Centre is a fascinating narrative for SA Indian life

The Durban Documentation and Cultural Centre, recently handed over by the Department of Arts and Culture, has a range of possibilities, writes Prithiraj Dullay AS WE celebrate the 154th anniversary of the arrival of indentured Indians, we remember certain traits that run like a powerful magnetic current through a community, now more than 1.3 million strong – the belief in family, living simply, the value placed on education, and the belief in self-help and religion.

It is these core passions that have been the driver which has made this community one of the most vibrant in the country.

The one word that would describe this community is resilience. No challenge was too overwhelming that could not be met.

The Durban Documentation and Cultural Centre in Derby Street, near Greyville Racecourse, tried to capture this essence until it was shut down in 2007. Today, we are ecstatic that the original buildings occupied by the centre have been handed back to its successor – the 1860 Heritage Centre.

The official handing over last Sunday by the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Arts and Culture, Ntombikayise Sibhidla-Saphetha, was significant in that it took place on the day of the arrival of the first indentured in Durban.

More importantly, it is an endorsement that Indian heritage is a significant part of our overall South African heritage.

The task of the centre is to present the heritage of Indian South Africans, not in isolation, but to firmly place it within the context of the broader tapestry of the country’s complex and wonderful cultural heritage.

Few countries can boast of our cultural mix that makes us unique. Our diversity is our wealth.

Few in South Africa know that the Indian presence in southern Africa and that some of the very first acts of organised resistance against slavery at the Cape in the 1800s were organised and led by Indian slaves, who numbered 16 300 at the time.

Mass organised political resistance came with the arrival of Mahatma Gandhi in the 1890s. This unleashed unprecedented resistance that snowballed into hitherto unheard-of acts of mass civil disobedience, the birth of Satyaghara and passive resistance.

It produced the Valliammas, the Dadoos, the Monty Naickers, the Meers and tens of thousands of political activists who, in concert with the growing black resistance, confronted the brutality of colonialism and apartheid.

Indians were in trade unions, the NGOs, in Umkhonto we Sizwe and in every political organisation. Indians have succeeded in every field from academia, business, politics, to the trades. We have also made our impact globally through the likes of Judge Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Greenpeace international director Kumi Naidoo, and Dr Imtiaz Sooliman of the Gift of the Givers.

How do we showcase all this complexity to develop a creative and relevant series of presentations that is easily understood and internationally accessible?

The use of technologies from digitisation, interactivity to a fully developed website makes the centre relevant to all ages. More than being just a museum, it will house one of the finest reference libraries and an archive. Its research capacity will be promoted.

The Centre for Living Heritage will facilitate a range of presentations in the form of memorial lectures, book launches, seminars, mini-conferences, exhibitions and cultural events.

A programme to record our oral histories has been devised. People are encouraged to record their lived experiences. In the longer term it has been proposed that the centre facilitates the recognition of achievers through the 1860 Heritage Awards. The range of possibilities is exciting.

It will be a significant addition to Durban’s tourist attractions.

Dullay is the curator of the centre.