Jajpur: A 60-year-old man from Mauritius has arrived in Odisha’s Jajpur district with a clear purpose — to trace his ancestral roots that he believes go back to a man from this region, sent to the island nation as an indentured labourer during British rule.

The visitor, Ramrup Jagurnath, says he has come to Jajpur after finding his forefather’s name in the National Archives of India. The record, he claims, mentions that one of his ancestors, a man named Jagannath, was taken to Mauritius around 1870 through the sea route as a labourer by the British administration. ADVERTISEMENT

“When the Britishers took Indians to the island nation, they recorded every detail about the person. That’s why the name of my ancestor exists in the archives. However, they often omitted surnames, keeping only t

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