Pride in Heritage

New Zealand’s first Governor-General of Asian descent Anand Satyanand – who recently paid a visit to India – is the subject of an article in The Times of India, which discusses how “the heirs and successors of Indian indentured labour have become the new Establishment.” As Satyanand said in his address in Delhi, “I retain with pride the girmitya  (indentured labour) shipping papers of my grandparents and the link they represent with my Indian heritage.” For Satyanand to pay a state visit to India, as New Zealand’s highest representative, underlines the increasingly high profile ethnic Indians enjoy in the countries they now call home. Satyanand replaced Dame Silvia Cartwright as Governor-General of New Zealand on 23 August 2006.