Satyendra Peerthum,
Historian, Lecturer, & Writer
On 16th July 2026, the twentieth anniversary of the inscription of the Aapravasi Ghat on UNESCO’s prestigious site will be commemorated at the Aapravasi Ghat World Heritage Site in Port Louis. Together with this commemoration, we need to remember that more than a quarter century ago, the idea of the Indentured Labour Route Project was also first discussed at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute. This paper explores the genesis, early history and emergence of the ILRP.
Prelude to the Indentured Labour Route Project or ILRP
The concept of the Indentured Labour Route Project has been discussed ever since 2001 in Mauritius and in countries that have experienced it. This idea was expounded for the first time in Mauritius in May 2001, at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute seminar entitled ‘Coolie Route’ where the project proposal titled ‘Coolie Route-Crossing the Seven Seas’ and was initiated. Ever since the beginning one of the central objectives is to constitute a corpus of professionals in various fields (history, anthropology, archaeology, heritage etc.) in the form of an International Scientific Committee to undertake activities and projects in order to research and promote indenture.
The elaboration of this concept was given new impetus when the Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund was created in 2001, an institution devoted solely to the preservation of indentured history and heritage. In January 2004, AGTF received an official letter from the Ministry of Arts and Culture which authorized the institution to take the necessary measures to set up the Indentured Labour Route Project. Shortly after, the AGTF Board established a sub-committee to look into the possibility of making this project a reality.
In May 2005, in its response to the ICOMOS Evaluation Report, AGTF had already mentioned its intention with its forthcoming museum and research projects to place emphasis on the global impact of indentured labour and its place in modern world history. A committee was also established to look into the Indentured Labour Route.
A massive research effort was undertaken in preparation of the nomination dossier, to study indenture not only in Mauritius but in other countries of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Despite the interest, the project has never got under way. Since then, the Aapravasi Ghat became a World Heritage Site in 2006 and the history of indenture officially and internationally recognized.
On 16th July 2006, at the 30th session of the World Heritage Committee in Vilnius, Lithuania, after an intensive campaign by the Government of Mauritius and namely AGTF and its supporters. Aaparavasi Ghat became the first Mauritian site to be inscribed on the prestigious UNESCO list and this year marks its 20th anniversary. UNESCO officially recognized:
The World Heritage Committee also recommended that the Indentured Immigration Archives be inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. A dossier for this inscription was submitted to the World Heritage Centre in 2012. In 2015, the records of the indentured labour’s archives were listed on the Memory of the International Register of UNESCO.
The WHC also recommended Mauritius as state party to carry out further research into the global significance and impact of indentured labour in Mauritius and other parts of the world. During the following year, an inventory of the country’s intangible cultural heritage was prepared by AGTF, NHF, and other stakeholders. In addition, the Geet Gawai or traditional Bhopjpuri songs of Mauritius were inscribed on UNESCO’s list of masterpieces of intangible heritage.
The international conferences of 2011 and 2014, the publications of AGTF on indenture, its annual newsletter, and the establishment of long term links with overseas academics of indentured labour have partially fulfilled that particular recommendation. The recommendation of the World Heritage Committee also forms an integral part as one of the main objectives of the AGTF Management Plan 2013-2018.
This project was discussed on several occasions including during two international conferences held in 2011 and 2014.
To initiate this process, an International Scientific Conference titled “NEW PERSPECTIVES ON INDENTURED LABOUR (1825 – 1925)” was held at the University of Mauritius 5-8 December 2011: it was the first step towards the establishment of the Indentured Labour Route Project.
The resolutions adopted at the conference were:
l the creation of an International Committee for the establishment of the International Indentured Labour Route Project (IILRP); and
l The International Scientific Committee must be set up officially and will constitute a corpus of professionals in various fields (history, anthropology, archaeology, ethnography, heritage etc.);
l the creation of the Indentured Labour Global Database Initiative (ILGDI) consisting in the elaboration of an International database of indentured migration.
From 3 to 5 November 2014, a second international conference entitled “Towards the establishment of the International Indentured Labour Route” was held at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute in Moka, Mauritius, to proceed further. Thirty scholars from Mauritius and abroad presented papers while 75 delegates attended the conference. It also helped pave the way for the ILRP.
