1860 Heritage Centre

Life does not have to be complicated. Eat like how our Indentured Ancestors did!
Conversation for Dinner:
eN Manavi: Macaroni and Cheese for supper?
Me: vaayai moodu, this is the food of my ancestors. Nei Sadam, Thayir, Vathal Kuzhambu, Gongura, Appalam and Manga Oorugai. The meal was heavenly, manavi is sending me there after the meal!

A Happy Arrival day to our Jahaji bahanon aur bhaiyon of Trinidad and Tobago that was held yesterday. Indian Arrival Day in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) is an official national public holiday observed annually on May 30th. It commemorates the arrival of the first indentured labourers from India, who arrived on the ship Fatel Razack in the Gulf of Paria on May 30, 1845.

Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu!

Africa Day serves as a poignant reminder of continental unity and shared humanity.
Africa Day celebrates the day when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the precursor to the African Union (AU), was formed in 1963. Africa Day celebrations acknowledge the progress that WE, as Africans, have made, while reflecting upon the common challenges WE face in a global environment

We are saddened by the passing of
Manilal Patel from the iconic Grey Street Casbah shop, Patels. His family and Manilal were not just the founders of this iconic restaurant, but the heart and soul of the establishment. Durban’s famous bunny chow has its origins tracing to the Patels. Manilal’s passion for food, his love for people, and his dedication to creating a welcoming atmosphere touched the lives of everyone who walked through our doors. Condolences to the family.

TRURO HOUSE IN RUINS
Selvan Naidoo

Truro House in Durban, the headquarters of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education at 17 Victoria Embankment/Margaret Mncadi Avenue, has been temporarily closed due to building defects and health hazards. The department officially closed the premises in mid-May 2026, with the closure extending into the first week of June 2026.

The shutdown was prompted by dilapidated infrastructure, inoperable air conditioning, and non-functional elevators after a staff member nearly fell into one, with unsafe working conditions.

Other than the name of the building, its history is ambivalently steeped in pride and pain. Pride because it took the name of the first ship, the Truro, that landed on 16 November 1860, bringing the first lot of indentured workers to grow an ailing colonial economy, and pain because it showed the hierarchical preference of the apartheid government in not providing for the needs of the majority of people in South Africa.

The relationship between old apartheid era buildings and new democratic dispensation buildings, the dependency of new on older buildings, is not unique to South Africa. Indeed, it has become increasingly common, especially in Western liberal democracies, to acknowledge, rather than deny, burdensome legacies and contentious episodes of the past. In South Africa, old apartheid era building constructs have embraced the democratic ideals to critically engage with the legacy of the past and open up alternative perspectives. In this regard, Truro House serves the nation by embracing the democratic ideals of the constituency it serves.

When Truro House was first opened, Dr J.N. Reddy, M.P., chairman of the ministers' council and minister of housing of the House of Delegates, wrote that,

“Friday, 16 November 1990 is as historic a day as Friday, 16 November 1860 when, at about 14:00, the SS Truro dropped anchor at the Point which is hardly a kilometre from Truro House, …we are, indeed, proud of this historic moment, the commemorative inauguration of Truro House, the present generation's tribute to the 342 men, women and children who had the courage and the vision to immigrate to this beloved land of our adoption.

As the country stands poised on the threshold of a new social and a truly democratic political order, I am confident that this edifice will serve all, regardless of race, colour or creed, who enter its portals for assistance, thereby exalting the sacrifices of the pioneering indentured Indian labourers…Truro House embodies the spirit of this first group and the succeeding groups of indentured Indian labourers who immigrated to South Africa.

Today, we are, indeed, proud of them, and we salute their heroic decision. Like the ship after which it is named, may this Truro House take us and the generations yet to be born into a bright and secure future.”

Thirty- six years later, Truro House lies ruined, described as a “health hazard with unbearable infrastructure conditions” by Government workers from various departments housed at Durban’s Truro House, now owned by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education.

For years, the KZN Department of Education had received complaints about faulty air conditioners, non-payment of telephone service, out-of-service lifts, and a lack of paper and ink for essential printing for schools. Most employees have to walk down to the toilets on the first floor, as the lifts have not been working for several years. In view of the closure, all of the employees have been deployed to various teaching centres across Durban or are working remotely.

The closure of Truro House represents all that is wrong with the democracy we cherish. A building with its administration under the aegis of the KZN Department of Education that was meant to ‘take us and the generations yet to be born into a bright and secure future’ has led us to malfeasance that has crumbled the hope we hold on so dearly to.

The crumbling infrastructure and the ruined state of Truro House under the watch of our democratically elected Government, eThekwini Municipality, and the citizens of KwaZulu-Natal paint a dismal picture for the sacrosanct educational service that was hoped to be provided for all our people. Wanton, Corrupt, and Deliberate neglect under OUR WATCH!

