Belonging: A History of Indian South Africans

What does it mean to belong?

Across oceans and centuries, this sweeping narrative shuttles between the corridors of the Colonial Office in London, the contested streets of Durban, and the changing power dynamics within the British Raj. 

The first boatload of indentured Indians arrived in Natal in 1860. Thousands were to follow. In haunting detail, the book captures the plight of these labourers as well as the vicious onslaught faced by the merchant class for daring to outpace their colonial rivals. At its core are the untold struggles of Indian South Africans as they confront the ever-present threat of repatriation. 

Sensitive to shifting political terrains, the book weaves together seismic events – the independence of India, the coming of apartheid and the threat once more of mass expulsions – with the texture of everyday life. The granting of citizenship in 1961 is accompanied by mass relocations as the Group Areas Act rips communities from their roots. Yet, out of this despair, barren townships on the edges of cities are turned into places of hope. 

In the final chapters, the fall of apartheid offers a moment of transcendence. Yet it also asks: what does it mean, at last, to belong? It is a fascinating story of the global and the local, of resistance and collaboration, and undefeated optimism. This is a book for anyone who has ever sought a place to call home.