Indenture holds insights for today
NATAL was a newlyformed colony with enormous agricultural and coal-mining possibilities. The resident whites felt all manual work should be done by non-whites and it was decided to use imported indentured labour to bring these enterprises to fruition.
Thus after nearly five years of deliberations, the Truro finally arrived in November 1860. A large group of spectators witnessed the workers disembarking.
First off the ship was Devarum, his wife Nagium and their young children, Elizabeth and Kirbay – they were Christians.
The first labourer to be assigned to an employer four days after landing was Sheihk Ebrahim, a Muslim.
Most were Hindus.
By the time the practice ceased, more than 110 000 people had arrived – nearly 80% Hindu; 18% Muslim and 2% Christian.
Professors Ashwin Desai, Goolam Vahed, Surendra Bhana and others have provided fascinating accounts of their lives, must-reads for a better understanding of our history in South Africa.
Indians arrived from all areas of the subcontinent with many languages, religious beliefs, castes and classes.
In the early days, they were only given time off for “Coolie Christmas”. It was the one time they could meet others from different plantations, as their movements were strictly controlled.
There was much gaiety, competition regarding floats called “thazithars”, and even drinking.
This was celebrated by Hindus, Muslims and Christians alike, yet it was the Muslim festival of “Muhurram”.
Christmas must have always been a celebration and Diwali became more prominent from the early 1900s.
People respected and participated in each others’ festivities – a lesson we can use today in fostering closer community ties.
Not only did our forebears kick-start the Natal economy with the sugar cane industry, they were instrumental in the development of the railway system and the coal mining industry of Northern Natal.
They also were market gardeners on the tiny plots allocated to them, producing a surplus of fresh produce to supply the market at competitive prices.
The local fishing industry was also initiated by them.
Many sporting clubs were founded by the early 1900s, including contact sports like soccer, boxing and wrestling. Our numbers have now substantially increased, yet where are our sports people today?
But our greatest contribution has been in the political liberation of South Africa.
It was only when some of the labourers returned to India in the early 1870s, broken, disillusioned, that the full extent of their horrific treatment and conditions became known.
They had suffered for a decade in silence and without adequate recourse to justice and fair treatment.
Thus began a long, painful and protracted battle for their rights and eventually for the rights of the oppressed majority of South Africa.
Little is known about these early activists.
As time progressed, despite the harsh conditions and paltry remuneration, the community visibly progressed, due to thrift, conscientiousness and enterprise, to the extent that some whites became threatened with growing Indian economic power and enterprise.
They thus began enacting ever more restrictive and discriminatory legislation to stunt Indians’ development and growth.
Enter Mohandas K Gandhi, later to be hailed as one of the greatest beings to have walked the Earth. Gandhi formed the Natal Indian Congress (NIC).
Resistance to colonists had begun from the time of Jan van Riebeeck’s arrival in 1652, but without success, due to the superior armaments and military skills of the colonists.
The NIC was therefore the first non-white political organisation to challenge white hegemony, preceding the ANC by about 18 years.
Satyagraha, or “Soul Force”, involved non-violent, disciplined, principled yet fearless opposition to racial discrimination.
The British, with all their military might, had no answer to this novel and deeply spiritual strategy and were forced to yield, though grudgingly.
However, it is questionable whether this can be used against a repressive regime insensitive to world opinion and without a free press.
Hence, the the armed struggle, and the eventual demise of apartheid in 1994.
Our leaders played a seminal role in this – the likes of Abdul Abdurahman, Drs Monty Naicker and Yusuf Dadoo, Mac Maharaj, Jay Naidoo, Pravin Gordhan, Judge Navi Pillay and many others.
Yet where to now? Who will continue to keep us on the right side of history?
At the recent 1860 Heritage Centre Symposium, a speaker visiting South Africa noted the absence of socialisation between different racial groups of students at a local university. This is alarming. The youth are, after all, the future of the country.
Non-racism was a central tenet of the struggle against apartheid. Yet the ball has been badly dropped regarding this.
Racial intolerance and xenophobic tendencies are on the rise. And Indian enterprises are once again being subjected to curbs and restrictions, with many in the African community now seeing us as threats to their development.
The changed environment and new social and political challenges have to be met by a new generation of leaders of integrity, who must ensure our continued integration into SA society.