Selvan Naidoo is the Maternal Great-grandson of Camachee, indentured number 3297, & Paternal Great-grandson of Karpayamma, indentured number 96575 and Director of the 1860 Heritage Centre

Phenomenal session exploring cultural identity and pride in a post apartheid South Africa at the Articulate Africa, Art and Book Fair 2026.

Questions posed for the session.

Esteemed panelists:
Tessa Dooms, Peter Kriel, Edmond Mhlongo, Selvan Naidoo, and Jerry Pooe.

Probing Questions for the Panel:

1. Cultural Identity in Modern South Africa
“A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.” — Nelson Mandela
Question: : (Tessa Booms)
Thirty years after apartheid, do you believe South Africans have developed a shared national identity, or do cultural and economic divides still shape how we see ourselves and one another?

2. Pride Versus Performance
“To be African is not because you are born in Africa but because Africa is born in you.” — Kwame Nkrumah
Question: : (Selvan Naidoo)
In today’s South Africa, do you think cultural pride is deeply lived and practiced, or has it sometimes become symbolic and performative, especially in public and political spaces?

3. Language and Belonging Question: : (Edmond Mhlongo)
South Africa has eleven official languages, yet some languages still dominate public life, education, and economic opportunity. How does language influence dignity, inclusion, and identity in post-apartheid South Africa?

4. Art as a Tool for Healing Question: : ( Jerry Pooe )
How have literature, music, theatre, and visual arts helped South Africans process historical trauma and imagine new forms of unity after apartheid?

5. The Youth and Cultural Memory
“Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.” — African Proverb
Question: : (Peter Kriel)
Many young South Africans are generations removed from apartheid. How do we preserve cultural memory and historical truth without trapping younger generations in inherited pain and division?

6. Race, Identity, and Social Cohesion Question: : (All Panelists)
Do conversations around race in South Africa today promote healing and accountability, or do they sometimes deepen polarisation and mistrust?

7. Indigenous Knowledge and African Identity
“Wisdom is like a baobab tree; no one individual can embrace it.” — African Proverb
Question: : (Jerry Pooe)
What role should indigenous knowledge systems, African spirituality, and traditional practices play in shaping contemporary South African identity and education?

8. Globalisation and Cultural Erosion
“Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit.” — Jawaharlal Nehru
Question: : ( Peter Kriel)
As global media and digital culture increasingly influence young people, how can South Africans preserve cultural authenticity without isolating themselves from the global community?

9. The Meaning of Unity
“I am because we are.” — Ubuntu Philosophy
Question: : (Edmond Mhlongo)
Ubuntu is often celebrated as a defining South African value. In practical terms, how can Ubuntu move beyond rhetoric and become visible in leadership, communities, and everyday life?

10. Literature and Representation
“The stories we tell ourselves shape the society we become.”
Question:: ( Tessa Boom )
Whose stories are still underrepresented in South African literature, media, and public discourse, and why is inclusive storytelling essential for nation-building?

11. Difficult Conversations on Heritage
“Reconciliation does not mean forgetting or trying to bury the pain of conflict.” — Nelson Mandela
Question:: (Selvan Naidoo)

How should South Africa approach contested symbols, monuments, and historical narratives that mean pride to some communities and pain to others?

12. Vision for the Future
Question: (All Panelists)
If you could define one cultural value or principle that should guide South Africa over the next generation, what would it be and why?

Celebrating Judge Thumba Pillay at 90 years old. Friends, family, and comrades pay tribute to Judge Thumba Pillay at the 1860 Heritage Centre, honouring a life well lived.

Judge Thumba Pillay (90): a life of struggle and service
Dennis Pather.

IT'S only fitting that retired judge and human rights campaigner, Thumba Pillay's birthday falls in April - what we in South Africa call Freedom Month.

Freedom, after all, has been the watchword epitomising his impeccable character, strong values and unyielding principles all through his life.

Some people say it runs through the veins of this 89-year-old veteran.

Barathanathan Thumba Pillay was barely 10 years old when, travelling by bus from his Clairwood home to the Durban city centre, his curiosity was drawn to a crowd of protestors at a Passive Resistance rally in Gale Street, calling for an end to racial discrimination.

That's when the first seeds of his political awareness were planted.

And it later grew during his schooldays when he avidly followed radio reports of global political developments, including the struggle for independence in India by leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chander Bose.

He recalls his first clash with authority came when he received six of the best for being part of the leadership of a school stay-away to celebrate India's independence in 1947.

After completing high school at Sastri College, the young Pillay embarked on his university career and that's where he began to see more starkly the evils of apartheid in all its rawness.

"That's when the political bug caught me," he recalled.

