Speaking on the occasion, Ms Kanhai said the memorial would play a big role in strengthening the already cordial bilateral ties with India. "Around 34,000 Indian indentured workers migrated to Suriname, many of whom perished during the voyage that took more than three months. Most carried the Ramayana, Hanuman Chalisa or Quran with them while some carried the Victoria rupee that still is a very desirable gift in Suriname. Even in my family, we have a Victoria rupee," said Ms Kanhai. "I represent the fourth generation of those who left this very shore and I am honoured for that," she added.

"From this jetty several people, in the prime of their youth, left Indian shores as indentured labourers to work in Suriname, to face an uncertain future. The migration spanned between 1870 and early 20th century," reads the plaque below the memorial, set up jointly by the Governments of the two countries. The first ship named Lalla Rookh, carrying Indian indentured labourers, had arrived in Suriname in June 1873. Mostly hailing from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the indentured labourers were shipped from the Calcutta port on the Hooghly banks during the 19th and 20th centuries. An estimated 1.5 million bonded Indian labourers were transported to various parts of the world in the service of British colonial masters.