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Date:14/11/2006
Source: KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
Title: Ndebele: Indian Experience Gala Dinner


Speech by Mr S Ndebele, Premier KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province, at the Indian Experience Gala Dinner, Southern Sun, Elangeni Hotel

Programme Director
His Worship, Mayor Councillor Obed Mlaba
Deputy Mayor, Councillor Logie Naidoo
Judge President Vuka Tshabalala
Indian Consul-General Harsh Vardhan Shringla
Ms Weziwe Thusi, MEC for Arts, Culture and Tourism
Mrs Ina Cronje, MEC for Education
Mr Amichand Rajbansi, MEC for Sports and Recreation
His Excellency Mr Ugo Ciarlatani, Consul of Italy
Members of the KZN Provincial Legislature
Good evening friends of KwaZulu-Natal

What I have experienced so far is a spectacular display of the fusion of India and South Africa. The dances, food, culture and the overall Indian Experience showcased here tonight is breathtaking. I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank the Consul General of India, Harsh Vardan Shringla and his colleagues for their efforts in promoting and strengthening the close ties between India and this part of South Africa.

Land of seven sisters

'The Indian Experience' which started from Tuesday, 9 November 2006 to Wednesday, 22 November 2006 highlighting the rich and vibrant cultural heritage of North Eastern States of India is a bonus for the people of South Africa. I had the opportunity of visiting India recently but had not experienced the hospitality of the North Eastern parts in places like Manipur, Assam and Tripura, among others.

This 'Indian Experience,' hosted by the Consul in Durban provides an opportunity for us to see India beyond Bollywood, Delhi and Goa. You have opened other doors of interest to us ? the North Eastern parts of India. I looked up the North Eastern States in my readings. The region is also known as the land of seven sisters.

The north eastern states are very different in many ways from the other parts of India. These States have the maximum number of tribes living within. Many tribal languages are spoken throughout these seven states. The north eastern states have the highest percentage of Christians. Territory wise this region is the most sensitive region touching many countries like China, Tibet, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. And today we celebrate this region. It has come to us in KwaZulu-Natal.

This is a novel way of increasing interest among the people of this province in India and the immense cultural diversity it represents. I have already tried some of the delicious cuisine from northeast India and find it exquisite. I wish to thank Chef Ms Hoihnu Hoizel, who I am told is also a journalist in India. I hope she will use her visit to write about this part of South Africa, its people, cuisine and scenic beauty.

I also wish to congratulate the dance troupes from the Indian states of Assam and Manipur whose enthralling performances in different parts of our province have been so well received. I am told that these dances had some Zulu elements in it and I am therefore not surprised at the reception they received from our audiences.

The master craftsmen from India, I have been told will work with our own traditional crafters and this can only benefit the work and appreciation of both groups of highly accomplished artisans. The fashion show that has both Zulu and north-east Indian designs will serve to highlight the commonality of tribal cultures and traditions. I congratulate designer Nadia Meer, our very own struggle stalwart Professor Fatima Meer's daughter, who put this show together as a symbol of the closeness of our two cultures. Allow me ladies and gentlemen to talk about our relations with India.

Indian Diaspora

It is in this province that the overwhelming majority of Indian South Africans live. A million people most of whose descendants arrived here as indentured labourers. Ripped from the familiarity of their village, quarantined in the then Calcutta and Madras; packed into ships and landing in an alien environment only to be dragooned onto plantations; these were the new slaves of the mid nineteenth century. They resisted, preserved and their history stands tall in our province.

Look around you and you will see the minarets of the Grey Street mosque, the little Baptist Church in KwaDukuza, the Lord Shiva standing guard over the Umgeni Road Temple and if you drive past Blue Lagoon on a Friday afternoon people eating a mutton bunny on the bonnet of their cars. Despite the best efforts of colonialism and apartheid, this is a legacy that could never be erased and never will be. The visit of the Indian Prime Minister renews a long relationship with India.

Through trade, through cultural interchanges, through our common vision for a more democratic global order, the knot that is Indian-South African relations gets bound even more tightly. And here in this province, Indian-African relations quickly overcome the divisions and suspicion that is the legacy of apartheid.

Our communities have spilled too much blood in the struggle for freedom, shared so much through the philosophies of Mahatma Gandhi's Saytagraha and our own Ubuntu. To paraphrase the first Prime Minster of India Jahwarlal Nehru, we share a common tryst with destiny. And that notion of a common destiny was put succinctly by President Thabo Mbeki: "Outwardly we are people of many colours, races, cultures, languages and ancient origins. Yet we are tied to one another by a million visible and invisible threads. We share a common destiny from which none of us can escape because together we are human, we are South African, we are African."

Building bonds, building relations

The relations between India and South Africa are historical and traditional. Today, these relations have found a contemporary basis in the close political, economic, cultural and social ties that the two countries enjoy. It was apparent to me during the Prime Minister's visit that His Excellency attached great importance to the accelerated development of economic and commercial ties between our two countries.

During my visit to India last year, I personally witnessed the vast development that India has achieved in the years since its independence. Its rapid economic growth, and positioning as an Information Technology superpower, has transformed the global economic landscape.

At the same time, India has made rapid strides in agricultural development moving from a food deficit to a food surplus nation. During that visit we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Punjab on trade, economic, cultural, scientific and technical co-operation; the ruralness of Punjab, the Land of Five Rivers, makes for common ground in addressing the developmental challenges of our people.

KwaZulu-Natal therefore commends Punjab for the remarkable achievement in turning the similar plight of the rural poor into a thriving and growing state economy that has become known as the "food basket of India. "KwaZulu-Natal has much to offer in return. Trade and tourism links offer great potential and need to be exploited fully. We have a lot to gain from increasing our engagement with India. Already, a number of KZN based companies and entities are investing in India. South African companies from KZN have interests in Indian roads, bridges and airports; are supplying high technology products to the Indian market and investing in real estate, shopping malls and tourism infrastructure. I am sure many of our enterprising businesspersons engaged in such ventures are among us this evening.

The Indian side has been equally focused on opportunities in the KZN province. Indian companies have invested in hotels and tourism, steel, automobiles and busses, tyres, cosmetics, engineering and a wide variety of other areas that could enhance our technological and financial base and create employment opportunities for our skilled and semi-skilled labour.

In closing, let me thank all those of you who are here this evening for your interest in maintaining the closest of relations between our country and India. We hope the Consulate General of India will continue to arrange many more such events that do so much to bring our countries closer together at a popular level.

Thank you

Issued: KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
14 November 2006

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