Building a shared sense of history is one of the most important aims behind the establishment of the 1860 Heritage Centre, due to be launched on Tuesday.
Board member and spokesman for the centre Satish Dhupelia told The Mercury that the history of Indians could not be told on its own and that the centre was the central repository of indentured and Indian history.
The facility is set to be opened by MEC for Arts and Culture Bongiwe Sithole-Maloi.
“While we all value our own cultural and religious practices, we all are part of the country’s collective history. Our histories are all intertwined,” said Dhupelia.
He said that it had become a trend to “pick on race” whenever there was conflict, an issue he hoped the centre would help address.
Dhupelia said he hoped those in school would benefit from the centre.
“It’s about building understanding between groups, and children need to know our history.”
He said that the centre’s opening marked the culmination of a “long journey”.
“The project is an important effort in our broader vision of locating the history of the SA Indian community within the broader SA struggle for freedom and democracy. It comes at a time when every effort in social cohesion must be supported by right thinking South Africans.”
It includes an oral history section, in which the lives of people and experiences are documented; an exhibition on indenture and the arrival of Indians in South Africa; a Mandela/Gandhi/Luthuli Wing (MGL) which will house an exhibit on the relationship between Indians and Africans during the Struggle period in South Africa; and an archive and library, among other exhibitions.
“Exhibitions will change regularly so as to make this a living centre which will see visitors returning to see new exhibitions and attend events related to the centre.”
He said: “Our core business is to generate a broader understanding of the South African Indian community through understanding its history; its enormous contribution to South Africa’s freedom struggle and its commitment to the deepening of democracy and culture of respect for human rights.”