International Press Release 20 May 2025
A grand commemoration of the 165th Anniversary of the Arrival of Indian indentured labourers to the Colony of Natal in South Africa will be held from August 3rd to 12th, 2025.
A tripartite alliance is proud to announce that an academic conference will be held at the Alpvest Institute for FutureTech in Umhlanga, KwaZulu Natal, from 3rd to 5th August 2025. The conference will be followed by a cultural heritage tour of the province from 6th to 12th August 2025.
The 1860 Indentured Labourers Foundation Verulam, and the 1860 Indian Arrival to Natal, Local Organizing Committee (LOC) South Africa, in partnership with the Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre (ICC), will reflect on the journey of Indian indentured labourers from the villages of India to 6th Industrial Revolution terrain in current day South Africa.
Mr. J.S. Singh, (born 1930), President of the 1860 ILFV will welcome guests to this historic commemoration and to the shores of KwaZulu-Natal. The LOC is honoured to host participants in Durban, a city that carries the living legacy of Indian forebears. During their stay in the province, they will visit Port Shepstone, Pietermaritsburg, Stanger, Chatsworth, Phoenix and Verulam. The outing will also include places of worship, monuments and museums. Visitors will get to experience the local cuisines, stand where Gandhi stood, and walk where the indentured labourers toiled under hot skies amid terrible living and working conditions.
The event seeks to honour the invaluable contributions of Indian indentured labourers whose resilience and dedication played a pivotal role in shaping South Africa’s socio-economic, cultural, and political landscapes. The conference will bring together international delegates, historians, academics, community leaders and cultural advocates. It will feature engaging panel discussions, insightful presentations, fireside chats and performances that celebrate the legacy of Indian indentured labourers, fostering a greater understanding and appreciation of their impact.
Given the significance of this occasion, major planning is taking place, and readers are invited to contact the local organising committee in Durban, South Africa, should they wish to be a part of this commemorative event. Their involvement would not only contribute to the success of the commemoration but will also reinforce the commitment to preserving and promoting our shared heritage.
More than 1.6 million men, women and children from ancestral India were transported to work in British colonies following the abolition of the slave trade in the early 1830s. Indian indentureship lasted until the 1920s. This resulted in the development of an Indian diaspora in the Caribbean, Natal (South Africa), Mauritius and other countries where sugar cane plantations thrived. In 1860, the arrival of Indian indentured labourers to Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal), South Africa, marked the beginning of a significant chapter in the region’s history. On November 16, 1860, the SS Truro, carrying 342 indentured Indians, arrived in Durban, marking the start of a system that would bring 152,184 labourers to the region until 1911.
For further details, kindly contact
Dr Kogielam Keerthi Archary
Chair – Local Organizing Committee
sariefoundation@gmail.com
WhatsApp + 27 72 856 1988
Or
Ms Hazel Latchman
Local Organising Committee, Secretary
via icc-satour2025@outlook.com
WhatsApp +27 82 548 5409
is a full-time anthropologist at the University of Guyana (UG) and Fellow of The Eccles Centre for American Studies, British Library (2022-23). He is a former Assistant Professor at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT). He obtained his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Florida (UF). As a doctoral student, he won a Florida Caribbean Institute Award, an A. Curtis Wilgus Grant, and an Organization of American States (OAS) Fellowship.
Mahabir received a National Award (Hummingbird Silver Medal) for his contribution to education in his country in 2011. He was among 50 recipients who received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the UWI Alumni Association.
Mahabir is the author of 12 books to date.