Coolies of the Empire: Indentured Indians in the Sugar Colonies, 1830–1920 9781107147959

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Coolies of the Empire This book studies labour migration in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, that involved millions of Indians traversing the globe in the age of the Empire. Initially employed as replacement for slave labour in the sugar plantations of Caribbean, these migrant labourers, employed on indentured labour contracts, played a crucial role in the development of the industrial and plantation economies of Mauritius, Réunion, South Africa, Trinidad, Guyana, Surinam, Fiji, etc. It looks at their impact on the history of globalization and the emergence of multiple new societies and economies in the global south. Within this narrative, the author focuses on the social and cultural world of Bhojpurispeaking migrant labourers from the flood and drought-prone plains of Bihar and United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) in north India, who provided the earliest and largest volume of recruits. This study delves deep into the lives of indentured workers who called themselves girmitiyas; and their experiences in India and in the sugar colonies. It foregrounds the alternative world view of the girmitiyas, and their sociocultural and religious life in the colonies. The book describes ways in which they managed to survive and even flourish within the indentured labour system, and how considerably the experience of migration changed over time – post slave-emancipation in 1833, thus defying the generalizations behind most conventional interpretations. This book will be of interest to academic researchers in the fields of migration and colonial studies, labour studies, overseas Indians and diaspora studies. It will also be a valuable resource for graduate and postgraduate students of South Asian history and South Asia studies. Ashutosh Kumar is a postdoctoral Research Fellow on AHRC ‘Becoming Coolies’ Project at University of Leeds, United Kingdom. He completed his PhD from University of Delhi. He was also Fellow at The Gilder Lehrman Centre for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition at Yale University, and at Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla.

Figure 1: A collage showing East Indian immigrants, CO 1069/355

Photo courtesy: The National Archives of London, Kew.

Coolies of the Empire

Indentured Indians in the Sugar Colonies, 1830–1920

Ashutosh Kumar

University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10006, USA

477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, vic 3207, Australia

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Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107147959 © Ashutosh Kumar 2017 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2017 Printed in India A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library ISBN 978-1-107-14795-9 Hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

For Shahid Amin, my teacher and supervisor

Contents List of Figures and Maps List of Tables Preface

Abbreviations 1. Introduction: Indentured Emigrants in the Literature

ix

xi

xiii

xvii 1

2. Naukari, Network and Indenture

20

3. Regulating Indenture

55

4. The Journey

76

5. Agriculture and Culture between Two Worlds

125

6. Writing the Girmitiya Experience

163

7. The End of the Indenture System

205

8. Conclusion

241

Appendices

249

Glossary

293

Index

315

Bibliography

299

List of Figures and Maps Figures 1. A collage showing East Indian immigrants, CO 1069/355

2.1 Mimiai ka tel: Cartoon on life on a sugar plantation as seen through the eyes of an indentured labourer 2.2 Two unusual mentions on the address box – occupation and caste 2.3 Petition by Indian indentured workers to appoint a Hindustani-knowing interpreter at the Post Office 2.4 A letter written in Urdu by an indentured worker from Sultanpur (UP) in Natal asking for the confirmation of remittance to his family in India 2.5 A note written by Kalli Prasaud regarding a bill of exchange from the Natal Bank 2.6 Hindu emigrants in Shahabad in 1881–82

ii 29 33 34 36 37 46

4.1 The structure of a ship used to carry indentured workers in late nineteenth century 81 4.2 The structure of the upper deck of a late-nineteenth-century ship. 82 4.3 The structure of Thiers Ventilator of a ship 83 4.4 The structure of Boaz’s Ventilator of a ship 83 4.5 Immigrants are inspected upon arrival in Paramaribo on the ship, c. 1885 88 4.6 Medical examinations of new arrivals being conducted, CO 1069/355 91 4.7 Coolie children gathering for breakfast 106 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4

Two types of ploughs used in fields A Gorakhpuri wooden kolhu Tazia in Mauritius, c. 1870–80 A gathering of Hindustani people on a holiday in Surinam, c. 1910

129 130 147

154

x

List of Figures and Maps

5.5 A Hindu woman festively dressed in Surinam, c. 1900

6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6

Coolies at the Depot in Paramaribo, c. 1885 The emigrants at their meals, CO 1069/355 A picture of an old emigrant’s ticket, PA-16, NAM Totaram Sanadhya’s Immigrant’s Ticket. An old Emigrant’s Pass, PA-16, NAM A Hindu ‘coolie’ priest in Caribbean

154

165 165 168 169 171 186

Maps 1. Map of Bengal with Sikkim 2. Map of United Provinces

xviii xix

List of Tables 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4

No. of Indian workers migrated to colonies, 1880 Delivery of letters from colonies Remittances sent by the emigrants Emigrants from Calcutta who left and returned to colonies from the commencement of operations upto 1883 2.5 Caste-wise break up of Emigrants from Ara District registered in 1882 2.6 Upper and middle caste emigrant of Shababad district 3.1 Number of immigrants reaching colonies from 1834 to August 1838

4.1 Rate of mortality from Calcutta to West India Colonies 4.2 The rate of deaths during voyages in 1857 4.3 The mortality rates during 1856–57 on the ship from Calcutta to West Indies 4.4 The mortality rate during voyages to West Indies, Mauritius, Natal and Fiji in 1870–1917 4.5 The rejection rate between 1893 and 1900 in Calcutta before the voyage 4.6 A comparison of the medicines loaded on ships from 1846 to 1864 4.7 List of instruments and appliances for the hospital and dispensary on board ships 4.8 A list of articles and fitting required on ships 4.9 Provisions for food rations onboard per person 4.10 Daily dietary requirements on board ships 4.11 New food provisions for emigrants suggested by Dr Mouat’s report 4.12 Food provisions for emigrants under bad weather

24 32 32 38 44 45 72

86 86 86 90 91 93 97 100 103 103 104 105

xii

List of Tables

4.13 Ordinary food provisions for cooking for eighteen weeks under Section 8 of the Act XIII of 1864 4.14 A list of dry provisions for the workers 4.15 Food provisions for Christian sepoys while on journey for foreign expedition 4.16 Food provisions for Muslim sepoys while on journey for foreign expedition 4.17 Food provisions for Hindu sepoys while on journey for foreign expedition 4.18 Weekly rations for 33 regiment of British soldiers in India 4.19 A list of items loaded aboard the ship for use by girmitiyas to Fiji 5.1 Deaths of infants according to Fiji Annual Report of 1902

107 108 109 109 110 110 111

143

Preface Between the 1830s and the 1910s, over a million Indian peasants were shipped overseas to European, largely British-owned sugar estates, in the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean and across the Pacific to the island of Fiji. This book tells the story of the indenture system within the British Empire, with India as the ‘mother country’ of ‘coolies’, who post-slave emancipation (1833), raised cane on far-flung plantations. Many these long-distance migrants did not return to their natal villages after the completion of their ‘indenture’, or five to ten years of ‘industrial contract’. Following the analogy of peasants, who with industrialization were turned into ‘mill hands’, from the 1830s, began the long journey of Peasants of the Raj whose lives were to be reshaped far away from home as ‘sugar hands’. I focus equally on the lived experience of these individuals and their families in north-Indian villages, the pasts that they brought with them, the journey on indenture ships, and their economic and social lives in the ‘coolie lines’. The present work covers distant places such as Mauritius, Natal, Surinam, Fiji and British Guiana. The work does not confine itself to rehearsing the sturdy debates on whether the indenture system was a ‘new kind of slavery’; was it the lure and pull of newer horizons; or the poverty and morass of Indian villages that pushed and propelled the poorest into the parabola of indenture. Based on archival and fieldwork in India, United Kingdom, Mauritius, Natal and Fiji, this book also underscores the heterogeneity of experience against the cautiously constructed homogeneity of a seemingly uniform plantation lives. It also explores, the anxiety of high and Indian trading castes and non-indenture Indians, including Gandhi towards the end of his South African sojourn, at being clubbed with the rest of the plantation emigrants as ‘coolies’. This is a label, that for good reasons, has sought to be repudiated by second and third generation descendants of indentured labourers. Thus, the use of that pejorative, demeaning and black word calls for some explanation. Of debatable origin, the term ‘coolie’ has been used in India for specific sorts of labourers, largely those pressed into service, or hired for lifting

xiv

Preface

or transportation of heavy loads. Where part of a regular and often unpaid or underpaid transportation as in hilly regions, it took some of the characteristics of corvée. Outside the system of lordly domination, the connotation of term ‘coolie’, as applied to porters on railways stations or the docks, were, and are, limited to particular sorts of non-agricultural work. When the British used the word ‘coolie’ for indentured workers, this was taken as a racial slur. After independence, the use of term ‘coolie’ has imbued with two very different ideological significations among the descendants of indentured Indian diaspora. While for a large majority, the term continues to be untouchable, yet some other inheritors of fractured and indentured family pasts have invested the term ‘coolie’ with retrospective pride. In this transition, Rajkumari Singh, a prolific Guyanese poet to Gaiutra Bahadur, a granddaughter of indentured woman from Bihar, and an acclaimed writer, have played a lead role in ‘reclaiming’ the word by overturning the pejorative ‘coolie’ into a defiant badge of honour. As Bahadur puts it in her exquisitely crafted work, Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture, ‘‘Coolie’ may bare a jagged edge, like a broken bottle raised in threat. But it also ricochets still down dirt lanes in the Guyanese village where I was born in far more complicated ways, in greetings that are sometimes menacing but also often affectionate and intimate, signifying a sense of shared beginnings … It bears the burden of history.’ The formulation of ‘Coolitude’, parallel to ‘Negritude’, by noted Mauritian poet Khal Torabully reflects the sense of worth of the people’s past and present, of Indian indenture now spread across the globe in the former sugar colonies, and equally, in the second and third generation of North Indian ‘coolies’, now resident in Amsterdam, Sydney and Queensland. Through the concept of ‘Coolitude’, Torabully has deconstructed the opprobrium attached to the coolies of the Empire and emphasised the specificities of first generation coolie experience, together with their descendants spread globally today. Writing in the wake of Torabully and Guiatra, this work also seeks an analogous recapture of meaning and of history. From an Indian point of view, the coolie identity for all emigrants, irrespective of castes hierarchy, was of great significance, as it provided a ground to create a casteless society which, in Brij Lal’s terms, was reflected in such enduring relationships as Jahajibhai (indenture-ship-brother) and Jahajibehan (indenture-ship-sister). This book would have not been completed without support of various fellowships at various stages of my research. I am deeply grateful to SEPHIS, The Netherlands, for providing a most handsome grant during my doctoral work, which allowed me to research in the archives and libraries of UK, Mauritius, Fiji and Australia. The manuscript was partially revised while I

Preface

xv

was a Fellow at Indian Institute of Advanced Studies (IIAS), Shimla. Further research and a thorough revision of the book was effected during the two years of postdoctoral fellowship at the ‘Becoming Coolies’ Project – an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), United Kingdom funded research project based at the Universities of Edinburgh and Leeds. I am grateful to Crispin Bates, Marina Carter and Andrea Major of the ‘Becoming Coolies’, project team for their valuable suggestions while revising my manuscript for the publication. I also wish to thank Rosalind Parr and Francesca Kaufman of the ‘Becoming Coolies’ project for their help. I am deeply indebted to Professor Shahid Amin, my erstwhile PhD supervisor, for his guidance and support, innumerable discussions about sources and method, and for his meticulous comments on my several drafts, without which it would not have been possible to plan, carry out and finish this work; Professor Amar Farooqui, who nurtured me from the very beginning of my graduate studies. I have benefited and learned much from him. Without his helping hand I, a wide-eyed student ‘migrant’ from Bihar, would have been lost in the brave new world of Delhi and its university. I am grateful to Amitav Ghosh and Professor Brij Lal for their encouragement and constant discussions, providing insight and advice at every stage of my work. Some of the ideas of this book were thrashed out at an Indenture Conference under the ‘Becoming Coolies’ project, which I jointly organized with Dr Ravikant under the same project at Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), and co-sponsored by its Director, Professor Sanjay Kumar in New Delhi in March 2016. I am beholden to Dr Ravikant, the participants and panelists – Khalil Ali, Brij Maharaj, Maurits Hassankhan, Sujatha Boodhun, Indira Prasad, Archana Kumar, Professor Shahid Amin and Dr Prabhu Mohapatra for contributing to the conference and the making of this book. I wish to thank the staff of the British Library, especially Mohammad Hasan (Ghalib), and the Public Record Office (now the National Archives, London) for helping me in my research. I am grateful to Michael Ashfield, Mukesh Bhatt and Aishwarj Kumar for their hospitality in London. I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the help and support I received from the National Archives of Mauritius, Mahatma Gandhi Institute, the Apravashi Ghat (especially Sunanda and Babita) and the National Library of Mauritius. I am indebted to Puspanjali and Karine families in Mauritius, whose grandparents were originally from Bihar, for treating me as a part of their families. I wish to place on record my heart felt thanks to Ramsurun Prahlad, who helped me in finding vernacular materials on folklore in Mauritius.

xvi

Preface

In Fiji, I was extended every possible help by the staff of the National Archives of Fiji, specially Ashika Rocco and Asena. I also wish to acknowledge the help I received from the staff of National Museum Fiji. I am grateful to Veena Bhatnagar of Radio Fiji Two and Aniriddh Diwakar of Radio Sargam for inviting me to share my research findings on these radio channels. I am deeply indebted to Janab Niyaz Mohammed saheb’s family for their hospitality during my stay in Fiji. Mr M. P. Chaudhury (former Prime Minister of Fiji) most graciously met me and gave me some important books. I would like to express my thanks to the Library staff of The Australian National University and Australian National Library for their help and welcome. I would always be indebted to Professor Brij V. Lal, whose pioneering work on the girmitiyas in Fiji opened an exciting new world for me and for the several rounds of discussion in Canberra and New Delhi. Manvinder Singh and his family made my stay in Sydney memorable. I am indebted to Indira Prasad of Miranda House, Delhi University, for helping me out in several ways towards the completion of this manuscript. I would also like to thanks the staff at Natal Archives, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Sujatha Boodhun, Professor Brij Maharaj, Professor Pratap Kumar and Annie Devenish went out of their way to help me in my research works in Natal. Nearer home, I wish to acknowledge the help I received from the staff of Uttar Pradesh Archives (Lucknow), National Archives of India, specially Dr Pradeep and Mrs Jaya Ravindran, Nehru Memorial and Museum Library (Delhi), Central Secretariat Library (Delhi), Arts Faculty Library (Delhi University), The Partha Sarathi Gupta Library, History Department Library (Delhi University), specially MrsVijya, and Mrs Sarita. I also wish to thank Professor Mahesh Rangarajan (former Director of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library) and Mr Sanjiv Kumar for their help and cooperation. Last but not the least, I acknowledge my deep debt to my parents and siblings, who offered encouragement and provided constant support for my studies.

Abbreviations ANU BL BRP C&I CID CO CSOMP CWMG CUP GoB GoI GoM HC IESHR INC IOR MGI NAI NAD NAF NAL NAM NMML NWP OUP PP R&A RNN SoS UP

Australian National University British Library Baba Ramchandra Papers Commerce and Industry Central Investigating Department Colonial Office Colonial Secretary Office Minute Papers Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi Cambridge University Press Government of Bengal Government of India Government of Madras House of Commons Indian Economic and Social History Review India National Congress India Office Record Mahatma Gandhi Institute National Archives of India National Archives Depot, Pieter Maritzburg National Archives of Fiji National Archives, London National Archives of Mauritius Nehru Memorial and Museum Library North Western Provinces Oxford University Press Parliamentary Papers Revenue and Agriculture Report on Native News Papers Secretary of State United Provinces

Map 1: Map of Bengal with Sikkim

Source: Imperial Gazetteer of India, Volume 26, 1931, Bihar and Orissa, p. 31.

Map 2: Map of United Provinces

Source: Constable’s 1893 Area Maps, NWP, West Nepal and Oudh, 1893.

Introduction

1

1

•

Introduction

Indentured Emigrants in the Literature Aaye hum sab hind se karan naukari het, ‘Girmit’ kati kathin se fir sarkari khet. Kamisnari Allahabad me zilah Hamirpur naam, Bimbar thana hai mera mukam bharkhari gram. Siddhi niddhi vasu bhumi ki varshisvi pay, Mas shatru tithi terahvi Dutch-Guaiana aay. Girmit kati panch varsh ki kothi Rustumlost, Sardar raheu wahan bis varsh lau niche manyar Horst. We came from India to do service here, Completed girmit (agreement) with difficulty and then toiled on government field as well. My district is Hamirpur in Allahabad Division, My village is Bharkhari in Bimbar Police Station. With good and bad of the land and the year, Came to Dutch-Guayana on 13th April [1898]. Finished [my] girmit of 5 years at the field of Lust and Rust, I served as sardar for 20 years under manager Horst. – Munsi Rahman Khan (1874–1972), an indentured labourer in Surinam1

Introducing himself as an emigrant from Hindustan, Munshi Rahman Khan describes a system, popularly called girmit, through which he went to Dutch Guiana (Surinam) to work as a plantation labourer in 1898. More than one million Indian workers, like him, left their native country to work in the sugar plantations of British and European colonies in the Caribbean, southern Pacific, and Indian Oceans during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This emigration was initially triggered by the revocation of slavery by the British parliament in 1833, which compelled colonial planters to look to India for labourers to overcome the industrial depression that followed the emancipation of their Afro-Caribbean slaves.

2

Coolies of the Empire

In 1834, the British government in India introduced what came to be known as the ‘indenture system’, through which Indian labourers could go overseas to work on the colonial sugar plantations on fixed-term contracts. From 1834 to 1920, the recruitment of Indians to work on the colonial plantations of various islands was organized through this system. The model of Indian indenture system was borrowed from a practice that originated in Europe in the thirteenth century, but it became a common practice in seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when European planters in the United States deputed European and Chinese labourers on their plantations. South American planters used this policy to obtain Chinese labour from the Portuguese settlement of Macao. Under that system, labour was recruited for the planters by their agents to work for a certain period of time (usually five years), during which the employer was legally obliged to provide fixed wages, medical attention and other amenities for the labourers. After the period had elapsed, the labourer could either renew his/her term of employment, or return to his/her native land.2 The Indian indenture system had largely the same general terms and conditions, with only minor variations between the different colonies. The main feature of the Indian indenture system was that emigrants had to commit themselves to a fixed term of labour in advance by signing an agreement, popularly known as ‘girmit’, which committed them to work for five years in their destination colony3 (Appendix I). A form of agreement was available where the preconditions of engagement were declared in English, as well as in regional languages such as Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Malayalam, Kannada and Telegu, etc. The agreement form clearly mentioned the kind of work to be done, hours of work and remuneration, and the availability of various other facilities such as accommodation, hospital and rations etc. (Appendix II). Another technically attractive and significant provision of agreement was an optional return passage at the emigrants’ own expense after the end of the first five years or a free return passage to India at the termination of a further five years of ‘industrial residence’ in the colonies.4 The extent to which migrants were able to fully understand, or planters were willing to genuinely uphold the terms of these agreements has been the subject of much debate, at that time and since. Writing on indentured labour migration is almost as old as the system itself. From the late 1830s, humanitarians connected with the anti-slavery movement raised their voices against what they deemed a ‘new system of slavery’, which simply replaced the slave labour supply to sugar production in various British colonies with another equally reprehensible form of bonded labour. As many of the ongoing debates about the nature of indenture as a system have their

Introduction

3

roots in this early nineteenth-century response, this introductory chapter will begin with a brief survey of the contemporary reporting and writings on ‘indenture’. It will then move on to focus on the various strands in indentured migration scholarship. Among the earliest writers to ‘expose’ the horrors of indenture was John Scoble, a British abolitionist campaigner, who visited many plantations in British Guiana during 1838–1840 and published his findings on the indenture system in a pamphlet titled British Guiana: Facts! Facts! Facts!5 Scoble termed the transportation of Indian coolies as a ‘slave trade’ and contended that it was heavily based on ‘kidnapping’ of ‘ignorant and inoffensive Hindoos’.6 He quoted the 3 January 1838 issue of the British Emancipator, which had denounced such transportation as ‘giving birth to a new slavery’, and detailed the infamous conduct of Chokedars [Chaukidar] who were put on guard over coolies who ‘had to be forced on board’: The trade of kidnapping coolies had been extensively carried on, and that prison depots had been established in the villages near Calcutta for the security of the wretched creatures, where they were most infamously treated, and guarded with the utmost jealousy and care, to prevent their escape, until the Mauritian and Demerara slavers were ready for their reception!7

After visiting the various plantations of British Guiana, Scoble provided the details about the treatment of coolies. In extracts that often echoed anti-slavery accounts of the early nineteenth century, he sought to show the ‘brutality’ and ‘hidden horror’ of the system by citing eye-witness accounts of mistreatment: The coolies were locked up in the sick-house … they were tied to the post of the gallery of the master’s house; I cannot tell how many licks; he gave them enough. I saw blood. When they were flogged at master’s house they rubbed salt pickle on their backs. – Elizabeth Ceaser Their hands were tied behind their backs; they were beaten with a rope; … when licked, they put the breast to the post with hands stretched out; some tie the hands before, some behind. Coolies run away because they are licked. – Narrain8

Scoble was one of many who spoke out against the indenture system. Others included William Garland Barrett, Joseph Beaumont and Edward Jenkin

4

Coolies of the Empire

who visited the various plantations of Demerara, Jamaica and British Guiana to look into the working of the system and life of Indian indentured workers on the plantations.9 These anti-slavery society members published their field trip accounts of the working of the indenture system and contended that the system was a new form of slavery. According to them, considerable numbers of coolies died during transportation, the medical and food provisions were no better than those provided to slaves, and fraudulent methods were employed in the recruitment of migrants. The law under which they had to work was a kind of confinement through legal means, from which it was impossible for a coolie to buy his/her freedom. They alleged scanty wages, bad treatment on plantations, and a large number of prosecutions against workers. These contemporary writings, amounting to only a few of the important pamphlets and booklets by Englishmen touring the former slave colonies of the Caribbean during c. 1840–1870, though full of local colour, do not fully recognize the differences between the pre-existing slave-based sugar plantations and the ones run on the indenture system. Focused mainly on West Indies colonies, where the culture of plantation-slavery was deep-rooted, it came naturally to ex-slave planters to deal with the indentured Indian coolies in a similar manner. Many of these pamphlets were a continuation of the antislavery polemic of the abolitionist and seem to have run their course by the 1870s when the indenture system became fully institutionalized by colonial officials on the Indian side. On the other hand, there is a curious lacuna regarding indenture as far as nineteenth-century mainstream Indian political and politico-economic discourse is concerned. A reading of the secondary work suggests that in the anti-firangi grievances and proclamations that fuelled the Great Rebellion of 1857 (about the loss of religion, contamination of food substances with impure substances, aggressive missionary activity, etc.), there was hardly any mention of the shiploads of Hindu and Muslim peasants that were sent to distant lands across the black waters on special indenture vessels. That was how the indenture system could have appeared in the widespread critiques in the religiously inflected discourse of Company Raj of those times. Similarly, the issue of indenture (its benefits and drawbacks) seems to have been entirely absent in the wide-ranging economic critique of the British Raj by the early nationalists. Indeed, the word ‘indenture’ is absent from the classic work on the subject and its equally detailed index.10 For its part, the vast ‘colonial archive’ on agrarian society of north India – epitomized in the massive compilations, district-wise settlement reports and

Introduction

5

district gazetteers’ dealing with land tenure, peasant production and rural economy – did not carve any space for the treatment of this phenomenon on indenture labour from these districts. There sure were columns on migration in these official compilations, but this was discussed largely within the boundaries of India and not from India overseas. That is perhaps the reason that the theme of indenture was not touched upon, even cursorily, in much recent scholarly writings on rural north India. Indentured labour from India did not attract much specific attention from historians until the 1970s. In the 1940s and 1960s, the issue was addressed primarily within the capacious fold of empire historiography, and in surveys of Indians overseas.11 Here I. M. Cumpston and K. L. Gillian were the pioneers, though they each had quite different emphases. Cumpston provided a detailed analysis of the early period of emigration, deploying considerable statistical information and a delineation of key events to contend that the ‘coolie trade’ was not only extremely expensive in terms of human life, but contributed significantly to the beggaring of colonial treasuries. He did not believe, however, that the introduction of Indian emigration affected culture and language in any fundamental way, and further argued that the return of indentured Indians, enriched with their savings, skills and experience, contributed to the rapid appearance of nationalism in India and a growing demand for independence.12 K. L. Gillian’s work on Fiji Indians marked a new direction in the historiography of labour migration from India to the colonies. It was the first time that a study went beyond looking at indenture only as a political or administrative issue. Gillian presented a balanced picture: ‘though the indentured system was temporary servitude, but through this a new society arose with great potentialities for development for the Indian labourers’.13 Gillian argued that indenture provided new social and economic opportunities to thousands of poor labourers who migrated from India. There was, he suggested, far more social equality in Fiji; women had more freedom, and the children were healthier. Religious divisions remained, but the degree of tolerance was remarkable, with caste becoming unimportant. According to Gillian, despite the various evils of the indenture system, overall it offered an improvement on the conditions the Indian migrants experienced at home, and that on the whole those who went to Fiji were for the most part better off than their kin who had remained in their north Indian villages.14 The pivotal moment in the study of indenture came with the appearance of Hugh Tinker’s seminal work A New System of Slavery, published in 1974.

6

Coolies of the Empire

Writing in the aftermath of decolonization in Africa, Tinker took a liberal anti-colonial approach to the issue of indentured emigration that contrasted strongly with Gillian’s earlier work.15 According to Tinker, the foundations of the indenture system were laid by the slave system that preceded it, and in that sense it was itself a legacy of slavery. Tinker stressed the shipboard mortality during voyages, the absence of respectable family life on plantations and the role of kidnapping and fraud in the recruitment process. For Tinker, the indenture system was a new form of slavery in all but name, which replaced the, now illegal, previous formal slave system. ‘There was one factor, and only one,’ Tinker argued, ‘in which indenture differed from chattel slavery: that it involved temporary servitude rather than a permanent condition’. Otherwise, indenture was an utter setback for those caught in its meshes. For Tinker, it was ironic that Indians exchanged a society and a living community for a system in which production and products determined everything.16 In this assessment, Tinker was heavily influenced by the positions taken by the abovementioned late nineteenth-century humanitarians, who were the first to view indenture as approximating to slavery. These nineteenth-century discourses on indenture were deeply embedded in the social and political context of their time, however, and were bound to a wider set of both humanitarian and commercial and imperial agendas. Though very different in their arguments and emphasis, both Gillian’s and Tinker’s writings provided much needed momentum to students of the history of indenture. In the early 1980s, Brij V. Lal’s studies brought a new dimension to the historiography of indentured emigrants and effectively destroyed stereotypes about the indentured Indians. Lal, the grandson of an indentured labourer and Gillian’s student, brought a novel dimension through quantitative analysis of the indenture-slips of 45,439 migrants who migrated to Fiji from north India. It is important to note that most of the scholarship and research on indentured emigration have been meagre qualitatively as well as quantitatively . Lal’s major contribution lay in the detailed statistics he provided on the emigrants’ social, economic and geographical background.17 In a sense, his detailed work elaborates on a theme explored by Gillian in the early 1960s. Basing his research on actual emigration certificates and other archival material in Fiji and in the Department of Revenue and Agriculture records for British India, Lal showed that the girmitiya were of varied social backgrounds: fewer than 22 percent came from the lower castes. Moreover, emigration to Fiji was an extension of existing mobility within the internal wage labour market, which was a result of poverty-related ‘push factors’ caused by uneconomic holdings,

Introduction

7

deaths and famines. Lal convincingly punctured the myth that the recruiters were the ‘scum of the earth’, were low class/caste or belonged exclusively to ‘untouchable’ communities. Rather, the bulk of recruiters reflected the actual distribution of castes in the villages of UP and Bihar. He further argued that colonial recruitment was a vast, well-organized operation and that the high percentage of cancelled licences showed that it was difficult to defraud and deceive the people without detection. A high percentage of rejections on the grounds of fitness by the medical inspector confirmed that there was, in fact, very little space for deception. Based on archival records, Lal rejected many of the certitudes of traditional historical writings: for instance, the stereotypical idea that indentured women were mostly stray and ‘loose’ and did not belong to ‘respectable castes’. On the contrary, the agreement tickets showed that ‘of all the females who came to Fiji consisted, 4.1 percent Brahmins, 9.0 percent Kshatriyas, 3.0 percent Banias, 0.3 percent Kayasthas, 31.4 percent middle castes, 29.1 percent low castes, 2.8 percent tribals, and 16.8 percent Muslims’.18 In other words, women emigrants came from the entire spectrum of castes in UP. In his methodology and findings, Lal’s writings were, and are, clearly path breaking, though he revisited the issues in a series of articles and papers and modified somewhat his earlier emphasis on the ‘agency’ of the indentured migrants. It is true that the girmitiyas might be expected to undertake backbreaking labour, and diseases and the vagaries of elements could administer harsh blows to precariously balanced labour budgets. Yet while hardship might be an integral part of the indenture labourer’s existence on the plantations, this was not the whole story. Despite the presence of several difficulties, it is also true that girmitiyas, through indenture, gained the opportunity to determine their future in ways not open to them in India. Thus, Lal concluded that the girmit became, simultaneously, the symbol of both slavery and liberation.19 Brij Lal found that For many immigrants, indenture, for all its hardship, still represented an improvement over their condition in India. This was particularly so for the lower castes which were permanently consigned to fringes of rural Indian society as untouchables, tenants-at-will and landless labourers with little hope of betterment in this life or the next. The routine of relentless work on the plantations was nothing new to them. In Fiji, at least, their individual worth as human beings in their own right was recognised and their effort rewarded on the basis of their achievements rather than ascription.20

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In addition to his quantitative and archival research, Brij Lal tapped the experience of his girmitiya grandfather and conducted fieldwork in the girmitiya hinterland in UP, to try and fathom the complex world of the peasants who agreed to board the tapu-bound ships. According to him, ‘the indenture experience led to the creation of a new kind of society among Indian communities overseas...The progenies of the indentured Indians differed significantly from their forbearers in terms of thought and behavioural patterns, worldview and values. They were more individualistic and pragmatic, more selforiented, more egalitarian, sometimes extravagantly proud of their ancestral cultural heritage, but not enslaved by its rituals and cultural protocols.’21 In a popular tract published by the National Book Trust, New Delhi, Lal observed that overseas journey leading beyond the kalapani levelled down social hierarchies and obliterated oppressive cultural practices. New relationship grew. Among these relationships, the relation of Jahajibhai (shipmates) was the most prominent emotionally. This jahaji relationship was as deep and caring as blood relationship.22 Brij Lal’s writings had an important impact on indenture scholarship. The 1980s and 1990s saw a proliferation of works and theses on various aspects of the indenture system, including some written by the grandchildren of girmitiyas. These included work by Vijay Naidu, Ahmed Ali, Rajendra Prasad on Fiji; Clem Seecharan, Basudeo Manguru, Madhavi Kale on the West Indies; Surendra Bhana on South Africa; and other scholarly works were by John D. Kelly on Fiji and Marina Carter on Mauritius.23 Through these works, important themes have emerged around the socio-economic conditions of the indentured migrants in both their home country and host countries. They have provided corrections to the Tinkerian approach through the quantitative analysis of data as well as by placing the ‘agency’ of workers at the centre of their analysis. Despite this, the question of whether indenture was comparable to slavery or to what extent it could be considered ‘free’ labour has continued to dominate the debate. Basudeo Manguru compared the features of indenture and slavery to underscore two basic differences between the two systems, though these were overshadowed by certain similarities. First, the slave was private property and slavery implied permanence. The indentured person, on the other hand, was an instrument of production – one whose freedom was temporarily frozen by his/her contractual obligations. Second, Victorian slavery was immoral. It was incompatible with personal liberty, whereas, by contrast, indentured labour was expedient because it prevented freedom from degenerating into vagrancy and

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idleness. Theoretically, indenture was a compromise designed to ensure the planter the labour he desired, and immigrant the rights he possessed, although in practice such rights hardly ever existed.24 After examining the government policies regarding indentured system, Manguru also argued that the Indian government intervened in the emigration process at three stages – if fraud and coercion were discovered during enlistment, if sanitary and safety precautions in transit were ignored, and if colonial legislation tended to coerce labour. But according to him these legislations could not put a complete stop to fraud and coercion in the recruitment process. 25 Thus, while there were clear differences in the structures and processes of the indenture system, compared to those of slavery, and the government in India was prepared to intervene to maintain them, in practice these could not always be upheld. Madhavi Kale has analysed the significance of empire for indentured labour migration from India and argued that the British Guiana experience was a ‘scandal of empire’ that galvanized anti-slavery forces to again protest the activities of British sugar interests.26 Championing the cause of free labour against paternalist restrictions, the empire successfully defused the anti-slavery critics of indenture, whose assumptions about the Indian capacity for ‘free labour’ were embedded within prejudiced idea about race, gender and class derived from or reinforced by Britain’s experiences of their empire. Kale also argued that opinion-forming media like parliamentary papers and colonial office records helped in broadcasting and normalizing the issues involved. In her work on Mauritius, Marina Carter differentiated between slavery and indenture and argued that the immigrants were not merely passive players in a colonial drama.27 She analysed the interactions of indentured labourers with Sirdars (foremen) and laid a good deal of emphasis on the strategies of labour mobilization by the government and planters. She focused on the returnees who played a significant role in labour mobilization, and on Sirdars as socio-cultural leaders of early indentured settlers in Mauritius. She has paid special attention to family, culture and religion as well in the plantation context, arguing that indentured labourers restructured their social and religious life in the colony.28 Despite studies such as those by Lal, Kale and Carter that focus on the agency and subjectivities of migrants themselves, many scholars, including Prabhu P. Mohapatra and Gail Omvedt, continue to uphold the view propelled by Tinker. In these analyses, migrants are primarily regarded as victims of various forms of greed, deception, colonial coercion and manipulation. 29 The absence of freedom, these scholars argue, is the distinguishing character of indenture, inasmuch as workers were unable to withdraw their labour power,

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bargain or (re)negotiate the terms of their contract to secure better wages and living conditions. They were misled and misinformed by recruiters regarding the nature of plantation work and were even made captives and transported to foreign countries against their will. In these cases, migration, they contend, cannot be characterized as a ‘free choice’ (as defined in European bourgeois debates of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries). Workers were furthermore often drawn into debt bondage by their labour recruiters and the contractual relations between the employers and the employees were not in fact voluntary. These scholars thus emphasize the use of such extra-economic and penal methods by employers to control labour, thereby forcing workers to live in a state of virtual bondage. Little if anything at all is said about the agency of the workers themselves, who are depicted as the largely passive and unconscious victims of over-arching systems of exploitation. By contrast, other scholars have suggested that migration entailed substantial economic, social and cultural benefits. According to P. C. Emmer, a leading revisionist, the long-distance migration stream under the governmentsupervised indenture system was seen by many recruits as an ‘escape hatch’ through which they could break free from economic and social problems at home.30 He also argues that ‘indentured emigration was usually the result of a choice made by the intending emigrant by himself, albeit not always based on rational grounds’.31 Crucially, for Emmer, the indenture system not only created homogeneity among the different caste groups but made it possible for the lower castes to transcend oppressive, previously rigid socio-cultural parameters. In recent decades, a significant trend has emerged in the historiography of indenture towards looking at the experiences of women. There are two broad approaches: one portrays women under the indenture system as a ‘sorry sisterhood’, subject to sexual exploitation;32 a second approach highlights the possibilities created by indenture for women to escape socio-cultural oppression within Indian society. 33 Rhoda Reddock argues that while indentured women may, albeit cautiously, have made the decision to travel to Trinidad to become workers, colonial plantation policies exploited them and made women dependent on men. On the other hand, Emmer and Northrup state that, for the first time, the indenture system provided opportunities for Indian women oppressed by the patriarchal norms of Indian society. Marina Carter argues that although the plantation experience was harsh for Indian women migrants, their role as contributors in public life was empowering in their struggles to

Introduction

11

overcome discrimination and inequality both in their personal relationships with male partners and families and in relation to the colonial state. Recently, Gaiutra Bahadur, in her seminal work Coolie Woman, has reopened the debate on the treatment of women on the plantations.34 Through her family history and detailed exploration of the archives including ship logs, Bahadur has contextualized her girmitiya grandmother’s history within the larger politics of the colonial migration policy through which many women left their homeland to escape patriarchal oppression at home. In contrast to earlier feminist analyses regarding indentured women, Bahadur considers that the phenomenon of migration enabled the empowerment of women through their new identity as ‘coolies’.35 Through the story of her grandmother Sujaria, Bahadur excavates the repressed history of coolie women among whom many were widows, outcastes or runaways who chose to emigrate alone to work on sugar plantations of Caribbean, Indian and Pacific islands. Bahadur shows that it was the sexuality that gave coolie woman a degree of leverage. The scarcity of women on plantation provided them a sway but at the same time it also made them victim. Though the field of indenture studies has developed rapidly since the 1970s, it was only from the late 1990s that the works discussed above began to have an impact on teaching and research on the subject of Indian emigration history. Until relatively recently, Indian economic history during the colonial period was considered almost exclusively in the context of the geographical space of the sub continent. Peasants were a major focus of such studies, as long as the area of focus remained in India – whether in villages or an industrial town. On leaving India’s shores they seemingly forfeited their right to the attention of Indian historians. It would, indeed, be fair to say that until the late 1990s the issue of Indian migration was largely regarded as an ‘internal matter’, even in premier institutions in India. More recently, however, there has been a shift towards considering indentured migration overseas (as well as Indian migration more generally) within the context of a burgeoning interest in diaspora studies. While Adam McKeown’s global history of nineteenth-century migration lays little emphasis on indenture, the work of Bates and Carter considers Indian historical overseas migration from the perspective of ‘networks’. They argue that, in contrast to the Caribbean or the Pacific regions, the proximity of the Indian Ocean to India provided opportunities for extensive spouse and kin regrouping and high levels of circular migration. This understanding of historic migration significantly complicates colonial categories of slavery, indenture and free labour.36

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A migrant is one who leaves his village.37 In recent years, labour historians have accepted the view that in order to develop a nuanced understanding of the working class, it is essential to look beyond the realm of market economics and understand the religio-cultural world they left behind, which they reinvented or carried with them.38 Reflecting this change of focus, this book is devoted to understanding not only their economic lives but also the changing cultural world of the emigrants, both in India and overseas. While most studies have looked at indentured labourers in relation to their destination points, I seek to focus my attention on the social worlds and changing fortunes of these labourers from their point of origin and throughout the indenture experience. As a result, this book considers emigrants not as lost to their original villages, but as individuals whose choices, aspirations and lives overseas cannot be studied without also paying serious attention to their quotidian socio-cultural life in the villages of the Gangetic plain. Hence, Chapter 2 looks into the culture of migration in search of work and service over the longue durée. Here I explore the factors that would have been weighed before deciding to enroll for work on distant sugar plantations, a fundamental factor in understanding how indenture was perceived in the villages, both by the men and by relatively fewer numbers of women who went or those women who remained behind – as well as how it differed from previous experiences of labour mobility. In a similar vein, this book seeks to provide a fresh perspective on the changes and amendments in laws and regulations to close loopholes within existing legislation, exploited by both emigrants and recruiters. This is in order to determine both the way in which this legislation was experienced by emigrants and the extent to which the colonial state was complicit in, or active against, forms of coercion within the system. Hence, Chapter 3 focuses on official policy enactments on the issue of emigration, the laws that were passed relating to it and the extent to which they could be enforced on the ground. In attempting to understand the ways in which various official enquiries came about, and how the different laws and regulations came into existence, the chapter explores the pressures, policies, viewpoints and exigencies that went into shaping the elaborate structure through which the purabia peasant of north India passed on through an institutional grid to the sugar tapus. Chapter 4 then looks into the journey of indentured workers on the high seas; explores the new developments of shipping technology, provisions of food, medical facilities and other making-up provisions; and argues that the journey of indentured emigrants was much different than slaves’ journey. The colonial state tried to provide as much facilities to emigrants to avoid any discrepancies

Introduction

13

in terms of provisioning and rescue the emigrant workers’ cultural and habitual life during their journey. This certainly mitigated the sufferings of long and tedious sea journey. One of the main concerns of this book is to understand the migrants in the context of the village and the plantations. My concern, therefore, is very much with labourers between their native villages, their fields and culture, and the plantations overseas. In a sense, the central focus of this book is both culture and agriculture of the two worlds of the girmitiyas. Here my point of departure is simple: culture is lived and reproduced in communities, but is crucially tied to ‘place’ and the exigencies of work and labour. How well did this culture travel, typically of the Bhojpuri-speaking indentured labourer from eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, on its way to Mauritius and Fiji (largely the focus of my study and linguistic competence)? Scholarship, even fiction, has had much to say on the demise of caste, both aboard the ships and in the plantations, and on the continuance of some public festivals39; it has had relatively little say on the anxiety experienced by married women regarding the need to deliver the requisite male heir, birth rituals or belief in particular caste ‘birs’ or heroes – to give some stray examples. Or, was it the case that the Bhojpurispeaking emigrants that became Mauritian or Fijian girmitiyas were ‘obliged to forget’, to borrow a key phrase from the celebrated essay by Ernst Renan on nationalism, a large part of their peasant work-related culture, because now they were no longer peasants, reading anxiously (and meaningfully) Gangetic cloud formations in particular lunar asterisms to better decide the optimal time of sowing and weeding their small land holdings.40 Was it the case that since rations were now provided by the plantations, their women no longer sang, while grinding wheat flour, doleful songs ( jatsar) about the eager wait for a brother’s visit to their forlorn, marital homes.41 This study focusses on Bhojpuri popular culture, agricultural and domestic rites and ceremonies (including views of the ordinary and the extraordinary) and the deified dead in the period from 1830 to the late 1880s. It also compares the above to the popular culture and folk beliefs of Mauritian and Fijian Indian girmitiyas. Besides, it pays attention to the thickness of colonial archives on Indian peasants, and by contrast, the thinness of the archives – official and planters’ own – on actual work and beliefs on the plantations. In doing so, it also engages historians experiencing difficulties with writing on plantation culture. The problem with most recent attempts to relate the issue of culture to the plantation regime is that, paradoxically, we remain none the wiser about the work rhythm and the calendrical unfolding of the actual regime of work of

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the girmitiyas. Although, plantations required a daily expenditure of labour as a matter of principle, this must, nevertheless, have been linked to the agronomic needs of the cane plant, as well as leaner periods in the calendar of cultivation. It is worth asking what the rhythms of work processes on the plantation were for the cultivation of sugarcane. Did it still follow agricultural ‘seasons’, where after planting the seeds there is relatively little need of hard work for the raising of the crop until it reaches maturity, save weeding and watering? Or was it the case that the plantation regime transformed these peasants into ‘working class labour’, such that they were no more peasants who followed a socio-agricultural-calendrical cycle for the cultivation of a variety of crops as in India. On this point the historiography of indenture is insufficient. The lack of any official reporting and cataloguing of popular culture and the process of (sugarcane) production in colonial plantations was a basic characteristic of plantation regime, such that once someone disembarked as a girmitiya he/she became lost from official oversight (confined to the particular estate) until he/she (or a collective of similar persons) became a problem for the planters and the colony. As Chapter 5 will detail the tricky issue of religion in an alien place aside, indentured Indians did not simply forget the cultural practices of home, even if the plantation regime created a disjunction between peasant agriculture and popular culture of the villages in United Provinces and Bihar. Chapter 6 brings into focus three extraordinary girmitiyas – Totaram Sanadhya, Baba Ramchandra from Fiji and Munshi Rahman Khan from Surinam – and their writings on their experience as indentured labourers on the plantations, whose stories run counter to nationalist discourse on indenture in the early 1900s. Baba Ramchandra and Totaram belonged to the high caste and they were given relatively easier work in the managers’ house. As such, two of our key girmitiya informants did not seem to have experienced directly the harsh regime of plantation work. Their experiences of actual work in the cane fields must be regarded as atypical of the vast majority of Bhojpuri girmitiyas. However, many of the issues raised by Totaram and Baba Ramchandra came from experience during their period of indenture. I also consider the significance of indenture for those who inherited a girmitiya legacy, that is, the second- and third-generation descendants who wrote books and articles on indenture. Chapter 7 goes on to explore the end of indenture, paying particular attention to contemporary nationalist discourse while analysing the role of the leading nationalists who campaigned for its abolition. Here I argue that the sufferings of indentured Indians on the sugar plantations were not the core issue for Indian nationalists in the beginning of the abolition campaign, rather it was an issue of political and economic rights of free passenger Indians in South

Introduction

15

Africa for which Indian nationalists such as M. K. Gandhi, G. K. Gokhale, Madan Mohan Malaviya were struggling. When they failed in fulfilling of their demand by the South African government, Indian nationalists seem to have propped up the indenture problem as a point of bargain. It was only when Indian nationalist failed in their attempt that they started a campaign for the abolition of the indenture labour system altogether on the ground of degradation of position of Indian women on the sugar plantations. The indenture system involved the shipping out of small peasants from north India, in our case, peasants who produced, raised, worried over all sorts of crops in addition to their valued sugarcane.42 When the ‘shipments’ arrived they were now to function as piece-rate workers, raising only cane crops: rations for the upkeep of their body were not raised on peasant farms, as was the case back home, but provided by the planters.43 As for their soul, they did not quite sell it to the devil, as on some of the plantations of South America.44 The purabia girmitiya who had coined a new vocabulary for himself/herself and his/her fellow jahaji bhai/behan was not robbed entirely of his/her engrained Gangetic culture; on the plantations of Mauritius and Fiji, he/she lived it differently. Migrants may have left behind a lived-past in the cane fields of Gorakhpur and Motihari, and they may have vacated the cultural spaces of home and hearth, but they carried enough portable Bhojpuri objects, tastes and words to reproduce their cultural selves away from home, as they laboured and reinvented new and different futures for themselves thousands of miles away from home. This book attempts to provide an alternative account of the being and becoming, both economic and socio-cultural, of those who put their thumb impressions on girmits in Calcutta before embarking on their journey to distant and alien plantations, largely within, but equally outside the overarching empire. This then is an attempt to write a history of the ‘coolies’ of the British Empire in as palpable a sense as the archives, both official and non-official, allow us.

Endnotes 1. Khan, Munshi Rahman. 1954. Gyan Prakash arthat Shikshaprad Dohe Kundaliyan, pp. 18-25. Delhi: Dehati Pushtak Bhandar. See also Pushpita. ed. 2003. Kavita Surinaam, pp. 127-130. New Delhi: Radhakrishna Publication. Munshi Rahman Khan, an indentured labourer in Surinam, wrote his autobiography Jiwan Prakash in 1943. The manuscript written in Devnagari script was published in Dutch in 2003 and in English in 2005. See the English translation of Jiwan Prakash by Kathinka Sinha-Kerkhoff, Ellen Bal and Alok Deo Singh; Khan, Munshi Rahman. 2005. Autobiography of an Indian Indentured Labourer. Delhi: Shipra Publications.

