Kalam visits ''Apravasi Ghat'' in Mauritius

Port Louis, Mar 13: The moments were laden with emotion and poignancy as President APJ Abdul Kalam today visited the 'Apravasi Ghat', the site of the former ''immigration depot'' through which around 450,000 indentured labourers bid adieu to their home in India to set foot in Mauritius between the 1830s and the 1930s.

The Indian immigration of that era ''symbolises one of the greatest waves of migration in recorded history'', which has had a determining impact on the demographic profile of the present-day Mauritian population.

Dr Kalam, who was received by Minister of Arts and Culture Mahendra Gowressoo at the site of the monument, laid a wreath at 'Apravasi Ghat' and talked to the officials to apprise himself of the history of Indian immigration.

The President was told that nearly 70 per cent of the Mauritian citizens today can trace their roots to India through an ancestor who would have entered Mauritius through the 'Apravasi Ghat'.

The Indian Ocean country commemorates the arrival of the first batch of indentured labourers on November 2, 1834 by organising a ceremony on this day at the site.

The site of the immigration depot was chosen by the colonial British for sheltering the immigrant workers after the long ship voyage.

An Order in Council of 1842 stipulated that the Indian immigrants had to spend 48 hours at the depot, during which they were provided with food and medical care, prior to being assisgned to a sugar state.

In 1985, the site was declared a protected monument by the Mauritian government. It was then known as the ''Coolie Ghat''. The name was changed to 'Apravasi Ghat' in 1987.

The Mauritian government has approached the UNESCO for putting the site on its World Heritage Site. A final decision in this regard is likely to be taken in July this year.

UNI