Commemorating 165 Years of Indian Indentured Labourers and Indian Mother Tongue in South Africa by Pravindra Adari, Johannesburg, South Africa
Honouring Their Journey, Preserving Their Mother Tongue, Living Their Culture for our sake!
Today marks 165 years since the first ship carrying Indian indentured labourers arrived on the shores of South Africa. On 16 November 1860, hundreds of men, women, and children disembarked at Port Natal—unaware of the harshness, challenges, and unimaginable sacrifices that awaited them. They had left behind the comfort of home, the familiar rhythm of their villages, and the embrace of families in India. Yet what they carried with them—something far deeper than possessions—was their language, culture, and spiritual identity.
Though they came under difficult circumstances, their resilience laid the foundation for a vibrant, proud and deeply rooted Indian community in South Africa today.
A Journey of Hardship and Unbreakable Spirit
The indentured labourers were brought to work on sugarcane plantations under backbreaking conditions. Their lives were marked by long hours, strict control, poor living arrangements and limited freedoms. But even in this adversity, they held tightly to what kept them human and anchored:
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the languages they spoke,
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the songs and stories they brought from villages across India,
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the festivals they celebrated in small huts under moonlight,
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the customs and prayers that reminded them of home.
Their spirit refused to break. And the greatest symbol of that survival was the preservation of their mother tongues—Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu, Bhojpuri and many others—spoken quietly on plantations yet passed unshaken from one generation to the next.
How Mother Tongues Survived Far Away From the Motherland?
Despite being thousands of kilometres away from India, our ancestors preserved their languages in remarkable ways:
1. Oral Traditions Became Classrooms
Without formal schools, elders taught children through lullabies, folk stories, bhajans, padhyams, verses from the Ramayana, and conversations around the fire. Every home became a language school.
2. Temples Became Cultural Anchors
From makeshift shrines to the grand temples we see today, these sacred spaces kept language alive through prayers, chants, festivals, and cultural gatherings.
3. Community Gatherings Created Identity
Weddings, naming ceremonies, thread ceremonies, and even funerals carried Indian languages forward. In speaking, singing, dressing and performing rituals, the community strengthened linguistic continuity.
4. Cultural Organisations and Schools
Over the decades, organisations like Andhra Maha Sabha, Tamil associations, Hindi sabhas, and later community schools and Eisteddfods provided structured spaces to learn and celebrate ancestral languages.
5. Mothers and Grandparents—The Silent Guardians
Most importantly, it was the women in the home who preserved language. They cooked traditional recipes, taught prayers, used mother-tongue words of comfort, discipline and affection—planting seeds that survived several generations.
Why Preserving Our Mother Tongue Still Matters Today?
Even after 165 years, the need to protect and promote our ancestral languages is more important than ever. In a fast-changing world dominated by English and technology, mother tongues face the risk of fading away.
Here is why preservation matters:
1. Language Carries Identity
Our mother tongue holds our history, our worldview, and the emotional tone of our culture. Without language, identity becomes incomplete.
2. It Connects Us to Our Ancestors
Speaking the words our great-grandparents spoke is a direct thread to their lives, struggles, triumphs and prayers.
3. Cultural Practices Depend on Language
Kirtans, bhajans, cinema, classical dance, rituals, poetry, scriptures, proverbs and festivals all depend on language for meaning. To preserve culture, we must preserve the languages that express them.
4. It Strengthens Family Bonds
Children who learn their mother tongue feel a deeper connection to their parents and grandparents, developing pride in their heritage.
5. Multilingualism is a Strength
Research shows that children who learn their mother tongue first excel academically, have stronger cognitive skills and a healthier sense of self.
Looking Forward: Our Responsibility
We stand on the shoulders of those who endured the impossible so we could live with dignity and opportunity. The best way to honour them is to keep alive the languages they protected for us at great personal cost.
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Teach your children even a few words each day.
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Celebrate festivals with authenticity.
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Support community schools, cultural events and language classes.
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Speak your mother tongue at home—let it be the language of love and belonging.
The journey of our ancestors was marked by suffering, strength and hope. Let the next 165 years be marked by revival, preservation and pride.
Today, as we commemorate 165 years of the arrival of Indian indentured labourers in South Africa, we honour not only their physical journey but also their linguistic and cultural legacy. They brought with them more than labour—they brought language, culture, devotion and identity that continue to enrich our lives.
May we be worthy custodians of their gifts.
May we preserve our mother tongues.
May we live our culture with pride.
And may we always remember the courage of those who walked before us.
To our ancestors—thank you. We remember you. We honour you.
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#SouthAfricanIndians #IndianIndenture #OurAncestors
#HonouringOurAncestors #IndenturedHeritage #Remembering1860
#HeritageAndHistory #PreserveOurMotherTongue #LanguageIsIdentity #IndianDiaspora
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