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2. Thomas, Timonthy N. 1985. Indian Overseas: A Guide to Source Materials in the India Office Records for the Study of Indian Emigration 1830-1950, p. 1. London: British Library. 3. The words ‘girmit’ and ‘girmitiya’ are terms coined by those signing the agreement>agreement >girment>girmit (girmitiya) to designate those who were to labour in the sugar colony under such an [a]greement. 4. Lal, B. V. 2004. Girmitiyas: The Origins of the Fiji Indians. Canberra: Journal of Pacific History. Reprinted in 1983 with a Foreword by Clem Seecharan, Lautoka: Fiji Institute of Applied Studies, pp. 37-38. 5. Scoble, John. 1840. British Guiana: Facts! Facts! Facts! 28 February. London: Johnson & Barrett Printers. 6. Ibid., p. 1. 7. Ibid., p. 1. 8. ibid., p. 2. 9. Beaumont, Joseph. 1871. The New Slavery: An Account of the Indian and Chinese Emigrants in British Guiana. London; Jenkin, Edward. 1871. The Coolie: His Rights and Wrongs. New York: George Routledge and Sons; Barrett, William Garland. 1859. Corydon: Many Years a Resident in Jamaica and in British Guiana. London: Gray and Warren. 10. Chandra, Bipan. 1966. The Rise and Growth of Economic Nationalism in India: Economic Policies of Indian National Leadership, 1880-1905. New Delhi: People’s Publishing House. 11. See Ganguli, N. 1947. Indians in the Empire Overseas. London; Nath, Dwarka. 1950. A History of Indians in British Guiana. London; Kondapi, C. 1951. Indians Overseas. Madras; Cumpston, I. M. 1953. Indian Overseas in British. Teritories, 1834-1854. Oxford; Gillian, K. L. 1962. Fiji’s Indian Migrants: A History to the End of Indenture in 1920. Melbourne; Waller, Judith Ann. 1968. East Indians Indentured in Trinidad. Puerto Rico: Rio Piedras; Saha, Panchanand. 1970. Emigration of Indian Labour, 1934-1900. Delhi. 12. I. M. Cumpston, op. cit., p. 179. 13. Gillion, K. L. 1962. Fiji’s Indian Migrants: A History to the End of Indenture in 1920, p. 199. Melbourne. 14. Ibid. 15. Tinker, H. 1974. A New System of Slavery: The Export of Indian Labour Overseas, 1830-1920. London. 16. Ibid., p. xiv. 17. Lal, Brij V. 1983. Girmitiyas: The Origin of the Fiji Indians. Canberra. 18. Ibid., p. 137. 19. Lal, Brij V. 2005. On the Other Side of Midnight: A Fijian Journey, p. 10. Delhi: National Book Trust of India. 20. Ibid., pp. 9–10. 21. Lal, Brij V. 2000. Chalo Jahaji: A Journey through Indenture to Fiji, p. 44. Suva: Fiji Museum.

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22. Lal, Brij V. 2005. On the Other Side of Midnight: A Fijian Journey, p. 2. India: National Book Trust. 23. Naidu, Vijay. 1980. Violence of Indenture in Fiji. Suva: University of South Pacific; Ali, Ahmad. 1979. Girmit: Indian Indenture Experience in Fiji. Suva: Bulletin of the Fiji Museum No. 5; Prasad, Rajendra. 2004. Tears in Paradise: A Personal and Historical Journey, 1879-2004. Auckland; Kelly, John D. 1991. A Politics of Virtue: Hinduism, Sexuality and Counter Discourse in Fiji. Chicago; Seecharan, Clem. 1993. India and the Shaping of the Indo-Guyanese Imagination: 1890-1920. Peepal Tree; and 1993. Indians in British Guiana 1919–1929. MacMillan; Manguru, Basudeo. 1987. Benevolent Neutrality: Indian Government Policy and Labour Migration to British Guiana, 1854-1884. London; Kale, Madhavi. 1998. Fragments of Empire: Capital, Slavery, and Indian Indentured Labor in the British Caribbean. Pennsylvania University Press; Bhana, Surendra. 1991. Indentured Indian Emigrants to Natal, 1860-1902: A Study Based on Ships’ List. New Delhi; Carter, Marina. 1995. Servant, Sirdars and Settlers: Indians in Mauritius, 1834-1874. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. 24. Mangru, Basudeo. 1987. Benevolent Neutrality: Indian Government Policy and Labour Migration to British Guiana, 1854–1884, p. 234. London. 25. Ibid., p. 225. 26. Madhavi Kale. 1996. ‘Capital Spectacles in British Frames: Capital Empire and Indian Indentured Migration to the British Caribbean.’ International Review of Social History. Amin, Shahid and Marcel van der Linden. 1996. ‘Peripheral Labour: Studies in the History of Partial Proletarianization.’ International Review of Social History 41 (4): 109–33. 27. Carter, Marina. 1995. Servant, Sirdars and Settlers: Indians in Mauritius, 1834-1874. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. 28. Ibid. See Chapter 7, pp. 236–70. 29. Mohapatra, Prabhu. 2004. ‘Assam and the West Indies, 1860-1920: Immobilising Plantation Labour’. In Masters, Servants and Magistrates in Britain and the Empire, 1562-1955, edited by Douglas Hay and Paul Craven. Chapel Hill and London: University of North Carolina Press; Mohapatra, Prabhu. 2001. ‘Regulating Informality: Legal Construction of Labour Relations in Colonial India.’ In Workers in the Informal Sector Studies in Labour History 1800-2000, edited by Sabyasachi Bhattacharya et al. Delhi: Macmillan. See also Omvedt, Gail. 1979–80. ‘Migration in Colonial India: The Articulation of Feudalism and Capitalism by Colonial State.’ Journal of Peasant Studies; Anderson, Michael. 2004. ‘India, 1858-1930: The Illusion of Free Labour.’ In Masters, Servants and Magistrates in Britain and the Empire, 1562-1955, edited by Douglas Hay and Paul Craven. Chapel Hill and London: University of North Carolina Press. 30. Emmer, P. C. 1986. ‘The Great Escape: The Migration of Female Indentured Servants from British India to Surinam, 1873–1916’. In Abolition and its Aftermath: The Historical Context 1790-1916, edited by D. Richardson. London; Emmer, P. C. 1986. Colonialism and Migration: Indentured Labour before and after Slavery. Dordrecht. 31. Ibid., p. 187.

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32. Reddock, Rhoda. 1985. ‘Freedom Denied: Indian Women and Indentureship in Trinidad and Tobago, 1845-1917.’ Economic and Political Weekly 20 (43); Shepherd, Veren. 2002. Maharani Misery’s: Narratives of a Passage from India to the Caribbean. The University of West Indies Press; Beall, Jo. 1990. ‘Women under Indenture in Natal.’ In Essays on Indentured Indians in Natal, edited by Surendra Bhana. Leeds: Peepal Tree Press. 33. Emmer, P. C. 1986. ‘The Great Escape: The Migration of Female Indentured Servants from British India to Surinam, 1873–1916’. In Abolition and its Aftermath: The Historical Context 1790-1916, London; Northrup, David. 1995. Indenture Labour in the Age of Imperialism, 1834-1922. Cambridge University Press; Carter, Marina. 1994. Lakshmi’s Legacy: The Testimonies of Indian Women in 19th Century Mauritius. Mauritius: Rose Hill; Carter, Marina. 2012. Women and Indenture: Experiences of Indian Labour Migrants. Pink Pigeon Press. 34. Bahadur, Gaiutra. 2013. Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture. Hachette India. 35. For feminist analyses see Reddock, R. 1985. ‘Freedom Denied: Indian Women and Indentureship in Trinidad and Tobago, 1845-1917.’ Economic and Political Weekly 20 (43); Shepherd, Veren. 2002. ‘Constructing Visibility: Indian Women in the Jamaican Segment of the Indian Diaspora.’ In Gendering Realities: Essays in Carribean Feminst Thought, edited by Patricia Mohammed. Kingston: University of West Indies Press; Shepherd, Veren. 2002. Maharani’s Misery: Narratives of a Passage from India to the Caribbean. Kingston: University of West Indies Press. 36. Bates, Crispin and Marina Carter. 2012. ‘Enslaved Lives and Enslaved Labels: A New Approach to the Colonial Indian Labour Diaspora.’ In New Routes for Diaspora Studies, edited by Sukanya Banerjee, Aims McGuinnes and Steven C. Mckay. Indiana University Press. 37. This generalization had a basis of census figure which was underlined by Kingsley Davis and later cited by Gail Omvedt that a very large percentage of persons (well over 90 percent) were enumerated in the district of their birth. See Davis, Kingsley. 1951. The Population of India and Pakistan. Princeton: University Press. See also Omvedt, Gail. 1980. ‘Migration in Colonial India: The Articulation of Feudalism and Capitalism by the Colonial State.’ Journal of Peasant Studies 7 (2). 38. Chakrabarty, Dipesh. 1989. Rethinking Working Class History: Bengal 1890-1940. Delhi; Chandavarkar, R. 1994. The Origin of Industrial Capitalism in India: Business Strategies and the Working Classes in Bombay, 1900-1940. Cambridge University Press; Joshi, Chitra. 2003. Lost Worlds: Indian Labour and its Forgotten Histories. Delhi: Permanent Black. 39. Kelly, J. D. 1988. ‘From Holi to Diwali in Fiji: An Essay on Ritual and History.’ Man (n.k.) 23: 40–55. Lal, Brij. 1995. ‘Hinduism under Indenture: Totaram Sanadhya’s account of Fiji.’ Journal of Pacific History 30: 1; Jayawardena, C. 1966. ‘Religious Belief and Social Change: Aspects of the Development of Hinduism in British Guiana.’ Comparative Studies in Society and History 8: 211–40; Mohapatra, P. P. 2006. ‘“Following Custom”? Representation of Community among Indian Immigrant Labour in the West Indies, 1880–1920.’ IRSH 51 (14): 173–202.

Introduction

19

40. Renan, Ernst. 1990. ‘What is a Nation?’ In Nation and Narration, edited by Homi K. Bhabha, pp. 8-22. London: Routledge. 41. See Amin, Shahid. 2005. ‘Introduction (and text).’ In A Concise Encyclopaedia of North Indian Peasant Life, edited by Amin. New Delhi: Manohar; Upadhyaya, Hari S. 1967. ‘The Joint Family Structure and Familial Relationship Patterns in the [sic!] Bhojpuri Folksongs.’ PhD Thesis. Folklore Institute: Indiana University; Tripathi, Ram Naresh. 1940. Hamara Gramya Sahitya. Prayag: Hindi Mandir. The woman in the song is working the heavy janta, grinding wheat into flour. See also Upadhyaya, Krishna Dutt. 1991. Bhojpuri Lok Sahitya ka Adhyayan. Varanasi. 42. As Shahid Amin reminds us: ‘Ikh tak kheti haathi tak banaj’ (What elephants are to merchandise, sugarcane is to agriculture) ran a popular proverb in Gorakhpur, in his Sugarcane and Sugar in Gorakhpur: An Inquiry into Peasant Production for Capitalist Enterprise in Colonial India, p. 12. Oxford University Press, 1984. 43. For detailed treatment of peasant agriculture in one of the main catchments areas of emigrants, see Shahid Amin, from which the adage above is taken. 44. Taussig, Michael. 1980. The Devil and Commodity Fetishism in South America. University of North Carolina Press.

20

Coolies of the Empire

2

•

Naukari, Network and Indenture Introduction This chapter looks at the history of long-distance migration among north Indian peasants and attempts to provide a link between this migratory behaviour and indentured migration. A particular focus is on conceptions of the indenture system among north Indian peasants. It also probes peasant awareness of the indenture system through an analysis of official colonial ethnographic reports. In two particularly rich official enquiries done in 1882 by Major Pitcher in United Provinces and George Grierson in Bihar, two major labour catchment areas from which migrants were recruited have been examined.

Culture of Migration for Naukari To understand the culture of migration and its entailments during the colonial period, it is necessary to look into the prehistory of long-distance migration in northern India. The culture of peasant migration in this region can be traced back to the beginning of sultanate rule in north India. It is evident in the poetry and folklore of the region dating back to even fifteenth century. The poetry and folklore popular in the region depict the feelings of separation of a wife from her husband, who left home to serve distant masters. A widespread motif in poetry and folklore is that of separation, especially the separation between a travelling husband and his wife.1 As Amin has suggested, a poem written by Abdul Rahim Khan Khana in the ‘barwai chand’ metre focuses on one such virah (separation) in the sixteenth century. The original barwai chand was composed by the wife of a servant of Abdur Rahim Khan Khana to express the love and longing the newly married wives experienced when separated from their respective husbands who went to serve distant masters. The first ever barwai went as follows: prem pirit ka birwa chalev lagai; seenchan ki sudhi leejau, murjhi na jay (Away you go planting the tender sapling of love and desire; beware it needs watering else it might dry up).2

Naukari, Network and Indenture

21

Another set of songs is the Barahmasa, the song of twelve months. As Kolf has analysed, the Barahmasa are songs of separation where newly married women left at home expressed their feelings of loneliness, abandonment and desire.3 Barahmasa poetry consisted of songs of viraha (or separation) of husband and wife or lover and beloved dated even before 1600. The seasonal absence of the husband is the constant backdrop ‘in a pastoralist, mercantile and soldiering society’, such that ‘the rainy season that brings home the husband is the season blessed and looked forward to by women’.4 A woman describes her feelings during the first month of the rains, Asadh, in a song: All my friends sleep with their husbands, But my own husband is a cloud in another land.5

In another Barahmasa, a woman eagerly waiting for return of her husband describes how she feels with the passing of each month. This delicate feeling of love has been expressed as follows: Kuār kusal nahin pāwā ho, keu nā āwe nā jāwe Patiya me likhi likhi pathaebo ho, dihe kant ka hath. Pus pāla gael ho, jāda jor bujāy Nav man rupaiya bharaeto ho, binu sainya jāda na jāy. Māghi ke siw teras ho, siw bar hoye tohār Fir fir chitwa mandirwa ho, binu piya bhawan udas. Chait fulen ban tensu ho, jab ke tund haharāy Fulat bāla gulābwa ho, piya binu mohe n suhāy. Baisakhi basāwa kataeton ho, rachi ke bangla chhawāy Tohi se soete balamuwa ho, acharane ād.6

The pain of separation from a husband of his wife has enormously been depicted in the popular songs of northern India. The songs sung in the month of Chait called chaitar by the peasants of gangetic belt also reflect the pangs of separation of women left behind by their husbands. In some songs, youthful women are seen sharing their desire and pain with their sister-in-law, and in some they express their feelings of how the home is not pleasant with their husband in another country. G. A. Grierson has gathered a huge collection of such songs from the villages of north India. Some are as follows: Nandi saiyān nahi āwe, Dāl patta jhuki matwālwa Cholia se jobna bad bhaeli nanadi, Kaise kari ke chhupāi.7

22

Coolies of the Empire Bhāwe nāhi mohi bhawanwa, Ho rāma, bidesh gawanawa. Jah yeh mās niras Milan bhaye, Sundar prān gawanawa.8 Nayi re naweli alabeli baurāhi, Udhakat udhakat chaleli anganawa. Khan āngan khan bāhar thādi re, Johe lāge johe lāge saiyan ke anganawa. Jinhi mora kahe rāma saiyan ke anganawa, Nanadi ho tinhi debo kanchan kanganawa.9

The Jatsar songs sung during grinding corn with hand mill by women also carry such expressions of intense longing for the husband who had gone to distant land to earn a livelihood. A song is as follows: Beri beri jāla saiyan purabi banijiya Kaise kate din rāt ho. Gādi je atakela chahal pahal me, baila atake gujrāt ho. E dunu naina banāras atake, saiyan jahānābād ho Talawa me chamakela chālha machhariya, ranawa me chamake talawār ho. Sabhawa me chamkela saiyan ke pagariya, sejiya pe tikuli hamār ho.10

A couplet prefacing the next song: Piya bātiya johat din gaelo. Tori khabariya na aelo Kesiya apne guthaela, mangiye sendur bharāila Piya ke suratiya lāela, jiyara hamar rudhela Nainan niyara dhar gaelo Bābhan ke beda bolāila, pothiya wokar kholwāila Sānche sagun sunwāela, piya naikhe aila Joban hamār bad bhailo. Nauwa ke chaura bolāela, purab des pathāila Uttar dhāi ke āwela, dakkhin surat lagāila. Pachhim ghare ghare dundhālan.11

In another song a woman of eastern Gorakhpur sings: Āmawa mojarāi gaile, mahuiya kochiyāi goile Kekara se badabo sanesawa? Āh re bedardi chhodi de nokariya.12

As Kolff comments: Indian lyrics often take the women’s point of view and so the poets, though telling us all about the yearnings of women left behind in lonely home, does not find it worth while enlightening us about their spouses’ where about or

Naukari, Network and Indenture

23

even about the reason for their departure. Thus, the virahini, the woman separated from her husband, has become one of the most common heroines of medieval literature, including early Hindi literature.13

D. H. A. Kolff has shown that there had been a tradition of peasants to get recruited as the soldier of sultanate. Eastern Hindustan, popularly known as purab, was an important area for the recruitment of peasant soldiers during fifteenth and sixteenth centuries under the sultanate of Sher Shah and Jaunpur. These purabia soldiers worked for their emperor at distant places. During the Mughal rule in India, the same purabia were in the army.14 Mughals recruited peasants as sepoys especially from the region of Baksar. These soldiers were popularly known as baksariya. When British East India Company annexed large parts of India, it formed a huge army consisting of purabia and baksariya peasant soldiers. In many songs, the separation of the husband from his wife is due to naukari or service, which in traditional India generally refers to long-distance service, such as that in the British East India Company’s army.15 The above evidence clearly suggests that rural India, especially in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, is unimaginable without a constant outward stream of short-, medium- and long-term migrant labours who are destined for service in the military, commerce and agriculture. North Indian peasants served in the army of the Delhi Sultanate and rendered their services to them from the fourteenth century. They continued to serve in the British paltan as sepoys, despite their cultural and religious fears about crossing the black water.16 The above account shows that peasants were constantly on the move, looking for work or naukari. The songs of separation confirm that Indian peasants were seasonal migrants who during the off-crops seasons migrated to work for their distant masters in their trade or as sepoys in the army. Purabia and baksariya not only served in the Sultanate and Mughal armies, but also got naukari in the British army and went away from their homes to serve their master. Although the movement of peasants for naukari in pre-colonial India was completely internal, such internal migration for naukari made them to even travel beyond the seas during colonial period.

Becoming Coolie: Migration under the Indenture System While the pre-colonial movement of peasants was limited to internal migration, British rule in India opened up new possibilities for migration overseas. These possibilities emerged from the need for labour on plantations created by the

24

Coolies of the Empire

abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire. The abolition of slavery by Great Britain in 1833 resulted in a depression in the sugar trade throughout the British Empire, prompting a parliamentary committee to report that ‘great distress undoubtedly prevails amongst all who are interested in the production of sugar in the British colonies’.17 This distress was directly attributed to the difficulty of obtaining labour: ‘The principal cause of the diminished production [of sugar] and consequent distress are the great difficulty which has been experienced by the planters in obtaining steady and continuous labour….’18 West Indian planters found India a suitable place to tap new sources of labour supply because labour was comparatively cheap and plentiful. Between 1834 and 1920, the recruitment of Indians to work in the colonial plantations in various islands was organized through the indenture system.19 Mauritius, in 1834, was the first colony to import Indian indentured labours followed by British Guiana in 1838 and Trinidad and Jamaica in 1845. The other smaller West Indian colonies to import Indian indentured labours were St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vicent and Grenada in the 1850s, Natal in 1860, Surinam in 1873 and Fiji in 1879. During the eighty-two years of indentured migration, over one million Indians travelled to these colonies.20 Table 2.1 shows the number of Indian workers who migrated to various colonies before 1880. 21 Table 2.1: No. of Indian workers who migrated to colonies, 1880 Sl. No. 1.

2.

Colonies

Mauritius

Demerara

3.

Trinidad

5.

Grenada

7.

St. Kitts

4. 6. 8. 9.

10. 11.

Jamaica

St. Lucia St. Vicent Nevis

British Possessions

Indian Indentured Population 248,000 88,000

51,000

11,000

1,500 1000 200

2,000 300

Natal

25,000

Total

429,400

Fiji

1,400 Contd.

Naukari, Network and Indenture Contd.

Foreign Possession

1.

Réunion (French Colonies)

3.

Guadeloupe (French Colonies)

5.

St. Croix (Danish Colony)

2. 4. 6.

Ceyenne (French Colonies)

Martinique (French Colonies)

Surinam (Dutch Colony) Total

Grand total coolie population in all colonies

25

45, 000 4,300

13,500

10,000

87

4,156

77,043

506,433

The above figures demonstrate that the colonial emigration under the indenture system also attracted an overwhelming number of peasants – male, female or newly married males from north Indian villages. The young men who had become jawans and sipahis in Sultanate, Mughal or East Indian Company army now became the bidesia and girmitiya of the sugar colonies. Exploring into the trend of indentured emigrants to Fiji, Brij Lal provides data which confirm that the majority of intending emigrants had left their homes before they were recruited for Fiji. For example, 61.2 percent single male Ahirs, 75.5 percent single male Brahmins and 46.2 percent single male Chamars of Basti district of United Provinces registered themselves as indentured outside their native district. Not only single males but 62.2 percent Ahir, 86.6 percent Brahmin and 45.1 percent Chamar single females of Basti registered themselves outside their native district.22 (See Appendix III for data of other district of United Provinces.) Indentured emigration was only one of the many vents for unemployed labour in the agricultural sector. There were many other streams of inland migration. People were always on the move in search of work of any nature. Grierson found that people from Bihar were moving to Nepal in search of work. He found large number of workers of rural districts of Bihar moved for work when large public, semi-public and private works commenced. As Anand Yang has shown, there used to be a tradition in the Saran district of Bihar that every year thousands of labourers migrated to eastern Bengal and Calcutta seasonally and returned to their villages when agricultural work commenced.23 Large numbers of Saran people were recruited as indentured outside their district. This happened because they left their homes to find work within the country, and when they failed to do so, they became indentured. Pitcher, during his enquiry on the working of the indentured recruitment in United Provinces and Oudh, found many nakas (checkposts) where people

26

Coolies of the Empire

came for varied reasons and had themselves registered for work in the colonies. To quote Pitcher: In all year, apparently, there is a stream of wanderers along highways converging on large towns from which stream nearly one-half of the total number of recruits is drawn. Amongst recruiters, certain towns have a reputation in that way and are known as nakas. Cawnpore, Delhi, and Lucknow are great nakas; Allahabad, Fyzabad and Benaras furnish many recruits from amongst their pilgrims, and Benaras from its Sadabarts. Agra is a great naka for people from the Native states. Muttra affords many female recruits, being a favorite place of pilgrimage with women. 24

Nineteenth-century northern India saw surge of labour market. The overstock and shortage depended on the demand of labourers. Pitcher found that Oudh and Rohilkhand Railways to Maradabad threw whole villages of Kahars out of employment whose livelihood depended on bearing Palakis. Similarly, the end of Cabul war flooded Punjab with men in need of work. A recruiter reported the Pitcher that any number of men in Punjab was available for the colonies.25 Till the mid-nineteenth century the indenture system was working quite widely in the bastis, villages and towns of north India. Proper rules and regulations were framed and licenses were sanctioned to recruiters in the various districts of the United Provinces, Bihar and Bengal. Grierson’s and Pitcher’s reports provide us interesting information on the indenture system in northern India. Legally, there were coolie recruitment offices in each district of north India, the head office of which was in Calcutta. Licenses were provided to the recruiters and many of them employed non-licensed men and women helpers to obtain coolies. Locally, these non-licensed subordinates were known as arkati (a Bhojpuri word for recruiter). Recruiters applied many strategies to hire coolies and modi operandi varied from area to area. Pitcher and Grierson found in United Provinces and Bihar that the ‘ideal method of recruiting was that of recruiters going about in the towns and villages and enlisting people at their homes or nearabouts’. However, many recruiters found coolies in one district and registered them in another.26 Grierson found in Shahabad, Bihar, that emigration was so popular that prospective migrants came to the subdepot to get themselves recruited. Generally, it was not easy for recruiters to obtain labourers for overseas plantations, as it constituted a loss for the local zamindars. Since Indian

Naukari, Network and Indenture

27

village life was dominated by zamindars and other villagers, free movement of recruiters in the countryside was at risk of being assaulted by zamindar’s servants. Hence, recruiters opted new strategies and hung around the main roads leading to large towns, where people often roamed in search of work. They hung about railway stations, sarais and wells outside the towns where travellers congregated and asked men and women if they were looking for work. Their usual first question was ‘Naukari loge?’ (Do you want a job?). If they showed interest in knowing ‘where’ and ‘what kind of job’ the recruiters offered, they explained the agreement of the indenture contract. The fairs were the best place for recruiters to look for labourers. For instance, in Bihar, the Sonpur fair generally offered a fruitful field for recruiters.27

Awareness of the System and Places of Work Humanitarians and anti-slavery society members and later dominant historiographies contended that the peasants who were being transported to the sugarcane fields of the various islands were completely aware about the place and working conditions. The coolies were being fraudulently recruited and, most of the times, kidnapped by the emigration agencies.28 Minute details and evidence appeared in various official reports and non-official writings indicating that there was considerable familiarity about the indentured emigration and the sugar colonies among the peasants in the mid-nineteenth century as the peasants had developed their vocabularies during overseas emigration under the indenture system.29 For instance, the words Arkotties (or arkati for recruiter) and Mirich (for Mauritius) were frequently used by the indentured workers who returned from Mauritius after completing their contract.30 These words were quite popular in the United Provinces and Bihar during the 1880s when Major Pitcher and George A. Grierson were interviewing peasants to understand their feelings and thoughts on the indenture system.31 Both found that the destination points had already been conceptually ‘peasantized’. A hierarchy of preference seems also to have been established. For example, in UP, Pitcher noted that Trinidad, popularly known as ‘Chinitat’, was preferred to Demerara, popularly known as Damra or ‘Demrailla’. Jamaica was considered as good to go to. Little was known yet in early 1883s of either Fiji or Natal. This may be due to the late commencement of emigration in Fiji in 1879 and the fact that Natal received many labourers from south India. Mauritius, popularly known as ‘Mirich’, was popular among north Indian peasants. Pitcher found that people were quite aware about the

28

Coolies of the Empire

conditions of the system, passage and wages in each colony. For instance, Mauritius was preferred by the emigrants due to the shortness of the journey, inexpensive return passage and payment of monthly wages instead of a daily labour. But Pitcher also found that Mauritius had acquired a bad reputation in some areas. A recruiter at Gorakhpur said that ‘coolies would sometimes say that they are ready to go to any colony but Mauritius’. Such feelings were prevalent in some area for Demerara or Mauritius, but everywhere for the ‘French Colonies’. For Pitcher, such feelings were perhaps a reflection of the old days of ‘vagrant hunts’ in the French colonies.32 Pitcher found that many educated Indians thought that recruitment was carried on to populate the various deserted colonies, which were now under the control of the Indian government, and that those who were emigrating would not ever return.33 In UP, native deputy collectors and inspectors of police shared the belief that: Coolies are made to eat pork and beef; are deprived of caste in malice aforethought, and are forcibly converted to Christianity. Such opinion had also been communicated to coolies in open court.34

In Bihar, Grierson recorded varied views of people on emigration. He found that emigration was popular in the districts where returnees were settled. As Grierson pontificated, emigration was emphatically ‘Crescit indulgens sibi’, and every emigrated coolie who emigrated became an apostle of it on his return.35 In UP, Pitcher reported that the feeling of the native community in several places was negative as many people told him tales where ‘the coolie hangs with his head downward like a flying-fox or is ground in for oil’. 36 Grierson also heard in Bihar about the above image, which was popularly known as ‘mimiai ka tel’ (the oil extracted from a coolie’s head).37 However, Grierson found that elsewhere people were very well aware of the facts about colonial emigration: ‘a coolie goes out for five years; that if he stays for ten, he gets a free passage home; that he is well treated, his caste respected, and comes home rich. The climate of the colonies is delightful, work plentiful and highly paid.’ In some districts where returnees were settled, people did not believe in the story about ‘mimiai ka tel ’, and considered it untrue.38 The attention to the stories of ‘mimiai ka tel’ was also taken by a cartoonist of the period. Hence, a Chinese schoolmaster in Georgetown provided the following woodcut (Figure 2.1) to Edward Jenkin, who was on a visit to British Guiana to write a book on the condition of coolie labourers.

Naukari, Network and Indenture

29

Figure 2.1: Mimiai ka tel: Cartoon on life on a sugar plantation as seen through the eyes of an indentured labourer

Source: Jenkin, Edward. 1871. The Coolie: His Rights and Wrongs, p. 10. London: Strahan & Co.

Jenkins explained the cartoon as follows: The picture is a tolerably fair representation of a manager’s house on its brick pillars. To the left, at the bottom of the picture, is a free Coolie driving his cattle. To the right a rural constable is seizing an unhappy pigtail to convey him to the lock-up, being absent, as we see, from the band just above him, with his arms unbound. This indicates that he is trying to avoid the restraints of his indenture, and for this he is liable to punishment. Above him, on the right of the picture, is a group of Chinese, and on the left of the steps a group of Indians, represented with their arms bound, an emblem of indentureship. They always speak of themselves as, “bound,” when under indenture. At the foot of the steps, on either side, is a Chinaman and a Coolie, from whose breasts two drivers are drawing blood with a knife, the life fluid being caught by boys in the swizzle-glasses of the colony. A boy is carrying the glasses up the steps to the attorney and the manager, who sit on the left of the verandah, and who are obviously fattening at the expense of the bound people below them. A fat

30

Coolies of the Empire wife and children look out of the windows. Behind, through a break in the wall, are represented the happy and healthy owners in England; to the right, under the tree, through a gap in the fence, are aged Chinese, weeping over their unfortunate relatives. In the right-hand corner of the verandah is the pay-table, with the overseers discussing and arranging stoppages of wages. The smoking chimney of the kitchen and the horse eating his provender seem to be intended to contrast with the scene in front. This, then, gives a picturesquely sentimental and satirical aspect of the grievances likely to arise under the Coolie system.39

The rumour of ‘mimiai ka tel’ might have risen due to the demand of young and able-bodied workers for plantations. Planters had instructed to the emigration agencies and recruiters in the countryside regarding the layout of an emigrant labour. Hence, the objection to the old-age male or female and the high demand for young and able-bodied emigrants provided a basis for the rumour as it was believed that such expensive oil can only be obtained from young and juvenile’s heads. The rumours about ‘mimiai ka tel’ along with some of Grierson’s insights and cultural linguistics have been projected back by the novelist Amitav Ghosh into the 1830s on that curiously populated ship that marks the site of his novel Sea of Poppies. Ghosh writes: The most frightening of the rumours was centred upon the question of why the white men were so insistent on procuring the young and the juvenile, rather than those who were wise, knowing, and rich in experience: it was because they were after an oil that was to be found only in the human brain – the coveted mimiái-ka-tel, which was known to be most plentiful among people who had recently reached maturity. The method employed in extracting this substance was to hang the victims upside down, by their ankles, with small holes bored into their skulls: this allowed the oil to drip slowly into a pan.40

Emigration as a ‘loss’ also figured in rural talk in another way. For instance, Grierson heard in the countryside that ‘if anyone’s son or brother disappeared after a family quarrel and was not heard of again, it was at once concluded that he had gone to the “Tapu”, and nothing more is thought about it’. ‘In this way’, observed Grierson, ‘the colonies get the credit of being a kind of limbo where everyone goes, who is lost sight of, and hence, they got a bad name as a place where, once a person goes, ten chances to one he were never heard of again’.41 Grierson noticed the large correspondence between emigrants and their relatives in India, but uncharacteristically chose not to provide specimens of such letters.

Naukari, Network and Indenture

31

Many a time, emotional attachments with native land and family ties came in the way of emigration. Some people told Grierson that it is very difficult to leave ‘Janam-bhoomi’, but described the positive aspects of emigration in the context of oppressive caste rules in their villages. They, thus, acknowledged to Grierson that ‘a man can eat anything on board ship, a vessel being like the Temple of Jagannath, without caste restrictions’.42 However, in some cases, as Grierson found in Gaya, ‘Jo log nahi jante hain’ (the uninformed) abused the coolies for leaving the country and repeated the tale about ‘mimiai ka tel’. Here too, Grierson noted that there was a general belief that ‘coolies in the colonies are made to eat beef and to become Christians, and that they will never be allowed to return’.43 During his enquiry tour, Grierson noted the natives’ objections to emigration. The first objection he found was the long-term commitment and the distance from home. Once people went to a colony, in many cases they could not manage to maintain their familial ties in India. Another objection was the dread of interference with caste. People were afraid of the forcible conversion to Christianity. Many people complained to Pitcher and Grierson about the discouragement of their form of worship, prompted by religious hatred in the colonies, and suspected the whole practice was a fraud on the grounds of the paucity of news of the emigrants who left India.44 Grierson observed that the absence of a trustworthy postal system fostered such suspicions and negative thinking. People complained to him that there was nothing to ‘ jog the memories’ of the emigrants with regard to their friends at home. Ray Jay Prakash Bahadur, the manager of the Dumraon Raj, complained as follows: When a man goes out, his friends never know when they will see him again. Practically there is no communication by letter between the colonies and India. Letters do arrive, but the very fewness of the arrivals makes evident in a village the great number of coolies about whom nothing is known.45

Some returned emigrants said to Grierson that they used to send letters, but never received any replies, as their families and friends in India did not know their address, and the friends of coolies who had not returned said that they had never heard from them.46 Although limited, letters and remittances were being definitely sent by the indentured from the colonies (Tables 2.2 and 2.3):

32

Coolies of the Empire Table 2.2: Delivery of letters from colonies

Names of colonies

Population Numbers of letters delivered in India through the emigration agent in of Indians the year 1873

1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882

Mauritius 248,000

No record

Demerara 88,000

No 24 record

Trinidad

51,000

No record but few in number

Jamaica

11,000

34

35

53

95

335

509

546

702

9

22

5

5

St. Lucia 1,000 Grenada

1,500

St. Vicent 2,000 Natal

25,000

Fiji

1,400

Surinam

4,156

French col.

72,800

No record but few in number Nil 2

Sources: Grierson Report, Para 155, p. 37. Table 2.3: Remittances sent by the emigrants Name of colonies

Approximate amount of remittances in rupees paid in India through the emigration agent at Calcutta between 1873 and 82

Approximate amount of remittances in rupees paid in India through the emigration agent at Calcutta in 1882

Approximate proportionate amount of remittances to every 1,000 coolies

Mauritius

38,541

13,536

54.5

Demerara

39,656

10,211

116

Trinidad

27,380

11,905

292

Natal

8,217

3,348

134

Surinam

1,540

1,016

254

Sources: Grierson Report, Para 155, p. 38.

Grierson writes in a diary on 13 January ‘two years ago a sonar (goldsmith) came back from Mauritius and told Mir Kungra that his son was alive and

Naukari, Network and Indenture

33

well. Mir then sent a registered letter, but it was returned through the Deadletter Office. People told him when he sent the letter that it would never reach its destination, as such letters never did. He did not believe them, but found they had spoken the truth.’47 I found such an undelivered letter of Sirajuddin, a girmitiya in Ba district of Fiji from Compbellpore of Punjab, India. The letter was not delivered due to mistakes in his address. Figure 2.2 is the lost letter of Sirajuddin. Figure 2.2: Two unusual mentions on the address box – occupation and caste

Note: Girmitiyas also filed a petition to appoint a Hindustani at the post office who could write correct addresses on the post cards.48 Before returning to India, Ramchandra Rao, an indentured labourer in Fiji (see Chapter 6) and a famous peasant leader of Awadh in 1920s and 1930s, wrote the following petition in Fiji on behalf of Girmitiyas of the Ba District regarding the appointment of a clerk knowing Hindustani at the post office.49

34

Coolies of the Empire

Figure 2.3: Petition by Indian indentured workers to appoint a Hindustani-knowing interpreter at the Post Office

The translation read as follows: Honourable, The Colonial Secretary, Suva Sir, We the Indians of Ba district beg to state that there is a large population of our people. We cannot conveniently send or get home letters, parcels and money orders.

Naukari, Network and Indenture

35

Messrs Marks are in charge of the local post office and had two men, one European and his Indian assistant. The latter remained for six months, during which period we had no trouble of any sort in mail, but now only the European is working and Indian is sent away. The former cannot understand Hindustani. We give the names of district and thana, but he takes it down differently; thus, great inconvenience is caused in our home letter; etc., without an Indian interpreter we suffer much. This is a big district consisting large number of free and indentured Indians. Under these circumstances we request that the Government will direct Messrs Marks to take necesaasry steps to remove our grievances or to build Govt Post Office. As long as there was an Indian interpreter we had no trouble, but in his absence general dissatisfaction prevails. We shall be ever grateful for your kindness. We beg to remain, Sir, Your most obedient servants. 57 Indians etc of Ba. Translator Himmat … 1st December, 1914.

In the early twentieth century, novelist Mannan Dwivedi Gazpuri in his piece Ramlal focuses on the importance of letters and the postal system for those whose kin had migrated: Today is Wednesday. Parents and wives of emigrants are looking out for the postman. A red turban, band around the ankles and leather bag is hanging on the shoulder. This is not a simple bag. This is a treasure of the hopes and sorrows of the people. This very [bag] brings the money earned by the sweated labour of the poor in countries as far flung as Rangoon, Canada, Natal and Mauritius.50

The truth of the Gazpuri novel regarding the remittances sent by the indentured labourers from overseas plantation can be known from many other letters sent by labourers through the government postal channels. In 1880, Sewpersad, an Indian indentured labourer who travelled from Sultanpur (UP) to Durban (Natal), sent £50.0 that was acknowledged by the protector of emigrants and emigration agent in Calcutta. A letter was sent by the labourer asking for the confirmation of remittance to his family in India, which had not reached even after two years. Reproduced in Figure 2.4 is the letter of Sewpersad51:

36

Coolies of the Empire

Figure 2.4: A letter written in Urdu by an indentured worker from Sultanpur (UP) in Natal asking for the confirmation of remittance to his family in India

In another case, Kalli Prasaud at Natal wrote a note – a bill of exchange from the Natal Bank for £10 – which he sent to Auchaibur Singh of Arrah (Bihar), who sold it to Moocond Lall. However, Moocond Lal could not encash it and sold it back to Auchaibur Singh. Auchaibur Singh wrote to Ram Khelawon Singh in Calcutta asking if he could get it encashed and send the money to him, or Khelawon Singh must send it back to Kalli Prasaud in Natal. The vernacular note is given in Figure 2.5.52

Naukari, Network and Indenture Figure 2.5: A note written by Kalli Prasaud regarding a bill of exchange from the Natal Bank

37

38

Coolies of the Empire

These letters and remittances confirm that the indentured Indians working on the sugar plantations of Asia, Pacific or Caribbean islands were in touch with their family members in India. The remittances were a big support and hope for sustaining their lives. The overseas migration was so deep into the daily life of the north Indian peasant that even Munshi Premchand, the famous novelist from UP, touched upon the anxiety of receiving letters from those migrating to Mirich or Damra: Gobar asked, “Amma (mother), what happened to dada (grandfather)”? Dhaniya did not wish to acquaint him with plight of the house. Said, “nothing much son, just a little headache. Why don’t you change and wash up? Where were you all these days? Does someone abscond from his home like this? And that too without bothering to send even a letter. Today after a whole year it has struck you to think of us. I nearly lost my sight looking out for you. I lived on the hope that someday I would be able to see you. Some said you have run away to Mirich [Mauritius], some said to Damra [Demerara] tapu [island]. I nearly lost hope after all this. Where were you all these days?” Gobar answered a little shyly, “not too far Amma, just close by in Lucknow.” And you did not even bother to write us a letter staying so close by?53

Returnees and Emigration Network Indentured emigration became a well-known phenomenon in northern India due to the returnees who were informing about the system, their working conditions in the colonies and so on. to their fellow villagers. In the context of returnees, although the number of those who returned was quite less, the British colonies fared much better than French colonies. Table 2.4 shows all the emigrants who had gone to various colonies from Calcutta and those who returned from those colonies after the commencement of operations up to 1883. Table 2.4: Emigrants from Calcutta who left and returned to colonies from the commencement of operations up to 188354 Colonies

Mauritius

Demerara Trinidad Jamaica

Emigrated to

Returned from

126,656

15,727

21,434

5,188

232,802

66,769

80,007

7,190 Contd.

Naukari, Network and Indenture Contd.

Colonies

Greneda

St. Lucia St. Kitts

St. Vicent Nevis Natal Fiji

St. Croix Réunion Suriman

Guadeloupe Cayenne

Martinique Total

Emigrated to 3,220 2,534 361

39 Returned from 214 162 -

2,275

680

14,214

517

312

250

6,792

708

1,427

-

342

1,420 8,115

13,854 962

503,489

-

-

985 169 46

111,843

Pitcher’s and Grierson’s enquiries left us clues of positive and negative feedback from the villagers of north India regarding the working conditions in the colonies. For instance, Pitcher’s has noted in his diary on 15 March 1882 that at Camp Bukas, he interviewed Prag Singh and found him familiar enough with emigration. Prag Singh said that it was only the dread of the unknown that deterred people from the journey. This was due to the perception that the emigrants became ‘bedharam’, or lost their religion, for being forced to eat with people belonging to other castes out of one dish on board the ship. Also that, on arrival at the colonies, they were forcibly converted to Christianity.55 Here are some more notings of Pitcher in his diary: March 16th-- At noon Ganga Din Misr of Adampur, the returned emigrant from Demerara, came to see me and tell his story,…gave a curious account of his voyage: how he went not only over the kalapani, but also a sufait, lal, nila, and hara pani. Described St. Helena and the terror of the coolies at sea in storm: how some of them used to cry. Highly eulogised the good and plentiful food on board. Was very happy in Berbice, but got into a scrape over some woman, who made away with Rs. 250 of his. March 30th-- interviewed the sub-agents… with regard to registration, the chief complaint is that regarding the use by Magistrate of the words ‘kalapani’. Says the coolie to himself, when he hears a Magistrate Saheb talking to him

40

Coolies of the Empire of Kalapani-- “‘Kya! Ham ne kya kasur kiya ke ham ko kalapani sunate hai?’ tab bhag jata” (What! What fault we have done that you are giving punishment of Kalapani? Then runs away). December 23rd, 1882-- Chhedi, the returned emigrant, spoke in equally glowing terms about Demerara. Cheddi says that the only thing in Demerara is the lack of women…he says that he was lucky, while in the depot before he started, he picked up with a Mohomedan woman and contracted a sagay or irregular marriage with her. January 6th 1883-- met also Nanhku, a return coolie from Mauritius. Was there 12 years; Mauritius finest place in the world; but rather a dearth of women. If any one says they tried to make him a Christian, he is a liar (great emphasis). Plenty too much (Creole English for “plenty”) padres there, that is to say, pujeris for the Hindus. A great many Bhagat there.

