Call for greater cohesion
158th anniversary of start of indenture
THE 158th anniversary of the arrival of the first 300 indentured Indian labourers in South Africa was used to encourage social cohesion.
Held under the theme “From Indenture to Mandela & Freedom”, the anniversary was hosted by the 1860 Indentured Labourers Foundation, Verulam.
It started with a dinner at Coastlands Hotel in umhlanga on Friday night. Yesterday a conference was held at Sastri College.
Speakers at both events emphasised the importance of social cohesion.
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said Indians were suppressed alongside blacks and coloureds by the apartheid government.
He stressed the need for social cohesion, saying that it was one of the recipes the country needed in order to move forward.
“I think it’s important to reflect where we are as South Africa today, and celebrate our progress, sacrifices and role in the Struggle for a nonracial, non-sexist and democratic South Africa,” said Gordhan.
“At the same, we should reflect and celebrate the multiple identities that we have. We as South Africans are part of a rainbow nation.”
Jaysingh Singh, founding member of the 1860 Indentured Labourers Foundation, Verulam, said they included former president Nelson Mandela in the theme because of his centenary birthday celebrations.
Mandela, who died in 2013, would have turned 100 years this year. There were also centenary celebrations for Albertina Sisulu, who would also have turned 100.
Singh applauded Mandela for his role in forging social cohesion in a country that was fragmented by racial divisions.
Singh said it was important that all South Africans, regardless of their race, understood the history of the country.
Deputy ethekwini mayor Fawzia Peer said there were calls from many quarters for Indian businesspeople who were millionaires to open doors for other ethnic groups.
“There are now more and more professionals coming out of the Indian community, which is receiving global acknowledgement,” said Peer.
She said the work ethic which had been passed down since the time of the indentured labourers was the bedrock of the Indian community’s success.
Peer said it was important that there were shared values, inclusive growth and social cohesion in the city.
Yesterday a high-level panel talked about the different aspects of indentured labour.
Among them were the University of Kwazulu-natal’s Professor Goolam Vahed, Dr Betty Govinden and Professor Ashwin Desai, who spoke about the influence of indenture on present-day South Africans of Indian descent.