From indenture to the property moguls

IN 1860, the first group of indentured Indian labourers, a total of 342 souls, arrived in Durban aboard the SS Truro to toil as indentured labourers in the sugar cane plantations. Until 1911, over 150 000 Indians were brought to Natal bound by five-year contracts; they endured harsh conditions on sugar estates.

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ADVOCATE LAKSHMI LOGAN

After completing their terms, many chose to stay, transitioning into free labourers, market gardeners and smallscale traders. The descendants of these indentured labourers continued to pursue various business interests within the confines of colonialism and later apartheid. Land ownership has been of seminal importance to the indentured community and their descendants.

Initially, it was agricultural land that was sought, a result of having worked on the land for so many years, and later residential property as a home. The entrepreneurial spirit prompted rapid expansion in the real estate sector, with several families prospering from the 1950s to the early 1990s. However, the post-apartheid era witnessed the largest success in the property market, marked by the rise of property moguls.

After indenture, many turned to tenant farming, vegetable farming and informal trade, laying the groundwork for future business ventures. The work of ladies sewing and cooking, as well as selling snacks, helped prop up the household income. Early Indian business hubs, such as Grey Street, became a commercial epicentre, with Indian merchants dominating the textile, fruit and spice trades. Remaining in the colony of Natal was a challenge, and the British tried various means to induce the "Girmitiya" to return to indenture, applying a £3 tax penalty on those who remained in the colony after the end of their indentured term.

Many were forced to choose between returning to indenture or returning to India. ML Sultan, also known as Mulukmahomed Lappa Sultan, born in Kerala State, managed to rise above the shackles of servitude. He started as a "coolie" porter, and his success in business saw him investing in property and establishing a soft goods business, known as ML Sultan and Sons, at 106 Victoria Street in Durban

The evolution of property entrepre-