Grierson mentions that single male migration is a big drawback of overseas migration. But at the same time he mentions how returnees assisted fellow villagers to emigrate to the plantations. He quotes the case of a Rajput family of the Shahabad district of Bihar, where the entire family migrated with two Rajput returnees from Mauritius, named Ajodhya Singh and Swarika Singh, who themselves re-emigrated with the family.56 Marina Carter and Crispin Bates, in their writings, have mentioned about such networks playing a significant role in the process of migration.57 Marina Carter has emphasized the role of returnees as a vital link between migrants and their kin or villager folk in the colonies. Carter demonstrates with reference to Ramasamy, whose father Mecken [Makhan] had gone to Mauritius in 1843. Returnees visited Ramasamy on several occasions bringing money and messages from his father. As a result of these activities of returnees, such as those who had contacted Ramasamy, new emigrants were provided with a clearer objective in migration, and a chain style or Kangni style of migration effectively operated informally within the formal structures of indentured recruitment.58

Moving Out from Patriarchal and Perennial Bonds Female migrants might see indentured migration as a route out of patriarchal oppression. Historians have provided varied explanations on the female migration under the indenture system. For instance, P. C. Emmer believed that indenture was an avenue for women to ‘emancipate themselves from an illiberal, inhibiting and very hierarchical social system in India’ where, as Rhoda

Naukari, Network and Indenture

41

Reddock argued, the plantation setup provided women an opportunity to live their life in their own accord. According to her, ‘women could now own their own accord, leave one husband for another or have a parallel relationship with more than one man’.59 In contrast to these, Beall has argued that the indenture system ‘did not provide women an opportunity to flourish as autonomous social and sexual beings’; rather women were the objects of sexual harassment by overseers and of competition between Indian men.60 On a different plain, Kelvin Singh has argued that the colonial legislations in Trinidad underlined that women of indentured men are not dependent on their husband and hence they had to look after their livelihood on their own. According to the legislation, ‘an indentured woman whose husband was either in jail or in hospital could not be given succour by friends or relatives’. 61 Brij V. Lal has also emphasized the awareness of ‘veil of dishonour’ by indentured women on the plantation and Kunti’s cry was a resistance against the stereotypes regarding being women.62 John D. Kelly argues that the planters did not wish that the workers should have a family life in the plantations. But as Marina Carter has suggested that the family life was not completely absent in the plantation colonies. According to Carter, Indian indentured women most often re-created a stable partnership and tranquil family life outside the official regime in the settlement areas.63 During his investigation, Grierson came across the widespread belief that recruiters cheated innocent women and made them into prostitutes. An educated person confided in Grierson that ‘the recruiters and their men entice away wives and daughters from poor and even respectable families’.64 He found that such views were prevalent in those areas where emigration was not well known. Grierson enquired into the kinds of women that became indentured migrants. He found that there were four classes of women enlisted to emigrate: (i) wives of emigrants (generally of re-emigrants); (ii) widows without friends, who were starving; (iii) married women who had been socially ostracized for absconding from their husband’s house with or without a lover, or who had been turned out of doors by their husbands; and (iv) women regarded as prostitutes, which essentially meant indigent poor women, estranged from their families and without any other means of support.65 It is significant to note, as the Grierson investigation indicates, that the indenture system became an escape hatch for women who became widows at a young age, who had a low social status, or who were abandoned by their relatives. Many such women took shelter at pilgrimage sites such as Benaras, Mathura and Vrindavan, where women were compelled to live with the temple priests and other sadhus. Guaitra Bahadur in her recent historical novel

42

Coolies of the Empire

Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture provided a detailed reconstruction of the likely conditions of widows in these circumstances.66 Becoming a coolie was an opportunity for women who had run away with a lover – cross-caste marriages being a taboo according to Indian socio-cultural norms. Grierson found in districts like Shahabad in Bihar, where emigration was popular, that widows themselves searched for the recruiter, as a last resort, offering themselves as emigrants. Widowhood was common due to the high level of infant mortality and very early age of arranged marriage (which often preceded puberty). Young widows were customarily not allowed to re-marry and were regarded as a burden. The recruiters’ registers show that widows formed the bulk of the recruiter’ enlistment. The cause was most probably simply due to their poverty after having been forsaken by their kin. Grierson accepted that in some cases, recruits seduced women into enlisting themselves as indentured migrants, but enticing married women was not an easy game. This is because if they were caught, the recruiter would probably be beaten to death. If he managed to escape, a case could often be registered against him and he would be prosecuted.67 Indentured emigration thus afforded, according to Pitcher, a means for ‘the girl or women who had strayed from virtue’ or had suffered misfortune.68 Picher found ‘a very large proportion of the women who now emigrate are persons who have been turned out of the home or have lost their friends by famine or pestilence, some were Hindu girls who had been forced to become Muslims in some inter-communal quarrel; many were widows’.69 Pitcher, therefore, concluded that women might benefit more than men by emigration. Grierson also saw emigration as a necessary outlet for troubled women. He asserted that the best sort of female recruit was drawn from those who had been abandoned, and from unfaithful wives who could make a fresh start by escaping from their home environment (the alternative for them was prostitution). Many magistrates refused to register an absconding wife, but Grierson maintained women’s rights in such cases and stated that if an alienated wife was determined to go, no officer ‘has the right to stop her’.70 This was a radical suggestion, both from the point of view of a conservative Indian society and of an Anglo-Indian officialdom. Regarding the system of female emigration, Grierson and others cited equality before colonial law and the uniformity, without gender differentiation, of the colonial Indian labour market. To quote the collector of Shahabad, ‘women have at law a right like men to go where they please, and I would not take it away’; Grierson for his part recommended that ‘a native woman married or single has a perfect power to enter into contract binding on herself ’.71

Naukari, Network and Indenture

43

Samita Sen discusses the same issue concerning the right of a woman to sign a contract to work in the Assam tea gardens.72 ‘Indian tradition’ on the other hand would lead us to assume that a woman could not leave her house, if at all, without the permission of her husband, and in the case of her leaving home, whether by absconding or being turned out, her husband rarely took her back again. Grierson thus agreed with Pitcher that emigration was an important outlet for those who had been tagged as ‘absconded’ or ‘unfaithful wives’ by society and who could retrieve their good character by engaging to marry at the depot in Calcutta or in the colonies.73 Otherwise, as Grierson observed, such women had only two alternatives: suicide or prostitution, and many women of Calcutta’s Lal Bazar/Chakla Ghar – the ‘red light’ districts of Calcutta – were the product of such a socio-cultural mindset. However, it is important not to underestimate the agency of the women themselves. As Amin puts it, the traditional Bhojpuri terms urhari, dolkarhi and so on ‘are expressive of the not insignificant tendency of rural women to walk out of unhappy marital homes, settling down with another male, with or without marriage’. Examined through the prism of colonial patriarchal attitudes, such ‘independent’ women, although abundant in Bhojpuri society, are able to make only a fleeting appearance in Grierson’s report.74 Crispin Bates and Marina Carter have provided evidence of subaltern networks through which indentured workers were emigrating from India or getting jobs. According to them, historians of indenture have depicted it through a discourse of slavery and freedom, and hence failed to understand the subaltern migration strategies. For them, ‘returnees, sirdars and recruiters created out of indenture a dynamic that operated clearly outside the planter/ administrator worldwide that created his or her own world’.75 Experiences of extreme hardship, including poverty, famine, and caste-based oppression, formed some decisions to migrate within a context of structural coercion, making the suggestion of a clear-cut exertion of ‘agency’ or ‘free will’ problematic. Yet many migrants did find the scope to use indentured migration creatively in order to circumvent the constraints and calamities of life in nineteenth-century north India or as a means to escape from the perennial bondage experienced by peasants in a hierarchical and often repressive rural society. This was especially true for the lower castes, who found experiences on the overseas plantation marked by the loosening of caste-based obligations, expectations and oppressions. They were by no means the only ones to migrate, and the indentured system also attracted many middle and higher caste recruits. Such migration led to a feeling of disappointment among the

44

Coolies of the Empire

traditional zamindars and landlords. They saw emigration as a loss of labour, which had been bound to them for generations.76 Zamindars alleged that the government and its agents were inducing lower castes as the people of higher castes could not emigrate easily. Grierson reported a letter of an Englishspeaking zamindar of Shahabad: The native Community in this quarter is perfectly averse to emigration. In this district I humbly beg to state of my experience, and the enquiry I have held on the subject, that the labouring class is not in want to work in any part of the year; rather the demand of labour is very large in the months of Asarh, Sraban, Kartik and Chait. Among the low class of people, as for instance, Dusadhs and Chamars, inducement to emigrate may succeed, but the cases would be very rare. People of higher classes who have caste prejudices would not like to leave India for any inducement. The objections of natives to emigrate chiefly owing to caste prejudices. Besides there is no want to work in this country; the people do not like to leave it even when they can barely supply their necessities of life. 77

To counter such myths Grierson himself produced the caste-wise data of emigrants shipped to colonies and showed that two thirds of emigrants belonged to the higher and medium social strata of the region (Table 2.5). Table 2.5: Caste-wise break up of emigrants from Ara district, registered in 188278 Name of castes

No. of emigrants

A. Musalman

 

264

 

 

B. Hindu

1. Of higher social position

 

 

(a) Chhatri

123

 

(c) Rajput

27

 

(b) Bramhan

Total

81

 

 

231

(a) Gowala

163

 

(c) Kurmi

60

 

(e) Mali

25

 

2. Of medium social position (b) Koiri

(d) Kahar

 

64

55

 

 

 

Contd.

Naukari, Network and Indenture Contd.

Name of castes (f ) Teli

No. of emigrants 17

 

(g) Naipali

15

 

(i)

11

 

l7

 

(h) Kaesth (j)

Kalwar Baniya

(k) Ghatwa

(l)

Sonar

(m) Dhanuk (n) Others Total

12

 

10

 

5

 

4

 

6

 

 

454

(a) Chamar

54

 

(c) Bhar

15

 

(e) Nunia

12

 

10

 

3. Of lower social order (b) Dusadh

(d) Hajam (f ) Kaibarta (g) Dhobi Total

45

(e) Others

Total for Hindus Grand Total

 

 

52

 

13

 

11

 

110

 

 

277

 

1,226

962

Grierson’s investigation on the emigration registers of Shahabad district showed higher and middle castes among those emigrating to the colonies (Table 2.6 and Figure 2.6).79 Table 2.6: Upper and middle caste emigrants of Shahabad district Names of castes Chhatri Ahir

Koeri

Kahar

No. of emigrants 51

32

17

16

Contd.

46

Coolies of the Empire

Contd. Names of castes

No. of emigrants

Kurmi

10

Chamar

9

Brahman

7

Kalwar

5

Bind

5

Dusadh

6

Gareri

5

Pasi

3

Bhar

3

Nonia

3

Hajam

2

Oria

2

Musahar

2

Teli

2

Barhi

1

Kaesth

1

Sonar

1

Dhobi

1

Gandharp

1

Total

185

Source: Grierson Report, Diary, p. 31. Figure 2.6: Hindu emigrants in Shahabad in 1881–82

Source: Grierson Report, p. 17.

Naukari, Network and Indenture

47

On the basis of the above data, Grierson went on to argue that out of 185 Hindus, 133 belonged to upper-medium social positions, 9 belonged to Chamar and 6 belonged to Dusadh caste of Dalits or ‘untouchables’. Such findings have been reinforced by the analyses of scholars such as Brij Lal and Marina Carter, who argue that the social, caste-based and demographic distribution of indentured labour recruits closely mirrored that of rural north Indian society as a whole.80 If indentured migration could offer a route out of difficult social, economic or existential conditions in India, it could also involve a range of outcomes and experiences. Grierson met some returnees who had saved money during their term as indentured labour. He gave examples of men like Nabi Baksh, who came back after nine years in Jamaica with Rs. 1,800 as savings.81 Another one – Gobardhan Pathak – returned from Demerara after ten years with Rs. 1,500. He spent Rs. 300–Rs. 400 on ‘getting back into his caste’ by giving away gifts and throwing a feast for those belonging to the same caste, bought a house with a garden and became a successful sugar-cane grower with the help of his large family. Another example was Nanhku, who returned from Mauritius with Rs. 500–Rs. 600. He spent Rs. 100 on regaining his caste status and became a peasant farmer. Many others came back to India and became successful recruiters like Shaikhs Ghura (Ghura Khan) of Buxar.82 Marina Carter has provided a fine analysis of the process by which a returned migrant, such as Ghura Khan, became a recruiter. For Carter, it was a strategy to mobilize the labour force in India for the sugar colonies, as returnees proved to be the best informants regarding the working conditions and lives in the colonies.83 Carter argues that deputing returnees as recruiters was not only a strategy and cost-effective measure, but was also a correction to the arguments given by the critics of the indenture system.84 She says that ‘by integrating new arrivals into Indian social and economic networks in Mauritius, which were increasingly independent of plantations, returnees fulfilled the functions of attracting immigrants to the colony in spite of poor prospects for such workers’.85

Conclusion This chapter challenges the conception of Indian peasants and workers as static by providing evidence of historic migratory patterns in north India from the time of the establishment of sultanate rule. Indentured migration became a part of such migration during the colonial period in India, and hence peasants and workers, who were hitherto inland migrants, found a route to go beyond the seas to work in the distant plantations of the Caribbean,

48

Coolies of the Empire

Pacific and Indian Oceans. To distinguish indenture from inland migration, north Indian peasants developed their own vocabularies in the system. These new vocabularies are evidence of their awareness of the indenture system. Once emigrants served in the colonies, they developed a network with their fellow kinsmen back home encouraging them to take the long journey of indenture with the prospect of a better life. They also sent remittances to their family back home. The various letters and money despatches confirm the communication link between the emigrants and their families in India. However, colonial emigration was in many ways different from pre-existing patterns of internal labour migration, which offered migrants a stronger chance to return to their homes. Anand Yang has shown how the Sarun district of Bihar experienced seasonal migration to Bengal and other adjoining states.86 Overseas migration on contracts of indenture entailed longer absences and lower chances of return. Acute familial separation resulting from the long distances and contracts of service involved in indenture and the potential for migrants to settle permanently in the destination colony may help to explain why the colonial government was so keenly interested in and deeply anxious about depot marriages of emigrants, when many of the emigrants going overseas were already married.87 This preoccupation was made evident in the legislation for quotas of female emigrants. The Indian Emigration Act of 1864, for example, provided a hard and fast rule for the fulfillment of a 32 percent (40:100) quota of women per ship sailing to the colonies. This may be because the pre-history of migration had almost always implied separation of the husband from wife, as those who moved were usually already married. Under the indenture system, they were transported with the explicit intention of weakening and displacing an indigenous or previously resident group by forming a permanent new community that could be utilized to meet colonial labour needs. As a result, colonial officials were keenly interested in depot marriage as a more stable form of union and encouraged this rather than sending for or arranging women to satisfy the emigrant’s sexual desires in the same way as they provisioned the cantonments in India with their ‘Lal Bazars’.88

Endnotes 1. Culturally, in rural India, marriage is a condition of separation from family in search of work. Rahi Masoom Raza’s novel Aadha Gaon begins with the ditty: Laga jhualni ka dhakka Balam kalkatta chale gye. See Raza, Rahi Masoom. 2006. Aadha Gaon, Seventh Edition, p. 10. Delhi: Rajkamal Prakashan.

Naukari, Network and Indenture

49

2. For a discussion of the lore about the barwai metre of Awadhi poetry and its connection with single (married) male migration to do khidmat (service) or naukari, see Amin, Shahid. 2005. ‘Representing the Musalman: Then and Now, Now and Then.’ Subaltern Studies Series 12: 21–22. New Delhi: Permanent Black. 3. Kolff, D. H. A. 1990. Naukar, Rajput and Sepoy: The Ethnohistory of the Military Labour Market in Hindustan, 1450-1850, pp. 74–75. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 4. Vaudeville, Charlotte. 1965. Barahmasa: Les Chansons des Douze Mois dans les literatures Indo-Aryennes, Pondichery, p. 57, cited in Kolff, Naukar, Rajput and Sepoy: The Ethnohistory of the Military Labour Market in Hindustan, 1450–1850. Delhi: Cambridge University Press. 5. Archer, W. G. 1942. ‘Seasonal Songs of Patna District.’ Man in India 22 (247): 75, cited in Kolff. This song is called caumasa, that is, four months, but consists of six months. 6. Grierson, G. A. 1884. ‘Appendix I.’ Seven Grammars of the Dialects and Sub dialects of the Bihari Language, Part 2. Calcutta; cited in Amin, Shahid. ed. A Concise Encyclopaedia of North Indian Peasant Life, op.cit. p. 372. Translation: In kuār (Asin) I get no good news: no one comes or goes. Writing, writing on a letter will I send it. Give it, I pray, into my love’s hand. / In pus frost has fallen, and the cold makes its power known. Even if I filled my quilt with nine mans of cotton, the cold will not depart in the absence of my lord. / The thirteenth of the Māgh is the feast of Siw: may the blessing of Siw [Lord Shiva] be upon thee. Whenever I turn and gaze upon my dwelling (I see that) without my love my home is full of gloom. / In Chait the Palās-trees are flowering in the forest and the barley crop is whispering (in the wind); the jasmine and the rose are blooming, but without my love they please me not. / In Baisākh I would have cut bamboos and adorned and roofed a bungalow. My husband would have slept in it, while I fanned him with the end of my body cloth. 7. G. A. Grierson, cited in Amin, op.cit, p. 382. Translation: O sister-in-law! My lord comes not. The mango trees are in blossom, and the young mangoes are forming: the branches and leaves hang down as if they were intoxicated. The fullness of my youth cannot be contained within my bodice: how can I conceal it? 8. Ibid., Translation: Ah Ram! on (my husband’s) going abroad, my home did not please me. If this month I become hopeless of meeting him again, my beautiful life will depart. 9. Grierson, cited in Amin, op.cit., p. 383. Translation: A fresh, young, and coquettish maiden, yet mad with love, walking at random, went into the courtyard. Sometimes she stands in the court and sometimes outside, and begins to watch, to watch, for the coming of her lord. ‘O sister-in-law! To him who tell me (Ah Ram!) of the coming of my lord, will I give a golden bracelet.’ 10. Ibid. p. 385. Translation: O my lord! Often goes thou to the East to trade: how can the days and nights be passed? The cart gets stopped in muddy plain, and the bullocks in Gujarat. My two eyes stopped in Benaras, while my husband was

50

11.

12.

13. 14. 15. 16.

17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23.

Coolies of the Empire in Jahanabad. As the Chālhwa fish shines in the lake, and as the sword shines in the battle, so shines the turban of my lord in the assembly and spangle [of my forehead] on the bed. Ibid. p. 386. Translation: My beloved, watching for thee (watching the way), the day has sped, nor I get news. Daily do I tie up my hair and lay vermilion on its parting. I bring thee to my memory, but my soul is disappointed, and tears flowed from my eyes. I call a Brahman and make him open his books. He tells me some good omen, but my beloved comes not, while youthful form is growing. I called the barber’s son and sent him to the East country. He comes home by the north, while I seek through the south and search in every house in the west. Fraser, Hugh. 1883. ‘Folklore from Eastern Gorakhpur.’ Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 52 (I): 5. Calcutta. Translation: The mango trees have blossomed, and the mahuwas dropped their flowers. By whom shall I send a message? Ah, heartless one, leave thy service (naukariya). Kolff, D. H. A. 1990. Naukar, Rajput and Sepoy: The Ethnohistory of the Military Labour Market in Hindustan, 1450-1850, pp. 74–75. New Delhi. Ibid. p. 160. Ibid. Ibid. See also Norgate, James. 1861. From Sepoy to Subedar. Forwarded by Sitaram. Punjab; Upadhayaya, Madhukar. 1999. Kissa Pandey Sitaram Subedar. New Delhi: Saransh Publication. The fear of ‘loss of caste’ was a concern only for certain high caste Hindus and did not apply to lower castes, Muslim or adivasi migrants. Its significance has therefore been exaggerated. Before 1856, it was, however, important as negotiating tactic to improve ‘battas’ or allowances for service overseas within the Bengal army. William, L. F. Rushbrook. 1924. ‘Indian Emigration by Emigrants.’ India of Today 5. London: Oxford University Press. Ibid. Two parliamentary committees appointed in 1842 and 1848, explicitly reported the depression. Ibid. p. 7 Lal, Brij V. 2000. Chalo Jahaji: On Journey Through Indenture in Fiji, p. 42. Canberra: Suva Museum. Major Picher and Mr. Grierson’s Enquiry into Emigration [hereafter Grierson Report], Revenue and Agriculture [hereafter R & A], Emigration, A Progs No. 9–15, August 1883. Lal, Brij V. 2004. Girmitiya: The Origins of the Fiji Indians, p. 142. Lautoka: Fiji Institute of Applied Studies. Yang, Anand. 1979. ‘Peasant on Move: A Study of Internal Migration in India.’ Journal of Interdisciplinary History, 10 (1): pp. 37–58, Summer. For seasonal migration because of the difference in the harvest time of rice crop – much later in Bengal than in Bihar – see the important unpublished work, Heseltine, R. G. 1981. ‘The Development of Jute Cultivation in Bengal, 1860–1914.’ PhD Thesis. University of Sussex.

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24. Major Pitcher’s Report on the Result of his Inquiry into the System of Recruiting Labourers for the Colonies [herafter Pitcher Report], R & A, Emigration, A Progs No. 1–12, February 1883. 25. Pitcher Report, para 65. 26. Pitchera Report, para 12, p. 4. 27. Grierson Report, para 71, p. 15. 28. See, for instance, the statements of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society on Coolie Indentured Labour, British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, London, 1883. 29. It is important to point out that the vocabularies recorded by Major Pitcher and George Grierson from villagers have certainly been built over a period of time. Hence, if Pitcher and Grierson heard some words indicating the indenture system and its process in 1882, it means the peasantized vocabularies have been in its process for more than four to five decades as no vocabulary can be popular in a short span of time. 30. See the report of the committee of enquiry on Hill Coolies, British Parliamentary papers, Session 1 (45), 1841. 31. In the early 1880s, two important enquiries were set up in the Gangetic Valley, the cradle of emigration. In the North-Western Provinces, Major D. G. Pitcher was asked to tour the catchment areas and report on feelings about emigration. Pitcher recorded the good and the ill that he found in the countryside. He gathered important evidence about the impact of emigration on the area between Delhi and Banaras, which was emerging as the most important recruiting ground for Calcutta agents. G. A. Grierson for his part was asked to submit a report concerning emigration from Bengal, and especially Bihar. Grierson was no runof-the-mill official; he was a scholar who achieved an international reputation for his ethnographic and linguistic studies. His study then contained much careful statistical information, as well as linguistic material of unusual interest. In the 1880s, he was the collector of Gaya, during which time he completed an enormous study on Bihar peasant life. See: Amin, Shahid. ed. 2005. A Concise Encyclopedia of North India Peasant Life, p. 30. Delhi: Manohar. 32. Pitcher Report, para 101, p. 32 33. Pitcher Report, para 61, p. 15. 34. Ibid., para 62. 35. Grierson Report, para 81, p. 18. 36. Pitcher Report, para 60, p. 15 37. Grierson Report, para 83, p. 19. 38. Grierson Report, pp. 17-18. 39. Jenkins, Edward. 1871. The Coolie: His Rights and Wrongs, pp. 10-13. New York. I have titled this cartoon as ‘mimiai ka tel’ because I think that the process of people imagined in north India during nineteenth century is the same as what Jenkins has depicted to show about the life on plantation. This illustration is published also as frontis piece in Adamson, Allan H. 1972. Sugar without Slave: The Political Economy of British Guiana. Yale University Press.

52 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49.

50.

51. 52. 53.

54. 55. 56. 57.

Coolies of the Empire Ghosh, Amitav. 2009. Sea of Poppies, p. 340. New Delhi: Penguin. Grierson Report, para 82, p. 18. Ibid., p. 19. Grierson Report, para 83. Pitcher Report, para 82-85, p. 27. Grierson Report, Diary of 9 January, p. 42. Ibid. Ibid. Colonial Secretary Office Minute Papers [hereafter CSOMP] 10293/1914, National Archives of Fiji [hereafter NAF]. CSO MP, 10293/14, NAF. The letter does not disclose the name of the writer but that the handwriting in the letter is the same as the handwritten manuscript of Ramchandra Rao (famously known as Baba Ramchandra in India), who was among the signatories, confirms that the letter was written by him. Gajpuri, Mannan Dwivedi. 1917. Ramlal: Gramin Jivan ka ek Samajik Upanyas, pp. 26–27. Prayag. Original Hindi Text: Āj budh hai pardesiyon ke māta-pita aur patni chitthirasa sahib ka rāsta dekh rahe hain. Sar pe lāl pagadi, pair me patti kandhe par chamade ka baig latak raha hai. Yah baig nahi hai yah logon ki āsha aur nirāshāo ka khazāna hai.dur desh Rangun, Canāda, Natāl aur Mauritius me garibon ke rakt ke kamāye huwe rupaye bhi isi me āte hai. For a discussion of this passage and of remittances, money orders and postcards sent to villages in and around Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur, see Amin. Event, Metaphor and Memory: Chauri Chaura, 1922–1992, 36–37. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Emigration Agent Remittances from Natal, 1881–1884, Indian Immigration [hereafter I.I.], B1/8, Natal Archives Depot, Pietermaritzburg [hereafter NAD] Ibid. I.I., B1/8, NAD Premchand. 1936. Godan. Prayag, reprint in 2008 by Vani Prakashan, New Delhi, p. 212. Translation mine. Original Hindi Text: Gobar ne pucha dada ko kya huwa amma? Dhaniya ghar ka hāl kah kar use dukhi na karna chahti thi. Boli, kuchh nahi beta jara sir me dard. Chalo kapade utāro muh dho lo. Kaha the tum itne dinon tak is tarah koi ghar se bhāgata hai aur kabhi ek chitthi tak na likhi. Āj sāl bhar ke bād sudhi li hai. Tumhāri rāh dekhte dekhte ānkhe fat gayi yahi āsha bandhi rahati thi ki kab wah din āyega or kab tumhe dekhungi. Koi kahata tha mirach bhāg gaya koi damara tāpu batāta tha. Sun sunkar jān sukhi jāti thi kaha rahe itne din? Gobar sharmate huwe kaha kahi dur nahi gaya tha amma, yahi Lucknow me to tha aur itne niyare rahkar bhi kabhi ek chitthi tak na likhi? Grierson Report, Appendix, p. 10. Pitcher diary, p. 66. Grierson Report, para 143, p. 33. Carter, Marina. 1995. Servant, Sirdars and Settlers. Oxford University Press; Bates, Crispin and Marina Carter. 2012. ‘Enslaved Lives, Enslaving Labels: A New Approach to the Colonial Indian Labor Diaspora.’ In New Routes for Diaspora

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58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72.

73. 74.

75. 76.

77.

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Studies, edited by Sukanya Banerjee, Aims McGuinness and Steven C. McKay. Indiana: Indiana University Press. Carter, Marina. Servants, Sardars and Settlers, p. 59. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Emmer, P. C. 1985. p. 247; Reddock. 1985. ‘Freedom Denied: Indian Women and Indenturedship in Trinidad and Tobago, 1845–1917.’ Economic and Political Weekly 20 (43): 84–85. Beall, J. 1990. ‘Women under Indenture in Colonial Natal, 1860–1911.’ In South Asians Overseas, edited by C. Clarke et al, p. 73. Singh, Kelvin. 1985. ‘“Indians and Larger Society” in La Guerre.’ From Calcutta to Caroni and Indian Diaspora, p. 45. Trinidad: The University of West Indies. Lal, Brij V.1985. ‘Kunti’s Cry: Indentured Women on Fiji Plantations.’ Indian Economic and Social History Review 42 (1): 71; Lal, Brij V. 1985. ‘Veil of Dishonour: Sexual Jealousy and Suicide on Fiji Plantations.’ Journal of Pacific History 10: 154–55. Marina Carter, 1994, pp. 4–5. Grierson Report, para 131. Ibid., para 131. Bahadur, Gaiutra. 2014. Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture. India: Hatchette. Grierson Report, para 130, p. 30. Pitcher Report, p. 7. Ibid. Grierson Report, para 138, p. 32. Ibid. See Sen, Samita. ‘Unsettling the Household: Act VI (of 1901) and the Regulation of Women Migrants in Colonial Bengal.’ In “Peripheral” Labour? Studies in the History of Partial Proletarianisation (Internation Review of Social History) 4: 135–56. Cambridge University Press. Grierson Report, para 134, p. 31; also see Diary for 23 December, p. 10. See, in this connection, the remarks of Shahid Amin in his A Concise Encyclopedia of North Indian Peasant Life (Manohar, New Delhi, 2005), pp. 47–48; see also, Dhananjay Singh, Bhojpuri Pravashi Shramikon Ki Sanskriti aur Bhikhari Thakur ka Sahitya, NLI Research Studies Series, No: 084/ 2008 (VVGNLI, Noida,Uttar Pradesh, 2008). Crispin Bates and Marina Carter. 2012. ‘Enslaved Life, Enslaving Labels: A New Approach to the Colonial Indian Labor Diaspora’. In New Routes for Diaspora Studies, edited by Sukanya Banerjee et al., p. 73. Indiana University Press. Gyan Prakash has shown how the kamiyas bonded themselves with the zamindars of Gaya district of south Bihar from generation. On account of such bond, perhaps the wage-paid labour emigration would have been seen as a hope by these kamiyas to escape from the physical–social suppressions of zamindars. See Gyan Prakash. 1990. Bonded Histories: Genealogies of Labour Servitude in Colonial India. Cambridge University Press. Grierson Report, para 78, p. 17.

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78. Ibid., para 152. p. 36. 79. Grierson Report, para 78, p. 17; also see Diary of 4 and 5 January, p. 31. 80. See Brij V. Lal, Girmitiya, Chapter 3, p. 99-121; Carter, Marina. Servants, Sirdars and Settlers. Chapter 3, 77–119. 81. Grierson Report, see Diary for 27 December, p. 17. 82. Ibid. See diary for 6 January, pp. 32-3; Jati-bhoj is the common word for such performances. 83. See Carter, Marina. 1995. Servant, Sirdars and Settles, p. 65. 84. Carter, Marina. ‘Strategies of Labour Mobilisation in Colonial India: The Recruitment of Indian Inndentured Workers for Mauritius.’ Journal of Peasant Studies 19 (3–4): 229–30. 85. Ibid. 86. Yang, Anand. 1989. The Limited Raj: Agrarian Relations in Colonial India, Saran District, 1793–1920. Delhi: Oxford University Press. 87. The general age of marriage in north India for a male was 15 years and for a female was 10 years. 88. British Government arranged for prostitutes to the British Battalion to satisfy their sexual desire in the absence of their wives. In doing so, government also took care of caste preferences. For details on the issue see, Alavi, Seema. 1995. Sepoy and the Company. New Delhi: Oxford University Press; Kolf. 1990. Naukar, Rajput and Sepoy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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3

•

Regulating Indenture Introduction This chapter seeks to engage with the legal enactments and regulations on the issue of emigration and laws relating to it at the point of origin in India. Emigration-related legislation, regulation and enquiry reports are the main sources I take up here to lay bare the legal discourse on indentured emigration from India to the sugar colonies. One of the central debates among historians over the indenture system has been the level of ‘freedom’ or ‘unfreedom’ involved in emigration legislation. It has been frequently argued that legislation provided no opportunity for the signatory to breach contract after signing. Therefore, in legislating on emigration, the colonial government did not follow the role of ‘guardian’ or ‘benevolent neutrality’ at official level and instead favoured planters with coercive labour legislation.1 In looking into the making of emigration legislation, this chapter especially engages with some of the clauses, which provide shadows of ‘unfreedom’, and seeks to understand why the nature of the indenture contract was a penal contract than a civil contract. With some examples of emigration legislation, how indenture law became a check against deception by recruiters is shown.

Historiography of Labour Legislations Hugh Tinker, without looking deeply into the indenture legislations, argued that the laws of indenture imitated the Master and Servants Acts of Britain, where any breach of contract was a crime. Hence, once a prospective emigrant signed the contract, he/she came under a criminal procedure code under which breach of contract resulted in punishment. In other words, ‘unfreedom’ was a basic characteristic of the indenture contract, which put all workers into a condition of slavery. Following Tinker, many other scholars have also presented the argument of ‘legal coercion of Empire’ in the context of indenture, as well as in other workmen contracts. Legal historians such as Willy Forbath, Amy Stanley and Christopher Tomlins have pointed out that the labour laws of the nineteenth century increased the subordination of wage workers,

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imposed harsh terms on poor relief and provided no legal redress for workplace accidents. Furthermore, the argument goes that vagrancy laws pressurized the unemployed into work. For these scholars, the state, in various ways, supported employers in their efforts to extract labour at a lowest price and provided no opportunity for worker to bargain. Robert J. Steinfeld, while examining the wage labour force in Britain and United States in the nineteenth century, argued that the labour contracts were ‘enforced through harsh remedies for breaches’ – prison terms in the British case and wage forfeiture in the American. 2 Portraying indenture as ‘unfree’ labour, Steinfeld argues that employers used bodily coercion to enforce labour contracts. Steinfeld points out that wage labour in the nineteenth-century Britain, which could also be described as coercive, was also ‘unfree’. He notes that ‘neither free nor coerced labour exist independently of social, legal or political convention, but involve judgments about which form of pressure applied in labour relations produce coerced labour and which do not’.3 Peter Robb, while looking into labour laws in colonial India, found three significant elements in Indian labour relations: first, the role of intermediaries (babus, jobbers, maistries) who controlled the labourers; second, caste and religious identities in the labour market; and third, the tide of dependence. According to him, these things made it difficult for the colonial state to influence labour relations, and hence state regulations were not successful in India.4 Michael Anderson has provided a different view on the legal framework of labour regulation in the nineteenth-century India. He argues that nineteenth-century labour laws in India recognized workers’ welfare as an object of state concern.5 Prabhu Mohapatra has reviewed the various labour laws in British India and argues that in early labour regulations (1814-60), ‘the master and servants laws formed very much a part of the legal cultural baggage that the British carried with them’.6 Hence, the legal culture of work that was introduced in India by the British criminalized breach of contract by the workmen. In the context of labour laws of Assam plantations, Mohapatra argues that ‘the colonial state obliged by introducing a series of special labour laws and institutionalised a system of voluntary servitude’.7 Recently, Rachel Sturman has examined the ideas behind international labour rights in the twentieth century and argued that the law which governed the indenture system became central to the making of international labour rights in the twentieth century. The key ideas and forms of governance associated with international labour rights are inherent in the indenture regulation. According to her, a range of scrutiny and intervention not only

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protected, but ensured the humanity of labourers, and hence the regulatory regime of the indenture system became pioneering in terms of modern labour rights.8 This chapter takes into account this varied historiography and argues that the indenture system and its laws provided care to both parties – labourer and planter. In this way, this system was unique in character.

Making of Early Regulations When the ‘indenture system’ was introduced in 1834, rules and laws were soon framed to regulate it. Indenture for Indians began when a batch of thirty-six ‘coolies’ presented themselves before the Magistrate of Calcutta in August 1834 and signed a contract of five years to work on sugar plantations of Mauritius.9 Neither were any regulations enforced at that time, nor were there penalties for taking on board unregistered emigrants. Between August 1834 and May 1837, at least seven thousand emigrants left Calcutta for Mauritius. Nearly half of these were ‘Hill Coolies, that is, Dhangars, Kols, or Santhals, and about two hundred were women. To regulate the new system and for the well-being of the natives leaving India by sea, a law commission was appointed. After the report of the commission, Act VII of 1837 came into existence.10 According to this act: from the Governor of the Presidency (Presidency of Fort William in Bengal) to work outside (this would apparently have put emigration from Bengal to Madras on the same footing as emigration to a colony not subject to the Government of India). officer authorized to grant permits with a memorandum of contract (in English and the mother tongue of the ‘native’, or some language understood by him to specify the nature, terms and wages of service). the re-conveyance to the port at which the migrant embarked. terms of the contract to the ‘native’; and if satisfied, to endorse the memorandum of contract. empowered to examine the measures to be taken to ensure proper ‘accommodation’, and dietary and medical attendance. Unless these were satisfactory, a permit was not to be given.11

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period of contract, date of permit, destination and vessel onto which the migrant embarked. or 30-days imprisonment was imposed for every ‘native’ allowed to embark without a permit. grant permits, and certain rules were laid down for his guidance.12 No sooner had the indenture system of emigration begun than anti-slavery groups started protesting against it. They contended that the system was a ‘new system of slavery’ and carried over most of the abuses of that now reviled system. Lord Brougham, a leading abolitionist, played a leading role in the agitation against the ‘deportation’ of Indian labourers to the colonies.13 Facing loud protest and criticism, the British Government postponed all emigration and, in Calcutta on 22 August 1838, instituted an enquiry into the alleged abuses of Indians who had emigrated to the colonies over the previous four years.14 The members of the committee were T. Dickens, James Charles, W. F. Dowson, Russomoy Dutt, J. P. Grant and Major E. Archer and after a major controversy they submitted their report on 14 October 1840, with only three members T. Dickens, James Charles and Russomoy Dutt signing it.15 The voluminous report contended that a great deal of abuse was taking place in the system. In too many cases, they reported, ‘emigrants were entrapped by force and fraud, and systematically plundered of nearly six month wages, nominally advanced to them, but really divided, on pretences more or less transparent, among the predacious crew engaged in the traffic’.16 The fourth member, Major Archer, went to Europe at an early stage of the proceedings and Mr. W. F. Dowson, the fifth member of the committee, was himself a merchant involved in the export of labour. Understandably, he did not concur with the dominant view regarding the continuation of the prohibition on all kind of emigration and recorded a separate minute of dissent. In his summing up, Mr. J. P. Grant, the sixth member of the committee, wrote: I conclude then, that, as far as our information goes, the whole of the evils which attended the export of the Indian labourers to our colonies were casual, and may, by good regulation, be prevented for the future; that the direct advantages of free emigration are immense, while the indirect advantages are incalculable, consequently that free emigration from India and in the colonies as may afford a reasonable expectation of preventing the recurrence of the evils heretofore experienced.17

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The motion of the ‘Calcutta Committee’ was lost by 118 to 24 votes in the British Parliament. On 22 March 1842, the Court of Directors sent a legislative despatch to India. Delegating the question of regulation to the Government of India, it described the necessity of establishing proper precautions to prevent ‘a project intended to promote the advantage of certain classes of the people of India, by allowing them free command of their labour, being perverted to their injury’, and urged a ‘careful watch’ upon the operation of the law, should the existing restriction be relaxed.18 On 2 December, Act XV of 1842 was passed in India, which, inter alia, permitted the appointment of an agent by the Government of Mauritius at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay, and a Protector in Mauritius. Act XXI (1843) had two important sections. Section I bemoaned the probable reduction in the number of emigrants, and the necessity for providing for a larger proportion of women. It restricted emigration from 1 January 1844 to the port of Calcutta. Section II authorized the Governor General in Council to appoint a Protector of emigrants at Calcutta, stressing that no emigrant shall embark without a certificate from the agent, countersigned by the Protector.19 Act XXI of 1844 allowed labour emigration to Jamaica, Trinidad and British Guiana from Calcutta and Madras. It was made mandatory that on each ship 12 percent of emigrants to the sugar colonies should consist of women. By 1864, many British and foreign colonies had received permission for the import of coolie labour from India. These were Mauritius, British Guiana, Trinidad, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Grenada, St. Croix, Réunion (Bourbon), Natal and St. Kitts. The year 1864 was a significant one in the history of Indian emigration. It was for the first time that the Colonial Government systematized the emigration of indentured labour from India to the colonies, amalgamating the existing laws under a comprehensive Act XIII of 1864. The main features of this act were as folllows: of emigration. Provisions were made specially to prevent abduction or kidnapping and involuntary emigration by bringing these under the ambit of the Indian Penal Code. registration system. Now, every recruited labourer had to be taken before a Magistrate for registration. Previous to registration, the Magistrate at Calcutta had to interrogate recruits as to their comprehension of the engagement and willingness to fulfil it. Only after a satisfactory examination were the recruits to be forwarded to

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the depot. There was to be proper regulation for the depots too and the provision of penalty for the breaking of any of these rules by any agent or his subordinates. of the duties of the Protector of emigrants. He was to be a full-time servant of the local government. At the drafting stage of the bill, emigration agents in the colonies objected to some of its sections. For the agents, the most deleterious clause was Section XX. According to this section of the first draft of the bill, If the medical officer shall certify that any labourer is not in a state of health which warrants his proceeding to the place to which he has contracted to emigrate, for the purpose of labouring in such place, the Protector of emigrants shall either order the emigration agent in whose depot such labourer may be, forthwith to convey him back to the place at which he was registered, or shall order the emigration agent to pay to the labourer such sum as shall to the protector seem necessary to enable him to return there; and the emigration agent, if so ordered, shall, without unreasonable delay, convey the labourer, or cause him to be conveyed, back to the place at which he was registered. On failure of the emigration agent for twenty-four hours to comply with an order of protector for the payment of such sum of money as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the Protector to advance the same to the labour, and every sum so advanced shall be recoverable by the Protector, with six percent interest from the date of advance, from the emigration agent on whose default it may be advanced, as money paid to use of such emigration agent, and no further proof shall be required by any court in any such case than that the Protector gave the emigration agent such order as aforesaid, and that the emigration agent for a space of twenty-four hours made default in complying therewith. Provided that any labourer who, from his state of health is, in the medical inspector’s opinion, unfit to undertake the journey back to the place where he was registered, shall, in addition to his being conveyed back by or at the expense of the emigration agent, to be entitled to continue in the depot, and to be fed, clothed, and lodged there by and at the expense of the emigration agent until such time as the Protector shall order otherwise.20

Objecting to this section, the agents wrote to the drafting committee: We read with much surprise that Protector is empowered to order us, to pay and to levy, if we don’t pay him, such monies as he chooses to demand for the

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return of the emigrant to his country. We think the suspicion and distrust here expressed is quite uncalled for, as well as many other portions of this Bill, in which the Protector is called upon to take the initiative from the Agent. If such an evident and natural duty as this cannot be entrusted to the Agent without the fiat of the Protector, then are our position, as Agents is rendered perfectly nugatory. The statement of objects and reasons when the amended Bill was first introduced in Council on this point were, that the Protector should no longer conduct the enquiry as to the free will of the emigrant, that the responsibility of that investigation is thrown by the Bill on the local Magistrates. The emigrant should not be encouraged, after examination by the Magistrate, and heavy expenses incurred in bringing him to Calcutta, to break his contract. In no instance does the Bill afford protection to the Colonies against the dishonesty of the intending Emigrants 21 (emphasis added).

After discussion, the final draft came up with a new section relating to the refusal of emigrants to embark. According to the final draft of Section XLIV which became law in 1864, If any Emigrant shall without good and sufficient cause refuse or neglect to embark when called upon by the emigration agent so to do, it shall not be lawful to compel such emigrants to embark or put him on board ship against his will, or to detain him against his will at the depot or elsewhere: but nothing in this section shall be taken to diminish or effect in any way legal liabilities, civil or criminal, of such Emigrant incurred by him by reason or in respect of his refusal or neglect aforesaid. Every case in which an Emigrant is charged before a Magistrate of a Presidency Town with refusing or neglecting to embark without good and sufficient cause, shall be heard and determined by such Magistrate in a summary manner, and every such labourer shall, on conviction, be punished in the manner provided in section 492 [1862] of the Indian Penal Code for the punishment of offences under that section.22

This section (Section 44) of the Emigration Act was inserted to take into account those emigrants who refused or neglected to proceed without sufficient cause, failing which they were liable for punishment under Section 492 of the Indian Penal Code. In 1871, a new Emigration Act came into being, but this act was a small modification of the Emigration Act XII of 1864. In the 1870s, emigration agents of various colonies sent many letters to the British Government to amend the Emigration Act of 1871 as they had been informed that their recruiters were being constantly harassed and

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intimidated by the police and magistrates. Another complaint was that many would-be emigrants simply lied, and after using the indenture channel to find employment or visit family in Calcutta at the expense of recruiters, refused to board the ships to the colonies.23 R. W. S. Mitchell, Government Emigration Agent for Trinidad, wrote to emigration commissioners in London on 29 November 1876 and produced details of a trial of three recruiters employed at Allahabad, accused of attempting to kidnap a boy named Sheoperashad.24 In this case, the three recruiters were convicted by the Joint Magistrate of Allahabad and sentenced to six and two months’ rigorous imprisonment under the Indian Penal Code. On appeal to the Court of Session of Allahabad, this conviction was quashed, and the appellants were set free, but only after having undergone one month’s penal servitude. On 30 November 1876, R. W. S. Mitchell wrote to Emigration Commissioners in London to draw the attention of Earl of Carnavon for amending the Emigration Act 1871, as an apparent anomaly existed between the provisions of the emigration statute for the punishment of breach of contract (Clause 45 No. VII of 1871)25 and those of section of the Indian Penal Code (Clause 492 of Act XLV of 1860)26. This was done to punish recruits, who, under the pretence of intending to be emigrants, obtained free passages by rail to Calcutta at the recruiters’ expense and later deserted.27 In his letter, Mitchell pointed out two things: first, how Clause 45 was insufficient with a reference to Howrah Magistrate’s decision in such cases, and second, heavy loss and wastage of money incurred in feeding, clothing and other necessary expenses on emigrants who generally arrive at the depots ‘almost in a state of nudity and afterwards desert’.28 He quoted an extract from the Protector of Emigrants Annual Report for 1875-76 suggesting the canniness of emigrants: Such persons have themselves registered as emigrants, not with any intention of emigrating, but with the fraudulent end in view of coming down to Calcutta on their own business at the expense of emigration agencies, and therefore with the determination of absconding from the depots or elsewhere as soon as conveniently possible after their arrival here.29

In another letter dated 15 December 1876, Mitchell wrote to emigration commissioners in London for information on the Earl of Carnavon complaining of ultra-virus acts by the Magistrate and police.30 He recorded that the subagents had complained that he could not obtain the Magistrate’s counter signature and hence, emigrants were unable to proceed. He drew attention to Section 21 of the Indian Emigration Act VII of 1871 that ‘no recruiter shall

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engage or attempt to engage labourers in any districts, or in any of the towns of Calcutta, Madras or Bombay, without having first exhibited his license to the Magistrate of such district or a Magistrate of a such town, and obtained the countersignature of such Magistrate thereupon. Such countersignature shall be given, provided that the license is in force at the time.’31 Further, he mentioned the orders of Mr. Daniell, Chief Magistrate of Cawnpore, and Mr. Robertson, Joint Magistrate of Allahabad, who had passed an order that all emigrants were to be brought before the police and examined as to their willingness to emigrate. They had to have their names recorded. The police were to pay domiciliary visits to the sub-agent’s house, where the intending emigrants resided, to see that this order had been complied with. This procedure, in Robertson’s view, was not supported by anything in the Emigration Act. This order affected emigration until the Advocate General at Calcutta declared this to be illegal, stating that ‘constant espionage, crossquestioning and probable extortion by the police, will but ill supply the watchful care and professional skill of the protector of emigrants and medical inspector at Calcutta’. 32 He further added that ‘there were no provisions for such domiciliary visitations as have been ordered’.33 In Section 3 of Act VII of 1871, ‘“Magistrate” denotes any officer exercising the full powers of a Magistrate, and in charge of a district, a division, or sub-division’; these powers were not exercised by Mr. Fuller, but were delegated by Mr. Daniel, the Cawnpore Magistrate. On the issue of the insufficiency of the existing law to meet the case of ‘coolies’ who, having been registered as contracting to go to a colony, deserted on their way to the depot, Bayley, who was the secretary to the Government of Bengal, reported to the Government of India that the Magistrate’s view of the law was correct.34 He reported that this was due to the limitation of the application of Section 492 of the Indian Penal Code to contracts ‘to work at any place within British Indian, & c.’; he expressly and intentionally excluded such cases under consideration of criminal act.35 Officials in the Emigration Department were of the view that it was very difficult to get a respectable class of men as recruiters and that they were an ‘untrustworthy class, and resort to all sort of misrepresentations and improper devices to induce people to emigrate’. Emigrants only understood the real nature of contract when they got to Calcutta, and were brought before the Protector there to ratify their contract. So, in Bayley’s view the possible safeguards were only allowing licensed recruiters by insisting on recruits being registered before Magistrates, by having their contracts explained to them before leaving the district and by repeating the process before the Protector of the Presidency. 36

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Bayley pointed out that as far as the law was concerned, there was a marked distinction between the positions of intending emigrants before and after the Protector ratified the contract. Until an emigrant appeared before the Protector, the contract was incomplete, and therefore, open to withdrawal from both sides. The agent might reject the coolie, and the coolie might refuse to go. In such cases the remedy was by civil action.37 As a result of the Trinidad agents’ argument, the Bengal Government gave its opinion on the point of time when the contract became binding as follows: The contract entered into by the emigrant with the recruiter in the mofussil is held to be binding on the agent under Section 35, 36, and 37 of the act, as he is obliged to pay the expenses of the emigrant back to his house, should he be rejected, or should the protector deem the recruitment improper or irregular. This is true, but the law allows the agent the option at this stage of refusing to be bound by the contract, and the liability of the agent is a liability which can only be enforced by civil action, and the agent has a similar remedy against the coolie. After the protector has satisfied himself that the emigrant has been properly recruited, and that there has been no irregularity, he countersigns the emigration pass, which is equivalent to an order to embark. At this stage the contract becomes definite and complete; and if the emigrant then refuses or neglects to embark, he is liable to the same penalties as are provided by section 492 for breach of contract to work within British India. It is no doubt the case that, in most instances, to sue the intending emigrant civilly for damages on account of breach of contract would be to throw good money after bad, and civil process has consequently been very rarely resorted to. Still it appears from the protector’s report that it has occasionally been reported to with success 38; but however this may be, the lieutenant-governor is so satisfied of the necessity of all the safeguards at the present required by the law, and especially of the protector’s enquiry as to the emigrant’s understanding the real nature of his contract, and his willingness (when beyond the reach of the recruiter) to emigrate.39

This was because the changes, argued by the Bengal Government, prevented a prospective migrant from becoming liable for ‘breach of contract’ in the mofussil itself. On this issue, Robertson, who was the secretary to the Government of North-Western Provinces (NWP) and Oudh, remarked that there were numerous cases in which recruiters had been found guilty of misconduct, which was due to employing unlicensed recruiters or arkatis, and the Magistrate required the proof of recruiters’ identity before the

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countersignature of their licenses.40 Though in the view of Robertson, the law did not require the magistrate to do so, it was justified as a precautionary measure for the proceedings of the subordinates employed in collecting labourers.41 Warming to the theme of police oversight, this local government opined that the recruiters had to report the names of intending ‘coolies’ and their assent at the kotwali (police station) before proceeding to local depot. This was due to complaints against the forcible detention of ‘coolies’, though a majority of such complaints were not true. He also added that this was in the interest of the recruiters to protect them from false charges. The NWP and Oudh Government briefed provincial magistrates: It is their interest to further it [emigration], but they are bound to protect the simple and ignorant people who live in their districts; and there have been many instances showing that the recruiters resort to most exaggerated descriptions of the probable benefits from emigrating in order to entrap the unwary, and that they put illegal pressure on them to retain them when a half assent has been expressed.42

After replies from various officials and concerned departments, the Indian Emigration Bill 1880 came before the legislative department. This bill contained the following changes from the ‘Indian Emigration Act 1871’: Chapter I. Preliminary Para 3. “Emigrate” denotes the departure by sea out of British India of a native of India under a contract to labour for hire otherwise than as a seminal servant in some country, other than the island of Ceylon or other strait settlements, beyond the limits of India, or as a dependent of some person so departing; “Emigrant” means any native of India emigrating within the meaning of the above definition; and “emigration” means the act of emigrating within the meaning of the above definition;43 Chapter II Para 7. (a) Governor General in council has power to prohibit emigration on the ground (b) That the mortality among emigrants in such place is excessive; (c) That proper measures have not been taken for the protection of emigrants immediately upon their arrival in such place, or during their residence therein;

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Coolies of the Empire (d) That the contracts made with emigrants as such before their departure from India are not duly enforced by the Government of such place; and (e) That the Governor General in council, having addressed the Government of such place with a view to obtain information regarding the condition or treatment of Indian emigrants in such place, has not received such information.44 Chapter III. Emigration Agents Para 11. Appointment of Emigration Agents – the local Government may, at any time if it thinks fit, by a like notification revoke its approval of the appointment of any person under this section; and from the date of such notification such person shall cease to be an emigration agent. Chapter VI. Recruiters and Sub-agents of Emigration Para 25. Every recruiter shall be furnished by the emigration agent on whose application he was licensed with a written or printed statement, under the hand of such agent, of the terms of contract which he is authorised to offer on behalf of such agent to intending emigrants. Such statement shall be both in English and in the vernacular language or languages of the local area to which the recruiter’s license extends. Such recruiter shall be bound to produce such statement for the information of any person whom he may invite to emigrate, or when called upon by any magistrate before whom any such person may be brought for registration as hereafter provided. Para 26. Countersignature of recruiter’s license – no [such] arkati’s license to be countersigned by Magistrate unless and until he has satisfied himself, by such enquiry as he thinks fit, that the license is not, by character or from any other cause, unfitted to be a recruiter under this act, and that sufficient and proper accommodation has been provided in a suitable place and is available for such intending emigrants as may be collected by such recruiter pending their removal to the depot at the port of embarkation. Para 27. Any Magistrate may authorise any magistrate subordinate to him or any officer of police above the rank of sub-inspector to visit and inspect such places at any time; and all recruiters or other persons in charge of such places shall afford such subordinate magistrate and officers of police every facility for making such visits and inspections. Para 28. Magistrate may cancel countersignature in certain cases45 1. Magistrate to give notice to Protector of Emigrants of refusal to countersign or cancellation of countersignature.