Opportunities were abysmally limited for people of colour at the time.

He was forced to attend lectures in what was called the non-European section of the old University of Natal.

These consisted of makeshift prefabs separated from the main white campus at Howard College.

"I realised that the system of separate and unequal education violated all the values that a true university represented," he said.

The budding activist

With political resistance to racial discrimination and white minority rule intensifying, it was inevitable that the young firebrand would be drawn into political activism, especially after coming into contact with political stalwarts like Mac Maharaj, Griffiths Mxenge, MJ Naidoo, Kader Hassim, and Lewis Skweyiya, to name a few.

His zealous spirit, strong leadership qualities and staunch commitment to the campaign for liberation soon saw him catapulted to leadership positions in student politics and later, the Natal Indian Congress where he rubbed shoulders with the likes of MP Naicker, Kay Moonsamy, Phyllis Naidoo, Ebrahim Ebrahim, Billy Nair, Nathoo Barbenia and RD Naidu.

The former judge has always made it clear the NIC was not an end in itself, but an integral component of the wider Congress Alliance, which included the other congress organisations, the unions, the Communist Party and the Congress of Democrats.

That period saw increasing Indian participation in the underground structures of the African National Congress (ANC) and in the founding of the historic Freedom Charter.

In fact, Indian participation in the founding of the Freedom Charter was substantial.

He recalls joining a team of volunteers who went door-to-door collating responses from people about what they would like to see included in that historic document.

He also remembers that when Nelson Mandela returned to the country incognito in 1961 after his foray into Africa, he relied almost entirely on comrades from within the NIC to facilitate his meetings with Chief Albert Luthuli and other activists who formed the first Natal Command of uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK).

Of the 20 odd people who were first arrested as part of the Natal Command - 16 of whom were later imprisoned on Robben Island - nine were Indians.

Clampdown on resistance

The early '60s saw the intensification of the apartheid regime's clampdown on resistance to its policies, including increased censorship and the implementing of draconian laws that saw the banning and detention without trial of many anti-apartheid stalwarts.

With the leadership hit by bannings and arrests, Pillay was called upon to assume an even greater leadership role as he crisscrossed the province addressing public meetings and acting as spokesperson for various organisations in defiance of the regime's policies.

His growing profile in resistance politics did not go unnoticed by apartheid's notorious apparatchiks and he was served with his first banning order on New Year's day, 1963.

This confined him to the Durban magisterial district.

It also prevented him from attending public gatherings and severely restricted his movements, his practice as an attorney and the freedom to meet people.

A second banning order followed at the end of 1968 and he also served a term of imprisonment on Robben Island..

Unkindest cut

Perhaps the unkindest personal cut of all came when those severe restrictions actually prevented him from attending his own wedding reception.

To punish him for his resistance to the government's policies, apartheid's secret police (the Special Branch) had one look at the couple's wedding invitation list and feared political stalwarts like JN Singh, Monty Naicker and Fatima Meer, who they branded as communists, were likely to attend.

So, the authorities allowed him only one hour to attend the religious ceremony and then leave promptly, with his wife Dolly remaining to take charge of the rest of the day's proceedings.

When he was later asked by a journalist whether his wife was upset about the rudely truncated wedding, he quipped good humouredly: "She knew what she was getting into when she agreed to marry me."

Pillay looks back at his role in the launch of the United Democratic Front in 1983 with much pride, especially because it represented an alliance of the ANC faithful and more than 400 public organisations, including trade unions, student unions, women's and religious organisations from a wide cross-section of South Africans.

The UDF's role was to establish a united, non-racial South Africa, freed from all institutionalised racism, and its mass mobilisation campaign heralded the first stages of the country's transition to democracy.

Fall of apartheid

It was only after the fall of apartheid and the release from imprisonment of Nelson Mandela and other prominent political stalwarts in the early '90s that Pillay was accorded the recognition he so fully deserves for his unflinching service to the country of his birth.

In 1998, he was appointed by Mandela as a judge and also served in the judicial Inspectorate of Prisons in KwaZulu-Natal.

He also had the honour of accompanying Mandela to Oslo in Norway when the former president was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Although the transition saw an end to formal apartheid and the birth of democracy, Pillay still maintains a critical eye on developments in the new dispensation.

He is known to have been unhappy about the controversial "list process" during the first democratic elections and growing cronyism in the ranks of the new leadership which gained momentum in subsequent polls.

Even more disillusioning has been evidence of unbridled corruption, maladministration and government's failure to meet the service delivery needs of millions of people.

Happy retirement

Now happily retired and living in an upmarket uMhlanga apartment with his wife, Dolly, Pillay dotes on his grandchildren and still accompanies them to their sporting events around the city.

The GSSA West Gauteng branch cordially invites members and their friends and family to attend their branch meeting.

