Indentured Labour Day

2 November is Indentured Labour Day celebrated as public holiday in Mauritius marking 182 years since the official arrival of the first Indian indentured labourers. Mauritius is one of the first countries in the world that tried to work out indenture labourers as a means of plantation development. It is known as the ‘Great Experience.’

The first labourers arrived in Mauritius on 2 November 1834 from India to work in cane plantations in view of the abolition of slavery wherein workers of African descent preferred to leave the sugar cane fields and search for other occupations.

A Century later Indian labourers were no more recruited as new legislations made it harder for such source of labour. The landing place of the labourers was known as the ‘Coolie Ghat’ later changed into ‘Aapravasi Ghat’ a few years after the Independence of Mauritius. The site remained vacant containing only vestiges of the past mainly documents related to the arrival and departure of the immigrants.

Early this century the Aapravasi Ghat was taken under the custody of UNESCO and became a World Heritage. Since then it is administered by the Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund whose main duty is to keep good maintenance and report to the UN organisation.

This year’s celebration includes the usual speeches by Government officials recalling the past history of immigrants followed by a cultural show.