Regulating Indenture 2. Emigration agent may nominate person to be a Sub-Agent. 3. Local government may license person so nominated to be Sub-Agent. Chapter VIII. attestation of agreements and registration of emigration Para 39. Ground for refusing to attest agreement by the Magistrate or Protector (a) That the emigrant entering into such agreement is a resident of a place beyond the limits of his jurisdiction or of the port and that no satisfactory explanation is offered of the reason why such agreement was not presented for attestation where such Emigrant resides; (b) That any intending emigrant comprised in such agreement, being such a person as, under section 536 of the criminal procedure, might be ordered to maintain his wife or child, proposes to leave his wife or child behind him in India and has not made such provision as such magistrate or protector thinks suitable for the maintenance of such wife or child; (c) That any intending emigrant comprised in such agreement is a married woman, and that her husband does not consent to her emigrating. Chapter XIV. Offences Para 85. Whoever, by means of intoxication, coercion, fraud or misrepresentation, causes or induces, or attempts to cause or induce, any native of India to emigrate, or to enter into an agreement to emigrate, or to leave any place with a view to emigrating, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both, and any police officer may arrest such offender without warrant. Para 86. Whoever, not being a sub-agent of emigration licensed under this act, acts or is employed, as a sub-agent of emigration shall be punished with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to one year, or with both. Para 89. Punishment with fine Rs. 200 for each emigrant for taking an unlisted emigrant on board by the any master of vessel. Para 94. Penalties for emigrant who deserts or refuses to proceed to depot after registration – any person who, having been registered by a magistrate under section 38, deserts before arrival at the depot, or refuses to proceed to the depot, shall be punished with fine which may extend to Rs. 20 or to the cost incurred in contracting with and registering and conveying him to the depot, whichever is greater, and, in default of payment of such fine, with imprisonment which may extend to one month. Every fine levied under the provisions of this section may, in the discretion of the convicting magistrate, be paid to the Emigration Agent, Sub-Agent of emigration or recruiter by whom such cost was incurred.

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Coolies of the Empire No prosecution under this section shall be instituted except on complaint made by or at the instance of a protector of emigrants or with his sanction; and such sanction shall not be given if the protector sees to believe that the accused person or other intending emigrants accompanying him has or have been ill-treated, deceived or defrauded by the recruiter or any person under his control.46

When the bill was sent to the Secretary of State, a number of objections were raised by agents and other representatives of the colonies to certain provisions of the bill, and the Government of India was asked by London to suspend legislation until the opinions of the Colonial Governments, to whom the bill had been forwarded, were received. This was a suitable opportunity for local bodies to enquire and ascertain the actual process in the districts, the ways in which the present system could be improved, the attitude of the people towards emigration, and the possibility of making it more popular. It was in this context, with the new Bill on Emigration suspended in animation, that the Government of India encouraged provincial governments to make their own observations on the indenture system. Two important enquiries were set in train in the Gangetic Valley – the cradle of emigration. The resultant reports were as follows: in the NWP, Major D. G. Pitcher was asked to tour the catchment areas and report on opinions about emigration. Pitcher recorded both positive and negative responses. He gathered important evidence about the impact of emigration upon the area between Delhi and Banaras, which was emerging as the most significant recruiting ground for Calcutta agents. G. A. Grierson, for his part, was asked to submit a report concerning emigration from Bengal and especially Bihar. These reports were in the nature of enquiry, and went into the final making of the Emigration Act XXII of 1883 as it was presented. This piece of legislation governed almost all aspects of indentured emigration, with minor modifications, until the abolition of indentured emigration in 1916.

The Making of the Emigration Act of 1883 Both Pitcher’s and Grierson’s reports were laid before a Select Committee. The new bill to amend the Emigration Act, preceded by discussion of various officials, came into existence in October 1883, and C. P. Ilbert, Governor General of India, signed the bill. It had now two very significant sections. According to Section 93 (1):

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if any emigrant deserts before arrival at depot, or refuses without reasonable cause to proceed to the depot, he shall be punished with fine which may extend to twenty rupees, or to the cost incurred in entering into an agreement with, registering and conveying him to the depot, whichever is greater, and, in default of payment of the fine, with imprisonment which may extend to one month. (2) Any fine levied under this section may, in the discretion of the convicting magistrate, be paid to the Emigration Agent or recruiter by whom the cost was incurred. 94. (1) If any emigrant – (a) deserts from depot, or (b) without reasonable cause, refuses or neglects to embark when called upon to do so by the Emigration Agent, he shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may not extend to one month, or with fine which may extend to 50 rupees, or to double the amount of the cost incurred in entering into an agreement with, registering and conveying him to the depot, and maintaining him therein, or with both. (2) Any fine levied under this section may, in the discretion of the convicting Magistrate, be paid to the Emigration Agent or recruiter by whom the cost was incurred.47

The implications of these two sections in relation to the concept of ‘unfreedom’ lay in the possibility that this amendment to the law formally allowed a registered emigrant the ‘freedom’ not to board a ship after undergoing one month’s imprisonment. Was this a high price to pay for the belated selfknowledge by peasants duped by arkatis? Would such peasants, who had gone all the way from the interior, be sufficiently aware of how to use this escape route, which required a month-long jail sentence? Was a month in a Calcutta jail a greater price to pay for joining the labour market in that city, than paying (or being unable to pay) for a ticket and travel down the Ganges on one’s own steam? These are open questions, which in the absence of any case law regarding these two sections of the New Emigration Act must remain surmise.

Conclusion To conclude the story of legislations and enactments, the question of amending the Emigration Act was related to two significant issues that the emigration agencies then faced. The first was the cases against recruiters for fraud and kidnapping. It was very difficult for emigration agencies to prove that there were no fraudulent acts or any wrong done in recruiting prospective emigrants in the hinterland, and during their conveyance to Calcutta. On the other hand, emigration agents produced cases in which session judges had found

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emigrants guilty, but the high court had dismissed them. For example, the case of Sheoprasad, alias Pudei vs Sukhari and two other recruiters.48 Second, unbearable expenses incurred on those who entered into a contract in their districts and who on reaching Calcutta changed their minds and did not proceed to the colonies. Emigration agents provided evidence that many purabias took advantage of the indenture system to travel to Calcutta, at the expense of emigration agencies, with an intention of being recruited into the Bengal Police in Calcutta. They would then refuse to embark for the colonies. Therefore, emigration agents repeatedly demanded two changes in the law: first, legislation for the control of desertion after signing the indenture contract; and second, to limit, if not stop altogether, undue police intervention in what was, they argued, a contractual relationship. In response to such cases, the Emigration Act (1883) added provision to control the desertion of emigrants, highlighting the agency of migrants in exploiting legal loopholes in existing legislation. There were many ‘abuses’ manifest in the early years of indentured migration overseas. However, for practical as well as political reasons the Government of India endeavoured to put in place a system of regulation that by 1883 had mitigated these problems to a very large extent. Pressure from officials opposed to overseas recruitment in India, and from the anti-slavery lobby in Britain, meant that legislation had to be framed which did not solely reflect the interests of the planters. There was substantial change in the regulatory framework over time. However, by the last quarter of the nineteenth century it can be argued that a reasonably effective framework of protective legislation was in place to ensure that overseas migration was largely ‘volitional’ (within the limited range of opportunities that were available to Indian rural labourers), and as far as possible, at every stage of the migration process, the rights and security of migrants were ensured. At the same time, it is important, as argued by Bates and Carter, not to be caught up in the dualistic debate on the regulation of labour.49 What might be one man’s trafficker can be another man’s friend in a time of need. What might be reported as a case of kidnapping could from another perspective be a woman in flight from patriarchal control.50 And what might seem to planters and officials to be ‘abuses’ and ‘loopholes’ within the system of migration could often allow opportunities for migrants to pursue their own agendas within the interstices of the colonial system. Rachel Sturman has argued that the regulation of Indian overseas labour migration had become by the late nineteenth century one of the most comprehensive systems of regulation over the contracting of labour and health and safety work anywhere in the world. It established an important precedent

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for twentieth-century labour rights articulated from the 1920s onwards under the auspices of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).51 But curiously, Sturnman’s analysis seems to skirt an analysis of documented cases from India (such an important part of ‘Emigration Archives’), which is a requisite, as in our analysis above, for any analysis regarding prevailing state of affairs requiring specific enactments. This aside, it is a moot point, often side-tracked in the coercion/agency debate that why colonial government of India, concerned by its run lights with the welfare, in some sense, of the natives toiling in the fields, was so concerned with providing tied-for-a-limited-period labour to sugar plantations even outside the British Empire.52 If, as Sydney Mintz has suggested, there were conjectural reasons emanating from the world economy of sugar which helped Government of India (in the face of relentless nationalist pressure) to let go of indenture in 1917, then perhaps there may be a need, following Sven Beckert’s remarkable ‘Empire of Cotton’ and its long association with slavery, to make room for an equally ambitious ‘Empire of Sugar’, post abolition of slavery. Such a saccharin empire, as this book argues, was propped up in several parts of the globe by the saga, travails and ‘fortunes’ of the girmitiyas of the Ganges Valley.53

Endnotes 1. See Mohapatra, Prabhu. 2005. ‘Regulating Informality: Legal Constructions of Labour Relations in Colonial India, 1814-1926.’ In Workers in the Informal Sector: Studies in Labour History 1800-2000, edited by Jan Lucassen and Sabyasachi Bhattacharya. New Delhi; Mangru, Basdeo. 1987. Benevolent Neutrality: Indian Government Policy and Labour Migration to British Guiana 1854–1884. London: Hansib. 2. Steinfeld, Robert J. 2001. Coersion, Contract and Free Labor in the Nineteenth Century. Buffalo: State University of New York. 3. Steinfeld, Robert J. 2003. ‘Coercion, Contract and Free Labor: A Reply.’ Buffalow Law Review 51: 897. 4. Robb, Peter. 1993. ‘Introduction: Meanings of Labour in Indian Social Context.’ In Dalit Movements and the Meanings of Labour in India, edited by Peter Robb. Delhi: Oxford University Press. 5. Anderson, Michael. ‘Work Construed: Ideological Origins of Labour Law in British India. In Dalit Movements and the Meaning of Labour in India, edited by Peter Robb, p. 91. 6. Mohapatra, Prabhu P. 2005. ‘Regulated Informality: Legal Constructions of Labour Relations in Colonial India, 1814–1926.’ In Workers in the Informal Sector: Studies in Labour History 1800–2000, edited by Jan Lucassen and Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, p. 11. New Delhi.

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7. Prabhu Mohapatra, op.cit., p. 20. 8. Sturman, Rachel. 2014. ‘Indian Indentured Labor and the History of International Rights Regimes.’ The American Historical Review 119 (5): 1439–1465. 9. Letter from H. Prinsep, Esq., Secretary to Government General Department from Mc Farlan, Esq., Chief Magistrate of Calcutta, dated 10 September 1834, R&A 341, National Archive of Mauritius [hereafter NAM], pp. 164–66. See my Appendix-I for correspondence and copy of contract of the first batch of indentured emigrants to Mauritius. 10. Gheogheghan Report on Coolie Emigration from India [hereafter Geogheghan Report], Parliamentary Paper [hereafter PP] 1874 (314), p. 2. 11. The same document provides the list of rations on board: Rice – 14 chatak, Dal – 2 chatak, Ghi or Oil – ½ chatak, Salt – ¼ chatak, Turmeric – ½ chatak, Onion – ½ chatak, Tobacco – 1 chatak every day. Here it is interesting that while chewingtobacco (called surti in east Uttar Pradesh and khaini in Bihar), which was mixed with quick-lime and stuck in the mouth for ‘sustained release’ of nicotine into the blood stream, qualified as ‘rations’, there was no provision for vegetables; turmeric (haldi) was the sole condiment listed to the exclusion of coriander powder (dhania). 12. See Appendix-II, a copy of contract under Emigration Act VII of 1837. See also the copies of contract in various Indian vernacular languages. 13. Geogheghan Report, p. 5. 14. Table 3.1: Number of emigrants reaching the colonies from 1834 to August 1838 Colonies

Men

Women

Children

Total

Mauritius

7,239

100

72

7,411

British Guiana

407

7

10

424

Bourbon

60

-

-

60

Source: Geogheghan Report, p. 4.

15. T. Dickens and J. P. Grant were major planters and had been assigned large jungle land grantee in North India especially in Gorakhpur for sugar cultivation. See Amin, Shahid. 1984. Sugarcane and Sugar in Gorakhpur: An Inquiry into Peasant Production for Capitalist Enterprise in Colonial India, p. 30. Delhi. 16. PP, 1841 Session 1 (45), Report of the Dickens Committee; See also PP, 1841 Session II (287); Home Proceedings (Hear after HP) Emigration, A Progs 15–20, 4 Nov. 1840, NAI. 17. PP, 1841 Session 1(427), J. P. Grant’s Minute on the abuses alleged to exist in the export of coolies, para 120. p. 30. 18. Court of Directors Despatch’s cited in Geogheghan Report. pp. 10–11. 19. Ibid., p. 11. 20. Home, Legislative, 1864, Paper relating to Act XII of 1864, NAI. Emphasis added. The file contains a large number of papers relating to this act received from various departments, colonies and officials who were involved in it. This long passage has been broken up into smaller paras.

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21. Ibid., Letter from Emigration Agents (British Guiana, Trinidad, Mauritius) to the the Committee of the Hon’ble the Legislative Council of India to the GovernorGeneral of India, dated 9 February 1864, comment on sec. 41, p. 6. 22. Ibid. Final drafts Bill for Emigration Act XII of 1864, p.17. 23. R&A, Emigration, A Progs No. 41–67, May 1881. 24. Ibid. Letter No. 634, dated Garden Reach, 15 June 1876, from R. W. S. Mitchell, Government emigration agent for Trinidad to Emigration Commissioners, Downing Street, London, Appendix B; Report on the case of Crown vs. 1, Sukharee; 2, Rahmutoolla; 3, Gholam Hoosein, convicted by Mr. J. M. Pears, Joint Magistrate of Allahabad, of attempting to kidnap from British India a young man named Pudei alias Sheopershad, and sentenced under section 511 and 363 of the Indian Penal Code, the two first named, each to six months’ imprisonment, and the last named to three months’ rigorous imprisonment ‘consideration of his having acted only as other prisoners’ servant,’ and all acquitted by the Sessions Judge of Allahabad on appeal by the three above-named prisoners, J. W. Howard, Barrister-at-Law, 20 October 1876, Allahabad. 25. ‘If any emigrant without sufficient cause refuses or neglects to embark when called upon by the emigration agent so to do, it shall not be lawful to compel such emigrant to embark, or to put him on boardship against his will, or to detain him against his will at the depot or elsewhere: but nothing in this section shall diminish or affect the civil or criminal liabilities which such emigrant incurs by reason or in respect of his refusal or neglect aforesaid.’ 26. ‘Whoever being bound by lawful contract in writing to work for another person as an artificer, workman or labourer, for a period not more than three years, at any place within British India, to which by virtue of the contract he has been or is to be conveyed at the expense of such other, voluntarily deserts the service of that other during the continuance of his contract, or without reasonable cause refuse to perform the service, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding one month, or with fine not exceeding double the amount of such expense, or with both, unless the employer has ill-treated him or neglected to perform the contract on his part.’ 27. See in a Despatch from Her Majesty’s Secretary of State [hereafter SoS for Indian], No. 53 (Public-Emigration), dated the 17 May 1877. Government of India [hereafter GoI], Home, Revenue and Agriculture [hereafter HRA], Emigration, A Progs. No. 45, May 1881. 28. The case was briefly this: out of 64 coolies who had agreed to emigrate to the colony of Trinidad, and who had been registered at Cawnpore and brought down from there at the expense of the colony, 41 absconded at Howrah on the way to the depot, and upon the agent applying to the magistrate to have them brought back, either by summons or by warrant, the application was refused for the reasons given in the magistrate’s order. The reason given was that the men had committed no offence punishable by the criminal law. The ordinary law applicable to breach of contract (Section 492, Indian Penal Code) being strictly limited to contractors

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29. 30.

31. 32. 33. 34.

35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48.

Coolies of the Empire of service in British Indian, and Section 45, Act VII of 1871, being inapplicable for two reasons: first, that the Protector had not called upon them to embark, and could not do so until the contracts had been examined and ratified before him; and second, because the section in question specifically limits the jurisdiction in such cases to magistrates at the presidency towns. For details of the judgment of Howrah Magistrate see HRA, Emigration, A Progs. No. 46, May 1881, Appendix C, p. 7. Ibid. Letter from R. W. S. Mitchell, Government Emigration Agent for Trinidad to Emigration Commissioner, Downing Street, London, No. 999, dated Garden Reach, Calcutta, 15 December 1876, in a Dispatch from SoS for Indian, No. 53 (Public- Emigration), dated 17 May 1877. HRA, Emigration, A Progs. No. 45, May 1881. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Letter from S.C. Bayley, Secretary to the Government of Bengal [hereafter GoB], Judicial (Emigration) Department to the Secretary, GoI, Revenue, Agriculture and Commerce [hereafter RAC], dated Darjeeling, 1 June 1877, HRA, Emigration, A Progs. No. 46, May 1881, p. 2, para 4. Ibid., para 5. Ibid., para 6. Ibid., para 6–7. For details see Ibid., p. 3 attached letter from Dr. J. Grant, Protector of Emigrants to the Under Secretary, GoB, No. 870, dated Calcutta, 24 August 1876. Ibid., para 10. HRA, Emigration, A Progs. No. 52, May 1881. Letter from C. Robertson, Officiating Secretary, Government of North Western Provinces [hereafter NWP] and Oudh to the Secretary GoI, RAC, No. 2402, dated Naini Tal, 11 October 1877, para 3. Ibid., para 5. See also Mr. Lyall’s Note, p. 18. RAC, Emigration, A Progs Nos. 1–10, 18 October 1873. See Mr. Lyall’s note, p. 9. See Mr. Lyall’s note, p. 2. See also SoS’s Despatch no. 127, dated 30 November 1876, and Para 7 of the draft despatch. Also see Act III of 1876, s. 33 Ibid. See above, pp. 28–29. It is important to note that recruiters produced ample evidence that labourers were exploiting the loopholes of the laws. In various cases they simply lied and in many cases, if one has to go to Calcutta to meet his/her relatives or to find job in Calcutta police, they simply used the indenture channel to reach Calcutta on the expenses of recruiters and after that they refused to board on the ship. Emigration agents produced the case of Regina versus Sukharee Dass,

Regulating Indenture

49.

50. 51. 52. 53.

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Rahmutoolla and Gholam Hossein along with many other cases in which appellants were not wrong and got punishment on false basis in the lower courts. Bates, C. and M. D. Carter. 1995. ‘Tribal and Indentured Migrants in Colonial India: Modes of Recruitment and Forms of Incorporation.’ In Dalit Movements and the Meanings of Labour in India, edited by P. Robb. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. For a nuanced portrait of such a woman in flight, see the character of Deeti in Amitav Ghosh’s Sea of Poppies. Sturman, Rachel. 2014. ‘Indian Indentured Labor and the History of International Rights Regimes.’ The American Historical Review 119 (5): 1439–65. For an argument for the retention of a peasant-based agriculture system in colonial India, see, Chatterjee, Partha. 1984. Bengal 1920-19147: The Land Question. K P Bagchi and Company. Beckert, Sven. 2014. Empire of Cotton: A Global History. Knopf.

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4

•

The Journey Introduction This chapter explores the journey of indentured workers from northern India to the various sugar colonies. Scholars have compared the shipping out of indentured workers with the transportation of slaves. They believed that these voyages were comparable to the ‘middle passage’ of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.1 Classic texts, like Hugh Tinker’s A New System of Slavery, make selective use of abolitionist and official sources to allege that crossing the ‘kalapani’ was something Indians immensely feared. They considered that the passage was a traumatic experience and that their mortality levels were exceptionally high. According to Tinker, ‘the killing diseases – cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and a dozen others – were a constant feature of depot and shipboard existence. The Indian Ocean, the Atlantic and the South Pacific – oceans of menace and mighty force – had to be tackled by sailing ships and their crews.’2 This chapter investigates the sea passage undertaken by indentured labourers in reaching their destinations and looks into the types of ships used in transportation. It explores the dietary and medical provisions, issues of mortality and the experience of the journey as recorded by indentured workers themselves. It argues that, notwithstanding the powerful rhetoric of Tinker, the journey of indentured passengers was not in any way comparable to the ‘middle passage’. Although the sea journey during the nineteenth century was difficult, colonial transporters implemented various measures to mitigate them. While engaging with the historical debates over issues of mortality of indentured workers travelling to the sugar colonies, this chapter analyses the food and medical care provided to them. It also argues that colonial officers considered labourers’ choices and beliefs when provisioning their ships. This proved to be a significant aid to migrants in coping with the psychological aspects of mortality as well as helping them to control the general level of mortality. It argues that the hazards were ultimately no greater for Indian emigrants than they were for the Englishmen. The prevalence of disease was probably the same as they would have encountered had they stayed back home. Finally, the chapter will examine other aspects of the shipboard experience

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of emigrants and the extent to which migrants’ physical, social and cultural needs were met during the voyage.

The Shipping World The shipping world of the nineteenth century employed various kinds of ships, such as: wooden sailing ships, iron sailing ships and steam ships for transportation purposes across the oceans. During the early period of indentured migration, French sailing ships, private vessels and merchant ships of the East India Company were involved in the transportation of labourers. In subsequent years, British mercantile firms took over the business of transportation of ‘coolie’ workers from India to the various sugar colonies. For this purpose, ships were selected through a tender given by the emigration agent. The grant of a permit depended on the suitability of the vessel and the facilities and supplies available on board the ship. With innovations in maritime technology, journeys by sea became easier and quicker over the period under consideration. To transport indentured labourers to plantation colonies, shipping companies used up-to-date ships, and as a result some of the dangers and discomforts of the voyage lessened considerably over time. Until the mid-nineteenth century, indentured labourers were transported only in sailing ships. The basic design of a standard sailing ship during early nineteenth century differed from the eighteenth century one. Early nineteenthcentury sailing ships consisted of a hull, rigging and at least one ventilating mast to hold the sails, the purpose of which is to direct the ship by the wind. Eighteenth-century sailing ships were made of wood, and their length was limited to 300 feet. However, tonnage law of 1836 proved an important juncture in the reform of wooden sailing ships. The new regulation was designed to prevent tax evasion, but forced a radical improvement in ships’ proportions.3 The advantage of improved sailing ships was the large depth, which provided more space. Till the mid-nineteenth century, three types of sailing ships were used to transport indentured labourers. The first type was the barque, which consisted of at least three ventilating masts, with fore-and-aft rigged mizzen sails set along the keel. The second type of sailing ship was the full rigged ship, which was used in the 1860s. It also consisted of three or more ventilating masts – the main mast (tallest mast), foremast (second tallest mast), mizzen mast (the third mast) and jiggermast (the fourth mast). An example of a full rigged ship was the Reigate built in 1862 weighing 1,035 tons.4 The third type of

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vessel was the clipper, which was considered to be the fastest sailing ship in the nineteenth century and had three or more ventilating masts. Indentured workers were transported through these types of ships till 1860s until steam ships were introduced by the shipping companies. An example of a clipper was the Blue Jacket, weighing 1,790 tons, which arrived in Mauritius during the year 1858–1859 with 477 emigrants from Calcutta.5 In the 1860s, the shipping companies moved to another innovative way of transporting immigrants in steam ships or steamers. A steamer was a ship that did not use sails to move, but used steam power. Steam power drove a paddle wheel, which enabled the ship to move. An example of a steamer was the Steamer Bhima, which transported 409 Indian immigrants from Calcutta during the years 1865 and 1866. There was, thus, an evolution in the type of sailing ships used, from the barque to the full-rigged ship, and from the full-rigged ship to the faster sailing ships – the clipper – and from the clipper to the use of steamers. There was a similar evolution and improvement in the ventilation systems used on board the ships. It was alleged (according to the medical beliefs of the time) that bad smells released by rotten goods and a lack of pure air circulating below decks were the cause of many deaths. Certainly, they must have made the journey stressful and unpleasant. As a result, laws were passed that ships carrying migrants should be equipped with Thiers Automatic Ventilators equipment. However, in the long run Thiers Automatic Ventilators proved to be inadequate, and were replaced by Boaz Ventilators. Boaz Ventilators were quite updated and upgraded. These technological changes proved to be significant for the smooth sojourn of passengers. These ships were far superior to the eighteenth-century ships that carried slaves and made their passage so deplorable and pathetic. The journey of indentured workers in the second half of the nineteenth century was, thus, much more comfortable than any kind of sea journey prior to this period. With the advent of the ship-building technology, the tonnage and the space allotted to the emigrants increased. The very first indenture regulation, Act V of 1837, strictly provisioned the tonnage limit for each emigrant. According to the act, ‘no more than one labourer for every 1½ tons of actual tonnage should be carried’.6 Hence, from 1842 there were very few ships left of 245 tons. The best ships engaged in the transportation of Indian indentured workers to Mauritius were of John Allan of the London who had ships of between 600 to 1,000 tons.7 John Allan’s had Dunphaile Castle – 720 tons built by Laing in 1861. John Allan had Indian-built ships as well. Rajah of Cochin, weighing

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1,008 tons, was one of them built at Malabar in 1856. Allan had some other ships such as Copenhagen (816 tons), Lincelles (892 tons), Steuart Lane (1,162 tons) and Reigate iron ship weighing 1,035 tons. John Allan’s ships had 6 feet 6 inches head room under the beams and special ventilating airshafts in addition to hatches. It also had a 46-feet-long saloon.8 It had a license to carry 267 adults, who were looked after by a surgeon and a compounder. John Allan took 26 days’ time between India and Mauritius.9 Some other ships who got engaged in transportation of indentured workers were Buckinghamshire (1,734 tons) in 1847, City of Palaces (4,212 tons) in 1850, Salsette (579 tons), Steamer Fast East (1,230 tons) in 1866, Hindoostan (930 tons) in 1872, Erne (1,692 tons) and Ganges II (1,529 tons). With the advent of bigger ships with bigger tonnage, not only was more space given to migrants, but the journey time also decreased. In 1842 legislation, the length of voyage from India to Mauritius was as follow: 8–10 weeks from Calcutta to Mauritius, 5–7 weeks from Madras to Mauritius and 5–6 weeks from Bombay to Mauritius. However, from the 1860s onwards the length of journey reduced from 4–5 weeks to 3–4 weeks from Calcutta to Mauritius.10 For instance, the Punjab took 33 days from Calcutta to reach Mauritius with 321 migrants on 18 July 1863. The Fathe Salaam, with 286 migrants, took 37 days, which embarked on 9 November 1863, and Atheleta reached Mauritius within 30 days with 391 migrants, which embarked on 25 February 1864. With the coming of steam ships the duration of the journey decreased further. The steamer Almora embarked from Calcutta with 521 indentured workers and reached Mauritius in 18 days. The steamer Malda embarked on 24 July 1874 from Calcutta with 501 passengers and reached Mauritius in 17 days. Indian Emigration Act of 1864 provided a comfortable space for each emigrant on the sea journey. According to the law, ‘a space having in every part a height of no less than 5½ feet shall be devoted to the exclusive use of emigrants. No compartment is to take more than one adult emigrant for every 10 superficial and for every 72 cubic feet.’11 David Eltis and David Northrup have provided a detailed analysis of slave and indentured ships and found that the average passenger density on indentured labour ships was far lesser than on those of the African slave trade. According to the data provided by Northrup, 40 emigrants per 100 tons were shipped out from India and China to the West Indies and 55 emigrants per 100 tons on ships from China to Cuba and Peru. During 1840s and 1850s, European ships carried 20 to 30 passengers per 100 tons.12 At the same time, the slaves were shipped out over 257 persons per 100 tons. Due to the

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emigration regulation and laws, the emigrants-carrying vessels had to make arrangements of separate compartments for single male, single women and children. If we look at the diagram of a sailing ship given below, it can be observed that male and female migrants were accommodated separately.13 Single women were placed under the poop deck, married couples under the hospital along with their children, and single men under the galleys. Migrants of different status were also quartered separately on board the ships. The above description shows that the shipping world of nineteenth century saw drastic changes in maritime technology. The sea passage became significantly more comfortable in the nineteenth century than had been the Atlantic slave trade’s middle passage. Nineteenth-century ships were not only spacious, well ventilated and capable of carrying more passengers, but also faster which considerably ameliorated the experience of labourers during their journey. The coming of steam ships was a revolution in sea transport, which drastically decreased the time length of the passage. Hence, nineteenth-century shipping innovations were highly beneficial for passenger labourers as well as for planters. Now planters had to employ fewer ships for the transportation of workers, as a single ship was capable of carrying more workers. At the same time, ships were more comfortable for migrants.

Debating Shipboard Mortality Issues concerning the health and mortality of indentured labour migrants sent to sugar plantations in overseas colonies have been explored in the context of nineteenth-century colonial interventions. Hugh Tinker has examined the mortality (rates) of indentured labourers during their sea journey, and concluded that their condition was no better than that of African slaves during the trans-Atlantic ‘middle passage’. He provides selective evidence from Captain Swinton’s hourly description of life on board a ship to show the traumatic nature of the passage of indentured workers from India to the sugar islands.14 In contrast to Tinker, P. C. Emmer argued that the colonial authorities imposed strong regulations to control shipboard mortality and health, hence indentured Indians were in a much better condition during the voyage than on the plantations.15 David Northrup has also contended that the health of indentured workers on board the ship was materially better than any earlier form of labour migration; improved size of decks, better equipment, effective ship regulations and improved medical facilities made indentured

Figure 4.1: The structure of a ship used to carry indentured workers in late nineteenth century

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Figure 4.2: The structure of the upper deck of a late-nineteenth-century ship

82 Coolies of the Empire

The Journey Figure 4.3: The structure of Thiers Ventilator of a ship

Figure 4.4: The structure of Boaz’s Ventilator of a ship

83

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Coolies of the Empire

ship voyages comparatively more comfortable and healthy.16 Similarly, Ralph Shlomowitz has provided a systematic and comprehensive study of mortality among indentured labourers on the ocean voyage and has argued that the mortality rates were much lower than those of slaves in the trans-Atlantic trade. British sanitary reforms made possible better and healthier conditions for indentured labourers during their journey on the high seas, and during the last quarter of the nineteenth century the mortality of indentured migrants on ships declined.17 Not all historians see such colonial interventions as improving the life expectancy of indentured labour migrants. It might be possible to relate the provisioning of healthy food with the politics of making workers’ body healthy to serve in the colony.18 For example, Anil Persaud had recently likened the power relations inherent in the implementation of some colonial medical practices, concerning the feeding of slaves with a surgeon’s tool called the ‘speculum oris’. It was used to forcibly open a slave’s mouth and feed them to keep them alive. The various sanitary, medical and dietary measures, he argues, were primarily colonial methods to deliver healthy ‘plantation bodies’ for labour.19 Laurance Brown and Radica Mahase have conversely examined the British policy of health and medical facilities for indentured labourers on their journeys to the islands and found that the ship was a place of medical encounter, where indentured migrants resisted colonial naval doctors and surgeons who tried to practice non-Indian medical treatments. While the colonial government introduced radical purgative interventions and intrusive sanitary surveillance, Indian doctors, assistants, translators, patients, lascars and indentured labourers often carried their own medical practices with them. They were not merely passive victims of western medical therapy.20 Heavy mortality on board a ship was a cause of constant anxiety for planters and governments, as well as for those who were directly involved in the shipping of indentured labourers. It also provided ammunition for humanitarians and anti-slavery protesters, allowing them to equate the indenture system, involving the ‘shipping out’ of small peasants from India, with modes of transporting slaves and convicts.21 In 1859, for example, the diary of a voyage of the Salsette was published by the wife of its commander, Captain Swinton. The ship was carrying 323 indentured migrants from Calcutta to West Indies. During the journey 38 percent of the ‘coolies’ died on board. 22 Here are extracts from the diary of Captain Swinton on his passage from Calcutta to Trinidad:

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March 17th, 1858. Left Calcutta for Trinidad; several Coolies sick. 18th. An old woman died of cholera; she was rejected on coming on board, but eighteen men would not come without her. 21th. A little girl six years of age, died of dysentery in its mother’s arms. 26th. A little orphan girl, four years of age, died in a state of emaciation; she was in this state when put on board… saw a little boy dying on deck. A little boy died, to whom my attention was called yesterday. An infant found dead below; its mother was sick and unable to nourish it. Preserved milk much needed; sad howling of infants who were dying for want of milk. 21st June. The coolies very musical 22nd. Coolies performing. 23rd. Coolies having some native games and war dances. 25th. Little girl, two years old, died of diarrhea. 30th. Mustered the coolies, and find only 108 men, 61 women, and 30 children under ten years of age, 2 infants, and 2 interpreters, left, of 323 or 324 we sailed from Calcutta with, and 3, I fear, will die before we can get them landed. 7th July. In consequence of the great mortality, I requested that an investigation might be held, which was granted.23

During the early phase of labour supply under the indenture system, mortality was primarily due to the absence of any close monitoring or extensive regulation. Heavy mortality on voyages during 1837–38 compelled the Government of India to suspend the emigration to Mauritius. The prohibition was lifted only when a new regulation was passed in 1842, which, apart from many other provisions made mandatory, ‘not more than one person be embarked for every two tons of registered burden, the tween decks to be six-feet-high, not more than two tiers of berths to be allowed, the lower tier being six inches above the deck, and 12 superficial feet to be allowed on the lower deck for each persons. It also provided rules relating to food, water and other supplies.’24 During the mid-1850s and 1860s, unexpected mortality on indenture voyages again raised concerns about the risks associated with emigration. This time the high mortality was on those vessels carrying emigrant labourers to West Indies (Tables 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3).

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Coolies of the Empire Table 4.1: Rate of mortality from Calcutta to West Indian colonies25

Year

British Guiana (mortality in %)

Trinidad (mortality in %)

Jamaica (mortality in %)

1859

13.4

9.4

19.9

1861

4.6

3.5

8.8

1860 1862 1863

3.7 3.0

25.1

1866

3.8

1867

3.3

2.6

3.3

2.6

1870

1.2

2.1

1869

4.6

12.6

3.0

5.0

-

3.2

-

18.1

4.9

2.8

4.0

-

3.0

1.6

-

-

7

-

1.7

3.0

-

-

4.1

1868

5.8

7.3

-

3.0

10.8

1.3

-

3.2

6.6

Total (mortality in %)

11.8

2.8

3.3

1864 1865

6.9

Other west Indian colonies (mortality in %)

8.0

-

2.6

3.0 -

1.3

3.6

-

Note: The hyphens denote quantities unknown. Table 4.2: The rate of deaths during voyages in 185726 Voyages

Rate in %

Calcutta to Mauritius

2.92

Calcutta to West Indies

10.43

Madras to Mauritius

0.64

Madras to West Indies

1.64

Table 4.3: The mortality rates during 1856–57 on the ship from Calcutta to West Indies27 Name of ship Walleseley

Bucepbalus Robert Seppings

Adult male 254

252

197

Adult female

Boys Girls

Infants

84

13

11

20

59

13

13

9

84

20

9

15

Total souls

Deaths Percentage

382

22

291

61

360

45

5.75

11.84

20.96

Contd.

The Journey Contd.

Name of ship

Adult male

Adult female 66

14

12

12

Adelaido

213

62

10

8

Eveline

231

96

20

Merchantman

239

96

18

Roman Empire

George Seymour

Maidstone Granville Burmah

Scindian Total

207

238

268

75

68

154

100

156

81

230

2,639

Boys Girls

87

21

18

25

Infants

Total souls

Deaths Percentage

313

88

11

304

25 36

10.17

17

23

387

72

18.60

12

20

385

120

31.17

5

10

14

15

11

16

354

375

309

92

37

28.11 8.22

24.53

11.97

58

10

10

18

326

49

15.03

931

203

135

186

4,091

707

17.27

21

14

16

288

60

20.83

Unprecedentedly high mortality rates on ships from Calcutta to the West Indies during 1856–58 compelled the Government of India to set up an enquiry in 1858. The Lieutenant Governor of Bengal gave the charge of the enquiry to Dr Mouat. Mouat, the M. D. of Inspector of Goals and Government Dispensaries, had also been a professor of medicine and principal of the Calcutta Medical College in 1840s.28 He had also chaired a committee set up by the Government of India in the wake of the uprising of 1857 to look into proposals for a new penal settlement in the Andaman Islands.29 While analysing the causes of heavy mortality during 1856–57, Mouat compared the reasons for onboard deaths with earlier incidents. Although Mouat disagreed with the ‘miasma’ incident and exhalations at the bank of Hooghly as contended by the various surgeons and captains of ships under examination, he found the key causes of mortality and sickness were complete absence of sick bay for those who had diseases, such as cholera, typhoid, fever, smallpox and dysentery.30 Mouat’s enquiry found that the heavy mortality related to these diseases occurred due to the lack of proper sanitary precautions on board the ships, the shipment of contaminated water from the river Hoogly, a change in the diet of emigrants, as well as the inexperienced medical officers. Medical officers were unable to communicate with the emigrants and were unaccustomed to treating many diseases, which they suffered (and in many cases brought with them). Lack of knowledge among doctors about how to treat indigenous Indian diseases, as well as the lack of provision of the food Indian workers were

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accustomed to eat, had been an issue from the very beginning of the indenture system. For instance, Abdoollah Khan, a native Indian doctor serving on an indentured ship, recorded before a public enquiry launched by the Bengal Government in 1838 that the deaths of five passengers were caused by a lack of knowledge on the part of the European captain/surgeon.31 Abdoollah clashed with the European captain on the issue of the treatment of labourers, emphasizing both the lack of appropriate medical care and the limitations of daily rations, neither of which were of sufficient quantity and were not what the migrants were accustomed to.32 Figure 4.5: Immigrants are inspected upon arrival in Paramaribo on the ship, c. 1885

Photo courtesy: J. E. Muller, Wikimedia common.

The enquiry ultimately focused on remedying the physical causes of migrant mortality, however, making recommendations relating to sanitary practices, food and medical provisions. Dr Mouat recommended ‘the selection of medical officers with some knowledge of the treatment of the disease of natives of India’, noting that, ‘young surgeons fresh from Europe, and youths who have just completed their professional education should not be employed on this duty’.33

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The various occasions of deaths of indentured emigrants on their journey to the plantation colonies were normally explained in terms of miasma and contagion theories by the colonial health officials. For instance, Dr Bakewell, the health officer shipping in Trinidad, reported the causes of sickness and mortality in coolie emigrant ships; his core focus was on the weather and the miasmatic poisons of India. He reported that the causes of sickness and death were the influence of temperature and weather on the health of immigrants. For him, sickness increases with the rise in temperature and vice versa. The north-east or south-east winds, heavy rain or heavy gales are also causes of sickness. While Bakewell compared the mortality of Indian coolies to West Indies and emigrants from United Kingdom to Australia, he argued that ‘the English emigrant belongs to a class which for centuries has been living on a much better diet than the Hindoo; that he habitually eats wheaten bread, and drinks beer, and that even, he cannot afford meat, he is able to eat cheese, which is the most concentrated form of nutriment that can be taken. He is therefore, as a general rule, strong and healthy’.34 On the other hand, he describes the Indian emigrants as ‘hereditarily scorbutic, ill-nourished, and subject to a rapid sinking of vital powers, so fed as to be in a state of “normal diarrhoea”, and many of them debilitated by living in the miasmatic poisons of the plain of Hindoostan’.35 Though epidemics were the primary physical cause of mortality, other less tangible factors that had a negative impact on migrant health were recorded by colonial observers. The journey across the water could be traumatic for Indian workers and the psychological impact of the voyage, including the breaking of caste rules, could cause depression, leading to physical deterioration, and even suicide. Dr Bakewell writes: …the motion of the ship exhausts him physically, and the feeling that he is violating his caste, and leaving his home for a strange land, depresses him morally. Thus, both physical and moral causes tend to lower the vital powers, and to derange the digestive and nervous system. 36

At another place, the medical inspector of emigrants at Calcutta reporting about heavy mortality during 1864–65 said that one of the causes of sickness and mortality was the cyclone in Calcutta, which destroyed the Hooghly. Dead bodies drowned in the Hooghly making it more impure than it already was. At the British Guiana depot, while the coolies contracted the seeds of disease from the ground saturated with this deposit, the confinement on board the ship changed their mode of life subsequently.37

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With the arrival and acceptance of germ theory of disease among medical experts, scientists and physicians in the later phase of the nineteenth century, the miasma theory proved to be wrong in the health and disease sphere. 38 This means the measures opted by the medical surgeons to control diseases on the ship were ineffective. Hence, Marina Carter argues that, since governments took the role of labour supplies, the protective legislations were merely a costreduction exercise supported by price-determined measures. 39 For David Arnold, the superficial perception of Indian society as inherently unhealthy influenced much in the framing of measures designed to create ‘a cordon sanitare around the white community in Indian, and western medicine was used as an instrument of social control’.40 However, as Ralph Shlomowitz has shown, in spite of being informed by an incorrect theory of disease, the colonial medical officials were able to reduce mortality (Table 4.4).41 Table 4.4: The mortality rate during voyages to West Indies, Mauritius, Natal and Fiji in 1870–191742 Year 1872-73 1873-74 1874-75 1875-76 1876-77 1877-78 1878-79 1879-80 1880-81 1881-82

Death (in %)

Year

3.0

1882-83

1.4

1884-85

3.2 1.7 1.3 2.0 1.7 1.2 2.3 2.0

1883-84 1885-86

Death (in %)

Year

1.9

1892

2.4

1894

1.6 1.9

1893 1895

Death (in %)

Year

1.3

1902

2.1

1904

1.2 1.1

1903 1905

Death (in %) 1.1

1912

1.0

1914

0.6 1.0

1886

1.2

1896

1.3

1906

2.0

1888

1.4

1898

0.4

1908

0.5

1887 1889 1890 1891

1.3 1.6 1.0 2.5

1897 1899 1900 1901

0.8 1.1 2.0 1.1

1907 1909 1910 1911

Year

0.8

1913 1915

1916 1917

Death (in %) 0.7 0.3 0.7 0.1

0.2 1.6

0.5 0.6 0.4

The decline in mortality rates from 1870s was due to the various measures opted by the colonial government. Colonial recruiting agencies also looked for stronger, healthier labourers and provided a series of instructions to recruiters. For example, from the mid-nineteenth century, supposedly non-agriculturist castes, such as Brahmins and Fakirs, were banned as recruits for labour purposes, as they were considered too soft and tender for plantation work. The sick and elderly, and itinerant paupers, who attempted to enlist were also discouraged. These instructions led to substantial rejections in the recruitment process from 1860s onwards (Table 4.5).

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Table 4.5: The rejection rate between 1893 and 1900 in Calcutta before the voyage43 Year

Rejection %

1894

18.9

1893 1895

Year

Rejection %

1897

21.4

13.9

1896

19.6

1899

25.5

Year

1900

Rejection % 16.9

12.5

Apart from these, we also find a slight change in the medical and food provisions. Marina Carter has stated that the measures adopted by emigration officials to control the mortality rate put the emigrants in complete incarceration from the other population at the depot and ship. In this process, coolies were also removed and isolated from their habitual medical and dietary regimes. Marina Carter has suggested that this change in the composition of the migrant group offers another explanation for declining indentured worker mortality during their journeys, as well as on the plantations, as colonial recruiters focussed on communities and individuals who were likely to be better able to sustain the rigours of the sea voyage.44 Figure 4.6: Medical examinations of new arrivals being conducted, CO 1069/355

Photo courtesy: The National Archives of London, Kew.

