OPINION - The term “heritage” can be defined as something that is handed down from the past and which includes certain characteristic features belonging to a particular community or society.
This comprises language, culture, tradition, territory, buildings, monuments and others, and may also include an inherited lot such as the heritage of poverty and suffering and the pride stemming from the courage displayed in the struggle to successfully overcome the same.
By such definition and by reflecting upon the influence and immense contribution of South Africa’s Indian community to the social, economic and political landscape of South Africa, I say that I am a South African of Indian descent.
Our country and KwaZulu-Natal in particular is today home to the largest community of Indian descent, born outside India, in the world.
The first Indian people arrived on the shores of our province in 1860 as indentured labourers with barely any material possessions.
According to some historical accounts, Indian labourers arrived in the Cape as far back as the 17th and 18th century from Bengal, Malabar Coast and the Coromandel Coast.
When this community’s rapid socio-economic growth was later perceived to be a threat by the colonists, a series of legal restrictions and discriminatory laws were implemented.
All of this was designed to stunt the progress and economic development of the Indian community and included among others:
* The 1891 Statute Law of the Orange Free State, which prohibited Indians from owning businesses or farms in the province. Consequently, all Indian businesses were forced to close and the owners were deported from the province without compensation.
* Act 17 of 1895, of the Colony of Natal, which imposed a 3 Pound tax on ex-indentured Indians, who failed to re-indenture or return to India after completion of their Labour Contracts. At the time 3 Pounds was the equivalent of about six months salary.
* The Transvaal Act 3 of 1885, which barred Indians from owning land, confining them to locations.
* The Franchise Act of 1896, which disenfranchised all Indians in Natal.
After the National Party came to power in 1948, Indians were subjected to many more draconian discriminatory legislations, such as the Group Areas Act from the late 1950s to the late 1980s.
This single Act forced more than 41000 Indian families, consisting of about 278000 people, to leave the city of Durban and its suburbs and move to peri-urban Indian settlements, the largest being Chatsworth and Phoenix.
The Indian community, under the leadership of many heroes and heroines, made an invaluable contribution in the fight against apartheid, on a scale vastly disproportionate to the size of the community.
Under the stewardship of Mahatma Gandhi, the community played a meaningful role in the struggle for civil rights pre-1948, which subsequently proved to be a catalyst for the formation of both the Transvaal and Natal Indian congresses in 1945, under the leadership of Dr Yusuf Dadoo and Dr GM Naicker respectively.
Post 1948 saw the participation and involvement of Indians in numerous initiatives.
These include the Passive Resistance Campaign (1948), the Congress of the People (June 1955), the Treason Trial (1956) and the Rivonia Trial (1963-1964).
Today the Indian community has come a long way, from being poor indentured labourers on the sugar cane fields, to becoming doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers, scientists, educators, industrialists, actors, writers, company chief executives and politicians too.
There can be no denying that South Africa’s Indian community has and continues to make a valuable contribution to the social, economic and political life of our country.
Some may ask - how did we achieve all of this?
The answer is this. We drew deeply from, and were inspired by, the fountain of our traditional, cultural and religious value systems.
Can you imagine what our country could achieve if we were to harness the values inherent in the diverse cultural and religious traditions of communities in SA?
There is a lesson to be learnt here. Post-apartheid South Africa must overcome its past, characterised by racial prejudice, hostility and violence and start to use our respective traditions and cultures to promote social cohesion. This means we must begin to actively promote, not merely tolerance, but acceptance and appreciation of our respective cultural and religious traditions.
Our vibrant cultural diversity is our strength - one which we must collectively celebrate.
Our rich and diverse cultural heritage is a valuable asset. It is a magnet which we must use to attract local and foreign tourists, so that we start to make a serious contribution to the economy of our country and in the process create much needed sustainable jobs.
The time has come to leverage our culture and heritage for the good of our country.