Healing the wounds of history: South African Indian writing

Abstract

A feature of the post-apartheid literary scene is the way in which the history of earlier times is being recalled and re-interpreted. This ‘memory work’ includes the history of Indian indenture in South Africa. I shall focus on the fictional treatment of indenture by South African Indian writers. At the same time, I argue that the ‘Indian’ focus has the potential to expand the scope of South African life and literature.