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Coolies of the Empire

Medical Provisions Keeping indentured labourers healthy on board the ships proved to be a major challenge for those involved in the indenture system, both practically and ideologically. Humanitarians and anti-slavery society members were constantly monitoring the deaths of human beings in the process of capitalist production. Fraud in recruitment, forceful deception and high rates of mortality among workers during their transportation in the initial years of the indentured emigration provided fertile ground for abolitionists to label the indenture system a new kind of slavery.45 Reducing mortality rates and improving migrant health outcomes thus had important political as well as practical connotations. In their recent edited volume, historians David Boyd Haycock and Sally Archer have considered the medical practices employed by British naval surgeons on ships for the treatment of slaves, convicts, army subalterns and indentured Indian workers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as ‘clinical trials’ conducted to maintain and improve health.46 In the context of voyages of indentured Indian workers, Laurance Brown and Radica Mahase have argued that the suppression of indigenous Indian drugs and medical practices, and the imposition of western drugs and practices were shaped by the racial construction of the Indian body. According to Brown and Mahase, in the period of emigration, colonial government tried to standardize the drugs to be used for emigrants during their journey. The standardizing of drugs did not effectively reduce mortality, rather it became a constant contestation between ‘Indian’ and ‘western’ medicine. For Brown and Mahase, financial constraints and the daily pressure of recording and managing the large cargoes were also factors in the standardization of medical practice and the slower adoption of new technologies, which made indentured journeys traumatic and tragic during the early nineteenth century.47 However, these writings liken indentured migration to slave transportation and focus on the denial of Indian medical practices due to financial constraints. However, these scholars have not provided any information about the availability of medical technology to the lower caste populations in India. Significantly, we find a shift in the medical provisions over a period of time. If we compare the list of medicines on ships in 1846 with list of 1863 and 1864, we find significant increase in the types of medicines (Table 4.6). The use of these various medicines confirms that the colonial authority was not only cautious with the usual diseases of the period (small pox, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, fever, etc.), but small skin-related diseases were also identified, and hence medical remedies were used.

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Table 4.6: A comparison of the medicines loaded on ships from 1846 to 1864 (See Appendix-IV) Name of Medicine

1846 (amount per 100 men)

1863 (amount per 100 men)

1864 (amount per 100 men)

Calomel

Six oz.

1.5 oz.

1.5 oz.

Blue pill

Four oz.

One oz.

One oz.

Rhubarb powder

Three oz.

One oz.

One oz.

Compound jalap powder

Four oz.

Six oz.

Six oz.

Ipecacuanha powder

Three oz.

One oz.

One oz.

Opium

Three oz.

One oz.

One oz.

Dover’s powder

Three oz.

One oz.

One oz.

One oz.

One oz.

Three lbs.

Three lbs.

Two drachms

Two drachms

Magnesia Epsom salts

Two lbs.

Tartar emetic Quinine

¾ oz.

One oz.

One oz.

Antimonial powder

Two oz.

Two drachms

Two drachms

Extract of colocynth compound

Three oz.

Four drachms

Four drachms

Carbonate of ammonia

Three oz.

Six drachms

Six drachms

Four drachms

Four drachms

Six drachms

Six drachms

Camphorated liniment

Eight oz.

Eight oz.

Catechu

One oz.

One oz.

Prepared chalk

One oz.

One oz.

One Ibs. eight oz. Four oz.

Four oz.

Asafoetida Camphor

Tincture of opium

Six oz.

Turpentine

Eight oz.

Eight oz.

Senna leaves

One Ibs.

Four oz.

Four oz.

Blistering plaster

One Ibs. eight oz. Four oz.

Four oz.

Sulphur sublimed

Eight oz.

Eight oz.

Sulphur oinment

Six oz.

Six oz.

Linseed flour

Two lbs.

Two lbs.

Contd.

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Coolies of the Empire

Contd. Name of Medicine

1846 (amount per 100 men)

Country soap

1863 (amount per 100 men)

1864 (amount per 100 men)

Twelve oz.

Twelve oz.

Castor oil

Four lbs. eight oz.

Three bottles

Three bottles

Oil of peppermint

Half oz.

One oz.

One oz.

Adhesive plaster (spread)

One lbs.

One yard

One yard

Simple ointment

Eight oz.

Eight oz.

Ringworm ointment

Eight oz.

Eight oz.

Jeremies’ opiate

1 small oz. phial

1 small oz. phial

Aromatic spt of hartshorn

Two oz.

Two oz.

Cholera pills in phial

Six dozen

Six dozen

Cubeb powder

Two lbs.

Two lbs.

Eight oz.

Eight oz.

Eight oz.

Eight oz.

Sweet spirit nitre

Ten oz.

Copaiba Sulphate of copper

Three oz.

One oz.

One oz.

Sulphate of zinc

Three oz.

Half oz.

Half oz.

Two drachms

Two drachms

Lunar caustic Hydr. E. cretoe

Two drachms

Plumbi acetas

Four drachms

Pulvis acetas

Two oz.

Pulvis cretoe e opio

Four drachms

Acid sulphuric dil

One oz.

Acid tartaric

Six drachms

Tincture camphur com.

Three oz.

Do.ferri sesq

One oz.

Sodae sesquicarb

One oz. four drachms

Sir W. barnett’s

Seven gallons

Disinfecting fluid

Thirty gallons

Norton’s carbolic acid

Contd.

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95

Contd. Name of Medicine

1846 (amount per 100 men)

1863 (amount per 100 men)

1864 (amount per 100 men)

Leeches

100 in no.

Chlorodyne

One oz.

Chloride of lime

Four lbs. eight oz.

Acacia gum

Six oz.

Acetate of lead

Three oz.

Alumen

Six oz.

Aromatic spirit of ammonia

Eight oz.

Cerate (simple)

One lbs. eight oz.

Compound tincture of camphor

Eight oz.

Ginger powder

Six oz.

Nitrate silver

½ oz.

Peruvian balsam

Six oz.

Red precipitate

One oz.

Sulphur

Two lbs.

10 lbs.

Country medicines, & C.

Many of these ‘drugs’ could be sourced from within India as Indians had used them for a long time.48 In keeping with the long tradition of western doctors adopting natural products used elsewhere in the world (specially to treat tropical diseases), colonial doctors themselves borrowed from Indian Ayurvedic medicine. They were not necessarily averse to using some of the Indian medicines included in lists of 1863–64, which were absent from the lists in 1846, and these Indian medicines were doubtlessly better suited, in some cases, to the treatment of the uniquely Indian diseases from which the indentured labourers suffered.49 Nineteenth-century western medical practices were undergoing constant change with the development of modern medical science. Until the midnineteenth century the ‘miasma theory’ of diseases was prevalent, and in many cases, the influence of the pre-modern dictate to treat ‘like with like’ – if a patient was vomiting the treatment was to make him vomit more – can

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be seen. Otherwise, by blistering the skin, inducing defecation or vomiting, doctors believed they could ‘draw out’ the humours which were making their patients ill. Although by the mid-nineteenth century the medieval science of humours was falling out of fashion, doctors would more often be discussing the drawing out of ‘impurities’ from the patient’s body. For this reason, many drugs shown in the list of 1846 – for example, various salts of mercury – had been in use since medieval times for their assumed curative powers, but were probably more lethal to the patient than the disease they were attempting to treat. Most of them are simply colourful or strong smelling toxins, which produced an observable effect on the patient, making them vomit, defecate, redden or get blisters on the skin. Some of the medicines were effective styptics and astringents, which could stop bleeding and dry out wounds, and some of the disinfectants used to clean wounds are still in use today (although only externally rather than by drinking them). Alkalis or antacids (such as bicarbonate of soda) were effective in relieving indigestion, although they could have had any broader ‘tonic’ effect. Quinine was also definitely effective in suppressing fever and inflammation though it did not actually prevent malaria. The use of disinfectants indicated a growing awareness of the need to use formulations that acted against microbial infection, although doctors were still, at this time, unaware of the existence of bacteria and viruses. Infection was associated instead with miasmas or smells (hence a handkerchief soaked in bleach would be sometimes hung in the air rather than being used to clean surfaces in  the vicinity of a patient undergoing surgery). Most effective of all were probably the various forms of opium, which could lower the body temperature of a feverish patient, kill pain, and induce a sense of euphoria, even if it was unable to cure their sickness. Thus, even today, opioid derivatives are widely used in the treatment of malaria. The most horrific treatment was the use of copper sulphate and ‘lunar caustic’ (silver nitrate), which was injected directly into male and female sexual organs in order to treat gonorrhea.  The purpose was to create a copious discharge (i.e. to exacerbate the existing symptoms) in the hope that this might cure the infection. This was an excruciatingly painful procedure, which induced inflammation, but was probably of little or no practical benefit. Copper sulphate was a toxin, which had been in use since ancient times for this purpose, although it is not of any practical use against fungi or insects. Ironically, it might have been better used as a spray to suppress mosquitoes rather than as a treatment for bacterial infection.

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The most interesting thing about the list is its variety, since it encompasses just about every known medical curative of its day. With this armoury of medicaments, a doctor would be equipped to ‘treat’ in the most effective manner known at that time almost every disease or injury he might come across in a patient.  However, if we were to look into the medicine chest of a ship in the seventeenth century and compare it with the list of nineteenth-century medicines as shown above, the latter contained four times the variety of the former. This shows that by the nineteenth century, there was more awareness about the effectiveness, or doctors were being more cautious and selective (and scientific) with the use of medicines.50 Apart from these, a systematic health checking and hospital system was also established on the ship where European surgeons and native doctor and compounders were deputed. A surgeon superintendent was appointed by the Protector of Emigrants and was an important person on the ship. The duties of surgeon superintendent consisted of medical inspection of all coolies, reject those who are unfit, inspect the ship and make a report on the methods of ventilation of the vessel, arrangement for cooking, set up a hospital in the deckhouse and check the store put aboard for the coolies. The Emigration Act XII of 1864 provided codified and strict rules for medical facilities on board the ships. Under this act, it was essential for each ship carrying indentured labourers to the various colonies to possess instruments and appliances for the hospital and dispensary (Table 4.7). Table 4.7: List of instruments and appliances for the hospital and dispensary on board ships51 Case of instruments containing tourniquet, artery forceps, dissecting forceps, three amputating knives, three scalpels, one gum lancet, tooth instruments, (viz., three pairs forceps, elevator and key), trephine, amputating saw, probing bone forceps, needles, ligature silk, soft iron-wire and horsehair for sutures. Midwifery forceps (long and short)

Enema syringe and stomach pump in Pocket dressing case

Catheters, metallic, 4 nos. 4, 6, 8, 12 (gum elastic 2, no. 8) Scales and weights (grain) Two-ounce measure glass Minim

Pint measure, pewter

2

1

1

6 in a case 1 set 2

2

1

Contd.

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Coolies of the Empire

Contd. Four-ounce pewter pts for administering medicines

6

Pestle and Mortar (Wedgewood’s)

1

Infusion pots

2

Tin funnels

2

Spatulas

2

Glass funnels Blood porringer (= 16 oz.) Pins in paper

Scissors, common

Slab for pills, marked Tape

Common splints Long splints Tow, fine

Cork, of sizes

Pill boxes (in nest) Mattresses

Pillows, with cases

Water-proof sheets for mattresses Commodes Towels

Iron spoons Disinfectants 

Calvert’s or Macdougal’s powder Impure carbolic acid Condy’s fluid

1 1

1 packet 1

1

1 bundle 2 sets 1 set

2 Ibs.

4 dozen

2 dozen 6

6

6

1

2 dozen 6

500 Ibs.

2 gallons 1 quart

Emigration Act XXI of 1883 provided detailed instructions regarding the treatment of workers during their voyage. James M. Laing prepared a Handbook for Surgeons in the coolie emigration service, which was issued by the Colonial Office.52 In his handbook, Laing provided every detail related to the quotidian life on the ship. He also gave suggestions to young surgeons how to handle the coolies during journey. Discussing medicine and hospital suppliances, he writes:

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While the Surgeon Superintendent is inspecting the stores his Interpreters and Compounders should be engaged in unpacking the medicines and hospital appliances so that he may be able at once to check these off by scale… of the rules. The scale is at present deficient, in purgative especially… the Surgeon Superintendent is entitled by terms of his letter of appointment from the Crown Agents to spend 5 l. in extra medicine he will be able to apply himself with any he has a fancy for. The Surgeon Superintendent is now spared a great deal of trouble, as these Medicines are supplied direct from Apothecaries’ Hall and their quality is thus assured. The medicines not required for immediate use should be sent below, but the Surgeon Superintendent should instruct his Compounders to take a list of the contents of each box, so that, when anything is wanted, that box alone need be brought up.53

The above instruments for the hospital and dispensary reflected modern western medical practices in which, for instance, midwifery forceps were used during childbirth on the ship.54 However, this does not mean that these hospitals had not relied upon the help of indigenous midwives during childbirth on board the ship. Though there is very little colonial archival material that provides information on it, Laing mentions in his notebook that a female hospital was also set up on the ship, where two female nurses were employed.55 These Indian women should have the knowledge in midwifery. The existence of Indian midwives on the plantations in Mauritius and Trinidad shows that women with the knowledge of midwifery were there on ships as well. In the 1950s, Burton Benedict in Mauritius found that the midwife or Dai was invariably a low-caste woman of dhobi or dusad caste: The midwife (dai) is a woman of low caste, often a Dhobi (washerman) or Dusad. She not only assists in the birth but handles the mother’s soiled clothes which is considered highly polluting by orthodox Hindus. Dais still exist in the villages although there has been a campaign in Mauritius to get women to go to trained midwives. … but many uneducated Hindus still rely on the dai.56

At around the same time, Morton Klass found that in Trinidad ‘midwives usually of the Camar caste’ were playing a central role in childbirth.57 In interviews with Pahlad Ramsurrun, a noted author and scholar of popular literature and culture of Mauritius and a grandchild of Kalkatiya (an indentured Indian who embarked from Calcutta for Mauritius), and Niyaz Mohammed, a taxi owner-cum-driver of Nausori, Fiji, and a grandchild of girmitiya, both informed me that their dadi (paternal grandmother) and nani (maternal grandmother), respectively, served as dais in these two colonies.58

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Apart from the above medicines and other medical facilities, the additional articles and fittings required on the ships are given in Table 4.8.59 Table 4.8: A list of articles and fitting required on ships Lime juice

10 gallons for 100 men

Rum or brandy

20 gallons for 100 men

Port wine

12 bottles for 100 men

Pumpkins

1,000 Ibs. for 100 men

Yams and potatoes

1,000 Ibs. for 100 men

Biscuits

360 lbs. for 100 men

Bale fruit

50 in no.

Sheep or goats

20 in no.

Preserved milk

1,000 pints for 100 men

Country soap

80 Ibs. for 100 men

Europe soap

112 Ibs. for 100 men

Tea

2 Ibs. for 100 men

Condensed eggs*

20 Ibs. for 100 men

Sugar*

56 Ibs. for 100 men

Soojee, oatmeal, sago and arrow-root

750 Ibs. for 100 men

Water for sick*

600 gallons for 100 men

Scuttle butts

2 in no.

Oil, coconut

20 gallons for 100 men

Wind sails to each hatchway

1 in no.

Air shafts of 9 super feet aperture

2 in no.

Deck ventilators

4 in no.

Life buoys

4 in no.

Dirt tubs

3 in no.

Sick bay

2 in no.

Necessaries, double

4 in no.

Bulls-eye lamps with padlocks

2 in no.

Hanging stove

1 in no. Contd.

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Contd. Booby hatches

2 in no.

Buckets

10 per 100 men

Spare boilers with covers

2

Water

200 gallons for each 100 men

Ladders

4

Lamp for hospital

1

2 cabooses, double

2 in no.

Boilers, iron with ladles

4 in no.

Hatchet for cutting wood

1 per 100 men

Curry stone wilh roller

1 per 100 men

Swabs

12 per 100 men

Brooms

40 per 100 men

Rockets

24 in no.

Blue lights

24 in no.

Strom book

1 in no.

The articles marked (*) are to be issued at the discretion of the surgeon for the use of children under 6 years of age.

On some ships, fowls instead of eggs were loaded for infants and bundles of hay and gram for feeding sheep and goats.60 It is interesting to note that the various articles aboard the ships for indentured passengers included port wine, rum and brandy. Although these alcohols were used to cope with the cold weather as well as for medicinal purposes, these items might have been a different experience for those labourers who drank homemade drinks such as taadi (toddy) and mahuva country liqueurs. Tea was also served to coolies on board, which was a rare luxury in India at this time.61 It is important to note that though curry stone (sill batta) was used to grind spices for cooking, Laing suggested to young surgeons (as he himself practised) that it can be used for the purpose of punishment in case of the misbehaviour by a woman on the ship. Alternatively, misdemeanor by women would entail her being forced to do the heavier work of grinding wheat or gram into flour on another indigenous contraption called ‘ janta’.62 It is worthwhile mentioning that medical superintendent Laing, veteran of many such voyages, prescribed an

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entire range of chastisement and punishments for wavered coolies. This seems to suggest that despite the best of ‘colonial care’ during the long, crowded and hazardous passage, there were times when the otherwise docile girmitiyas seemed to have lost their cool: All through the voyage little things will be cropping up, as, for instance, quarrels, and it is wonderful how little coolies will quarrel about. If I find two men fighting I generally tie them together with a dhotee, back to back, for an hour or so, when it will generally be found that they were too tired of each other to renew the quarrel. If a coolie uses bad language to another – to a Sirdar – or, worse still, to any Officer of the ship, or one of the Compounders, I make the offender stand in front of the dispensary holding his tongue out. Other punishments are such as chalking one or both sides of the face, and making the offender stand where he will be seen by the people or, if a woman, setting her to grind in a ‘janta’ or with curry stone and muller, if there is no janta on board. If a coolie is detected in stealing I have him escorted round the deck two or three times by the topazes beating tom-tom and proclaiming him as a ‘thief ’. It is a good plan to make punishments such as to cause the other coolies to laugh at the culprit; but if a man has done anything that requires more the Surgeon Superintendent will find that separating him from the others by day and night the most severe punishment he can inflict.63

Dietary Provisions during Journey This section looks into issues and practices around food, and food preparation for indentured labourers during their journey, and argues that the colonial government considered both the habitual dietary requirement and the religious beliefs of Indian indentured labourers.64 Scholars have suggested that the indentured labourers were not properly fed during their journey in the high seas, which led to sickness and mortality on the ship.65 This section looks into the dietary range for emigrant workers and tries to argue that the dietary provisions on the ship tallied with labourers’ dietary habits and religious beliefs. Emigration officials not only fed labourers what was medically healthy according to their scientific research, but also provided them with food according to their preferences keeping in mind their religious sentiments. The India Emigration Act V of 1837, which was the first law to regulate indenture emigration, provided the provisions for food rations on board per person as given in Table 4.9.66

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Table 4.9: Provisions for food rations on board per person Types of food

Amount

Types of food

Amount

Rice

14 Chataks

Turmeric

½ Chatak

Dal

2 Chataks

Onions

½ Chatak

Ghee or oil

½ Chatak

Tobacco

1 Chatak

Salt

¼ Chatak

Though this represented a traditional diet for north Indian peasants, it lacked any accommodation to seasonal patterns of diet and consumption, thus making workers ill with indigestion during their journey. A revised dietary scheme was enacted through an Act XV of 1842 and its amendment – Act XXI (1843), which fixed the daily dietary requirements on board as given in Table 4.10.67 Table 4.10: Daily dietary requirements on board ships Dietary requirements

Amount

Dietary requirements

Amount

Dietary requirements

Amount

Rice

20 oz.

Dal

4 oz.

Ghee

1 oz.

Oil

1 ½ oz.

Salt

1 ½ oz.

Turmeric

1 oz.

Onions

1 oz.

Tobacco

1 oz.

Chillies

1 ½ oz.

Tamarind

2 oz.

A week’s supply of chura, gram and sugar, at the following daily rate in case of bad weather preventing the cooking of ordinary provisions. Chura – 1 ser

Gram – 4 chataks Sugar – 1 chatak

The colonial authority acknowledged the habitual tastes and food of north Indian Bhojpuri peasants by adding new provisions such as parched rice (chura/choorah), gram and sugar to emigrants during bad weather. The deputy commissioner on Emigration Steamers, A. C. Campbell, wrote that ‘[…] parched rice (chura), gram (sattoo), and other similar articles of food which natives are used to, should be utilised for at least one meal each day, and that rice and other cooked food should be distributed but once a day’.68 Such dried and readymade foods were popular in the rural north India, especially in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. For instance, sattu/sattoo has long been a popular food specific to the Gangetic heartland. It was heavy, staving off hunger, it was a ready-made food that did not need any cooking. When the flour was

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mixed with water to the required consistency, it was tasty and healthy. It was also cheap. Prices in interior rural areas were much lower than those in urban areas, and migrants and their relatives were often able to cultivate gram, which made it even more economical. A travelling peasant always kept sattu with him as food for his journey.69 Chura was also popularly associated with the food habits of mobile peasants going out in search of work in the Gangetic plain. Its significance is reflected in a popular folk song, in which a husband asks his wife to pack chura (chiura) quickly so that he can eat it when he is hungry during the journey: Chiura kutu chiura kutu sawaron tiriya re, Are ham jaebo sawaron Maghre deswa re, Roi roi sawaronre chiura kuteli, Are hansi hansi umar banhavele re.70

(‘O pretty woman do husk chura, O pretty woman I shall go to the country of Magh, The pretty tearful woman husks chura and shows a smiling face, [Her husband] boosts the morale with smiles.’)

A. C. Campbell’s note shows that by offering sattu and chura, colonial officials gave much thought to the tastes to which emigrants were accustomed. The appointed surgeon found a close relationship between taste and digestion in the context of north Indian emigrants; unfamiliar food, though healthy, was found to cause indigestion and illness. For Campbell, these new items were of high nutritional value and economical. Although the rations provided were not necessarily inadequate, a high rate of mortality on board ships sailing from Calcutta to the West Indies during 1857–58 compelled the Government of Bengal to revise the amount of food loaded for the voyage, provisioning being increased as a result of Dr Mouat’s report. Mouat suggested the new provisions given in Table 4.11 specifically for emigrants.71 Table 4.11: New food provisions for emigrants suggested by Dr Mouat’s report Types of food

Quantity

Types of food

Quantity

Types of food

Quantity

Salt

1 oz.

Turmeric

½ oz.

Onions

2 oz.

Salt fish

2 oz.

Firewood

2 lbs

Gingelly oil

½ oz.

Rice

Tobacco Black pepper

20 oz. 1 oz.

1 ¼ Drm

Coriander seeds 2 Drm

Dal

Chillies

Mustard seed

4 oz.

½ oz.

½ Drm

Ghee

Tamarind Garlic

1 oz.

2 oz.

½ Drm

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He prescribed that mutton be given once every week. For this purpose, six sheep or goats per 100 men were taken aboard for the voyage. During bad weather, when cooking was very difficult, the provisions as in Table 4.12 were allowed.72 Table 4.12: Food provisions for emigrants under bad weather Types of food

Chura or aval

Bhut, gram or cuddeley

Amount

1 ser or 2 lbs.

½ ser or ½ lbs.

Types of food Biscuits Sugar

Amount

½ ser or 1 lb.

1 chatak, or 2 oz.

In addition to the ordinary rations, a pint of preserved milk was allowed daily, apart from the ordinary dietary allowance for every ‘native mother’ nursing a child; and a pint of preserved milk was also provided to every child under two years of age, without a mother or whose mother was unable to nurse him/her. To this, a stock of semolina (suji), oatmeal and arrowroot was added. Mouat also suggested that flour be added to the rations, since he believed chapati to be central to the diet of Bihar and Gorakhpur. On this issue, the Colonial Office asked for opinions about whether alternative provisions could be made for rice eaters and flour eaters, since there appeared to be discontent among the emigrants; ‘taste’ lay at the crux of this issue.73 Edward Wingfield, who wrote the letter to Colonial Office, noted that the demand of flour/chapati by emigrants came from North-Western Provinces. The surgeon of the ship to Trinidad identified the taste preferences of different groups of emigrants to prevent disruptions in travel; the workers were not given food that negatively affected their health.74 Dr Bakewell, the Health Officer of Shipping in Trinidad, prepared a long report on the causes of sickness and mortality in coolie ships, emphasizing variation in the taste preferences of Indians: It is a great mistake to suppose that all the inhabitants of British India live on rice and ghee. I know the idea is a favourite one in Trinidad, where it is considered that the additional modicum of salt fish is an unheard-of luxury to the coolly. Dr. Pearse, in his often quoted little book, says (page 85) – “coolies often loathe the continuous rice, chaupatties (i.e., cakes made with flour and a little salt, something like the oat-cake of Yorkshire and Scotland). Chaupatties are the favourite food of nearly all coolies. A Devonshire boy does not so much enjoy plum pudding as a cooly his chaupatty.” Dr. Rakeem, himself a native of India, told me in conversation that the up-country coolies detest rice, and that he always issued flour to them for chaupaties. It is evident that the substitution of wheaten flour for rice would make a most important difference to the nutrition of the immigrants.75

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Coolies of the Empire Figure 4.7: Coolie children gathering for breakfast

Photo courtesy: Lubbock, Coolie Ships and Oil Sailors, 1935, p. 58.

Dr Mouat also suggested chura or chabani instead of biscuits as a part of the ration.76 Chabani is the main breakfast of Bhojpuri peasants. In every village of the Gangetic valley, chabani or bhujna is prepared on a big make-shift stove (bhadsar) locally. Dr Mouat’s recommendations raise a few important questions, particularly around the ‘science of provisioning.’ When the new Act XIII of 1864 came into being, the habitual foods of emigrants were central to the menu. According to Section 8 of the Act XIII of 1864, the ordinary provisions for cooking for eighteen weeks were to be as follows in Table 4.13.77

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Table 4.13: Ordinary food provisions for cooking for eighteen weeks under Section 8 of the Act XIII of 1864 Class

Articles

Remarks

Grain

Rice, 20 oz. Flour, 16 oz. Dhal, 6 oz. for rice eater; 4 oz. for flour eater

Urhur dhal= one-half Gram dhal= one-fourth Kolie [Kali] dhal= one-eight Moog dhal= one-eight

Oils

Ghee, 1 oz. for rice eater; 1 Half an ounce extra allowance of ghee to oz. for flour eater each adult for every day that dried his/her Mustard oil, 8 dr supplies

Meats

Preserved mutton, 2 oz. 8 dr

In lieu of preserved mutton, to be supplied at scale rate: dried fish for two to three weeks; fresh mutton (sheep) one week

Vegetables

Pumpkins or yams, 1 oz. Potatoes, 2 oz. = 5 oz. Onions, 2 oz.

In lieu of fresh potatoes, a sufficient quantity of preserved potatoes to allow 2 oz. twice a week to each adult, or about five weeks supply at scale rate Memorandum – the quantity of vegetables has been purposely increased from 4.27 to 5.0 oz., to allow for waste and decay on the voyage

Curry stuffs

Garlic, ½ dr Mustard seed, ½ dr Chillies, ½ dr Black pepper, 1 ½ dr Coriander seed, 2 dr Turmeric, 4 dr Tamarind, 8 dr

 

Narcotics

Salt, 8 dr Prepared tobacco, 7 dr Leaf, 3 dr Firewood, 2 lbs Water, 1 gallon.

 

Note: Daily allowances for each adult. Children above two and under ten years of the age were to receive half rations. In addition, workers were to receive dry provisions for two weeks, though these had to be issued by the surgeon (Table 4.14).

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Articles

Best coarse biscuit, 36 lbs. Choorah, 4 lbs. 8 oz. Gram, 3 lbs. 8 oz. Sugar, 2 lbs. 8 oz. For every hundred adults: Five sheep, averaging 60 lbs. each

Remarks

Usually eaten with salt Used with biscuit and choorah One sheep weighing 60 lbs. yielded about 25 lbs. of flesh. This number was equal to about one week’s supply of fresh mutton at scale rate

The above provisions covered almost all kinds of food used by the north Indians. It is important to note that the inclusion of various new articles such as flour, different kinds of dal or pulses (dried lentils, peas or beans), such as yellow pigeon peas (urhur), split black gram (kolie), split green gram (moog) and gram dal, and vegetables, such as pumpkin, potatoes and yams, were due to the perceived taste culture of north Indian peasants. Significantly, pulses were offered to rice eaters as well as chapatti eaters. Dry provisions were also significant as villagers of north India used to eat roasted gram with salt and chillies and chura/choorah with sugar. Protection of labourers’ religious belief was also reflected in meat provisions. There were provisions of preserved meat in the early phases of indentured emigration. Since the idea of preserved meat would have been a considerably new concept for Indian peasant labourers, its introduction created discontent among the emigrants; it was against their religion. One group of Muslim emigrants, suspicious of whether the animal had been ritually butchered the halal way, refused to eat preserved mutton.78 At the same time, Hindu emigrants were suspicious of the preserved mutton for there were no certainties that it was not beef.79 To sort out the problem of religious belief, authorities introduced live sheep and goats on board with a Muslim butcher, who was to slaughter them the halal way.80 From that point, mutton was to be preserved with a portion of the bone attached to it. Bigger bones would be an indication that the animal was a cow and not a goat.81 Laing too mentions in his handbook on the preparation of food, especially by the bhandaries, that ‘while on this subject, I may mention that when a sheep is to be killed its throat should be cut by a Mahommedan’.82 This ‘dietary victory’ was reflected in a creation of a ‘dietary space’ through the accommodation of emigrants’ tastes and religious beliefs. This may be the politics of colonial discourse that Warwick Anderson and Richard Wilk describe, where colonialism was deeply concerned with cultural order, social boundaries, ideals of civilization and control of subject populations.83 However, if one looks from the perspective of those colonized

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subjects who, from the very beginning of their existence, did not bear any ‘agency’ in their own society, then, colonialism did provide some ‘space’ to them, at least in the context of food and eating habits. Dietary accommodation of religious belief can also be found on the voyages of military sepoys at the beginning of the nineteenth century, where rations varied by religion.84 Tables 4.15, 4.16 and 4.17 show the daily rations for Christian, Hindu and Muslim sepoys on board the ship en route to Mauritius and Madagascar for military duties in the early nineteenth century and Table 4.18 shows the weekly rations of British soldiers. Table 4.15: Food provisions for Christian sepoys while on journey for foreign expedition Daily ratio of no.1 provisions for Christian sepoys of every description when on board of ship Ration

Quantity

Ration

Quantity

Beef country 2 tls. each man

Vinegar

1 quart chuttack/ on pork days

Beef Irish

Rum

½ pint per man per day

Pork country 1½ tls. each man

Firewood

2 seers ditto

Pork Irish

1 tls. each man

Water

1 gallon per day

Biscuit

1 tls. each man

Wax candles

3 tls. per day

Pease (pea)

1 chuttack/ on pork days Earthen platters 2 for the voyage per man

Mustard

1 tls. for 5 men per week Earthen bowls

1 tls. each man

1 for the voyage for 5 men

NB: country cured [sic!] salt provisions are supplied to shrink nearly one half in boiling. Table 4.16: Food provisions for Muslim sepoys while on journey for foreign expedition Daily ratio of no.2 provisions for Mussalmans of every description when on board of ship Ration

Amount

Ration

Amount

Rice

12 chuttacks each man Sugar

1 chuttack

Dool [daal]

4 chuttacks

Tamarind

1 chuttack

Ghee

1 chuttack

Churah

2 chuttacks

Salt

1 chuttack

Tobacco to eat

½ chuttack

Turmeric

¼ chuttack

Tobacco to smoke

½ chuttack

Chillies

¼ chuttack

Firewood

2 seers

Garlic

¼ chuttack

Water

1 gallon

Onion

1 chuttack

Wax candles

3 tls.

Boot gram

1 chuttack

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Table 4.17: Food provisions for Hindu sepoys while on journey for foreign expedition Daily ration of no.3 provisions for Hindus of every description when on board of ship Ration

Amount

Ration

Amount

Churrah

12 chuttacks each man Tobacco to eat

½ chuttack

Sugar

½ ditto

Tobacco to smoke

½ ditto

Ghee

1 ditto

Water

1 gallon

Tamarind

2 ditto

Wax candles

2 tls.

Boot gram

2 ditto

Table 4.18: Weekly rations for 33 regiment of British soldiers in India Daily ratio of no. 4 provisions for the 33 regiment for each mess of five men Days

Amount

Tuesday Thursday Saturday

6 tls. of pork and 1 quart of peas

Weekly to each mess of 5 men

30 tls. of bread, 1 tls. of tea, 5tls. of sugar, 12 quart of vinegar, 1 tls. of mustard

Monday

Wednesday Friday Sunday

2½ tls. of flour; 1 tls. of suit; 7 ½ tls. of rice

8 tls. of beef, 2½ tls. flour, 1 tls. suit

Daily to each man ½ pint of rum, 2 seers of firewood and 1 gallon of water, 10 platters and one bowl allowed to each mess of 5 men, wax candles 3 tls. per day for the troops of each ship

These descriptions show that the colonial government took account of religion in their provisioning of food to subalterns.85 Moreover, if we compare the ration quantities of the sepoys to those of the indentured labourers, it is obvious that the quantities were almost equal, and in some cases the labourers received more items than the sepoys. For example, labourers received all kinds of dal (pulses or lentils) and many more types of vegetable than the sepoys, though soldiers should have been better fed as they had to fight. Keeping in mind that the Hindus of the British regiments were upper caste vegetarians, it is surprising that there was no provision of meat for Muslim soldiers.86 Hence, it is significant that the colonial authorities appear to have been more flexible in their food provisions for those who were serving as plantation workers in the distant colonies.

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Make-up and Other Provisions Culture is lived and reproduced in communities, but is crucially tied to ‘place’ and ‘things’. There are many ‘things’ that relate to a culture of a society. For example, the vermilion mark at the parting of an Indian woman’s hair reflects her marital status. It is a mark of her identity as an Indian and also the country’s culture, which she might like to maintain even outside her homeland. It has been constantly argued that the plantation regime of the post-slave system was not concerned about the cultural life of its recruits. However, a look at the lists of articles and provisions on board the ship for use by girmitiyas suggests a different conclusion. The surgeon superintendent receipt of S. S. Chenab II, which carried girmitiyas to Fiji, shows the list of articles for use on the voyage (Table 4.19).87 Table 4.19: A list of items loaded aboard the ship for use by girmitiyas to Fiji 200 hair combs, country

6 hair combs, English

500 earthen chillams, large

500 earthen chillams, small

300 tiklis

10 packets of sindur (vermilion)

200 small looking glasses, country

6 large looking glasses, country

3 razor English

3 pairs of scissors

10 tomtoms

1 case of vaccine lymph

2 lb. sewing thread, white

1 lb. sewing thread, black

200 black cords

40 packs of playing cards

500 needles, assorted

1 hone

40 sets of tin lotas and platters

40 tin mugs for use in latrines

60 cocoanut hukkas

6 nail cutters (steel)

115 yards of grey shirting for the use of females

 

Grey shirting dhutis for men to be distributed on the voyage

 

Grey shirting saris for women to be distributed on   the voyage Grey shirting dhutis for boys to be distributed on the voyage

  Contd.

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Contd. Grey shirting saris for girls to be distributed on the voyage

 

900 blankets for issue on voyage

 

14 extra suits for men, each consisting of 1 dhuti, 1 pair of cotton trousers, 1 cotton jacket, 1 pair of woollen trousers and 1 woolen jacket

 

2 extra suits for boys, consisting of the same articles as the suits for men

 

6 extra suits for women, each consisting of 1 sari, 1 woollen kurta and 1 woollen petticoat.

 

2 extra suits for girls, consisting of same articles as   the suits for women 2 extra suits for infants, each consisting of 1 dhuti,   1 cotton jacket and 1 woollen kurta 16 flannel jackets for infants (additional)

 

18 flannel bandages for the use of invalids

 

5 waterproof coats for topazes, for issue on the voyage

 

Tin tickets for emigrants

 

10 dabus (5 for rice and 5 for dal)

 

1 razor strop

 

1 pair hair clippers

 

1 packet of stationery

 

The above list shows that the ship was a place where the Indian coolies were provided with the items that were most closely associated with their culture and everyday life at home. For an Indian married woman sari, tikli on forehead or between the eyebrows and sindur (vermilion) at the parting line of her hair are culturally the most important adornments. The significance of these ornaments can be observed in Bhojpuri songs: Baba mang mora rowela sinur binu, Nayana kajarwa binu ye rama.88 (Grandfather, my parting line of hair is deserted without vermilion and eyes without collyrium)

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In another song (metaphorically used for Lord Krishna), a woman was told to wash off the vermilion from her head, collyrium from her eyes and the adornment on her head as her husband has not returned home. Dhoi dal sir ke senurwa, nayana ke kajar ho, Dhoi dal sorho singar, kanhaiya nahi ghar aele ho.89

So, there appears to have been some attempts to accommodate migrants’ beliefs, customs and prejudices, not only in the context of food, but also in their clothing, accessories and items of amusement. A large range of articles, culturally used by emigrants, probably helped minimize the distress of long voyage. Having a puff of narcotics like opium in hukka or ganja is culturally part of Indian peasants’ life; the same was also provisioned on ship during the long journey.90 Playing cards and tomtom were also inserted in the menu to make the journey comfortable. Surgeon superintendent of the ship encouraged the entertainment activities on the journey. James Laing writes: After dinner, when the decks have been washed down and dried, the people should be encouraged to sing to their drums, play cards, wrestle, or follow any other amusement except dancing which from its character among these people, I have a decided objection for.91

It is significant to note that the playing cards contained English letters and marks, so it is not clear how familiar small peasants would have been with these games, although in the later period English playing cards did indeed become very popular among juveniles in north India.92 Although Laing objected to dancing in the ships, other sources suggest that dancing and singing performances took place on board ships. Swinton, who was an experienced seaman and the captain of a ship carrying indentured emigrants, writes in his diary that the ‘coolies’ were very musical, played some native games and performed what he called ‘war-dances’.93

Experience of Emigrants aboard the Ship In the absence of any detailed diaries or songs by girmitiyas recounting their experiences on board the ships, extraordinary occurrences, such as official enquiries into shipboard conditions, or punishments for disobedience on a ship or in a colony, provide us with an alternative source of information about their experiences. For example, Djoram (Juhoorun), who was sent back to Calcutta from Mauritius within three years due to disobedience, stated at Calcutta:

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Coolies of the Empire I asked how far Meritch [Mauritius] was; they said five days’ journey and that if I pleased I could remain in service there or return; they deceived me and got me on board… there were three sardars and 240 coolies shipped with me… they did not state their condition to the captain, because they could not speak so as he could understand… there was plenty of room on board for the coolies; we had plenty to eat and drink: the captain was an Englishman and took great care of us.94

A former sepoy named Manque (Manik) of Meergunj, district Lucknow (United Provinces), who was sent back to Calcutta from Mauritius jail after inciting coolies against their master, made this statement after returning to Calcutta: I left my home, and came to Calcutta to seek service… we were in all 350 men, it was a three-mastered[sic] ship, we were taken to a cranneee (writer or clerk) in the police, who took down our names; we were asked if we were willing to go; we replied yes; … there was no force used whatever to put us on board; we all went willingly… we had lots of room on board; we got plenty of water and food on board, and were well treated; … there were no complaint on the passage… I am very willing to go back to Mauritius, it is a beautiful country.95

Boodoo Khan, another indentured labourer who travelled to Mauritius in 1836 and was deported by Mauritius authority to Calcutta in 1838, stated that I am a Pathan, and my home is at Gyah… I left my home to seek service… I met with a duffadar at Seersa, the duffadar told me I was to get 14 rupees’ wages, of which 7 would go for food, &c… and he told me the food I should get was 14 chittacks of rice, two chittacks dholl, half chittack ghee, half chittack salt, and two of salt fish… and was to serve for six months at Meritch. When I arrived in Calcutta I learnt that I should have to go on board a big ship, and that I was to engage for five years… I did not mind… I was brought to this house (Captain Birch’s) to have my arm punctured; I received my permit in another house; I was told by a very stout gentleman that I was to broke [sic] stone and the hard work… I was told that I was to go to Meritch; I said I was very willing… we had sufficient room on board, the captain was good man; we got good food and water and were well treated... we commenced work at four o’clock in the morning, got half an hour at nine o’clock, again at twelve o’clock one half hour, and were released at six o’clock in evening… at six o’clock we were to store the sugar-cane until seven o’clock. Our general work was not very hard. Mauritius is a good country (howa panee utcha), I should not like to return- why should I?96 (emphasis added)

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The above depositions from the earliest batches of ‘coolies’ confirm that even though the migrants were not aware of the colonies, they did not mind going there. It is important to note that even after being deported from Mauritius, they contended that the food and other provisions during the voyage were plentiful and good enough for them. Of course, it does not mean that all those who travelled as indentured workers had the same experience. For instance, Abdoollah Khan was an Indian doctor, doubtless accustomed to a far more comfortable lifestyle than most, who travelled with a shipment of 200 coolies to Mauritius. He stated to the Calcutta Committee: Did the coolies appear to be happy and comfortable? – What happiness! They were all crying. What were they crying about? – For their discomforts, such as want of room for sleeping and for dressing victuals, and also for want of utensils for eating from. Had they a sufficient quantity of water? – It was stinking and thick, something like beer foaming up. Did the coolies say that they were sorry for having come? – They did. How did the captain and officers treat them? – They used to beat them and drive them from one place to another.97

Almost 50 years later, two officials were deputed to enquire into the feelings of north-indian native population on the issue of emigration. In the Northwestern Provinces, Major D. G. Pitcher was asked to tour the catchment areas and report the findings. Pitcher recorded the good and the ill that he found in the countryside. He gathered important evidence about the impact of emigration upon the area between Delhi and Banaras, which was emerging as the most important recruiting ground for the Calcutta agents. G. A. Grierson for his part was asked to submit a report concerning emigration from Bengal, especially Bihar. Grierson was not an ordinary official; he was a scholar who achieved an international reputation for his ethnographic and linguistic studies. His study contained much careful statistical information, as well as linguistic material of unusual interest. In the 1880s, he was the collector of Gaya. He completed a book on Bihar Peasant Life (as discussed in the preceding chapter).98 The writings of both men refer in places to attitudes to, and experiences of migrant life on board the ship. Pitcher, for example, writes:

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Coolies of the Empire March 15th . Camp Bukas. Prag Singh seemed familiar enough with ‘emigration’, said that it was only dread of the unknown which deterred people from the journey, coupled with which was a general impression that emigrants became ‘Bedharam’ (lost to their religion) from being forced to eat out of one dish on board ship, along with people of other castes, and also that on arrival at the colonies they were forcibly converted to Christianity. March 16th. At noon Ganga Din Misr of Adampur, the returned emigrant from Demerara, came to see me and tell his story…gave a curious account of his voyage: how he went not only over the kalapani, but also a sufait, lal, nila, and hara pani. Described St. Helena and the terror of the coolies at sea in storm: how some of them used to cry. Highly eulogised the good and plentiful food on board.99

For his part, Grierson visited seventeen major places, which were the recruiting areas of Bihar, and recorded the feelings of the natives on the subject of emigration. Mentioning the positive aspects of emigration in the context of caste rules, villagers acknowledged to Grierson that …a man can eat anything on board ship, a vessel being like the Temple of Jagannath, without caste restrictions.100

On one hand, the ship was a place like the temple of Jagannath for many villagers, and on the other it was the coming of Kaliyug, where Brahmins and other high caste became alienated from their religion. Munshi Rahman Khan tells us about his experience of becoming an indentured labourer bound for Surinam: In order to get food, we had to line up in two separate queues, one for men and the other for women. There was no separation based on caste, religion or class. At this point in time no Brahmin or Kshtriya protested that they would not sit along and eat with Muslims or Chamars [lower castes, untouchable]. This is because they all had become sudras.101 The food on the ship was far better than the food that had been served at the depot in Calcutta. But the nausea prevented us to feed ourselves well. On our ship, more than half of the passengers hailed from Western Punjab and South Bundelkhand. Therefore, rice and rotis were served thrice a week while on Sundays we were given chura or biscuits. Every fifteenth day, fresh sheep meat and rotis were given to us. Daal, vegetable, tamarind chutney, tinned meat and lime juice were also provided daily.

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… On the board, there were no distinctions between high castes and low castes, Hindus or Muslims, or other racial distinctions… Persons, who were rigid in their religious practices, had not been allowed aboard of the ship to Surinam…There was provision of medicines and dressings for the sick and all of us were well cared for. Every week each one of us was supplied with a bar of soap to wash our clothes and take bath. If our clothes became worn out or were torn, we received new one.102

The above testimonies, deposition and enquiries indicate that while the sea voyage was psychologically unsettling, the food and dress provided were remarkably consistent with the migrants’ previous lifestyle. There is enough evidence to suggest that the girmitiyas were often able to win small ‘dietary victories’ on their way to the colonies. There was one big change though. Caste orthodoxy, especially in relation to food, was considerably weakened on board the ship. As the poet Sudhesh Mishra put it: …many things were lost during that nautical passage, family, caste and religion, and yet many things were also found, chamars found brahmins, muslims found hindus, biharis found marathis, so that by the end of the voyage we were a nation of jahaji bhais, rowat gawat heelat dholat adat padat, all for one and one for all…103

Conclusion The nineteenth-century technological advancements made the shipping world more convenient for travel than the early voyages. The journey of indentured workers became easier and convenient due to the coming of big ships with enough space for emigrants. Although death rates were high during the initial years of the indenture system, over a period of time it was controlled and various measures were taken to improve the lives of ‘coolies’ on the ships. Changes in ship technology over a period of time also made the indentured workers’ journey less anxious. In the medical sphere, while colonial officials introduced various sanitary reforms and imposed a range of western medical practices, they provided a range of medicines as well as space for indigenous medical therapies and beliefs. This was most probably a contributing factor in the decline in death rates after the second half of nineteenth century. The ships were loaded with the items relating to the migrants’ cultural attire. This included make-up and fabrics, allowing some continuance of their previous social and cultural worlds.

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The provisions of food preparations reflected what the colonial officials and emigrants’ agents thought was fit for Indian labourers’ consumption, while also providing a ‘dietary space’ for contestation. Labourers were not only provided with some of their habitual food items, but their religious beliefs regarding its preparation were in several instances protected, even if some other particularities of dietary regimes in India based on caste distinctions (where lower castes can’t eat together with high castes) were disregarded on board. This disregard was perhaps the most crucial legacy of the experience of the journey, since it provided the ground upon which Indians for the first time were able to imagine a casteless space. Although crossing the Kalapani could be psychologically traumatic for many girmitiyas, it also bound them together in new relationships such as jahaji bhai/jahaji behan (ship-brother/ship-sister), one which was considerably free from the discriminating caste prejudices they had formerly experienced at home.

