The Indian Relief Act of 1914 severely curtailed the right of Indians to settle in South Africa. As the twentieth century unfolded and the South African government passed a succession of discriminatory laws against Indians, Indian nationalists sought the isolation of the white minority regime. This increased the ‘distance’ between Indian South Africans and India. The ending of apartheid and the normalization of relations between India and South Africa opened the doors to travel and reconnections with the ‘motherland’. In this context of changing relations, this article explores the renewed links between Indian South Africans and the ‘motherland’, some because of the increasing popularity of ‘roots tourism’ in which they seek to visit their forbears’ village of origin and meet with relatives after more than a century of separation, others because they are interested in applying for the Overseas Citizen of India card, and yet others because of their renewed pride in ‘shining India’. The article concludes with a reflection on the utility of the idea of diaspora in the light of the experience of Indian South Africans’ search for roots.

1914 年的《印第安救济法》严重限制了印第安人在南非定居的权利。随着二十世纪的展开，南非政府通过了一系列针对印度人的歧视性法律，印度民族主义者寻求孤立白人少数政权。这增加了印度南非人与印度之间的“距离”。种族隔离的结束和印度和南非之间关系的正常化为旅行和与“祖国”重新建立联系打开了大门。在这种关系不断变化的背景下，本文探讨了印度南非人与“祖国”之间重新建立的联系，其中一些原因是“根旅游”越来越受欢迎，他们寻求访问他们祖先的原籍村并与亲戚会面经过一个多世纪的分离，其他人是因为他们有兴趣申请印度海外公民卡，还有一些人是因为他们对“闪耀印度”重新感到自豪。文章最后根据印度南非人寻根的经验，反思散居地概念的效用。