Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), to be held from January 8-10, 2025, in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, celebrates the invaluable contributions of the global Bharatiya diaspora. This year, a spotlight is on the descendants of Odia indentured laborers in Mauritius, who seek to reconnect with their ancestral roots. With over 300 delegates from Mauritius, the event promises to foster cultural exchange, business partnerships, and historical awareness, strengthening bonds between Odisha and its global diaspora.
Written By: Ramroop Jugurnauth, Secretary, Odia Anusthana, Mauritius
The 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be held form 8 to 10 January, 2025 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. It marks a significant moment in the country’s celebration of the Bharatiya diaspora and their invaluable contributions to Bharat’s growth. The descendants of Indian Indentured Labourers left India to work in the British and French Colonies of Mauritius, South Africa, Fiji, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Bahamas, Reunion, Guadeloupe etc. after the abolition of slavery in 1834.
The three-day celebration in Bhubaneswar will serve as a key platform for global Bharatiyas to engage with the country’s growth story, explore investment opportunities, and contribute to Bharat’s evolving future. The 18th PBD is a unique occasion for both the state of Odisha and the Bharatiya diaspora. Mauritius will be represented by a large delegation of more than 300 delegates.
The official beginning of the indenture system started with the arrival of 36 Dhangar hills Coolies who reached Mauritius on 30 October1834 but landed in Port Louis on 02 November 1834. A date that we now celebrate as Aapravasi Divas in Mauritius, and which is a Public Holiday. More than 450,000 Indentured Labourers landed in Mauritius from the then, Indian ports of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras.
Among the indentured labourers who came to Mauritius, there was an extremely small number who came from Orissa (now Odisha). An extract of the Report of J. Geoghegan, which was presented to the British Parliament in 1874 on the arrivals for the period 1842 to 1871, is given hereunder:
Between 1842 and 1871 there were 3116 Odias who emigrated to Mauritius. Their descendants are still there, but they have unfortunately lost their ancestral culture, language and traditions. To compensate for this loss, we the descendants of Odia indentured labourers, have set up the Odia Anusthana, as association fighting to bring together the Mauritians of Odia descent who wish to reconnect with our lost Odia culture and families from whom we have been detached for more than 150 years.
We, the Mauritians of Odia ancestry is proud of our ancestors’ land and would wish, like other descendants form UP and Bihar, to be able to look for our Odia roots and families, and to contribute to the development of our ancestral villages.
On the other hand, in India, as much as in Odisha, there is complete absence of the knowledge of the presence of Odia indentured workers and their descendants in Mauritius. The Odia Anusthana therefore wishes to fill all gaps and add the missing page of Odia presence in Mauritius, to our common colonial history. The Odia Anusthana wishes to act as the cultural ambassador of the Odia culture in Mauritius and we are also planning to build a Jagannath Mandira.
We the descendants of Odia indentured labourers in Mauritius, make a humble appeal to the Chief Minister of Odisha, Shri Mohan Charan Majhi and his Government to give consideration to our plight and to extend all possible help to us. We want to reconnect with our past and move forward in the spirit of the PBD fostering new partnerships in business, innovation and cultural exchange, and equally strengthening Odisha’s economy.
We wish all the PBD delegates a pleasant stay in Odisha, to see India as, “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” and Odisha as, “India’s best kept secret”. (Writer Ramroop Jugurnauth is Secretary, Odia Anusthana, Mauritius. His Mobile number- 230 57393361)