Endnotes 1. Tinker. 1974. A New System of Slavery, pp. 117–18. London: Oxford University Press; Bahadur, Guatra. 2014. Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture. Delhi: Hatchet Publication. 2. Tinker Ibid., p. 117. 3. Graham, Gerald S. 1956. ‘The Ascendency of the Sailing Ship, 1850–85.’ Economic History Review (9) 1: 77–78. 4. Ship description of Reigate which arrived to Mauritius in 1868 with 400 coolie passengers, Mahatma Gandhi Institute Archive. 5. Northrup, David. 1995. Indentured Labor in the Age of Imperialism, 1834–1922. UK: Cambridge University Press. 6. Emigration Act XXI of 1844 cited in Geogeghan Report, p. 4. 7. Lubbock, Basil. 1935. Coolie Ships and Oil Sailors, p. 27. London: Brown, Son and Ferguson. 8. Ibid., p. 28 9. Ibid. 10. Geogeghan Report, p. 15. 11. Emigration Act XII of 1864 cited in Geogeghan Report, p. 41. 12. David Eltis. 1983. ‘Free and Coerced Transatlantic Migrations: Some Comparisons.’ The American Historical Review 88 (2): 171, April. David Northrup, p. 84 13. Annual Report of Emigration from India to the Colonies, Department of Revenue and Agriculture, Emigration, 1880. 14. Hugh Tinker. 1974. A New System of Slavery. Oxford University Press. 15. P. C. Emmer. 1997. ‘Caribbean Plantations and Indentured Labour, 1640–1922: A Constructive or Destructive Deviation from Free Labour Market.’ Itinerio, pp. 158–61.

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16. Northrup, David. 1995. Indentured Labor in the Age of Imperialism, 1834–1922. UK: Cambridge University Press. 17. Shlomowitz, Ralph and John McDonald. 1990. ‘Mortality of Indian Labour on Ocean Voyages, 1843–1917.’ Studies in History February 6 (1): 35–65. 18. In a similar vein Thomas R. Metcalf has investigates the planters, desirability of healthy body and hard hand workers at the time of recruitment so that they can cope up with a tedious journey and hard work of the plantations. See Metcalf, Thomas R. 2002. ‘Hard Hands and Sound Healthy Bodies: Recruiting “Coolies” for Natal, 1860-1911.’ The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History 30 (3): 1–26. 19. Persaud, Anil. 2009. ‘Transformed Over Seas: Medical Comforts Aboard Nineteenth–Century Emigrant Ships.’ In Labour Matters: Towards Global Histories, edited by Marcel van der Linden and Prabhu Mohapatra, pp. 22–56. Delhi: Tulika Books. 20. Brown, Laurance and Radica Mahase. ‘Medical Encounter on Kala Pani: Regulation and Resistance in the Passage of Indentured Indian Migrants, 1834-1900.’ In Health and Medicine at Sea, 1700-1900, edited by David Boyed Haycock and Sally Archer, pp. 195–212. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. 21. See Scoble, John. 1840; Beaumont, Joseph. 1871. 22. See Captain and Mrs Swinton. 1859. Journal of a Voyage with Coolie Emigrants from Calcutta to Trinidad, edited by James Carlile, Alfred W. Bennett. London. 23. Ibid., pp. 5–12. 24. Geogeghan Report, p. 10. See also Carter, Marina. 1995. Delhi: Oxford University Press, p. 121. 25. Geogeghan Report, p. 71. 26. Annual Report of Indian Immigration, 1860, National Archives of Mauritius [hearafter NAM] cited in Boodhoo, Raj. 2010. Health, Disease and Indian Immigrants in Nineteenth Century Mauritius, 106. Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund. 27. Geogeghan Report, p. 24. See also Parliamentary Papers, 1859, Appendix 4, p. 441. 28. PP 1859 Session 2 (31) (31-I), Appendix, No. 4; Lawrenson, Ross. 2007. ‘Frederic John Mouat (1816–97), MD FRCS LLD of the Indian Medical Service.’ Journal of Medical Biography, 15: 201–5. 29. Anderson, Clare. 2007. The Indian Uprising of 1857–8: Prisons, Prisoners and Rebellion, pp. 127 and 131–32. London: Anthem. 30. Miasma theory held that the origin of diseases and epidemics was due to poisonous chemicals or miasma when associated with certain atmospheric conditions, whereas germ theory holds that the specific germs are responsible for the specific disease. See Last, John M. ed. 2007. A Dictionary of Public Health. Westminster College, Pennsylvania: Oxford University Press. See also Rosen, G. 1958. A History of Public Health, 103–9 and 287–326. New York. 31. Abdoollah Khan was examined on 10 September 1838 by the committee members, James Charles, J. P. Grant, Major Archer, Russomoy Dutt and William Dowson. See PP, 1841 Session 1 (45), pp. 35-36.

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32. J. P. Grant in his separate minutes on the abuses alleged to exist in the export of coolies writes that ‘the only adverse evidence is that of Abdullah Khan, a native doctor, who says that the coolies in captain Edwards’ ship had not enough to eat. But his evidence is not to be relied on, Mr. Dowson having detected him in one great falsehood, which overturns nearly half his deposition, and it being plain that he had a grudge against the Captain for not giving him an expected present, on the plea of his incompetency. He and the captain seem also to have quarreled about their respective medical knowledge. See Minutes on the Cooly Question, Copy of Mr. J.P. Grants minute on the abuses alleged to exist in the export of coolies, PP, 1841 Session 1 (427), p. 13. 33. Geoghegan Report, pp. 24-26. 34. GoB, EP, July 1870, letter dated Simla, 29 October 1869, from Geoghegan, undersecretary to the GoI, Home Department to GoB. NAI. 35. GoB, EP, July 1870, later dated Simla, 29 October 1869, from Geoghegan, undersecretary to the GoI, Home Department to GoB. NAI. 36. GoB, EP, July 1870, later dated Simla, 29 October 1869, from Geoghegan, undersecretary to the GoI, Home Department to GoB. NAI. 37. Twenthy-Six General Report on the Emigration Commissioners, British Parliamentary Papers, 1866 (3679), p. 20. 38. Miasma theory held that the origin of diseases and epidemics were due to poisonous chemicals or miasma when associated with certain atmospheric conditions, whereas germ theory holds that the specific germs are responsible for the specific disease. See Last, John M. ed. 2007. A Dictionary of Public Health. Westminster College, Pennsylvania: Oxford University Press. See also G. Rosen. 1958. A history of Public Health, pp. 103–09, 287–326. New York. 39. Carter, Marina. 1995. Servants, Sirdars and Settlers, p. 124. Oxford University Press. 40. Arnold, David. 1985. ‘Medical Priorities and Practice in Nineteenth–Century British India.’ p. 48. South Asia Research 5 (1985): 167–83. Also see Arnold, David. 1993. Colonizing the Body: State Medicine and Epidemic Disease in Nineteenth Century India. Berkeley: University of California Press. 41. Ralph Shlomowitz, op.cit., p. 57. 42. Annual Reports on Colonial and Foreign Emigration of Protectorates of Emigrants, Calcutta cited from Ralph Shlomowitz, op.cit., p. 47. 43. Lal, Brij V. 1983. Girmitiya: The Origin of Fiji Indians, p. 59. Suva. 44. Carter, Marina. 1995. Servants, Sirdars and Settlers: Indians in Mauritius, 1834-1874. Delhi: Oxford University Press. 45. Scoble, John. 1840. British Guiana: Facts! Facts! Facts!, 28 February. London: Johnson & Barrett, Printers; Barrett, William Garland. 1859. Immigration to the British West Indies: Is it the Slave-Trade Revived or Not? London: Gray and Warren; Jenkin, Edward. 1871. The Coolie: His Rights and Wrongs. New York: George Routledge and Sons. 46. See Haycock, David Boyd and Sally Archer. eds. 2009. Health and Medicine at Sea, 1700-1900. Woodbridge: Boydell Press.

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47. Ibid, Laurance Brown and Mahase, pp. 195–212. 48. Though I would add that most of those listed seem to have been widely in use in the United Kingdom at the time. Perhaps in this case something different was going on as British ships doctors were rather less willing to give up their responsibilities and duties of care. 49. With the advent of British rule in India, British surgeons employed them with greater alacrity due to the abundance of the ingredients (hence Vicks Vaporub – a best-selling product marketed in the United Kingdom from 1894 onwards). The ingredients in Vicks Vaporub are identical, incidentally, in the ‘British’ and Indian formulations (made by Procter & Gamble in India): pudinah ke phool (menthol) 2.82 g; kapoor (camphor) 5.25 g; ajowan ke phool (thymol) 0.10 g; tarpin ka tel (turpentine oil) 5.57 ml; nilgiri tel (eucalyptol) 1.49 ml; jaiphal tel (nutmeg oil) 0.54 ml; ointment base. 50. For a study of the work of a doctor on an eighteenth-century whaling ship and the different treatments he was using for different diseases, see Druett, Joan. 2000. Rough Medicine: Surgeons at Sea in the Age of Sail. Routledge. 51. Proceedings of the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, Emigration Department, Fort William, July 1870, no. 17. 52. Laing, James M. 1889. Handbook of Surgeon Superintendent of the Coolie Emigration Service, March. Colonial Office. 53. Ibid., p. 20. 54. Although a general rule did not permit pregnant women and young children who were unable to take ordinary food, in some cases pregnant women were shipped out and provisions were available for young children. See Appendix 44 of Twentythird General Report of Emigration Commissioners, op.cit., pp. 185–204. 55. Laing Ibid., p. 34. 56. Benedict, Burton. 1961. Indians in a Plural Society: A Report on Mauritius, p. 110. London. Significantly, Planalp found midwives in north India are of Chamar caste. See Planalp, Jack M. 1956. ‘Religious Life and Values in a North Indian Village.’ Unpublished PhD thesis, Cornell University. There is an extensive literature on midwives or dais, see Lang, Sean. ‘Drop the Demon Dai: Maternal Mortality and the State in Colonial Madras, 1840–1875.’ Social History of Medicine 18 (3): 357–78; Malhotra, Anshu. 2013. ‘Of Dais and Midwives: “Middle-class” Interventions in the Management of Women’s Reproductive Health: A Study from Colonial Punjab.’ Indian Journal of Gender Studies 10 (2): 229–59; Hassan, Narin. 2016. Diagnosing Empire: Women, Medical Knowledge, and Colonial Mobility. London: Rutledge; Forbes, Geraldine. 1994 [Reprinted 2000]. ‘Managing Midwifery in India.’ In Contesting Colonial Hegemony: State and Society in Africa and India, edited by Dagmar Engels and Shula Marks, pp. 152–72. London: German Historical Institute. 57. Klass, Morton. 1961. East Indians in Trinidad: A Study of Cultural Persistence, p. 119. New York and London: Columbia University Press. He mentions that Hindus look upon midwifery as an ‘unclean’ occupation, and Camar women practice it in amity usually.

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58. See Vikramsingh, Sunil. 2003: Pahlad Ramsuran: Mauritius Me Hindi Sahitya ke Ananya Sadhak. Delhi: Atmaram and Sons; Martial, Yvan and Shakuntala Boolell. eds. 2007. Pahlad Ramsurrun: A Man at the Service of a Great Cause. Delhi: Sterling Publication. Interviews with Ramsurun on 10 February 2011 in Mauritius and with Niyaz Mohammed on 23 April 2011 in Fiji. Interviews with Pahlad Ramsurun (Mauritius) on 10 February 2011 and with Niyaz Mohammed (Fiji) on 23 April 2011. 59. Twenty-third General Report of the Emigration Commissioners, PP, 1863 [3199], p. 194. The quantity of items varied according to the destinations and the origins. If destination was close by (such as Madras/Calcutta to Mauritius) then lesser quantity of each item was allowed. 60. Immigration Register: PE/126, MGI, Provision for Ship ‘Reigate’ carrying 400 Indian immigrants, 28 November 1874. 61. It is important to note that in the nineteenth century ‘tea’ and other articles were out of reach for the poor population. So these provisions on ship would have certainly appealed to those poor peasants who were barely subsisting at home. 62. Laing, op.cit, p. 43. 63. Laing, op.cit, p. 43. 64. See also Kumar, Ashutosh. ‘Feeding the Girmitiya, Food and Drink on Indentured Ships to the Sugar Colonies.’ Gastronomica: Journal of Critical Food Studies 16 (1). 65. See, for example, Tinker, Hugh. 1974. A New System of Slavery. 66. Geoghegan Report, p. 4. 67. Geoghegan Report, p. 13. 68. Proceedings of Bengal Government, General Department, Colonial Emigration, No. 3252, November 1880. 69. In his edited volume of William Crooke’s Glossary of North Indian Peasant Life, Shahid Amin provides the following details on sattu: ‘Parched gram ground into flour’ is more an ingredient than a preparation of food. It is the most common portable food of the country-side. A peasant while travelling would tie a pound or so of sattu in his gamcha and make a ‘dish’ by mixing it with the right amount of water and kneading it into dough. This is then eaten garnished with green chilies and/or some onions. A few pounds of sattu is enough for a peasant to survive for a couple of days. See note by Shahid Amin in Crooke, William. 1989. A Glossary of North Indian Peasant Life, 151. Delhi: Oxford University Press. Sattu also features in popular songs. See Upadhyay, Krishna Dev. 1990. Bhojpuri Lokgit 1: 323. Prayag: Hindi Sahitya Sammelan. 70. Krishna Dev Upadhyay, Bhojpuri Lokgit, op.cit., p. 286. (Translation mine). 71. Geoghegan Report, p. 25. 72. Geoghegan Report, p. 25. 73. Letter dated 11 July 1881 from Colonial Office to Secretary of State, Proceedings of Bengal Government, General Department, Colonial Emigration 1881. 74. Ibid., Edward Wingfield, quoted remark of surgeon superintendence who was on voyage from Calcutta to Trinidad with emigrants who were recruited principally from NWP.

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75. Ibid. 76. Geoghegan Report, p. 26. Until today north Indian villagers eat chura or chabani for breakfast in the winter season while going to work in their field, in case of difficulties in preparing food early morning. 77. Proceedings of the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, Emigration Department, Fort William, July 1870, no. 17. 78. It is a religious practice for a Muslim to eat halal (ritually slaughtered) meat rather than jhatka (decapitation with one stroke of butchers’ knife). 79. Beef is religiously prohibited for Hindus, as cow is a sacred animal for them. 80. GoB, EP, June 1869. Extract from the report of James Crosby, Immigration Agent, No. 179, Friday 19 February 1869, on the immigrant ship the Winchester to West Indies. NAI. 81. GoB, EP, No. 10, July 1870. From Geoghegan, under-secretary to the GoI Home Department to GoB, dated Simla 29 October 1869 in Enclosure No. 1 of letter from T. W. C. Murdoch to Sir F. Rogers, Simla, dated 16 July 1869. NAI. 82. Laing, Handbook, op.cit., p. 34. 83. Anderson, W. 1995. ‘Excremental Colonialism: Public Health and the Poetics of Pollution.’ Critical Inquiry 21: 640–69; Anderson, W. 2006. Colonial Pathologies: American Tropical Medicine, Race, and Hygiene in the Philippines. Durham, NC: Duke University Press; Anderson, W. 2003. The Cultivation of Whiteness: Science, Health, and Racial Destiny in Australia. New York: Basic Books; Wilk, Richard. ‘A Taste of Home: The Cultural and Economic Significance of European Food Exports to the Colonies.’ In Food and Globalisation: Consumption, Markets and Politics in the Modern World, edited by Alexander Nutzenadel and Frank Trentmann, pp. 93-108. New York: Berg. 84. Military Progs, 1801. Fort William 29 May 1801, pp. 713-19. NAI. Tables 5, 6 and 7 reflect rations for victualling persons of every description agreeable to their persuasion or caste. The deviation from general provisions was for cold season, when potatoes were added for the use of troops. Table 8, which concerns the Europeans, doubles the quantity of vinegar and also substitutes a seer of mustard seed for 1 tls. of mustard. 85. It is important to note that serving as sepoy in the British army was very prestigious for countryside Indians. 86. See Kolff, D. H. A. 1990. Naukar, Rajput and Sepoy: The Ethnohistory of the Military Labour Market in Hindustan, 1450-1850. Delhi: Cambridge University Press; Alavi, Seema. 1995. The Sepoys and the Company: Tradition and Transition in Northern India, 1770-1830. Delhi: Oxford University Press. 87. Colonial Secretary Office Minute Paper, 5477/14, National Archives of Fiji. 88. Upadhyay, Krishna Dev. 1990. op.cit, p. 204. 89. Krishna Dev Upadhyay, Ibid. 90. Hukka is a wooden instrument used to have puffs of narcotics like opium. Ganja is another narcotics quite popular among Hindu yogis, mendicants and peasants. 91. James Laing, p. 30

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92. Krishna Dev Upadhyay. Ibid., p. 266. 93. Captain and Mrs. Swinton. 1859. In Journal of a Voyage with Coolie Emigrants from Calcutta to Trinidad, edited by James Carlile, p. 10. 94. Parliamentary Papers [hereafter PP] 1841 Session 1 (45) Hill coolies [hereafter Calcutta Committee Report]. Return to an order of the Honourable the House of Commons, dated 29 January 1841; for copies of a letter from the Secretary to the Government of India to the committee appointed to inquire respecting the exportation of hill coolies, dated 1 August 1838 of the report made by that committee; with the minutes of evidence and appendix of any minute recorded on that report by any member of the committee of the letters from the Government of India to the Court of Directors of the East India Company, dated 16 and 19 October 1840, on the same subject, Appendix, Exhibit No. 10. (Emphasis mine.) 95. Ibid, Exhibit No. 11, statements of coolies returned from the Mauritius. Emphasis mine. 96. Ibid, Exhibit No. 12. Emphasis mine. 97. Calcutta Committee Report, op.cit., Examination of Abdoolah Khan. 98. Amin, Shahid. ed. 2005. A Concise Encyclopedia of North India Peasant Life, p. 30. Delhi: Manohar. 99. Major Pitcher, ‘Report on the result of his inquiry into the system of recruiting labourers for the colonies, &c.’ [hereafter Pitcher Report], GoI, Department of Revenue and Agriculture [hereafter R & A], Emigration A, Progs. No. 1–12, February 1883, pp. 66–67. See also Grierson, G. A. 1883. ‘Report on the Result of His Inquiry into the System of Recruiting Labourers for the Colonies, &c.’ [hereafter Grierson Report], GoI, R&A, Emigration A, Progs. No. 9–15, August. 100. Grierson Report, p. 19. 101. Khan, Munshi Rahman. 2005. Autobiography of an Indian Indentured Labourer, p. 79. Translated by Kathinka Sinha-Kerkhoff, Ellen Bal and Alok Deo Singh. Delhi: Shipra. 102. Ibid. 103. Mishra, Sudesh. 1999. ‘Diaspora and Difficult Art of Dying’. In Subaltern Studies 10, edited by, Gautam Bhadra et.al., p. 2. Delhi: Oxford University Press.

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5

•

Agriculture and Culture between Two Worlds Introduction This chapter seeks to engage in a comparative analysis of the cultural worlds the indentured travelled between. For this, I shall look into north Indian peasant culture, to which the bulk of indentured labourers belonged, and then compare it to the culture under the plantation life of those indentured. To understand the culture of indentured labourers, who went to produce sugarcane and sugar in the colonies, it is necessary to understand both the process of sugarcane production under a peasant system in north India and that under the plantation regime of monoculture of sugarcane in the colonies. This chapter shows how the culture of north Indian societies is tied to an agricultural calendar, but in the colonies, it was not. Culture is lived and reproduced in communities, but is crucially linked to ‘place’ and the exigencies of work and labour. As the process of production and time is central to the reproduction of culture, by analysing culture we can understand the continuity and change in the process of indenture. Previously, historians have looked at the culture of indentured labourers in relation to work and plantation regimes. In so doing, they have failed to consider the actual process of work under plantation, which is a key factor in production or reproduction of culture. While presenting the culture of both societies through colonial ethnographies, this chapter also examines the respective natures of colonial ethnographies in India and in the sugar colonies. It also emphasizes on how the colonial regime in India was very much particular to the cultural ethnography, but such an attitude was absent in the sugar colonies.

Agriculture and Culture in North India The quotidian culture of Indian peasant life was based in agriculture. Various ceremonies, festivals, rites related to birth, post-birth, marriage, informal religion, families and tutelary deities have been associated with agricultural calendar. A detailed documentation of agricultural cultivation and peasants’ rituals can be found in the ‘archives of colonial knowledge’. As postcolonial

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scholars have long understood, nineteenth-century colonial India can be considered as an era of ‘colonial knowledge’ when information about every aspect of Indian society was meticulously gathered. Ethnographic surveys and researches, census operations, popular culture and religion, subalterns, medical practices, and eating habits were the main areas of colonial knowledge.1 During 1830s–1890s, officials including H. M. Elliot, William Crooke, John Beams, George Abraham Grierson, Richard Temple and Patrick Carnegy collected voluminous materials on north Indian popular culture, agricultural and domestic rites and ceremonies, caste customs, popular religion, popular literature and language. For example, William Crooke, an Indian Civil Service official in Bengal, collected materials for a rural and agricultural glossary of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh and provided details of the ceremonies of rural life in northern India. The following descriptions are based on those of Crooke and others including Grierson and Patrick Carnegy of north Indian peasant life. I have used the ethnographic present of late nineteenth-century colonial north India.2

Sugarcane Production Colonial ethnography and information regarding the cultivation of sugarcane in north India is considerably rich. The various district settlement reports and gazetteers provide detailed information on it. Shahid Amin has used this colonial archive of peasant production extensively for his study of sugarcane production in Gorakhpur, which has been used in this section to understand the process of production of sugar in north India in the nineteenth century.3 The production of sugarcane in India can be dated back to 400–350 BC, which has been important for its gur potential.4 However, it also became a capitalist enterprise in nineteenth-century India. The colonial ethnography and information regarding the cultivation of sugarcane in the colonies are less substantial. The only sources available are planters’ writing and memoirs, which provide us information on the process of production of sugar in the colonies. In north India, the process of agricultural production depends upon the calendar relating to harvest. Agricultural operation in rural north India commences according to the lunar mansion or constellation in the moon’s path, which is locally called nakshatra or nakhat. According to Hindustani lunar calendar, a year is divided into twenty-seven nakshatras. Hindustani peasants determine time according to both lunar months chandramās, which is usually twenty-nine days to thirty-one days, and solar months surajmās of thirty days

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each on different ceremonial occasions. Nakshatras range from thirteen days and twenty dands in the dry, to fifteen days in length in the wet months. Hathiya nakshatra is the longest one, which is sixteen lunar days. There are twelve months and six seasons in one year in the north Indian rural calendar. The months are Phāgun, Chait, Baisākh, Jeth, Asārh, Sāwan, Bhādon, Kuar, Kārtik, Aghan, Pus, and Māgh. The seasons are Sard, Him, Basant, Sisir, Grishm (Grikham) and Barkha. However, the broad sub-division of seasons is known as the summer or garmi, monsoon or barkha and winter or jāra. Phāgun, Chait, Baisākh, Jeth are the summer months; Asārh, Sawan, Bhādon, Kuar are monsoon months; and Kārtik, Agahan, Pus and Māgh are the winter months. Hindustani peasants divide their months into two parts – Andher Pachh and Anjor Pachh – each consisting of fifteen days. The Andher Pachh is the first-half starting from the day of the new moon upto fifteen days, popularly called Amāwas. The Anjor Pachh is the second-half till the full moon known as Poornmāsi. H. M. Elliot, W. Crooke and G. A. Grierson have provided details of sugarcane harvest ceremonies in north India. The ceremony deothan (Rohilkhand), dithwan, dataund, daiten, dashtun, or dutaon and bodini are performed during the first cutting of sugarcane on the 11th day of the bright half of Kartik (Kartik badi ekadasi). There is another ceremony performed in Rohilkhand in Kartik known as the Sui ki Puja, in which when the cane is cut, a red string called kalawa is tied round the first bundle. The whole manufactory, including both cane mill and boiling house,5 is called kolhuwar or golaur in West Shahabad and Kolsar in Patna and Gaya.6 On the first day of the cane pressing, the ceremony of distributing the juice is known in the upper Doab as raswai; in the central Doab rayawal, and in the eastern districts khappar jar, or bhanraro. The ceremony at the first boiling of the juice is in the uppar Doab faridi; in the Central Doab jalawan by Hindus, and sinni by Mohammadans; and in Gorakhpur jhatha bhartha. The ceremony at the last distribution of the cooked juice is in the upper Doab ikh barhi. Near the place where the cane is cut into slips, the men make a round idol of a diety called makkar bir, or mahkar bir in Shahabad and mahkar in North-East Tirhut.7 Before planting the cane, the ceremony of testing the direction of wind is performed, called paun parchcha, and the day of the cane sown is called ikhraj, ukhraj, ukhbhoj or ukharhaj or nimauni. After planting the cane, a ceremony performed for ploughing is called ukhar or okhar in upper Doab. After cutting the crop, the new grain is taken home and eaten with certain ceremonies known as nawani in eastern districts of UP and as arwan, dadri,

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alo, awasi, kawal or kawari in the western districts. A few ceremonies are also performed when the grain is collected on the thrashing floor to propitiate ghosts and peanuts of the village known as dih bhut, bamar deo and jakni or dana. According to Crooke, pujaura is performed in Gorakhpur with an offering of a clay horse or elephant, a woman’s forehead ornament – tikuli – vermilion (sendur) and an ear ornament (tarki). Akhtij is another ceremony performed on 18th Baisakh, on which the obligations of the spring harvest (rabi) are erased. According to Crooke, ‘in the eastern it is also called akhir tithiya or kati kuti’.8 There are two other ceremonies which are performed by women – godhan and jiutia. For the godhan ceremony, women make figures of snakes, scorpions and so on. from cow dung and beat them. The beating is called godhan kutai. The jiutia is a fast and worship offered by women on the 8th day of the dark half of kaur for the benefit of their children.9 In India, sugarcane is planted three times a year in October (autumn), February–March (spring) and July (Adsali). Adsali planting is quite common in Maharashtra, while autumn and spring plantings are more common in north India. Haryana–Punjab peasants plant cane in March, UP peasants in February–March and Bihar peasants in January–February. In Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka, cane planting is done in December–February. Sugarcane crops take at least ten to twelve months to ripen to produce gur or raw sugar. It also takes hard labour and attention. A Bengali proverb indicates the amount of labour and care required to cultivate sugar: ‘unless a man has seven sons and twelve grandsons, he should not cultivate sugarcane’.10 To cultivate sugarcane, the untilled soil requires at least one year of fallow to retrieve its fecundity. However, in north India, especially in UP, peasants did not follow a year’s fallow of field, as it was a great loss for their rabi (peas) and kharif (bhadai rice, manrua, kodon, juar) crops. Hence, the usual method was to harvest kharif in early September and fallow the soil for the next five months before planting the sugarcane in it. So, it was a common practice in UP to plant the sugarcane in chait (March–April), although, as Shahid Amin has shown, some of the small landholding peasants of Azamgarh sowed peas instead of keeping the land fallow after an early kharif. This method provided an additional crop of rabi peas.11 In the nineteenth-century India, agricultural operations were done with ploughs (har) and oxen. The UP settlement reports of the 1880s confirm that twenty to forty ploughs were used in one field in Gorakhpur and Azamgarh, while in the adjoining area in the west, fifteen to twenty ploughs were used for the cane cultivation (Figure 5.1).12

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Figure 5.1: Two types of ploughs used in fields

Source: G. A. Grierson. Bihar Peasant Life, pp. viii and 6.

The cane cultivation operation consumed considerable labour and time. Hoeing and watering were much needed part of sugarcane cultivation as indicated by the Bihari proverb noted by G. A. Grierson: Tin patwan terah koran (three waterings and thirteen hoeings).13 Even if the rains came in plenty on time, a tremendous amount of labour was required for kiyari irrigation and hoeing.14 Some Gorakhpuri proverbs encapsulate the hard work required in the cultivation of cane: Maagh ka jara jeth ki dhoop, bade kasht se upje ukh (‘What with cold and frost in the month of Magh and the heat of Jeth, it requires great effort to grow sugarcane’); Ikh karen sab koi, jo beech mein jeth na hoi (‘Everyone would grow sugarcane, if the hot month of Jeth did not intervene’).15 The harvesting of sugarcane begins after almost a year. It runs from the month of Pus to Phagun (late December to early March). Peasants used hansia (sickle) and gadasi (cutlass) to cut the cane. Other features of cane cultivation in Gorakhpur region include ratoon,16 under which a second crop was taken from the previous year’s plant crop by leaving stumps of the cane in the field and the less intensive culture of cane in bhat 17 soils.18

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Traditionally, Indian peasants produced gur or raw sugar out of sugarcane. The production of raw sugar is a demanding task – as a Bhojpuri proverb notes: raand bowe shauhar pere (‘a widow can sow sugarcane, but it requires a husband to crush it’). As a committee appointed to enquire into the cultivation of sugar in Bihar reported, if the harvested cane was not pressed and boiled into gur in a single day, the sucrose content in it declined.19 Hence, intensive labour was required at the time of pressing the cane – crushing and squeezing the stalks to extract the juice – and then boiling the juice. North Indian peasants used kolhu to press the cane. In early nineteenth century, Francis BuchananHamilton mentions the process of cane crushing in the kolhu as ‘an expensive part of operation’ under which cane was flattened for juice.20 Here, a great deal of effort was required for driving the bullocks, putting the canes into the crusher and extracting juice from the kolhu (Figure 5.2). After this, the process of making gur was carried out by a specialist – gur boiler – who lit a big fire beneath a chulha (make shift stove) on which a boiling pan is placed and supervised the preparation of gur. This process runs from early morning till late evening for at least two months until the entire sugarcane harvest has been cut and crushed. Figure 5.2: A Gorakhpuri wooden kolhu

Source: Amin, Shahid. Sugarcane and Sugar in Gorakhpur, p. 54. Delhi.

While sugar production in India was associated with the peasants and their

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culture of agriculture in the sugar colonies, it was purely a capitalist venture of European planters produced by slave labour until the abolition of slavery. In the New World, the sugarcane was first carried by Columbus in 1493 and grown in Spanish Santo Domingo by enslaved Africans, the first slaves having been imported there soon after the sugarcane.21 Between the early decades of the seventeenth century and mid-nineteenth century, the British, Dutch and French established sugar plantations in the Caribbean and became the major exporters of sugar. Barbados and Jamaica became the major sugar producer under the British until the mid-nineteenth century, and as Mintz finds out that this was the period when ‘sugar steadily changed from being a specialized – medicinal, condimental, ritual or display – commodity into an ever more common food in the European society’.22 In the seventeenth century, several individual colonies were established in the New World, and subsequent invasion and expansion of the British of these colonies culminated into the expansion of plantation system. The British learned methods of producing sugar from the Dutch and expanded their sugar industries in St. Kitts, Barbados and Jamaica. According to data, in the year 1700, Britain imported about 50,000 hogsheads and exported 18,000. By 1730, Britain imported 100,000 hogsheads and exported 18,000, and by 1753, Britain imported 110,000 and exported 6,000.23 The data show that the consumption of sugar in Britain grew quickly and became a quotidian food. The growing demand of sugar in Britain inspired capitalist British planters to develop more plantations in the tropics and import more slaves to employ on sugar plantations. Leonard Wray provides details on the process of sugarcane cultivation in West Indies. He found that in the colonies of West Indies cultivation of sugarcane was done by two methods: one by the plough and another by the hoe.24 Ploughing was common among the planters for which they kept herds of cattle. The hoeing method required more labour force than ploughing. While minutely describing the operations of sugarcane cultivation performed by animal power in the West Indies, Wray provided various suggestions through which West Indies planters could increase the production of sugar in the same resources. For him, the soil should be well ploughed, harrowed and pulverized. For this, first, a very light iron or wooden plough is drawn by four or six cattle. This should be succeeded by a ‘hainger’, an Indian implement used for breaking clods, pulverizing the soil and smoothing the soil over the land.25 Second, he suggested planting canes using hands in queues six-feet apart, and the cane tops can be two-feet apart. He also suggested that ‘a furrow is made between the banks before each trashing of the cane (which may be twice or

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perhaps thrice), to receive the leaves removed from the plants, after which, the earth is returned, covering over the trash, and filling up the furrow. A common plough performs this very well.’26 As Wray found in 1840s, the sugarcane cultivation by the slaves in the West Indies was based on the ploughing and hoeing system of cultivation. The only difference during the indenture period was the use of steam engines for the crushing cane as well as to transport the cane plant to the mills. Wray’s suggestions to West Indies planters were based on his experience of sugar cultivation in India, and hence, the Indian labour deputed to work on the West Indian plantations carried forward the suggested methods. Wray’s anxiety of sugar production with less labour and cattle derived from the abolition of slavery by the British Parliament in 1833 suddenly generated a huge crisis of labour on the plantations of the Caribbean. The West Indian sugar that was under protection of British Parliament came under strain due to the lifting of the protection duties in the same period. From 1820s, a strong opposition emerged against the protectionist policy of British Parliament for the West Indian sugar and a strong demand was advocated to neutralize the duties on sugar for West and East.27 Mauritian sugar began to enter the British market from 1825 on equal terms of British Caribbean sugar. Due to strong demand, the East and West sugar duties were equalized in 1836. This compelled the West Indies to compete with the sugar from the East.28 The slave labour, which was the backbone of eighteenth-century West Indies colonial economy, was no more available for production. The slave labour was slightly cheaper than free labour. These circumstances put the West Indies in depression. Shahid Amin has pointed out that when the protectionist policy of West Indies sugar, which was responsible for keeping north Indian sugar out from the international sugar market circuit, was lifted in 1830s, the subsistencebased sugar economy of Eastern United Provinces of India got integrated in the British commodity circuit.29 The abolition of slavery and discriminatory duties on sugar tended many planters and speculators to look upon India. The Calcutta commercial home provided support by providing speculators large jungle grants in Eastern United Provinces, easy capital market. The exodus of West Indian and Jamaican planters to northeast India, the bestowing of large jungle grants in Gorakhpur to speculators enjoying the support of Calcutta’s commercial homes, an easy capital market, the euphoric prospects of a sugar speculator and planter’s paradise in ‘the greatest sugar district of India: Benaras our Jamaica’, the reduction of fright to England specially on ships touching

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Calcutta after dumping emigrants in New South Wales, the prospects of selling molasses on the abkari and mithai market in these areas and a partial purchase of Indian rum as stores for the navy and its initial success into the Canadian rum market, all contributed in various ways to the sugar mania of 1830s–1840s in east UP and north Bihar.30 Arthur Crooke, a Liverpool merchant, purchased a factory in Tirhut, north Bihar, and Leonard Wray, a planter from Jamaica, moved to India and organized sugarcane plantations in Gorakhpur.31 The Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India was the place of intellectual meeting of the sugar speculators. This society published papers for the cause of sugar in India. The papers published by them focused on the state of cane cultivation and sugar manufacturing in eastern UP and Bengal. It also published practical guides for sugar planters.32 Leonard Wray, who turned to India in 1840s, operated a plantation of 4,000 acres in Gorakhpur for four to five years, toured the sugar belt from Burdwan to Gorakhpur, studied the indigenous system of cultivation and manufacturing and published articles in the Journal of Agricultural and Horticultural Society during 1841–43.33 However, as Shahid Amin has shown that in late 1840s when Indian sugar collapsed in the London market, the honeymoon of speculative production of sugar for London market was over.34 The sugarcane cultivation in India was very different from the other colonies as Indian sugarcane culture was a small peasant commodity production, whereas in the colonies, it was based on the capitalist plantation mode of cane culture. This, again, put the ex-slave sugar production areas at the center of the European market. Since the slave sugar planters in the British Parliament formed a majority, they devised a labour supply scheme to let their capitalist venture prevail. This scheme was known as the indenture system, which was allowed only in the plantations set up by the capitalist slave planters. Other kinds of plantations were rubber plantations of Southeast Asia, rice cultivation in Burma, and coffee, rice and tea plantations in Sri Lanka. These were run by the kangani or maistri system of labour supply and not the indenture system owing to the latter’s capitalist nature. That is why, even though it was conceptualized as a replacement of slavery, it was tagged as slavery from the beginning. To move away from slavery on British sugar plantations, the indenture system was devised from a model of Chinese indenture to fight shy of its origin in slavery as well as to take care of the interests of British sugar planters who were powerful in the British parliament.35 One could say that once emancipated from slavery in the Caribbean, an

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alternative labour regime to work at the sugar plantations had to be invented. This, while assuring a committed and ‘tied’ labour supply, needed in other personal, familial and social aspects to be marked differently from the system of personal bondage and slave as properties of the planters. Madhavi Kale has discussed this aspect of the formation of a new labour regime in considerable detail while showcasing the role played by such prominent planterparliamentarian as John Gladstone – father of James Gladstone, who was the future PM and the British Liberal Party statesman in fine-tuning a new system. This system was a variation of the Chinese system of indenture.36 It needs bearing in mind that the first few lots of ‘indentured labourers’ sent from India, at the beginning of 1834, were not north Indian peasants from eastern UP and Bihar – adept at cane cultivation. These were Dhangars or tribal groups from the recently incorporated Central Indian plateau, who practiced a variety of slash and burn and swidden cultivation. They belonged to the Gangetic peasant society and were geographically and culturally situated in that area. Not much attention was paid in these early years to the family and reproductive lives of these early batched sugar labourers. Out of the first batch of thirty-six ‘sugar hands’, only four were women. As the process picked up steam over the next twenty years, the attention of the colonial officials in the various outposts of the British Empire got focused on ensuring that the Indian sugar workers lived a family life and reproduced an Indian population over the initial five or the extended ten years of indenture. These British outposts stretched from the district officers in the Gangetic valley to agents in Calcutta, and in colonies such as Mauritius in the Indian Ocean and British Guiana in distant Caribbean. The 1860s, therefore, saw the stipulation that at least thirty-two percent of all ‘coolie’ workers destined for the colonies were women of reproducible age. However, there was an issue with this system which was not so easily solved by a numerical stipulation arising out of a colonial recognition of catering to the reproductive needs of the indentured. The freedom of choice provided to married partners from the grooves of caste, land and locality and the new role of north Indian peasant women in the colonies as independent labourers were unlike the lives that prevailed in their native Gangetic villages. This ‘presence’ of women, both married and unmarried, had far-reaching implications for the relationship between Bhojpuri men and women on the plantations. Some of these can be summarized as the opportunity and freedom (unhindered by caste-bound endogamy) to choose partners, the uneasy relationship between traditional marital practices and the necessity, very often, for official registration (unheard in north India) and

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the radical disjuncture of women instead of men taking spouses very often in succession. These alterations to peasant patriarchal norms require that we trace these changes by first setting out the prevailing relationship between the sexes in the natal villages of the girmitiyas in Gangetic heartland in north India.

Family Life and Marriage In nineteenth-century-north Indian culture, marriages were social and material transactions. William Crooke provides details of the culture and process of marriage in north Indian societies. Marriage is called biyah or shadi, and it is nikah for the Muslims.37 A matchmaker or biyah agwa is searched for the prospective marriage partners, and a proposal for a girl in marriage by a boy’s family was known as mangani. Before mangani, the janampatra/janampatri or horoscope was consulted. If the horoscopes of the prospective bride and groom matched, it was referred to as ganna banna. Searching for a boy for marriage was called taurab and a betrothal was sagai. To secure a marriage engagement, phaldan (money and other material goods) were given by the girl’s family to that of the boy. The whole process was called chhenka, and the person who carried out this process was called chhekahru. After this, the boy’s father performed a rite called tilak, and at this point the lagan or marriage ceremony commenced. The marking on the bridegroom’s forehead before marriage (tilak) was done by tilakahru. Gath bandhan (tying the knot with the clothes of the bride and groom) was an important part of the tilak ceremony. Kanyadan was the ceremony of handing over the bride to the groom. After this, sat bhaunri or pheri – the ceremony of taking seven rounds around the pious fire by the bride and groom – closed the ceremony. In northern India, the dulhan (bride) did not, as a rule, come to the husband’s house immediately after the marriage. Rather, she came after a few months or years, and the ceremony of bringing the bride to her husband’s house to consummate the marriage was called gauna or rauna. The time gap between shadi and gauna was due to the culture of early age marriage in north India. The usual age of consummation of a girl child was 10 years.38 There were several types of married men such as duah, a man married two times; tiah, a man married three times having lost his first two wives; and a widower was referred to as randua or randor.39 A widow was bewa, irand or randori. The second marriage of a Hindu woman was dharauna or dharanwa and the second husband of such a woman was dharicha.40 There were various categories of women as well. A woman who lived with a man

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without marriage was dhenmani or rakheli; Dholkarhi was a woman who had taken to the bridegroom without a barat.41 Gharkaili was a woman who had taken up her residence with a man without a marriage; urhari was a woman living with a man, but not his wife (synonymous with ‘mistress’).42 Bhikhari Thakur, a Kalkatiya labour migrant and noted folk-poet and dramatist, also painted a picture of urhari in his most popular play, Bideshiya: Kahat Bhikhari sun saiya rasiya, Urhari ke nav dharaeha mat ho, Hamara ke piya bisaraeha mat ho. (Bhikari says, listen my beloved, I don’t want to get a name of urhari. Don’t forget me, my beloved.)43 While the colonial government in India was keenly collecting information on Indian peasant life, in the sugar colonies, there was no analogous collection of material related to culture, religion and quotidian life of indentured labourers. The sugar colonial archive is thin on the popular religion and culture of Girmitiya/Kontraki/Kalkatiya/Madrasi. This does not mean that there was no religio-socio-cultural life on the plantations, and the non-official writings – including the accounts of Totaram Sanadhya, Baba Ramchandra, Munshi Rahman Khan and Christian missionary travelogues – confirm that indentured Indians maintained their popular religion, beliefs and other social norms and rituals in their new locations, albeit with some modifications. Totaram has a good deal to say about the relationship of women and men under plantation life. Marriages were called marit.44 Very few people invited a priest to perform the marriage ceremony and widow marriage was very frequent in Fiji.45 Brij Lal has shown how marit had changed between the generations. Over a period of time, parents of a girl searched for a suitable sonin-law of their status; at the same time, in cases of marital discord, divorce was a common option.46 Here, it is worth mentioning that plantation life, situated far away from their homeland, had changed their long-established culture of marriages. For example, in contrast to Fiji, there was no established culture of widow re-marriage in India. Plantation life also broke the long-established marriage rules in Hindu and Muslim communities regarding caste and religion. While Indian culture does not provide any space for interreligious marriage, in plantation life, couples frequently married outside their caste and religion.47 In north India, Hindu Shuddhi movement tried to get the people back to their religion, who had changed their religion or those women who married outside their religion. The emergence of the Arya Samaj in north India in the late nineteenth century had a tremendous impact on the religion and culture of the region. Arya Samaj movement finally turned into Hindu-Muslim conflicts over the issue of interreligious marriages and cow killings. The Arya Samaj

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sent their religious representatives to the sugar colonies in the late nineteenth century. The one in Fiji tried to control interreligious marriages and created discontent between the Hindus and the Muslims.48 Ramchandra wrote in his autobiography that since the coming of Ram Manoharanand Swami, tensions arose between Hindus and Muslims (…prarantu Ram Manoharanand Swami ko Arya Samaj Hindustan se bheja tha tabse waha ke longon me sansani faili rahti hai).49 Totaram mentioned the inter religious marriages as ‘andhadhundh paddhati se vivah’ (marriages under an indiscriminate system), and according to him, ‘indiscriminate marriages’ were prevalent in all colonies. The process of such marriages involved the following: all invited people came to the groom’s house. In one side of the house, a vedi with banana stump was prepared for the Satyanarayan Katha (story of God Satyanarayana). In the other corner, a chauki, with white covers, was put on mat and lohban (dhup/agarbatti) was burnt. Men and women both wore white dhotis and sat with their respective priests. Both priests began by calling upon their devta (God): Hindu priest with ‘Sri Devayenamah, Sri Ganpatay namah Pushpam sarpyami, akshat sarpyami, Sri Navgrah Navratnam Sarpyami’, and Muslim priest with ‘Bismillah Rahamanorahim, Marhawa-Marhawa Habibullah’.50 Such kinds of marriages were only based on affection and mutual consent. When Totaram curiously asked the couple about their marriage, the woman replied: Mai urhari pyorau hun, mera vivāh huwa hai andhādhundh paddhati se… ye Thākur muhāy gaye, lage godan gire, man mil gaya tab inhone khushi rāji rakh liya. Yahi andhādhundh riti hai.51 (I am Urhari Pyorau and I am married under the system of andhadhundh paddhti. Actually, Thakur (now her husband) fell in love with me and pressed for marriage. Once we began to like each other, he kept me happy. And this is the andhadhundh riti of marriage.)

