Ranchi, Feb. 14: A Mauritian of Indian origin is trying to trace his village and relatives in Jharkhand, despite the district administration not being able to provide much help.

Speaking in chaste Hindi from Mauritius, Janadjee Suresh, whose forefathers migrated to the country in 1870, said he wanted to visit his ancestral village in Jharkhand with the aim of developing it.

Suresh, who owns a steel fabricating industry in Mauritius, has recently written a letter to Ranchi deputy commissioner Pradeep Kumar, seeking help in locating his village and relatives.

A resident of 82, Royal Road, Grand River, North West, Mauritius (phone number 00230-9176130), Suresh has sent photocopied documents belonging to his great-grandmother, Rookmanea (daughter of Ram Lal of village Jeereedee, zilla Chotanagpore, Pergunnah-Paulgunge).

Rookmanea arrived in Mauritius on August 27, 1870, when she was 19 with a baby boy born on board the Codabux 1188 that set sail from Calcutta. The boy?s immigration certificate states his name as Jahadjee, possibly because he was born on a ship or jahaz in Hindi), and that his father was Beeharry.

All Suresh knows is that his ancestors came from a place called Chhotanagpur in (unified) Bihar. ?I have no other proof of hailing from Jharkhand except the immigration certificates of my forefathers, which I obtained from the Mauritius Archives in May 2004,? he said.

The district administration is finding it difficult to trace Suresh?s roots, as the details given by him are 136 years old. Kumar said the district administration was trying to locate Suresh?s roots.

?Many people had migrated to work in sugarcane plantations and there were some forced migration, too, from Bihar. It is possible the migrant was illiterate and could not provide her correct address or that the British entered incorrect addresses to conceal the identity of the slaves. The pergunnah system has changed since then, besides there are no archives in Ranchi. But we are trying to find out if there is any place by that name in the state,? a district administration official said.

He felt newspaper advertisements or reports might help Suresh trace his roots. The official said the migration took place mostly from Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Barkagaon in Hazaribagh district.

Scholars of Xavier Institute of Social Service suggested that Suresh?s family were non-tribals.

At that time, Jharkhand region had only two districts ? Chhotanagpur and Santhal Pargana ? and entire North and South Chhotanagpur of today, Palamau, Kolhaan (Chaibasa) and Purulia district of Bengal were part of the then Chotanagpore district, they said.

Suresh said he wished to see his ancestors? village. ?I want to offer prayers and will consider myself fortunate if I go there and am able to do something for the place. It will be better if my relatives are also found,? he said.