complex was vital to the Indian community and their broader life functions, since the arrival of indentured and passenger Indians in Natal, until the late 20th century.
The rise of this precinct was attributed to the sacrifices made by the Grey Street community (descendants of indentured and passenger Indians), which demonstrated their innate ability and determination to live a successful life despite their trials and tribulations.
Furthermore, the Grey Street community still have nostalgic memories of their cultural connectivity and camaraderie in this complex.
Their memories and sentimental attachment symbolises their intrinsic place attachment to the Grey Street Complex and how this became a home for which they still yearn in the post-apartheid era.
The community remembers this precinct as “the place where Indian life first began in South Africa and as such epitomises the progress made by this community in the face of great adversity.” – Dr DS Rajah (1981: 3).
Sharma graduated from UKZN’s School of Agricultural, Earth and
Environmental Sciences this month in the
discipline of geography.