Gender issues can be tracked through the official record in cases of violence caused by or directed towards women. According to an official statistics record, between 1890 and 1919, sixty-eight indentured women were murdered in Fiji.52 Explaining the causes of murders, W. E. Russell, Immigration Officer in Labasa, reported that The sexual requirements of a class of men untrained in self-control – the facilities afforded by the nature of habitation and mode of life – the fact that the women are necessarily recruited from among those unsettled, and of more or less loose morals, that the men will satisfy their passions and that the women

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Coolies of the Empire do supply the demand – these facts show each congregation of Indians in the customary sexual proportions to be a veritable hotbed of intrigue, a nursery of jealousy and murder.53

Not only the colonial observers and officials, but some supporters of Indian nationalist movement against the indenture system, such as C. F. Andrews and Pearson, also wrote in their report on Fiji: The Hindu woman in this country is like a rudderless vessel with its mast broken drifting onto the rocks; or like a canoe being whiled down the rapids of a great river without any controlling hand. She passes from one man to another, and has lost even the sense of shame in doing so.54

Walter Gill, a white overseer in Fijian plantations, wrote a book describing the Indian women ‘as joyously amoral as a doe rabbit’. He writes: ‘she [Indian Woman] took her lovers as a ship takes rough thirsting for the next’.55 Such observations confirm, as Brij Lal has also indicated, that Europeans without questioning their own morality or sexual practices carried the backpacks of racism and sexism.56 According to statistics provided by Mohapatra from various annual reports between 1859 and 1863, sixteen women were murdered in British Guiana and eleven in Trinidad. Between 1872 and 1879, fifty-nine women were murdered in Trinidad while in the period between 1889 and 1913, the figure was thirtynine. In British Guiana, seventy-eight women were murdered between 1885 and 1900 and thirty between 1900 and 1915.57 Scholars including Mohapatra, B. Mangru and Brij Lal have explained the causes of murders in relation to changing plantation regimes. Mangru accepts the official premise that the unequal sex ratio and sexual jealousy accounted for the murders, while Brij Lal emphasized the structure of the labour regime. Mohapatra points out that due to the gendered division of labour, women did not carry heavy tools and were, therefore, unarmed when it came to violent attacks.58 On the issue of marriage and family, Tinker, Mookherji and Tayal have emphasized the volatility of sexual relationships on the plantation. From a feminist perspective Reddock and Emmer stressed on the ‘personal freedom’ of women on plantation when compared to social restrictions in India.59 Kelly contends that planters in Fiji were not interested in a stable Indian marriage or family system.60 Carter in the context of Mauritius, on the other hand, argues that ‘customary patterns of social interaction and family life were inevitably disrupted, yet the process of adaptation in itself reveals the strength of the cultural and religious mores

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which immigrants brought with them’.61 Although contextualizing murders and family structure in reference to the plantation regimes, scholars have yet to provide any real detail about how and through what processes the plantation regime was operationalized. Given the recent attention that indentured labour has attracted, it is curious that we do not have much evidence in the secondary literature on the actual process of work on plantations. Many scholars have alluded to the hardship and lack of social structure in the plantation regime, but the actual everyday lifestyle of indentured Indians in the plantations is still not fully understood. One important question that may be raised is if indenture led to the ‘death of social life’, were the plantation social structures described in contemporary sources, such as Totaram and Ramchandra, merely imaginary constructs? As Ranajit Guha noted three decades ago, peasants and their culture appear in the colonial record only when they became a problem of law and order.62 Similarly, women and family structure of indentured Indians make their appearances in the sugar colonies’ records only when cases of murders and suicides affected law and order on plantations. There is little in the official archive, in the reports of Crooke and Grierson, for example, on marriage ceremonies in the plantations. Did girmitiyas follow any of their numerous marriage customs of India? Since plantations provided Indian women with relative freedom, could this not in itself have made them more than the usual purveyors of culture – disbelievers of stable family life? Unless this was the case, how would we explain the various songs collected and enjoyed by the grandchildren of indentured labourers that depicted the process of marriage ceremonies in sugar colonies?63 Although there was change in the patterns of marriage, the indentured workers used the same terminologies of their homeland related to their family and marriages. For instance, Dulhin for bride, Bhauji for the wife of elder brother, barat for marriage procession, kanyadan for a ceremony where a father hands over his daughter to the groom, agua for a person who is responsible for arranging a marriage and damad for son-in-law were the words used in the sugar colonies among Indians.64 Suchita Ramdin has collected numerous songs sung by the girmitiya society in Mauritius on various occasions. These songs included songs of marriage. She mentions one of them below: Rosejil se aawe bariyatiya ta, lataant (mandap) me paani bahata Kerpip me jene-tene logwa, samdhiniya ke soch paral ba.65 (The groom’s procession has come from Rose Hill, due to heavy rains the

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Coolies of the Empire wedding pavilion is flooding with water. The people in the groom’s procession are in a pathetic situation, as they are not used to rain. The bride’s mother is anxious that the groom’s people may sulk.)

Rituals of Birth and Death North Indian peasants performed various rites and rituals when a child is born. William Crooke has provided the ethnographic details of the birth rituals in northern India.66 The rites performed in the seventh month of pregnancy were known as satmasa, satwasa or satwansa. The ceremony of tying a knot on the child’s birthday was called baras ganth or salgirah. A rite of chhathi was performed on the sixth day of the delivery. The child was named on that day. The ceremony of purification of child, chilla, was performed on the fourteenth day after birth. The first feeding of the child with grain was called annprasan, pasni, or chatana. To adopt a child was godlena, rasbaithana, or raslena, and an adopted child was called mutabanna or ras nasin. When a child was born in the seventh month of pregnancy, he/she was satwansa. If born in the eighth month, he/she was athwasnsa. Barsain and suarbian are terms for a woman, who delivers a child every year. A barren woman, on the other hand, was banjh, and a woman with only one child was ekauj or ekwanj. In eastern UP and western Bihar, the term alwanti was used for a woman after delivery until the purification ceremony was performed. The room where a woman was lying in was called obar. A fire, known as pasanghi, was left burning in the room for ten days after the delivery of child. Biaua and sadhawar were gifts given during pregnancy. Circumcision among the Muslims was known as khatnah or kanuri.67 In villages of eastern UP, the birth of child was in the hands of a chamain, who also cut the umbilical cord. Jack M. Planalp has provided a fascinating description of childbirth in north Indian villages, which is quoted in extenso: In preparation for childbirth one room of the house, referred to as saurghar, is reserved and plastered with cow dung. Sometimes there is a certain room that is always allotted to this purpose. In other families, different rooms may be used for successive births… A woman is made ritually unclean by childbirth, and she remains so until she bathes. However, the mother is not expected to bathe until the Chathi ceremony, as late as six days after the birth. Therefore, she is confined to the saurghar, which no one else in the family may enter until the Barahi ceremony is performed, no later than twelve days after the birth.

Agriculture and Culture between Two Worlds No cooking is done in the house until after the Chathi ceremony. Often the birth room has no window. Or, if it does, it may be partially covered during the period of ritual pollution. In the room is a charpoy for sleeping, spread a jute bag and a minimum of old and ragged bedding. The room has been cleared of other furniture. A piece of iron, generally a knife or other such instrument, is kept on the bed, and a fire burns just outside the door. Three objects always placed at the doorway of the birth room are an overturned blackened earthenware pot, a pestle and some neem seeds. Other items sometimes put with them include onion, garlic, ajavain, a branch sehunr (a cactus-like plant), and an iron nail from Mallah’s boat. The last is believed to be especially effective against Brahms or malevolent Brahman ghosts. Less often, a fish net may be hung in the doorway. All these things are said to help in preventing Yamduts (messenger of Yama) from entering the room… often a scorpion tail, provided by a Musahar, is placed inside the room as a guarantee that the baby will never be stung by a scorpion in his life. During the labor pains the woman sits on the pirha (a wooden plank) … The baby is born directly onto the ground. One of the older women of the family takes a little water in her mouth, and then spits it out on the child. The midwife68 picks up the baby and places it on a winnowing tray, which is spread with a new cloth if the baby is a boy, and an old one if it is a girl. The midwife continues massaging the mother’s abdomen until the afterbirth is expelled. It is received in a clay vessel. If the baby is a boy the women in the house immediately begin singing a sohar, the kind of song sung after the birth of a baby. If it is a girl, there is no singing, but one man of the family is dispatched to summon the family’s Camain parjunia. If it is a boy two men are sent, but in neither case is it the father of the baby, who is expected to be working elsewhere and to display no concern with the birth proceedings. The man who summons the Camain carries a piece of iron to provide magical protection to the Camain against evil spirits. When she has been told of the birth the Camain walks from her house following her jajman, or walking in line between them if there are two. Between the birth of the baby and the arrival of the Camain there may be an interval of ten to twenty minutes. She brings with her either her sickle, used in harvesting and other field work, or else her vegetable-slicing knife. When she arrives, she is given water with which to wash her hands and feet. She dries them at the fire, which has been built in a clay pot or brazier outside the birth room. One coal is taken from the fire and placed on the ground. The Camain stands over the coal and shakes her clothes in order to rid them of evil spirits.69

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On the colonial plantations when a child was born into girmitiya families, sometimes people called a priest for naming the child and feasted on puri. Jiv Viksh Bhajans were sung if a child was born to a Kabir panthi household: Kaha se jiv āya, kaha par jayega re bhāi

Kaha par karart mukām, kaha me lapatāna re bhai Nirgun se jiv āya, sagun samāna re bhai

Kya garh karat mukām, māya me lapatāna re bhai.70 (Where has the entity come from, where will it go, o brother Where does it stay, and where does it get embroiled, o brother It comes from the formless, and dissolves into a form It lives in the bodily abode, and gets embroiled in illusion.)

Totaram, to whom we owe this ‘birth song’, did not provide any information about the rites and rituals accompanying births of purabi labourers on the Fiji plantations. It is important to ask whether practices of childbirth as mentioned by Jack Planalp in north India were followed in the sugar colonies, or were they totally abandoned in the absence of a working caste system? Did the concept of ‘plantation hospital’ make girmitiyas forget the indigenous practices of childbirth? In the 1950s Burton Benedict in Mauritius found that the midwife or dai was invariably a woman belonging to a low caste like that of a dhobi or dusad: The midwife (dai) is a woman of low caste, often a Dhobi (washerman) or Dusad. She not only assists in the birth but handles the mother’s soiled clothes which is considered highly polluting by orthodox Hindus. Dais still exists in the villages although there has been a campaign in Mauritius to get women to go to trained midwives. … but many uneducated Hindus still rely on the dai.71

At around the same time, Morton Klass reports that ‘midwives usually of the Camar caste’ also played a central role in childbirth in Trinidad.72 Descendants of indentured migrants in both Mauritius and Fiji also confirmed to me in interviews that their dadi and nani served as dais in these two colonies73. Against this history that has been passed over generations orally, there are no official records on birth practices. Officially, childbirth was reported only in the context of infant mortality. The Fiji Annual Report of 1902 has data relating infant deaths during the period 1896 to 1902 (Table 5.1).74

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Table 5.1: Deaths of infants according to Fiji Annual Report of 1902 Year

1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902

Births

264 292 289 297 271 304 469

Deaths

52 62 49 58 56 60 84

Rate (%)

19.7 21.2 16.9 19.5 20.7 19.7 17.9

Medical authorities reported premature birth, enteritis, bronchitis, pneumonia, diarrhea and dysentery as causes of such high infant mortality, but none referred to girmitiya birth practices on the plantations. Was it the case that every child was born in hospital? Or were there cases of childbirth by the midwives at home? Historians such as Brij Lal, Marina Carter and Rajboodhoo have focused only on the statistics of infant mortality as gleaned from official reports and have not touched upon the continuance or the standard of birthing practices carried over from eastern Indian villages to plantation life.75 The high death rates of infants further indicate that most of the births were taking place at ‘coolie quarters’. These, however, can be gleaned in folk songs relating to birth. For example, there are illuminating references to sohar and other details relating to childbirth in a sohar from Mauritius: Uthal āj sohar gāwe re mahaliya, horila ke janam bhaile āj horila Kedali ke banawa kātu re beliya, bundawa ras chuwāwela gulāb bundawa Wohi tarasaba me pangiya rangawalon, pagiya rangāke bāndhela Ho horilawa ke dada bāndhela. Bāndhi bāndhi jab chalela shaharawa, chhenke la ho shaharwa ke log chhekela. Tuhu t dada sohar gawaila, satuā pisaila sathaura khāila Hamani bhi manāib sab log. Kedali ke banawa kātu re beiliya, thopawa ras chuwela piyari thopawa. Wohi re rasawa me jāma rangawawalo, jāma rangawake penhela Ho hirilawa ke bāba penhela.76 (Come let’s sing sohar, for our son is born I got the juice drops from vine in the banana forest And got the turban coloured in the same, Which the grandfather of the newborn wears. When he walks the town wearing the coloured turban, The people of the town would not let him go.)

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Khelwana song was also sung in Mauritius: Sāsu aihe nā hamār, āre kā karihe Abatan āpan amma bolaibo Hame rangili ke kā kehu karihen Nanad na aihen hamār kā karihen Hame aisan sundari ke ka kehu kahi Babuwa kelawana ke bahin bolaibo Halawa banāike bhauji bolaibo Gotani nā aihe hamār ka karihen Ham rangile ke ka kehu kari Hamra aisan sundari ke ka kehu kari.77 (My mother-in-law does not come, what to do I will call my mother for the perfumed massage of my baby I am so colourful, what can anybody say My sister-in-law has failed to turn up So what, I will call my sister to baby-sit my son I’m so beautiful, what can anyone say.)

In northern India, when someone died, the bier on which the corpse of a Hindu was carried on was called arthi, ranthi, rathi or tikthi. The burning of a corpse was dagh dena or dagadh. The cremation place was smasan, samsan, marghat, chihana, chihara, bhoidagadha, chitka or chitakha. There was a ritual that when a body was nearly burnt, the friends would each throw five sticks known as pachkatha into the fire. Chita pinda were the offerings made to the manes during cremation. The pinda were offerings made at the obsequies ceremonies. In the month of Kaur, a ritual performed was called kangat, pitra paksha, shradh or nauhanr.78 Crooke describes the whole sixteen days’ ritual as marani:79 The ceremony on the second or third day after death is the uthawani, when food consisting of rice, milk and urad pulse known as dudh much is distributed to the relatives. For ten days after death the rite of the dipdan, or hanging a lamp to a fig or other tree to light the soul of the deceased to the other world, is performed. A vessel with water known as a ghant is hung from the tree, and the relatives each day up to the tenth throw handfuls of water mixed with sesamum (til), one the first day, two the second, and so on. This is called tilanjul. When all the ceremonies are performed in the orthodox way it is called krya karm. When the body is merely thrown into a running stream, it is jalprabah

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or jalparwah. There are five days in the year during which if a death occurs the body must be thrown into a stream, not burnt. These are called to east pachka, and to the west panchak. The visit of the women to condole after a death is angna. The khorsi is the ceremony on the 16th day. On the 10th day is performed the khaur, or kagkrya, and the ghat or ceremonial bathing. This day is also known as dasgatar, dasgatra or daswan, and the widow assumes white clothes: ranrsar.80

Totaram mentions that indentured Indians did not follow the funeral rites as they had at home. To dispose a dead body, girmitiyas buried the body. A well-to-do person might invite a few Brahmins and arrange a feast for them. In some places, people read and sung Garun Puran and Dasgatra. Cremation was looked down upon. People did not like to burn the dead body, as is the custom in India, rather they opted for the Christian-Muslim method of burial. So, they put the body in a casket and placed it in the pit. Many a times people erected a tombstone. Totaram termed such kinds of funeral rites as nayi sanatani riti (a new sanatani ritual).81 It might be possible that the funeral rites were not followed by the girmitiyas during the indenture period. However, Brij Lal – a grandson of a girmitiya in Fiji – writes that when a death happened in his family, they prepared a funeral pyre to dispose the body. The eldest son lit the funeral pyre as it had been a custom in India and a pandit chanted some slokas.82 In the mid-twentieth century, Morton Klass also found in Trinidad that when someone died, the body was prepared either for burial or for cremation. Till nine days from the date of burial, no one in the family could shave or cut their nails. On the tenth day, the ceremony of shaving the head and the beard in case of male members took place. A tiny lock of hair (churki/chutki) was left on the back of the head. The mahapitar Brahmin officiated the ceremony and on the thirteenth day of the death, bhandara was organized.83 Such revival of Hindu customs within a few decades of the end of indenture might be the result of the advent of Arya Samaj in the sugar colonies.

Festivals Festivals in India are traditionally associated with the agricultural calendar. Various rituals and festivals such as Akhtij, Nagpanchami, Rakshabandhan, Diwali, Govardhan/Godhan and Holi are purely related to the crops and their harvesting seasons. William Crooke provides a detailed catalogue of

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nineteenth-century north Indian festivals and ceremonies.84 The agricultural year began with the ceremony of Akhtij, which was celebrated on the third day of the bright fortnight of Baisakhi (May). The cultivators began ploughing on the day of Akhtij. Nagpanchami was a festival on which ploughing was inauspicious. It was held on the fifth day of the bright fortnight of Sawan, and the fifteenth of the month Kartik. North Indian peasants avoided ploughing on the fifth, seventh, ninth, eleventh, twenty-first and twenty-fourth as they considered these days ominous. The festival of Rakshabandhan was held on the full moon of Sawan. On that occasion, women tied amulets around the wrists of their brothers.85 Diwali or Deepavali, the festival of lights, was celebrated on the last day of the dark fortnight in the month of Kartik. Crooke found that Diwali was more a city festival than a rural one. Originally, it was a feast related to a belief that on this night, the spirit of the dead revisited their homes, which were cleaned and lit up in their honour. Crooke found that the festival was celebrated in honour of Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth, who was appeased by gambling. ‘On this night the women make what is known as the new moon lamp black (amawas ka kajal) which is used throughout the following year as a charm against the Evil Eye.’86 In North India, following the Diwali, Godhan comes which is purely a rural feast. In North-Western Provinces, mentioned Crooke, rural women make a little mud hut on a platform outside their house and put images of Gauri and Ganesa and evoke blessings on their relatives and friends.87 Godhan is also a cattle feast in which cowherds come round half drunk and collect presents from their employers and sing ‘May this house grow as the sugarcane grows, as Ganga increases at the sacred confluence at Prayag!’88

Held in early spring on the full moon of Phalgun, the most celebrated festival in India today and in the nineteenth century is Holi. Originally, Holi denoted the beginning of a new year. On this day in north India, people burnt a stake which signified the previous year. This was locally called sambat jalana. Custom allowed people to appropriate any kind of fuel for the fire. Although this ritual has been associated with some legends related to Prahlad and Holika, it depicts the revival, through purification, of the New Year so that it is more propitious than the last. People celebrate the following day by smearing powdered colours on each other. This day is called Holi or the festival of colours. Among the Muslims, Muharram and Eid were the most important rituals and festivals in India. Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar.

Agriculture and Culture between Two Worlds Figure 5.3: Tazia in Mauritius, c. 1870–80

Photo courtesy: Wikimedia common.

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Crooke mentioned that ‘the Muharram is almost entirely confined to the Shiah sect, but in some places Sunnis and even Hindus take part in it. The procession consists of Tazia, or representations of the tombs of the martyrs Hasan and Hussain, the shouting of whose names in the course of the ceremony’.89 Holi, Ramlila and Muharram were the most popular festivals amongst indentured Indians. In Fiji, Totaram mentioned that Holi was celebrated in an ‘uncivilized’ manner, but this was not true in some places. Lalbihari Sharma’s Damra Phag Bahar (Holi Songs of Demerara) gives a glimpse of Holi celebrations in Demerara.90 In a strophe (chhand), Sharma writes: Bhumi janm ka prant Chhapra gaon Mairitaand hai, Brahmdeo kar putra jaano, Lalbihari naam hai Aaeke ham baas kinha, desh Damralok hai

Rahat ham hain sharan prabhu ke, katat din sab nik hai.91 (I was born in the province of Chhapra, village Mairitaand. Son of Brahmdeo, my name is Lalbihari. I came and settled in the country called Damralok (Demerara). Staying under the blessings of God, days and nights are going well.)

Ramlila was performed at several places in Fiji with natives also participating (often in the role of Ravan’s army). Ramlila was usually celebrated for fifteen days. This festival gave the opportunity to indentured labourers to meet their friends and mingle with the wider migrant community. Over a period, the enthusiasm for Ramlila declined, mainly due to the communal activity of Arya Samaj in Fiji.92 Muharram was very popular in every indentured colony. Patrick Beaton, late minister of St. Andrew’s Church and Secretary of the Bible Society in Mauritius, described its celebration there in 1859:93 There is one great religious festival, if it can be so called [sic], which is observed once every year by the whole Indian population, and by some of the lower classes among the creoles. It is known in Mauritius as the Yamseh [Hossain> Hossay> Yamesh], and corresponds with the feast [sic] of the Muhurum in India. Originally it was celebrated only by the followers of the Mohammed, but now it is regarded as a sort of general festival, in which all may take part. It is the rival of the fête de Dieu in extravagance and absurdity, and is generally known as the Indian fête de Dieu, to distinguish it from that observed by the Church of Rome.94 The term Yamseh is usually regarded as a corruption of the exclamation used by those who take part in the procession. The Persians

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and Indians, while taking part in the solemn festival which represents the funeral obsequies of the slaughtered prince, are in the habit of repeating in chorus, “Ya Hosein, O Hosein”. Creoles named the procession from this cry, which was contracted into Yamseh - a word unknown in India, or in fact, out of Mauritius. This festival is observed during ten or eleven days. The Yamseh can scarcely be regarded as a religious festival, or as an indication of religious faith of those who take part in it. Of Mohammedans without distinction. A recent event affords a striking proof of the religious indifference that has sprung up among this portion of the population. For the last two years, the gouhns, instead of being cast into the stream and burned, as Mohammedans orthodoxy demands, have been rescued from fire and water, and preserved to take part in the procession of the ensuing year. This fact may seem trivial itself. It shows, however, that faith is dying out among the followers of the prophet, as well as among others, and that the spirit of commerce is stronger than the spirit of fanaticism. There is reason to believe that the coolie population has deteriorated, and lapsed into crime, in the absence of those restraining influences, which every religion, however bad, must present.95

In the other colonies too, both Hindus and Muslims participated in common festivals. In Fiji, Totaram tells us that, on Tazia, people of both communities shared equal grief and beat their chest in front of the Tazia and headed to Karbala. In the official record, Tazia, Hossey and Muharram celebrations are mentioned when the procession became disruptive. For example, social disturbances are documented in the report of H. W. Norman on the 1884 Tazia celebration in Trinidad and the letter of Inspector General Constabulary on Tazia Festivals in Suva.96 Additionally in 1893, D. W. D. Comins reported on administrative problems relating to the Tazia procession in various colonies.97 In an important article, Prabhu Mohapatra has argued that the Tazia possession was seen as a big problem for the administration because it was enacting customary rights in public spaces and therefore powerfully articulated community aspirations and religious beliefs so as to challenge the spatial immobility engendered by the indenture system.98 However, the problem with most recent attempts to relate the issue of culture with the plantation regime is that the actual work rhythm and the calendrical unfolding of the regime of work remain elusive. Although plantations required a uniform daily expenditure of labour as a matter of principle, this must have been linked to the agronomic needs of the cane plant.99 Why did migrant festivals on the plantations only receive attention in the official records of colonies when they became socially disruptive? Most scholars have identified the practices of plantation – such as immobility, hard

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surveillance, tough tasks and long working hours – as the root cause for such disturbances. Meanwhile, what Shahid Amin has termed the ‘nitty-gritty’ of plantation agriculture in colonies has been neglected.100 It is worth noting that the girmitiyas who were working on plantations were not necessarily unfamiliar with the cultivation of sugarcane. They came to a region which had a long history of sugarcane cultivation. Then, what was the work process of sugarcane cultivation on plantations, given that there was little work to be done until the time of harvest after planting, apart from weeding and watering?101 Was it the case that the plantation regime transformed north Indian peasants into ‘working class labour’, who no longer followed a socioagricultural-calendrical cycle for cultivation of crops in India? Certainly, on the plantations, agricultural time did not belong to the ‘coolie’ – every moment of the working day was governed by the clock, every movement was dictated by a manual (a kind of Fordism) and very little contact was permitted with the outside world.102 Along with a paucity of material on the daily and seasonal routine on the plantations, there seems to have been a relative absence of interest in the religious and cultural life of the girmitiyas. It is notable that Tazia/Hossey or Muharram often became an occasion to bind Hindus and Muslims in the colonies when communal violence increased in India in the period of 1890s. It is also noteworthy that the disturbances in the colonies often took place during Tazia celebrations and not during the Hindu festivals. Prabhu Mohapatra argues that the Tazia procession was a ‘direct expression of the labouring identity of the indentured immigrant workers’. It denied the ‘coolie’ identity of workers and represented a full-fledged moral and cultural community. Muharram was an occasion through which workers conveyed their daily condition of labour to the public.103

Religious Texts, Sects and Traditions Indentured labourers carried with them various religious texts of north India when they left their homeland to work on distant plantations of Asia, Pacific and Caribbean Islands. Many of them turned to be a saint and gave birth to various sects of India in the colonies. They also organized various religious ceremonies. In Fiji, Indians organized the ceremonies of Suryapuran, Satyanarayan ki Katha and Bhagwat at their houses and gave alms (dan, punya, chanda) to priests, babas and sadhus. Ramnavami and Janmastami were also celebrated widely in Fiji. There were few temples at the turn of the century in Fiji – the Ram Temple of Navua being the earliest one built by Baba Umadat

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Ji. This temple was a place where most religious functions took place, and every one participated due to the absence of religion and caste distinctions.104 In Mauritius, Beaton mentioned that with the introduction of Indian emigrants, a new system of culture came into existence. Indians worshipped the Goddess Kalee (also written as ‘Kali’) by the drumming of tom-toms or by sacrificing goats.105 Sometimes, they also performed sorcery on their enemies. An Ahir of Jaunpur (UP) named Busoon was convicted on the charge of performing ‘Obeah’ on his enemy. Comins writes: Busson Ahir of Jaunpur is one of those convicted of ‘working Obeah’, that is of trying to do injury to an enemy by the use of magic. The other Indian convicted of ‘obeah’ is a Creole of Jamaica, i.e. born in the island… Working ‘Obeah’ is extremely common among the Negros, who have the profoundest respect for its powers, and cannot be got to talk of them without bated breath, but it is new to me to find East Indians taking to this strange God.106

It might be possible that Bisoon had performed something else, but the colonial state took it as ‘Obeah’ as it was common among the South African tribes. Gyan Prakash has discussed the supernatural practices among the lower castes of Bihar.107 It is important to ask why the official archive is so thin on the existence of low-caste heroes or bir and on folktales and ballads on remarkable girmitiyas in the colonies. Why don’t we read in official sources about any mythical heroes from indentured communities in the colonies? Was it the case that the combination of alien surroundings, the totalizing character of plantations and the relative short-term nature of the indenture period militated against the crafting of new heroes from the distant past, or from extraordinary happenings, occurrences and people in the girmitiya colonies? The stories of Badshah Pir and Soofie Saheb from South Africa illustrate the persistence of the heroic and mystic crafting in the culture of indentured migrants on the sugar plantations. Badshah Pir, whose original name was Sheik Ahmed, was acclaimed for miracles on the plantation of Natal. It was claimed that he acted as a mystical meditator, and when the authorities found him ‘to be of spiritual mind’, he was honourably discharged from the indenture contract. Subsequently, he based himself near Grey Street Mosque, preached to locals and visited cane plantations to cure those experiencing difficulties. He became a source of inspiration for them and relied on Allah for rizq (food).108

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Many popular anecdotes contributed to the rendering of Badshah Pir as a saint among the Indian communities in South Africa. For example, on one occasion he was travelling to attend a wedding and when a train conductor refused to give him a ticket because of his shabby attire, he mysteriously reached the Ladysmith Railway Station before his other friends. On another occasion, when a conductor refused to allow him to board a horse-drawn tram, he ordered the horse to sit in the middle of street, and the horse did not move till the conductor apologized. Stories about Badshah Pir lay emphasis on the heroic and supernatural aspect of acts that were related to healing the sick and predicting accidents. It is said that the Pir died in 1894 on a Friday, a blessed day for Muslims.109 Indentured Indians after arrival in the colonies built up religious institutions to provide spaces for religious practice. At the end of the nineteenth century, Mullah Mirza Khan Sahab built the biggest mosque at Nausori in Rewa district using charitable resources in Fiji. On this occasion, Hindus donated three quarters of the funds and Muslims, one quarter.110 In Mauritius, there were two mosques: one situated near the Trou Fanfaron in Port Louis and the other at Plaine Verte in 1850s.111 At the Grand River, another mosque came into existence in 1859 in a building where convicts of Indian uprising of 1857 incarcerated in Mauritius used to offer worship. Beaton writes: A small building at Grand River has been recently converted into a mosque. It is attended chiefly by those of the old sepoy convicts who happen to be followers of the Prophet.112

In Fiji, there were many religious and non-religious texts, which were popular among the indentured Indians. Totaram has provided a long list of the texts popularly read and listened to by the girmitiyas. These are the following: Tulsikrit Ramcharitmanas (Ramcharitmans written by Tulsi), Valmiki Ramayan (Ramayan written by Valmiki), Satyanarayan ki Katha (story of Satyanarayan), Mahabharat, Surya Puran, Sukh Sagar, Devi Bhagawat, Vivah Paddhti, Satyarth Prakash, Ekadasi Mahatm, Dan Lila, Indra Jal, Durga Saptasi, Ram Patal, Alha Khand, Baital Pachchisi, Shighrah Bodh, Salinga Brijabhar.113 There is a good deal of evidence about the existence of religious sects in Fiji. Totaram remarks sardonically that these sects were established by those girmitiyas who had finished their five years’ indenture and started such religious activities to sustain themselves for another five years, till they were eligible for free return passage to India. These sects were Kabir Panthi, Nath Akhada, Nanak Akhada, Dadu Akhada, Jagjivandas ka Akhada, Ramanadi Akhada and Arya Samaj.

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There were many Babas and Sadhus as well who were adept at offering mantras for every occasion. They had long beards and hair with a red tilak on their forehead. They sat on red blankets and offered mantras for various ablutions and practices. There were mantras even for passing stool, for drinking alcohol and eating meat114 (Appendix V). Clearly, the religious men of India were very much in demand among second- and third-generation girmitiyas in Fiji. On the overall religious condition and religious institutions in Fiji, wrote Totaram: Fiji pravāsi bhāiyon ki dhārmik hālat badi dawāndol hai. Iska kāran yah hai ki kisi yogya dharmāchārya, swārthtyāgi viddhwan ke bina Fiji ki dhārmik sthiti bhanwar me padi nāv ke samān hai. Bhinn – bhinn sampradāy ke log apni-apni khincha-tāni me lage huwe hain. Dhārmik sthiti sudhārne ke liye dhārmik pustaken, dhārmik updeshak aur viddya ki āvashyakta hai aur iska bada abhāv hai.115 (The religious sentiment of our people is very unstable. This is because of the lack of religious teachers and other dedicated people. Thus, the Fiji Indians are like an unsteady boat caught in a whirlpool. The different sects are pulling in different directions. To overcome this, there is an urgent need of books, teachers and education, all of which are lacking.)116

Clearly not all, but bits of religious culture were lost. The demand for religious gurus from India continued to bring the usual assortment of gurus from India. The tricky issue of religion in an alien place was that it was not easy for the indentured Indians to transform their cultural practices they had had at their home. A complaint filed against an Indian emigrant in Mauritius named Muddun, who was preparing food on a chulha (a make-shift stove) inside his hut, is worth mentioning in this regard. According to the complaint, to prepare food on a chulha inside a hut was a crime as it was dangerous. A police inquiry took place, which agreed that it was a cultural practice to cook on a hearth inside a hut. The complaint was dismissed and a rule came into existence under the Section 12 of Labour Act of Mauritius 1842. It accepted that, due to long-established cultural practice, an emigrant may prepare his food inside his hut on a chulha.117 On the issue of continuance of Indian cultural norms, we have two opposite views. Brij Lal comments: Migration and indenture disrupted the girmitiyas’ religious and cultural life. There were few shrines and sacred places, few murtis, few learned men, pandits, sadhus or maulvis, versed in the scriptures to impart moral and spiritual instruction. Their absence facilitated an essentially emotional, egalitarian and non-intellectual moral order among the girmitiyas.118

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Coolies of the Empire Figure 5.4: A gathering of Hindustani people on a holiday in Surinam, c. 1910

Photo courtesy: Wikimedia common. Figure 5.5: A Hindu woman festively dressed in Surinam, c. 1900

Photo courtesy: Wikimedia common.

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On the other hand, Ahmed Ali contends: Girmitiyas, whether Hindu or Muslim, possessed sufficient cultural resources of their own … all the evils of plantation capitalism and colonial racism could not destroy the indomitable spirit of Hinduism and Islam …five years was a small, albeit important, part of an individual’s life, and the … period of indenture, [was] a mere passing phase, transitory moment, in the long history of their faiths and traditions.119

Conclusion Culture is lived and reproduced in communities, but is crucially tied to ‘place’ and the exigencies of work and labour. In India, everyday peasant culture is based on agriculture where a range of crop was produced. The failure of capitalist mode of sugar production in India lies in its characteristics of peasant mode of production. It is significant to understand why European sugar speculators with their short efforts finally moved to various islands and found it suitable to import Indian peasants for their sugar plantations. It is because of the diverse nature of peasant production in India. On the other hand, in the islands of Caribbean, Pacific and Indian, the cultivation of sugarcane was purely capitalistic based earlier on slave labour, and after the abolition of slavery, on indentured Indians. The Indian government offered a helping hand to sugar capitalists in England. It acted as a ‘labour contractor’ for the world sugar economy as Indian labourers were skilled in sugarcane production. The Indian workers who went to overseas plantations became a piece-rate worker rather than a peasant cultivator of various crops with an agricultural calendar. On the plantations, there was no agricultural calendar, rather, labourers had to work completely for a monoculture of sugar production. Hence, it is difficult to document and analyse the culture of girmitiyas who belonged to a rich agriculture-based cultural background. There are many reasons for this. First, in India, cultural practices were embedded in peasant routines, where life revolved around the harvest and festive calendars. On the other hand, they worked under a ‘labour regime’ in the colonies, where life was regulated by the requirements of the plantation work. Second, the wide swathe of Bhojpuri-speaking society that comprised of the Mauritian or Fijian girmitiya communities was ‘obliged to forget’ a large part of their agricultural culture. This was because now they were no longer peasants reading anxiously (and meaningfully) Gangetic cloud formations lunar asterism to better decide the optimal time for sowing and weeding their own holdings. And since rations were provided by the plantations, women no longer sang doleful songs ( jatsar)

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while grinding wheat flour that expressed their eager wait for a brother’s visit to their forlorn, marital homes. Both planters and the tapuha-official were far more interested in work rather than the culture of their workers.

Endnotes 1. See Amin, Shahid. 2005. Introduction to a Concise Encyclopaedia of North Indian Peasant Life. Manohar. 2. Crooke, William. 1989. In A Glossary of North Indian Peasant Life, edited by Shahid Amin (with an Introduction, Appendixes and Notes). Delhi: Oxford University Press; Grierson, G. A. 1885. Bihar Peasant Life: Being a Discursive Catalogue of the Surroundings of the People of that Province, with Many Illustrations from Photographs Taken by the Author, pp. 357–409. Reprinted by Cosmo Publication Delhi in 1975. Calcutta: prepared under the orders of the Government of Bengal. 3. Amin, Shahid. 1984. Sugarcane and Sugar in Gorakhpur. Delhi: Oxford University Press. 4. Mintz, p. 19. 5. A boiling house is a big fire place on which juice of cane boils till a certain period to get this juice transformed into gur. 6. Grierson, op.cit., p. 56. 7. Grierson writes, ‘… He (makkar bir) is said to have been originally a Dom who once came to a sugar manufactory in the olden time and asked for juice, which the people refused to give him. Thereupon he jumped into the boiler and was boiled to death. His spirit became deified and is worshipped by the workmen…’ See Grierson. Bihar Peasant Life, pp. 55–56. Shahid Amin has shown how the inspiration of such an incident was spreading during non-cooperation movement in a different form. The rumour was that when an Ahir in Nanushakh Village (Azamgarh) refused to offer some gur to a hungry sadhu who came begging to his kolhuar (on 1 March 1921), within half an hour the gur and two buffaloes of the Ahir were destroyed by fire. See Amin, Shahid. 1984. ‘Gandhi as Mahatma: Gorakhpur District, Eastern UP, 1921–2.’ In Subaltern Studies III: Writing on South Asian History and Society, edited by Ranajit Guha, p. 47. Delhi. 8. Crooke, op.cit., p. 161. 9. Ibid. p. 162. 10. Sayer, Wynne. 1916. ‘Sugarcane Cultivation in Non-tropical Parts of India.’ Agricultural Journal of India, II, p. 365, cited in Amin, Shahid. Sugarcane and Sugar, p. 42. 11. Amin, Shahid. 1984. Sugarcane and Sugar in Gorakhpur, p. 44. Delhi: Oxford University Press. 12. Ibid. 46. 13. Grierson, G. A. Bihar Peasant Life, p. 233. 14. Amin, Shahid. 1984. Sugarcane and Sugar in Gorakhpur, p. 47. Delhi: Oxford University Press. 15. Amin, Shahid. 1984. Sugarcane and Sugar in Gorakhpur, p. 48. Delhi: Oxford University Press.

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16. Ratooning is a method of harvesting a crop which leaves the roots and the lower parts of the plant uncut to give the ratoon or the stubble crop. In sugarcane cultivation, ratooning leads to thinner canes with low sugar content. 17. It is an alluvial soil that retains its moisture from a large mixture of nitre in it. 18. Amin, Shahid. 1984. Sugarcane and Sugar in Gorakhpur, p. 48. Delhi: Oxford University Press. 19. Amin, Shahid. 1984. Sugarcane and Sugar in Gorakhpur, p. 53. Delhi: Oxford University Press. 20. Hamilton, Buchanan cited in Amin, p. 54. 21. Mintz, Sidney. 1985. Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History, p. 32. Penguin Books. 22. Ibid., pp. 37–38. 23. Ibid., p. 39. 24. Wray, Leonard. 1848. A Complete Account of the Cultivation and Manufacture of Sugarcane According to the Latest and Most Improved Processes, p. 57. London: Smith Elder and Co. 25. Ibid, p. 66. 26. Ibid, pp. 74–75. 27. Macaulay, Zachary. 1823. East and West India Sugar or a Refutation of the Claims of the West India Colonialists to a Protecting Duty on East India Sugar. London. During the period numerous pamphlets came out challenging the hegemony of the West Indian sugar in England on moral and economic grounds. 28. Adamson, Alan. 1972. Sugar Without Slaves: The Political Economy of British Guiana, p. 26. New Haven: Yale University Press. 29. Amin, Shahid. Sugarcane and Sugar in Gorakhpur, Chapter 2. 30. See the evidence of Charles Edward Trevelyan in Report from the select Committee of the House of Lords appointed to consider the petition of the East India Company for Relief, PP, 1840, Volume VII, p. 87. 31. Amin, Shahid. Sugarcane and Sugar in Gorakhpur, p. 28. 32. See Transactions of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India, Volume 1 to 4, 1836–41. 33. Amin, Shahid. Sugarcane and Sugar in Gorakhpur, p. 28. 34. Ibid., p. 32. 35. Madhvi Kale has discussed in detailed about the Gladstone’s involvement in the devise of the indenture system. See Kale, Madhvi. 1998. Fragments of Empire: Capital, Slavery, and Indian Indentured Labor Migration in the British Caribbean. University of Pennsylvania Press. 36. See Madhvi Kale; Ibid; Meagher, Arnold J. The Coolie Trade: The Traffic in Chinese Laborers to Latin America, 1847–1874, p. 35. 37. W. Crooke writes that nikah is the less regular form of marriage among Mohammadans. In fact there is no other name among Muslims for marriages. See Crooke. In A Glossary of North India Peasant Life, edited by Shahid Amin, op.cit., para 629, p. 153. 38. See the debate over age of consent in colonial India. Heimsath, Charles H. 1962. ‘The Origin and Enactment of the Indian Age of Consent Bill, 1891.’ The Journal of Asian Studies 21 (4): 491–504.

158 39. 40. 41. 42.

Coolies of the Empire Crooke, op.cit., p. 152. Ibid. Ibid. p. 153. Fallon, S. W. 1879. In A New Hindustani-English Dictionary: With Illustrations, Hindustani Literature and Folk-lore. Benaras: Medical Hall Press, explains urhari as a mistress, a kept woman and a concubine. He mentioned a jhumar song: Rama biahi ke marab Biahi ke gariaib Urhari ke gunjari garhaib (O Ram! His wife he beats, his wife reviles! With jewels made for her his mistress piles!) Crooke in his printed alphabetical Glossary (1888) quotes the following proverb of a great poet Ghagh on ‘urar’ or ‘urhari’: Mue cham par cham katave, Bhuin pe sacra sove, Ghagh kahen ye teenon bhakuwa, Urar gayi ko rove. (Ghagh says there are three fools in the world – he that lets the skin of his feet be cut by hard shoes, he that sleeps curled up on the ground, and the third is the man who weeps for his wife when she has ‘bolted’). For more on Ghagh see Tripathi, Ram Naresh. ed. 1931. Ghagh aur Bhaddari. Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh: Hindustani Akademi. In a another song we can find how a woman quarrels with a urhari who was kept by her husband: urhari biyahi duno kare jhonta jhontavali ho na rama raja baithe dehri par jhankhe ho. (urhari and married woman quarrelling, husband sat on dehri and does not know what to do), see Krishna Dev Upadhyay, op.cit., p. 74.

43. Thakur, Bhikhari 2005. Bhikhari Thakur Rachanawali, p. 47. Patna: Rastra Bhasha Parishad. 44. In the written text of Totaram’s story by Banarsi Das Chaturvedi and edited by Brij V. Lal and Yogendra Yadav, Bhootlen ki Katha, the word ‘marriage’ has been used but as C. F. Andrews and Pearson found and mentioned in their report of 1916, marriages were popularly called ‘marit’. Marit was the marriage registered at Magistrate’s court. The word marit has been extensively used in the petitions of girmitiyas 1880 onwards. So it is surprising why Totaram did not mention the word marit instead of marriage. Totaram writes, adhikansh vivah to Magistrate key yahan panch shillings ki dakshina par likhe jate hai, aise vivah ko ‘marriage’ kahte hai (the majority of the marriages are registered at the Magistrate’s Office for a fee of five shillings.). The Bhojpuri word for ‘marriage’ in Fiji seems to have been marit; this appears to be a case of Banarasi Das cleaning up the language of both Fiji and Totaram. For an imaginative discussion of marit/marriage, see the short story of Lal, Brij. In Bitter Sweet, edited by Lal, op.cit., 389–403.

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45. Sanadhya, Totaram. 2012. Bhootlen Ki Katha, pp. 56–57. Delhi: Rajkamal Prakashan. Earlier version of Totaram Sanadhya’s Bhootlen Ki Katha was edited by Brij V Lal and Yogendra Yadav and published by Sarswati Press, Delhi, in 1994. A Revised version of this book was published as Sanadhya, Totaram. 2012. Bhootlen Ki Katha: Girmit Ke Anubhav, edited by Brij V. Lal, Ashutosh Kumar and Yogendra Yadav. Delhi: Rajkamal Prakashan. This revised version of Totaram Sanadhya’s Bhootlen Ki Katha has been used throughout in this book. 46. Lal, Brij V. ed. 2004. Bitter Sweet: The Indo-Fijian Experience (Chapters 12 and 24). Pandanus Books, ANU. 47. Hindu Shuddhi movement in India tried to get the people back who changed their religion or those women who married with other religion’s person. 48. John D. Kelly has discussed in detail about the mission of Arya Samaj in Fiji, see A Politics of Virtue, pp. 121–139. 49. Baba Ramchandra Papers (hereafter BRP), Speeches and Writings [hereafter SW], F. No. 2A, notebook, no. 1, p. 34. 50. Sanadhya, Totaram. 2012. Bhootlen Ki Katha, pp. 57–58. 51. Ibid. p. 81. 52. Journal of Legislative Council Papers, 1915, A/R 1914 and 1918 A/R 1917, table cited in Naidu, Vijay. 2004. Violence of Indentured in Fiji, 76. Lautoka: Fiji Institute of Applied Studies. 53. Fiji Colonial Secretary Office (C.S.O.), no. 5079/1899. Also cited in Lal, Brij. Chalo Jahaji, op.cit., p. 202. 54. Andrews, C. F., and W. W. Pearson. 1916. Report on Indian Indentured Labour in Fiji, 6 (Appendix). Delhi. 55. Gill, Walter. 1969. Turn North-East at the Tombstone, p. 73. Adelaide: Rogby, cited from Lal, Brij. Chalo Jahaji, p. 198. 56. Brij V. Lal., ibid. 57. Prabhu P. Mohapatra. 1995. ‘‘Restoring the Family’: Wife Murders and the Making of a Sexual Contract for Indian Immigrant Labour in the British Carribean Colonies, 1860-1920.’ Studies in History 11(2) n.s.: 23–22. 58. Mangru, Basudev. 1987. ‘The Sex Ratio Disparity and its Consequences under the indenture in British Guiana.’ In Indians in Caribbean, edited by D. Dabydeen and B. Samaroo, pp. 211–30. London; Lal, Brij V. 2000. ‘Kunti’s Cry, Indentured Women in Fiji Plantations’ and ‘Vail of Dishonour: Sexual Jealousy on Plantation.’ In Chalo Jahaji: On A Journey Through Indenture in Fiji. Canberra: Australian National University; Mohapatra, Prabhu P. Restoring the Families, op.cit, p. 240. 59. Tinker, H. 1974. A New System of Slavery. Oxford; S. B. Mookherji. 1959. ‘Indians in Mauritius (1842–1870).’ Indian Quarterly 15; Tayal, Maureen. 1977. ‘Indian Indentured Labour in Natal, 1890–1911.’ IESHR 24 (4): 519–47; Reddock, R. 1985. ‘Freedom Denied: Indian Women and Indentureship in Trinidad and Tobago, 1845-1917.’ Economic and Political Weekly 20 (43); Emmer, P. C. 1985. ‘The Great Escape: The Migration of Female Indentured Servants from British India to Surinam 1873–1916.’ In Abolition and its Aftermath, edited by D. Richardson. London.

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60. Kelly, D. J. 2001. A Politics of Virtue: Hinduism, Sexuality, and Countercolonial Discourse in Fiji. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 61. Carter, Marina. 1995. Servants, Sirdars and Settlers: Indians in Mauritius, 1834–1874, pp. 265–66. Oxford University Press. 62. Guha, Ranajit. 1983. Elementary Aspects of Peasant Insurgency in Colonial India. Oxford. 63. See, for example, Ramdin, Suchita. 1989. Sanskar Manjari: Mauritius ke Bhojpuri Sanskar Geet. Mauritius: Mahatma Gandhi Sansthan, Moka; Kumud, Kashi Ram. ed. 1965. Fiji me Hindu Sanskriti. Tavua, Fiji Islands: Pravasini Printing Press. 64. Lal, Brij V. Bitter Sweet, pp. 209–23. 65. Suchita Ramdin, op.cit., p. xxii. 66. Crooke, op.cit., pp. 156–57. 67. Crooke, op.cit, p. 157. 68. Planalp, Jack M. 1956. Religious Life and Values in a North Indian Village, 386. Unpublished PhD thesis, Cornell University. Planalp found that most village midwives in the Dhobi (washerman) area were lower caste women and very few were Thakurs or Brahmans. 69. Ibid., pp. 388–392. 70. Lal and Yadav, op.cit., p. 78. 71. Benedict, Burton. 1961. Indians in a Plural Society: A Report on Mauritius, p. 110. London. 72. Klass, Morton. 1961. East Indians in Trinidad: A Study of Cultural Persistence, p. 119. New York and London: Columbia University Press. He mentions that Hindus look upon midwifery as an ‘unclean’ occupation, and Camar women practice it in Amity usually. 73. Interviews with Prahlad Ramsurun (Mauritius) on 10 February 2011 and with Niyaz Mohammed (Fiji) on 23 April 2011. See also Vikramsingh, Sunil. 2003. Prahlad Ramsuran: Mauritius me Hindi Sahitya ke Ananya Sadhak. Delhi Atmaram and Sons; Martial, Yvan and Shakuntala Boolell. ed. 2007. Prahlad Ramsurrun: A Man at the Service of a Great Causes. Delhi: Sterling Publication. 74. Fiji Annual Report on Immigration, 1902, NAF. 75. Lal, Brij. Chalo Jahaji, pp. 206–8; Carter, Marina. Servants, Sardars and Settlers, pp. 131–34; Boodhoo, Raj. 2009. Health, Disease and Indian Immigrants in Nineteenth Century Mauritius. Apravashi Ghat. 76. Ramdin, Suchita. 1989. Sanskar Manjari: Mauritius ke Bhojpuri Sanskar Geet, 40–41. Mauritius: Mahatma Gandhi Sansthan, Moka; see also Gangoo, Uday Narayan. 2002. Mauritius ka Bhojpuri Lok Sahitya Awam Bhartiya Sanskriti, p. 220. Mauritius: Mahatma Gandhi Sansthan, Moka. 77. Ramsuran, Sundari. 2009. Bhojpuri Lokgitika (with an introduction and edition by Dr. Kuber Misra), p. 40. Delhi: Atmaram and Sons. 78. Kanagat or Kanakat: ‘The Dark Fortnight of Kuar (September–October) when sacrificial feasts are held by Hindus in honour of deceased ancestors’. Hence: ‘Aye kanakat phutke khas, Babhan baithe chulhe pas’ (When kanakat approaches khas/ kans sprouts and Brahmins are feasted), Register no. 7, Settlement Shelf, c. 1888, Gorakhpur Collectorate Records, cited by Amin, op.cit., p. 157.