Date and time: Saturday, May 16, 2026 at 2:00 p.m.

Location: Jacaranda Retirement Resort in Honeydew, Roodepoort.

Guest Speaker: Selvan Naidoo

Topic: Indian Immigration - The Story of Indenture 1860 - 1911.

Don't miss this talk. Feel free to invite anyone you think may find it interesting. Non-members are very welcome.

You can also join the meeting via the Zoom link below.

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/2373529796?omn=88975094088
Meeting ID: 237 352 9796

Please RSVP Ken Corder on 082 574 5741

The West Gauteng branch looks forward to welcoming you in person or online!

We wish the the people of Fiji a reflective commemoration of the arrival day of the first indentured workers on 14 May 1879.

Between 1879 and 1916, over 60,000 Indian laborers, known as Girmitiyas (from "agreement"), were transported to Fiji under indenture contracts to work on British sugar plantations. They faced harsh, slave-like conditions for five-year terms, establishing a significant Indian-Fijian population and culture that still exists today.

Between 1879 and 1916, a total of 42 ships made 87 voyages, carrying Indian indentured labourers to Fiji. Initially the ships brought labourers from Calcutta, but from 1903 all ships except two also brought labourers from Madras and Mumbai. A total of 60,965 passengers left India but only 60,553 (including births at sea) arrived in Fiji. A total of 45,439 boarded ships in Calcutta and 15,114 in Madras

INDENTURED LABOUR ROUTE CONFERENCE
AT THE CROSSROADS: IMAGINING NEW FUTURES FORTHE GLOBAL DIASPORA

Hybrid Conference:

13 to 15 May 2026.

Join via Zoom: Time: Wednesday 13, Thursday 14, and Friday 15 May 2026

08:30 AM Indian/MauritiusEvery day,
3 occurrence(s), same link

Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us06web.zoom.us/j/89290251980?pwd=RRa04CNctLB8i9BOKLpvHNHEMaasci.1
Meeting ID: 892 9025 1980
Passcode: 913841

Join instructions:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meetings/89290251980/invitations?signature=GC0gIBrk9eohaWMNj4bh26KvpPtZVTeE9TEKQzIq194

Indentured migration is a significant feature of labour mobility in the modern history of the Indian Ocean and the wider European colonial plantation world during the 19th and the first half of the 20thcenturies. The indentured labour system, or the modern contractual labour system, was introduced in Mauritius in the aftermath of the abolition of slavery as the “Great Experiment” by the British Governmentand was replicated in other British colonies and by other colonial powers in their colonies.

The indenture system, although based on a contractual agreement between employer and labourers, differed from other systems and earlier forms of contractual labour that existed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the European colonial plantation world, because it included a penal clause for non-fulfilment or violation of The contract by the indentured labourer.The migration of indentured labourers was one of the largest population movements to take place in this part of the globe during the 19th and 20th centuries. In the process, the indentured workersand their descendants created a global indentured diaspora, also known today as the girmit diaspora.

The indentured labour system and the indentured labourers helped to shape the history and societies of their host countries. They constituted significant majorities/minorities and have continued to play an importantrole in nation-building processes in the host countries, thus contributing to the socio-economic development of their respective countries.The history of indenture remains, however, an under-researched topic when it comes to worldhistory.

The study of indentured labour needs to be disseminated, promoted, and made an integral part ofinternational academic studies and scholarship. The Indentured Labour Route Project (ILRP) provides the way and means of achieving this long-term and challenging task. The Indentured Labour Route Project invites scholars, researchers, and practitioners to submit papers for-the forthcoming International Conference scheduled from 12 to 14 May 2026 (TBC).

This conference aims to advance critical research and global engagement on indentured labour, linking historical experiences,contemporary legacies, and future research directions across the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans. As a roadmap for the next 5 – 10 years, this conference seeks to expand research from regional case studies to a global framework, addressing post-indentured challenges and transnational diaspora connections.

The goals of the Conference are to :

● Develop a roadmap for research on indentured labour for the next decade
● Strengthen historical and contemporary linkages between the Indian Ocean, Atlantic, and Pacific indenture experiences
● Expand research from regional case studies to a global framework
● Address contemporary post-indenture challenges and diasporic connections
● Engage policymakers, researchers, and community leaders to advance interdisciplinary collaboration

Key Conference features:

● Showcasing new historical research from the diaspora
● Exhibition of artworks from the indentured diaspora
● Soft launch of the ILRP database
● Oral History & Community Roundtables: Amplifying voices from indentured-descendant communities
● Separate Meetings of the Indian Ocean, Pacific, and the Caribbean/Atlantic Committees
● Homage to historians of indenture
● Roundtable discussion: Indian Diasporic Youth - construction of identities.