The ILRP becomes
an Official Project
and its Significance
In June 2014, at its 38th session of the World Heritage Committee“took note with satisfaction of the measures taken by the State Party [the Republic of Mauritius] to address” different issues pertaining the Aapravasi Ghat World Heritage Site and “encouraged the State Party concerned to pursue their efforts.” This official recognition of AGTF’s fulfillment of all of its obligation continues until today and the holding of this first International Scientific Committee is a tangible example of our on-going commitment.
During the Executive Board of UNESCO at its 195th session held in Paris on 20 October 2014, UNESCO supported the initiative of Mauritius to set up the Indentured Labour Route Project and for it to be housed at AGTF.
Following the model of the Slave Route project, the project aims to set up an International Scientific Committee composed of members of 13 countries to conceptualise and steer the implementation of activities and projects in order to research and promote the history of indenture throughout the world.
The Executive Board
- Recalling decision 30 COM 8B.33 of the World Heritage Committee and bearing in mind the importance of an international indentured labour route project, which would be complementary to the Slave Route Project and the General History of Africa and implemented in the context of the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024),
- Acknowledging the need to create a corpus of professionals in various fields such as history, anthropology, archaeology and heritage in order to develop an international database on indentured labour, accessible worldwide, so as to disseminate information about a major historical event and build greater understanding and cooperation among peoples,
- Also acknowledging the synergies between the international “Indentured Labour Route” project and the Slave Route Project, and the need to identify focused and coordinated activities, with appropriate extrabudgetary funding, involving both projects;
The indentured Labour Route also includes the creation of national committees in countries and also regional committees which experienced indenture in order to support the implementation of the Indentured Labour Route.
In January 2015, ever since assuming the Chairmanship of the Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund, the realization of the ILRP has been one of my top most priorities and today, it is being realized with the support of the Minister of Arts and Culture and the Prime Minister. This project will further consolidate and enhance the position of AGTF, the Aapravasi Ghat World Heritage Site and Mauritius on the international map of research, cultural heritage and tourism.
It will bring additional international recognition to the importance and contribution of indentured labour and the indentured labourers in the making of modern world history, just like what the UNESCO Slave Route Project has done for slavery and the slave trade. From 30 to 31st October 2017, Mauritius organized the first ever International Scientific Committee (ISC) including 9 countries (Mauritius, India, France, Reunion, Australia, Malaysia, Suriname, South Africa, Trinidad & Tobago) as well as a representative from UNESCO at InterContinental Hotel in Balaclava, Mauritius.
The ILRP in 2021
and 2022
In July 2021, an Interministerial Meeting of the ILRP by the Republic of Mauritius was held at the Aapravasi Ghat World Heritage Site in order to present, promote, and reinforce project among technicians and scholars from different members countries which was a success.
On 16 July 2021, Prof. Hubert Gijzen, Director, UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa represented the Director-General of UNESCO, Mrs. Audrey Azoulay, at the First Inter-Ministerial Committee for the Indentured Labour Route Project (ILRP), hosted by the Government of Mauritius.
This first meeting organised saw the participation of 11 Ministers in charge of arts, culture and heritage from various countries where indentured labourers established permanently. The Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius also intervened during the meeting. The objective of the meeting was to exchange views on the implementation of the ILRP in the different countries and on the creation of an international database gathering historical testimonies, especially archives, related to the history of indentured labour.
Several presentations were made during the meeting, namely: the ILRP, the International Indentured Labour Database, and the cultural perspective on the legacy of indentured diaspora in various countries. On the same occasion, the International Indentured Labour Database Project was launched. The project aims to reconstruct migration history by using modern technology which will facilitate the study of demographic history of the population. Therefore, this forthcoming international conference presents the ILRP with a new impetus to fulfill its objectives and historic mission and only time will tell.
Lastly, in August 2021 and August 2022, the Indian Ocean Committee of the ILRP and AGTF organized on two different occasions 2 international webinars where during each webinar around 25 papers were presented for a total of more than 50 papers during both events. There were local and international scholars and figures who participated on themes related to indentured labour, its aftermath, indentured workers, indenture sites, and unfree labour etc. The webinars were held at the Mauritius Film Development Corporation or MFDC and were a success.