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79. The word marani is used for a whole ritual performed by a family when a person dies. 80. Crooke, op.cit., pp. 157–58. 81. Ibid., pp. 82–83. 82. Lal, Brij V. Chalo Jahaji, op.cit., p. 387. 83. Klass, Morton. East Indians in Trinidad, op.cit., pp. 129–30. 84. Crooke, William. 1894. An Introduction to the Popular Religion and Folklore of the Northern India. Allahabad: Government Press. Low Price Publication reprinted in 2003. 85. Crooke writes that in the United Provinces women tie an amulet round the wrists of their friends. See Crooke, William. An Introduction to the Popular Religion, op.cit., p. 373. 86. William Crooke, ibid. 87. Ibid., pp. 375-76. 88. Ibid. 89. Crooke, William. 1906. Things Indian: Being Discursive Notes on Various Subjects Connected with India, p. 397. London. 90. Sharma, Lalbihari. 1916. Damra Phag Bahar. Georgetown. This book is a collection of songs meant to be sung during the celebration of the Holi festival. 91. Ibid., p. 4. 92. Baba Ramchandra mentions that after establishment of Arya Samaj ‘yahan logon me sansani faili rahti hai.’ See BRP, 2A, No. 1, p. 34. 93. Beaton, Patrick. 1859. Creoles and Coolies; or Five Years in Mauritius. London. 94. Ibid. p. 182 95. Ibid. p. 189. 96. Report of H. W. Norman upon the recent coolie disturbances in Trinidad, 1885, Colonial Office [Hereafter CO], Confidential No.55/1885; Letter from Inspector General of Constabulary to the Honourable, Acting Colonial Secretary, Tajia festivals in Suva, Colonial Secretary Office [hereafter CSO], No. 9707/15, National Archive of Fiji [Hereafter NAF], Suva. 97. Report by D. W. D. Comins on his deputation to Surinam, Government of India, R&A, (Emigration), Progs. No. 14-18 Sept. 1893; It is important to note that colonial government passed legislations to regulate and suppress the Tazia processions in various colonies. See Ordinance No. 161 (section 268)/ 1885 in Trinidad and it was also followed by Fiji, see CSO No. 2605/16 NAF. 98. Mohapatra, Prabhu P. 2006. ‘“Following Custom”? Representations of community among Indian Immigrant Labour in the West Indies, 1880–1920.’ International Research for Social History 51: 173–202. See Appendix-V showing the regulation on Muharram in the colonies. 99. Amin, Shahid. 1984. Sugarcane and Sugar in Gorakhpur: An Inquiry into Peasant Production for Capitalist Enterprise in Colonial India, p. 67. Delhi: Oxford University Press. Did plantation labour not involve any slack, tied to the agricultural calendar (mono-cultural as it was) of the plantations? On the face of it, supervisions must have assigned other than agricultural work during the lean season. What was it,

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100. 101. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108. 109. 110. 111. 112. 113. 114. 115. 116. 117. 118. 119.

Coolies of the Empire and what was its nature? What and when did the coolies get their free (leisure!) time? In the evening perhaps what possibilities existed for community life after work? How did the first batches or even every shipload of freshly arrived girmitiyas adjust to the uniform drudgery of daily piece-rate labour, irrespective of season and ostracisms and nakshatras? How did they relate to and fill their ‘Sundays’, an invitation for small-peasant producers from India, who did not believe in the Sabbath? Amin has identified this historiographical focus on the ‘relations of production’ at the expense of the ‘process of production’ in ibid. For details, see Shahid Amin, ibid. Amin has discussed in detail about the process of sugarcane production from beginning till its production as sugar. The classic study of change from ‘peasant time’ to a clock-regulated ‘work time’ is Thompson, E. P. 1967. ‘Time, Work discipline and Industrial Capitalism’ Past and Present 38: 56–97. Mohapatra, P. Prabhu. 2006. ‘“Following Custom”? Representations of Community among Indian Immigrant Labour in the West Indies, 1880–1920.’ International Research for Social History 51: 186–187. Sanadhya, Totaram. Bhootlen Ki Katha, op.cit., p. 60. Beaton, op.cit., p. 140. Comins, D. W. D. 1893. Notes on Emigration to Jamaica, p. 8. Government of India, R&A, Emigration, A Progs. No. 16-18, September. See Prakash, Gyan. 1990. Bonded Histories: Genealogies of Labour Servitude in Colonial India. Cambridge University Press. Sunday Times Extra (Johannesburg), 28 September 1986 and 14 February 1988, cited in Desai, Ashwin, and Goolam Vahed. 2007. Inside Indenture: A South African Story, 1860–1914, p. 280. Madiba Publishers. Ibid. Sanadhya, Totaram. Bhootlen Ki Katha, p. 60. Today Trou Fanfaron is called Apravasi Ghat, where the first group of indentured emigrants reached. It is mainly a site of port where ships board or de-board. Beaton, op.cit., p. 181. Ibid. p. 182. See the Glossary for the details about the nature and subject of each text. Sanadhya, Totaram. Bhootlen Ki Katha, pp. 51–53. Sanadhya, Totaram. Bhootlen ki Katha, op.cit., p. 55. Translation from Lal, Brij. Chalo Jahaji, op.cit., p. 246. PA 16, NAM, PA Series of records contain letters received from the Protector of Emigrants. Lal, Brij V. ed. 2004. Bitter Sweet: The Indo-Fijian Experience, p. 17. Pandanus Books, ANU. Ali, Ahmed. ‘Remembering.’ In Bitter Sweet, edited by Brij Lal; ibid. pp. 74–75.

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6

•

Writing the Girmitiya Experience Introduction ‘Emigrants don’t write, they are written about.’1 However, Ramchandra Rao, Totaram Sanadhya and Munshi Rahman Khan were no ordinary emigrants and they have recorded their experiences as girmitiyas. In this chapter, I have dealt with the memoirs of two indentured labourers in Fiji who wrote their experiences as girmitiyas after their return to India. The handwritten manuscript of Munshi Rahman Khan from Surinam has also been consulted in this context. Before dealing with Ramchandra’s autobiographical manuscript and Totaram Sanadhya’s book of reminiscences as an indentured labourer in Fiji, it should be noted that Baba Ramchandra was already established as a peasant leader of Awadh when he began writing his Fiji memoirs. Ramchandra came back to India in 1915, but wrote this autobiographical fragment only in 1939. There is a considerable time difference between his return from Fiji and his writing about his Fiji sojourn. On the other hand, Totaram Sanadhya returned from Fiji in 1914. He didn’t write his experience of indentured life himself, but he narrated it to Banarasi Das Chaturvedi – a Hindi writer and one of the prominent nationalist anti-indenture campaigners. The language of his text is Hindi. It bears the influence of Banarasi Das’ thought – it comes across as a condemnation of indenture system within the framework of nationalist enterprise. Similarly, Munshi Rahman Khan also wrote his manuscript in 1943 when there were differences among Hindus and Muslims, and separate groups emerged based on one’s communal identity in Surinam. By all accounts, including their own, Ramchandra, Totaram and Rahman Khan were no ordinary girmitiyas. To begin with, both Ramchandra and Totaram were high-caste Hindus and unfamiliar with the hard-working-class life to which they had enlisted in order to travel overseas. Their experiences also relate to just one colony – Fiji, where the conditions of Indians were probably the most depressed. Nonetheless, their narratives are worth recounting, since they highlight many of the issues central to the abolitionist debate. However, as will become apparent, many of these issues have much to do with the strangeness of their experience and their ignorance of the similar conditions

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of poor peasants and labourers in India. That said, both men learned a great deal from their period of indenture. There is another aspect of writings of these girmitiyas, which deserves notice – the Hindustani language used in Ramchandra’s notebook seems to have an influence of Bhojpuri. For example, he uses Bhojpuri terms such as nimak rather than namak for salt and chaah instead of chai for tea. Whereas Totaram’s Hindi is quite sanskritized and highly poetic, which confirms Banarasi Das’ influence in the produced manuscript, Munshi Rahman Khan’s manuscript is highly Persianized Urdu even though the script is in Devnagari. Although he had worked as a peasant leader in Awadh and among the Satnamies in Chhatisgarh, 2 Baba Ramchandra, as he was known, was quite conscious of his high-caste and glorious Maharashtrian past: Mai mahārāstra kul me dakshini brāhman rigvedi deshast ke ghar paida huwa hu.3 (I was born in a Dakshini Brahman Rigvedi Desasth family of Maharastra dynasty.)

It is worth mentioning that both Ramchandra and Totaram maintained their Brahman ideals despite being liberal in their outlook towards casteism and untouchability. It is equally important that while they fully criticized the Fijian indenture system, they became successful leaders and made money out of it. It appears that while emigration led to upward mobility among lower classes (as argued forcefully by Brij Lal), it did not bring out a systematic change in the status quo as far as the status of higher groups was concerned.

Beginning of the Journey Totaram and Ramchandra went to Fiji as indentured labourers in 1893 and 1905, respectively. Munshi Rahman Khan left for Surinam from Calcutta in February 1898. Ramchandra writes that he had to leave home because of certain family disruptions, and especially due to the ill-will of his stepmother towards him. He writes: ‘… cause of my leaving was my stepmother who controlled my father’.4 Totaram moved out because of the lack of support from his siblings, village or caste ties after the death of his father. He expresses ‘… anxiety of livelihood brought me to [Fiji]’.5 Both of them mention that they had no prior knowledge of the indenture system and left home in search of work. They wandered through different regions and finally met a person who promised a good job. The unknown person turned out to be an arkati (recruiter). According to them, the recruiters held out rich prospects. Totaram

Writing the Girmitiya Experience Figure 6.1: Coolies at the Depot in Paramaribo, c. 1885

Photo courtesy: J. E. Muller, Wikimedia common. Figure 6.2: The emigrants at their meals, CO 1069/355

Photo courtesy: The National Archives of London, Kew.

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mentions that the recruiter instructed him to say ‘yes’ before the magistrate. Here is Totaram recording his experience of being recruited: One day when I was in a market near Kotwali, engaged in this worrying about finances, a man I didn’t know came up to me and asked, “Do you want employment?” I said, “Yes.” Then he said, “Good, I can get you a very good job. It’s the sort of work which will make your heart joyful.”6

Munshi Rahman Khan also contends that he had no prior knowledge of the indenture system, but that his relatives had warned about the unscrupulous recruiters. He writes: He said that I was prone to fall prey to the unwanted elements of the city since I was new to the place and had no experience of travelling to a town like Kanpur. He [Khan’s relative] said, I am afraid that you might be lured away by a deceitful person and lose your way. Then I replied, bhai sahib, am I a bird that someone might catch me in his net and sell me off.7

Then he writes that when he was waiting for his train at the station, two Muslim women offered him a job with good salary. He says: They asked me why sahib do you want to do a job. I asked, whose job? They said, a government job. Then enquire me whether I had any schooling or not. I said yes I am middle school passed. Then they gladly responded that I would be made a sardar and I shall be paid twelve annas.8

Interestingly, the two women offered a job to Munshi Rahman Khan, which was not usual. Normally male recruiters or arkati would make the approach to likely male workers. Ramchandra writes that after he wandered through different parts of India, he reached Madras in 1905 at the age of 29. There he met a Muslim man whose name was Abdul Karim, who was an arkati. Abdul Karim brought him to a big house where he was kept in comforts for the next two months, served with two delicious meals a day along with betel, cigarette and tobacco (dono samay khasa bhojan aur cigarette paan va tamakhu). He writes that when one day he protested to be there at the gate of the big house (depot), an Englishman came next day and informed him that he had to go to Fiji as an indentured labourer. The Englishman read a paper on which terms and conditions were mentioned. Baba Ramchandra mentions that when he was sent to port depot, there were some people already who were detained there. A doctor, magistrate and officer arrived there and announced that Brahmins would not be recruited, and hence, all Brahmins were being rejected to go to

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Fiji. On the very next day, all Brahmins, including Ramchandra, got recruited after changing their age, caste and profession. He writes: Kuch Madrasi kuch Hindustani pahle se hi wahan fans kar rakhe gaye the … us samay mera naam Ramchandra Rao wald Lakshaman Rao Maratha brahaman va umr me bhi tabdili ki tabto mai kuliyo me bharti huwa. A few Madrasis and Hindustanis were already stuck there… at that time, my name was Ramchandra Rao, son of Lakshaman Rao – a Maratha Brahmin; and I also changed my age. Only then I was recruited among the coolies.9

Totaram Sanadhya describes how a recruiter fooled him by describing to him a beautiful vision of life on a plantation and, once agreed to the contract, then confined him in the depot: … this arkati fooled me and brought me to his house. Once there I saw about 100 men sitting in one line and about 60 women in another… arkati explained things to the people there: “Look, brothers, the place where you work you will never have to suffer any sorrows. There will never be any kind of problems there. You will eat a lot of bananas and a stomach full of sugar cane, and play flutes in relaxation.” … the arkati had said to us before, that when the magistrate asked us any question we should say “yes.” If we didn’t do this, then we would be charged and thrown into jail… The magistrate did not tell each person where Fiji was, what work they would have to do there, or what punishment they would be given on not doing the work… “I don’t want to go to Fiji”. I have never done field labour. Look at my hands. They can never do field work. When I would not agree after their explanation, I was locked into a room. For one day and one night I was in that room, hungry and thirsty. Helpless in the end, I was forced to say that I agreed to go Fiji.10

Here it is important to note that while Totaram contends that he was confined to the depot, Ramchandra and Rahman Khan writes that they could roam freely in the market while waiting to sail. Ramachandra could have got recruited only by hiding his actual social position, as only well-built working class people were to be inducted as ‘coolies’ and not lazy Brahmins. As Grierson and Pitcher also found during their enquiries, the column of occupation of ‘coolies’ was to be mentioned as labourer, grihasth or cultivator.11 It should be noted that the historians, including Brij V. Lal, have not considered the change of name, age and caste adequately as this seems to have happened only with higher castes, and not with the lower castes. These changes in caste on record also tend to make the official data on caste/social background of girmitiyas to somewhat suspect the authenticity. Here, one thing is remarkable though:

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Coolies of the Empire Figure 6.3: A picture of an old Immigrant’s Ticket, PA-16, NAM

Photo courtesy: National Archives of Mauritius.

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Ramchandra changed his name, age and occupation in need of work, but he did not change his Marathi identity. On the other hand, Totaram’s emigration pass shows him belonging to a Kshatriya caste, instead of Brahmin. Figure 6.4: Totaram Sanadhya’s Emigration Pass

Source: Brij V. Lal, Ashutosh Kumar and Yadav. Bhootlen Ki Katha, p. 130. Note: The emigration pass shows that he belonged to the Thakur caste, but he was Brahman.

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Many upper castes Indians used such method to get registered to work in colonial plantations. Totaram claims that arkatis gave wrong information about the actual condition on plantations and roamed the countryside in all sorts of disguises. Totaram puts it dramatically: Some wander in Mathura like a Chaube, some are acting as priests in Haridwar, some are saying in Riyasat that “we cause coolies to get employment at twentytwo rupees a month. This work is not for our own sake; it is government work.” Some, becoming bankers in Kanpur, keeping watches in their pocket, taking canes in their hands, are saying, “We will give you a job. In Calcutta, a pilgrim’s house (dharmshala) named Jamaica is being built. We will give nine annas daily. Some became doctors, and some wander in the disguise of a soldier to fool villagers.12

Many women also emigrated to Fiji, sometimes with their families, and often alone. Totaram’s account provides us details about the causes of women’s, especially widows’, migration to overseas colonies. Many widows were compelled to leave the country due to the widespread discrimination against them then prevalent in Indian society. A widow was a burden in the patriarchal Hindu society and was vulnerable to all sorts of oppression irrespective of class and caste. Totaram recounts in detail the story of a widow who emigrated to Fiji: One woman said, I was 19 years old when my husband died of diarrhea. I had my mother-in-law, sister-in-law (older) and brother-in-law. We were neither rich nor poor. There was enough food and general upkeep. Everyone was fond of me when my husband was alive… [but] when I cried for my husband my mother-in-law this to say, “You’ve swallowed up one, now you will finish off the other one too with your lament.” My sister in law would not accept rotis (wheat bread) served by me saying, “It is sin to eat anything served by a widow because she is a half-burnt creature…” my sister-in-law passed away, my brother-in-law then accepted me. He had an illicit relationship with me and when I became pregnant he asked to abort. When I refused, he took me to Allahabad and abandoned there saying that if I ever came back he would cut me up to bits. I started crying. For two days I wandered about here and there and then I registered and came here. This child was born; he is two now. 13 … When my mother-in-law, father-in-law and husband died then close relatives did not help, so I went to pilgrimage and from there the arkati enticed me and brought me here.

Writing the Girmitiya Experience Figure 6.5: An old Emigrant’s Pass, PA-16, NAM

Photo courtesy: National Archives of Mauritius.

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Coolies of the Empire … After the death of my husband when I became a widow then members of the family quarreled with me and started giving me troubles. Due to all these problems, I left home and unfortunately I was entrapped by the arkatis and in the end, I had to come here to suffer endlessly. 14

After long discussions, the colonial government after 1850s decided to send forty women per hundred men to the plantation, so that the family life could continue in colonies. To fulfill this quota, emigration agents began giving more commission to arkatis for women recruits. Out of greed, many arkatis adopted fraudulent means to recruit women. Totaram Sanadhya’s writings are full of instances of how women were recruited through fraudulent means. He quoted H. Dudley, an Australian Methodist, who mentioned the following interviews with some indentured women: One woman told me she had quarreled with her husband and in anger ran away from her mother-in-law’s house to go to her mother’s place. A man on the road questioned her, and said he would show her the way. He took her to a depot for indentured labour. Another woman said her husband went to work at another place. He sent word to his wife to follow him. On her way, a man said he knew her husband and that he would take her to him. This woman was taken to a depot. An Indian girl was asked by a neighbor to go and see the Muharram festival. Whilst there she was prevailed upon to go to a depot. Another woman told me that she was going to bathing ghar and was misled by a woman to a depot.15

Totaram’s testimony seems to be corroborated in contemporary works of fiction as well. A good example is the Gorakhpuri Hindi writer Mannan Dwivedi Gajpuri. Gajpuri’s novel Ram Lal: Gramin Jiwan ka Ek Samajik Upanyas was published from Allahabad in 1917. Here, the narrator says about women recruiters that …Is there anyone in this region who does not fear the darogaji. If there are some, they are the servants of coolie depot. On the strength of recruiter sahab, they do not feel any fear of the police. Many a time Rahman must have passed the thana, singing. It may be taken note that the recruiter is Rahman alone, however Nata and Jagropan work clandestinely and trap women to bring them here.16 … in Barahalgunj in full view of all the village women he forced Dhanrajiya to get on board the steamer.17

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The above accounts leave an impression upon the reader that it was not a conscious decision of women to come to Fiji. On the one hand, the testimonies of women seduction become a significant issue even in the fiction of the period. However, the historical facts reveal hidden facets. For instance, Brij Lal, after exploring the statistics on movements of ‘single’ women from UP, contended that these ‘single’ women had already left their homes. They were heading ‘east’ to Bengal and Assam in search of a new life before getting registered in the colonies. According to him, 63.9 percent ‘single’ women, who came to Fiji, were registered outside their home districts. Samita Sen has convincingly shown that these women – single, childless women, deserted wives, wives in troubled marriages, widowed women and those in extra-marital affairs – did enter into the labour market in search of a livelihood, either within that region or in the tea plantations of Assam and overseas.18 She argued that the frequent mobility and possibilities of long-distance and long-term emigration to colonial plantation upset the Indian household. Hence, Indian elites compelled the government to put legal restrictions on recruiters, and on women’s freedom to enter labour contracts. The Assam Labour and Emigration Act (Act VI of 1901) gave power to the head of the household to restrain women’s migration and recruitment.19 Shahid Amin also uses the terms collected by J. R. Reid, the settlement officer of Azamgarh in 1871–72 and the officiating secretary to Govt. of NorthWestern Provinces and Oudh, to characterize women living with a man outside the wedlock: dolkarhi – ‘a woman who has been taken to the bridegroom for whom the bridegroom did not take her barat’; gharkaili – ‘a woman who has taken up her residence with a man without marriage’; dhenmani – ‘a woman living with a man to whom she is not married’; urhari – ‘a woman who has been enticed away’; ‘a woman, not his wife, who lives with a man’. Placing these terms in a long-term perspective, Shahid Amin comments: Independent of the stigma, there is something significant that these terms tell us about the sexual preferences of rural women, married or otherwise, to set up house with men other than their husbands. These terms are indications of the desire and the ability of some Bhojpuri women to walk out of unhappy homes, whether natal or of the in-laws. The standard police reports about women getting lost in melas never return home, and the significant migration of single women to plantation in Assam and in Fiji make sense in terms of a pre-existing mobility of women, which can’t be reduced to the attractions and enticements of a distant labour market alone.20

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Life on the Plantations Baba Ramchandra and Totaram’s accounts give details about the conditions of Indian labourers, especially women, in Fiji. According to them, when labourers arrived in the colonies, they were allotted to employers on the basis of requisition received by the immigration department, without being given any choice in this matter. Sometimes families were also broken up and sent to different estates. Baba Ramchandra gave this description of the Sonepur cattle-market-like atmosphere at the disembarkation depot in Fiji: Nuklau is a point for the merchants. When the coolies arrive here the merchants size them up and buy them like cattle. The coolies and their women are separated and sent here and there. Whatever little belongings are misplaced by the ship managers. 21

For some observers, it may be the case of complete disregard for the familial ties of coolies that made them more vulnerable and amendable to plantation control. However, in many instances these disruptions of religion, caste and community ties made possible an emergence of a new society. Totaram noticed the disruption took place at and en route the depot. … that Chamar, Koli, Brahman and so forth were all seated in one place and forced to have their meal together. Just about everyone was forced to their meal on earthen plates, and was forced to drink water.22

Though this observation reveals the discriminating mentality of the Indian Brahmanical system, its disruption in the colonies gave birth to a new society and community where caste discriminations were lesser. It entrusted Indian indentured women with a critical project of reconstitution of families, which had its own ramifications. Munshi Rahman Khan presents it differently and points to the opportunistic display by the high-caste Hindus. He asks them why they did not oppose eating with the low-caste shudra at the depot: Here [in depot] no any Brahmin or Kshatriya said a word that they will not eat with Muslims, chamars or dom otherwise our religion would spoil!23

Totaram writes that the conditions on the estates were difficult. ‘Coolies’ were given small rooms to live in. Each of them was twelve-feet long and eight-feet wide. If a man had his wife with him, they were given this room; otherwise, three men or three women were lodged in a single room. This was

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in disregard of the rule that ‘employers of Indian labourers must provide at their own expense suitable dwellings for immigrants’. The style and dimension of these buildings were fixed by regulations. The provisions that was provided by the state was insufficient for a ‘coolie’ working ten hours a day on the estate. Along with this, for the first six months, the estate provided food and other items, and for this, two shillings and four pence were cut from each week’s pay.24 According to Totaram, a woman had to face more hardships than men in the plantations. First, she had to wake up at 3:30 in the morning and cook for the family, followed by ten hours of work in the fields. After returning home, she had to cook again. Totaram here is at his caustic best: When women return from work, there is corpse-like shading to their faces. One is so sad to see the dirtiness of their faces at that time it is indescribable. These women who had never been out of their village in India, who didn’t know that there was a country outside of their district, who are soft and tender by nature, who never did hard work at home, these women today, having gone thousands of miles away, in Fiji, Jamaica, Cuba, Honduras, Guyana and so forth have to do hard labour or ten hours a day.25

Here, he claims that the women who went to Fiji were not used to hard work and had no knowledge about the world beyond the boundary of their districts. This idea contradicts the widespread use of female labour on family farms in north India, and the statistical analyses of Brij V. Lal that about half of the number of women who reached Fiji were already on the move in search of work. 26 Totaram describes in detail the troubles faced by the ‘Indian daughters’ in an alien atmosphere. For Totaram, emigration of women under the indenture system created a bad image of India in Fiji. An indigenous Fijian shared his thought with Totaram on the condition of women on plantation as follows: …India is a bad country, whose women come to a foreign country, Fiji, to do the work of labourers. Coming here, they suffer many outrages. If the outrages which are done to your women were done to our women, then we would destroy to the roots the ones responsible.

Totaram tried rhetorically to raise the question of self-respect of Indians. He asked: Aren’t the words of the Fijians literally true? Isn’t this a thing of shame for us that our sisters, mothers and daughters across seven seas should suffer these

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Totaram and Ramchandra’s account depicts that the position of female Indian labourers was more vulnerable compared to their male counterparts, because they were subjected to sexual exploitation at the hands of both Indian men and white overseers and agents on the plantation. Ramchandra writes: Beautiful women are given work at secluded places and both blacks and whites sexually exploit their seclusion. Pregnant women are made to work till full term. If they refuse they are tortured so much that it leads to abortion.28

In the above context, an incident was published in Bharat Mitra and Leader, leading newspapers in north India during the time. The incident was related to an indenture woman, named Kunti, who alleged attempted rape by an overseer in the plantation of Fiji.29 The Indian nationalists saw this incident as an ‘outrage’ on the daughters of India in plantations.30 With such incidents Indian nationalists tried to show that the Indian women, who devoted themselves to their husbands and protected their chastity against all odds, had to face humiliation and disgrace in the overseas colonies.31 This episode shows that the overseers disobeyed the rule, and the court favoured the white overseer. In this case, according to law, a woman was free not to resume work for three months after giving birth to a child. Totaram cited many other cases to impress upon the reader that life on plantation was difficult and unfair.32 A contemporary English writer also criticized the conditions of indentured women in Fiji. J. W. Burton, Christian Padre, wrote in his book Fiji of To-day, and Totaram quoted this: The young and brutal overseers on sugar estates (of Australian and New Zealand origin) take all sorts of liberties with good looking Indian women and torture them and their husbands in case of refusal. Sometimes compounders of medicine will call an Indian woman into a closed room pretending to examine her. (though she may protest there is nothing the matter with her), and then torture her most indecently for the gratification of their lust and even for getting her to swear a charge against some Indian who may have incurred their displeasure. Women are known to have been fastened in a row to trees and then flogged in the presence of their little children. 33

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Indentured labourers faced discrimination in the colonies, which started from the time when they boarded the steamers. As Totaram writes: Because we are black, we have to endure many hardships on steamers. First of all, we are given very bad places to sit… in many ports, third-class white disembark casually, and the clothes of second-class Indians, their socks, pajamas and so forth, are all taken and disinfected… when the company officer takes the receipt from our hands, he first takes the receipt with iron tongs from far away, and then puts it through the smoke of a burning sulfur fire. When they are asked why they are doing this, they say, “You are black people. I am afraid of getting sick from the receipts, which you have touched with your hands. Therefore, we keep the germs on the receipts far away.”34

It is worth remembering that in India itself the discrimination on caste lines remained alive. Totaram, although criticizing the discrimination against black ‘coolies’ in the colonies, shows a good deal of this attitude towards castes. There is no doubt that he felt the discrimination all the more infuriating because he was a Brahmin. Totaram’s and Ramchandra’s account shows that indentured women in colonies could ruthlessly exploit their ‘scarcity value’ by using marriage as an expedient financial transaction, moving between men, which in turn outraged Indian male sense of pride leading to violence. As Ramchandra wrote: The same woman can be kept by many men. When there is trouble a case can always be filed.35 … the scarcity of women was such that it often led to men losing their lives in such quarrels. 36 … Cases arising out of the reckless spending on gold and silver jewelry, clothes and food for women was the source of considerable income for the white lawyers.37

Totaram echoed Ramchandra, when he wrote: … 33 women are brought for 100 men. This is the main reason behind the cases of abduction and vulgarity which can be seen in the courts.38

Along with Totaram and Ramchandra, many Europeans also argued that indentured men committed suicide due to the immoral character of Indian women; that they flitted from one man to another for jewelry, expensive clothes and similar things. So, in the eyes of both Indian and European men,

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the immorality of these women was an established fact, which obscured the inherently exploitative character of the indenture system for both the oppressor and the oppressed. Kelly explains the sexual abuse of women and violence in terms of colonial imagination of the social and sexual life of ‘coolies’, where it was believed that whatever happened was in accordance with the desire and interests of Indians within the ‘coolie’ system. For Europeans, sexual jealousy and violence had been the core temperaments of low-class Indians in Fiji. Kelly supports the arguments given by the critics of the indenture system who contended that the morally rich Indians got degraded due to the impact of the immediate environment and natural law, the lack of privacy of the lines and disproportionate sex ratio.39 There is no doubt that Indian women were being treated as ‘oriental things to pleasure’ by the white overseers as the accounts of Walter Gill, an overseer in Fiji for fourteen years, confirms.40 But at the same time, an important part of the problem was that the indenture women in Fiji were expected by Indian men to follow the age-old ideals of Indian womanhood – silent acceptance of fate, virginity, deference to male authority and above all, chastity coupled with worship of the husband. Comparing Indian indentured workers with Fijian labourers, Totaram contended that Fijian labourers don’t work under strict agreement. If someone works, he puts forth his own terms and conditions. He quoted a European’s observation regarding this: Fiji’s true inhabitants cannot do the work of a labourer well. Their own nature is wholly unsuited to this activity. In the cane fields, one has to do the very same work every day. (They get fed up from doing this). But the Indian coolies are utterly well-suited for this very activity, and planters generally give the work to them.41

He further wrote, Fijians got food, clothes, oil, soaps and so on, free from planters and received nine pounds a year, but Indians had to pay nine pounds for their food and lodging in a year. They could not save more than one pound in a year. Fijians got themselves registered after enquiring the nature of work and allowances, but Indians were lured by the recruiters. To quote Totaram: Fijians investigate, have contract conditions written for all types of comforts, and then register. In our place, arkatis having misled them, take them to the magistrate. The magistrate asks, “Are you agreed to go to Fiji?” As soon as the word “yes” leaves the lips, the registry is done. What would be the registry? From saying only “yes,” there was five years of black water. 42

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The above description contradicts the case of Melanesian or oceanic labourers who, working in the Queensland’s sugar plantations, were not paid wages, but instead given a box containing all sorts of things to take back home.43 Totaram described the condition of education in Fiji very negatively, the role of missionaries’ schools, and commented that sending boys to missionaries’ schools was akin to turning them into Christians. He felt an urgent need to have teachers sent from India who knew Hindi and English to teach in Fiji. Very few Indians were literate, but newspapers like Sarswati, Chitramay Jagat, Maryada, Bhaskar, Bharat Mitra, Abhyudya, Arya Mitra, Bharat Shudashapravartak, Vir Bharat and Venkateshwar were regularly read by Indians in Fiji. Bharat Mitra was the most widely read newspaper in Fiji.44 Totaram has mentioned the abominable religious condition of Indian in Fiji. Pandits and maulvies who went to Fiji were illiterate, and their only aim was to make money from girmitiyas. Totaram claims that he sent a proposal to the Governor of Fiji for religious teachers to be brought over from India; Governor had taken up this matter, but no one showed any interest to go to Fiji due to prejudices against crossing the sea. Totaram narrates: But the unfortunate thing is that no one agreed to go from here. It is the duty of the great organizations for Indian religion to send a good religious instructor to Fiji, for the liberation from sorrow of the Fiji-dwelling Indians. But how can those who understand sea-journey as a great sin go there for this purpose? 45

Totaram seems anxious about the activities of the Christian missionaries who tried to convert Hindus. However, he contended that he did not let it happen and himself ‘purified’ those who had converted into Christianity. Totaram exposes the dramatic appearance as saints of those indentured labourers who established various sects such as Kabir Panthi, Ramanand Panthi, Satnami and Gusai, after finishing their indenture contracts of five years. They made followers and sustained another five years and then returned to India with free return passages after completion of ten years as per rule of indenture contract. He wrote: Very many sadhus have been fooled and sent to Fiji. Having worked their five years girmit these people became free, and then began to ask for alms. There whole work is to travel around one or two times a year to their disciples. For this reason, we are saying that the arrival of a good religious instructor to Fiji would be a great benefit.46

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Widow remarriage in Fiji was one important thing for Totaram, which had played significant role in preventing crimes of adultery. According to Totaram, due to the disproportion between men and women in Fiji, many tensions arose among Indian labourers. There were many instances in which a man cut down or killed his wife or another man for a ‘liason’ and then hanged himself. For Totaram, the actual fault for such a crime was the indenture system itself. However, widow remarriage had played an important role in preventing such misdemeanour. Focusing on the economic conditions of Fiji-Indians, Totaram maintained that people often died of hunger due to the unaffordable cost of food. After five years of indenture, very few people took to independent agriculture. Only paddy was the profitable crop. Totaram writes: … the mistaken conception, that by going to these islands men became immensely rich, should be taken from the hearts of people and especially the hearts of village people. 47

Totaram mentioned that 90 percent of girmitiyas lived in deplorable condition. Hospital facilities for indentured Indians were free, but such facilities were not available for ‘free Indians’. So, they had to pay money to register themselves for treatments in hospitals. He advised Indian doctors to open a hospital in Fiji which would be profitable. 48 In his Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh, Totaram gives the views of some unbiased individuals to corroborate his own observations. He has referred to an article of H. Dudley published in Modern Review.49 Dudley wrote: Sir, living in a country where the system called “Indentured Labour” is in vogue one is continually oppressed in spirit by the fraud, injustice, and inhumanity of which fellow creatures are the victims… I had previously lived in India for five years. Knowing the natural timidity of Indian village people and knowing also that they had no knowledge of any country beyond their own immediate district. It was a matter of great wonder to me as to how these people could have been induced to come thousands of miles from their own country.50

Dudley further mentions some stories that how the recruiters entrapped women to send to Fiji. She writes, in the depot, these women were not allowed to leave until they paid for everything they owned and settled their dues. When these women reached the colony, they were allotted to plantations like

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dumb animals. If they did not perform satisfactorily, they were either beaten up, fined or even sent to jail. Dudley questioned the kind of society that had emerged after five years of slavery and legalized immorality. She further asked if it could be a moral or self-respecting society. She curiously writes that ‘yet some argue in favour of this worse than barbarous system that the free Indians are better off financially than would be in their own country’.51 John Wear Burton, another Methodist missionary, wrote on indenture system that ‘the difference is small between the state he now finds himself in, and absolute slavery … the coolies themselves, for the most part frankly call it “narak” (hell)! Not only are the wages low, the tasks hard, and the food scant, but it is an entirely different life, from that to which they have been accustomed and they chafe, especially first at the bondage … the children are allowed to run wild. No educational privileges are given. As soon as they reach the age of twelfth they too must go to field.’52 Totaram and Burton talked about the crucial issue of overtasking.53 They contended that the planters overburdened them intentionally and when coolies did not fulfill these tasks, the planters cut their wages. Sometimes coolies had to be summoned to court for failing to perform the task set for him for the day and then sent to prison. According to them, though there was a provision that if a coolie felt that the task was too hard to be finished in one day, he had the right to appeal to the coolie inspector, who was a government official. There was also a provision to go to the Magistrate with complaints, but it was impossible for the ‘coolies’ to go to him due to distance between the plantations and the courthouse. This often led the coolies to take law in their hands. Burton writes: There is the Magistrate, to whom complaint can be made, but the courthouse may be 20 or 30 miles away, and that is practically an impossible distance. It is not surprising, therefore that the coolie takes the law into his own hands, tries the edge of his cane-knife upon the skull of the English Overseer.54

Burton provided statistics that during the year 1907, 1,461 of total 11,689 coolies were accused of laziness. They were fined or sent to the prison. He further wrote that ‘probably an even greater proportion of dissatisfaction did not make its appearance before the bench’. Burton defined Indian coolies as ‘human agricultural instrument’.55 Totaram in his memoir mentions the enquiry commission of 1913 when McNeill and Chimman Lal visited Fiji to enquire into the condition of the Indian indentured. Totaram alleged that the planters threatened the labourers to not go against the planters. He mentioned an instance when an indentured

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was beaten by an overseer, and when he was going to register a case at the police station, he was again threatened by the overseer on his way and was forced to return home. Totaram criticized the commission for not visiting Kunti who was a victim of molestation by an overseer. News on Kunti’s incident had already been published in the 1913 issue of Calcutta-based magazine Bharat Mitra and Modern Review. Totaram and other Fiji Indians gave some written submissions to Chimman Lal for minimizing the troubles faced by Indians in Fiji. The summary of their suggestions was as follows: Every Overseer should be married. They must know the Indian culture and Hindi language, so that they can understand the problems of Indians. Coolieinspector should not be appointed the person who has already worked as an overseer. Because overseer lose their mercy with plantation workers and the coolie inspector should also be married. Coolie inspector must know Hindi and he should write report regarding the coolies’ lane every month. Those who forcefully raped Indian women should be punished severely. Sardars should be called by coolie-Agent directly and there should not be any link between sardar and overseers. [because Overseer demands beautiful women from sardars, and if they failed to provide, he had to lose his job]. Nurses who look after children after the women go to work should be appointed after having suggestion from Hindustanis.56

Although the McNeil and Chimman Lal Commission discusses the complaints of indentured Indians received by them while on their enquiry commission, the above suggestions and demands of indentured Indians in Fiji does not figure in the commission’s report.57 Totaram has also narrated the experience of his visit to Australia. He found that his lifestyle was surprising for Australians. When Australians saw his lota (water pot), they gathered around Totaram in amazement. When Totaram went to latrine with the lota, they were surprised. Totaram narrates this incident as follows: …I wanted to go to toilet, and began to walk with the lota; again they were all surprised. When I returned from the toilet, the hotel manager’s wife said, “You have spoiled our latrine.” I replied angrily, “Then give me back my seven shillings, I will not stay here.”58

Totaram writes that Australians were not as racist as the South Africans. Indians could buy property in Australia. They also had political right to

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vote for the members of custom. Australian women married Indians. The Australian men respected Indian women’s inhibitions about engaging in any kind of intimacy before marriage. To end indentured emigration, Totaram had supported free emigration to Fiji. According to him, ironsmiths, surveyors, lawyers and doctors should go on visits at their own expense. They can make good money there, but Totaram requested them to work for the welfare of Indians rather than make money out of their condition. He had also suggested travelling with ‘British India Steam Navigation Company’, which offered low fares. They can also experience the troubles of coolies on those ships because these ships carried Indian indentured labourers and were called ‘Coolie Jahaj’.59 Totaram’s account also shows that girmitiyas faced trouble at each stage of their journey. Many could not return to India due to the problem created by the ‘Immigration Office’ in Suva. Some of them did not return due to minor mistakes. One person was compelled to stay in Fiji because his son stole a lemon from the Suva depot. Totaram contended that many a times the clerks entered inflated value of amounts being taken back home by indentured, to show savings they had made in Fiji. Some coolie says, “I am taking fifteen rupees home,” but the clerk adds one zero and writes, “150 rupees.” And apart from this, if anyone is wearing rings and so forth, then he writes that value of it, increased ten or twenty-fold. For example, if someone is wearing a silver ring the clerk would ask, “What is the price of this ring?” the clerk says, “Sir, this was brought for eight annas.” The clerk says, “The ring for eight annas? Not less than eight rupees! I am writing ‘8 rupees’ in my price registered.” Saying this he writes ‘8 rupees’ as the price of the ring.60

The main text as well as in the concluding part of his Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh and Bhootlen Ki Katha, Totaram reflects his awareness of larger policy issues by quoting from important government papers. 61 Thus, he quoted the Salisbury proclamation published in the weekly Bharat Mitra on 1 June 1914: Above all things we must confidently accept, as an indispensable condition of the proposed arrangements that the colonial laws and their administration will be such that Indians settlers, who have completed the terms of service to which they agreed, as the return for expense of bringing them to the colonies, will be free men in all respects, with priviledges no whit inferior to those of any other class of Her Majesty’s Subject resident in the colonies.62

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However, Totaram says that ‘it is needless to say that our Indians brethren are still being treated as inferior race. Chinese and Japanese get more privilege in the colony than Indians.’ For Totaram, the most sorrowful thing was that in response to a question in the ‘House of Commons’ – then Montague – the Secretary of State (SoS) replied: I may add that the recent inter-departmental Committee and Lord Sanderson has recommended that the system be allowed to continue subject to certain recommendation in regard to particular colonies and they are under discussion.63

Totaram asked imploringly why was no white person ever indentured? He continued: if an Englishman works under indenture and gets four ser flour, one ser lentil, one lota for water, one tin plate for food and had to sleep with three in a room in ‘coolie’ lane; he must sleep on earth and wake up at three in the morning and had to be kicked at least twice a day by an overseer; will Lord Sanderson and Montague be ready to continue with such a system?64 Quoting W. W. Pearson, who wrote an article in the July issue of Modern Review in 1914, Totaram says that the treatment of ‘coolies’ is more oppressive in the British colonies than in a foreign colony such as Surinam. Totaram has produced a long quote from an article by C. F. Andrews published in the January 1914 issue of Modern Review, where he wrote: the first reason for the closing of this system of contracts is that it is improper for a civilized country. India is now gaining a place among the progressive nations of the world, so the system is ruining its reputation. The argument of financial development of coolies is chatter. Such kind of argument was also made on behalf of slavery system and everybody knows that history refutes it. The cruelty of the system can be understood with reference to suicides: in 1913 there were 37 suicides per one million people in India and on the other hand 662 suicides per million among the coolies working under contract in Natal and such proportion does always be same for each year.65

In his writings, Totaram appealed to the people of India to help the movement against the coolie system and create an atmosphere and space for activists to deliver speeches against the coolie system. It is the first duty of newspapers to always publish reports against the ‘coolie’ system. He blamed the print media for not supporting the campaign and praised Bharat Mitra and Modern Review, which actively wrote articles about this cause. According to Totaram, it was the duty of landowners to teach the people of their villages

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not to get snared in the traps of the arkatis. It was proper that volunteers save travellers on pilgrimage from deceitful people.66 For Totaram, it was necessary for the government to end the system without delay. The atonement for the sin of creating this system is to end the system immediately and undertake schemes which would increase the demand for labour in India. There were lots of vacant lands in many riyasats. It was the government’s duty to settle people in those places, where vacant lands were available such as Basti, UP, Ganjam and Madras.67

Religion under Indenture Other problems that Totaram and others mentioned were the desire, indeed the need, to maintain religious and cultural values. Totaram Sanadhya impresses upon the reader that cast adrift from their familiar culture moorings, trapped in indenture, the illiterate and poor struggled against great odds to preserve fragments of their ancestral culture in alien surroundings for reassurance, comfort, security and memory. The project of cultural rejuvenation was a difficult one to maintain. The religious situation of our people is very unstable. This is because of the lack of religious teachers and other dedicated people. As a result, the Fiji Indians are like an unsteady boat caught in a whirlpool. The different sects are pulling in different directions. To overcome this, there is an urgent need for books, teachers and education, all of which are lacking.68

Many of the early priests were fraudulent men who preyed on the gullibility of their followers, and when caught, absconded to India or simply disappeared. Then, there were Christian missions, which worked tirelessly, but unsuccessfully, to convert Hindus and Muslims into their faith. The colonial government’s indifference to the cultural needs of the migrants contributed its share to the problem. However, the real culprits in Totaram’s account are the Hindu holymen whose extortions ranged from fleecing their disciplines to seducing their wives.69 Munshi Rahman Khan also discusses about the religious performances on the plantation of Surinam. He mentions that Hindus were performing religious rituals such as aarti, listening to kathas like Ram katha and gurumukh, chanting of Gayatri Mantras and reading the Ramayana. He also mentions about the various sects and sadhus in Surinam, such as Kabir Panthi, who was

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quite famous and had a large number of followers. Another saint was Jattadhari Baba Balwant Singh, who was the most respected in Surinam. He too had many followers.70 Figure 6.6: A Hindu coolie priest in Caribbean

Photo courtesy: Wikimedia common.

The sects were interesting in terms of what they preached. Some were pragmatic and flexible in their approach, showing a readiness to adapt to new circumstances. It is significant that all the sects rejected the divisions, hierarchies, doctrines and practices of the Brahmanical socio-religious order. Totaram’s account discloses the kinds of books, which circulated in Fiji’s Indian community in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Of all the texts listed by Totaram, the most popular was Tulsidas’ Ramcharitamanas.71 The popularity of religious texts varied from district to district. In Navua district, the texts that were popular among emigrants were Satyanarayan ki Katha (story of Satyanarayan), Surya Puran, Dan Lila, Devi Bhagwat, Shighra Bodh, Akadashi mahatma, Indra Jal, Durga Saptashati, Ram Patal and the popular

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martial epic – Alhakhand. In Navua district, Alhakhand was very popular, but among the Bhojpuri speakers the Ramayana was even more popular. In Ba district, emigrants read Salinga Sadavrij (a popular story of two lovers widely known even today), Vaitalpachisi, Indra Sabha, Valmiki Ramayan, Vivah Paddhati, Satyarth Prakash, Tulsi Ramcharitmanas, Alhakhand, Satyanarayan ki katha. In Ba district, Indrasaba (a story of visual love written for Nautanki) was a very popular text. Beside these, in the fields, coolie lane or anywhere else, the song of Salinga sadavrij could be heard: Oh, Lal Dev what are you singing What is the work of human in my vicinity Take up a sickle, cut full fifty Make your own hut, I will worship for you.72

Totaram’s accounts mentions eight sects or ‘Akhade’: (1) Kabir Panthi, (2) Nath Akhada, (3) Nanak Akhada, (4) Satnami, (5) Dadu Panthi, (6) Jagiwan Das Ka Akhada, (7) Ramanandi Akhada and (8) Arya Samaj. Besides these, there were many huts (kutis) of saints that were also constructed. However, these kutis hardly offered any worthwhile religious solace and were a burden of charity (chanda) on the ordinary people. Wherever there is a hermitage the people in the neighbourhood are sooner or later plagued with charity. In none of these hermitages is any education imparted.73

Munshi Rahman Khan also mentions that how priests were making money from the religious performances. Since he was good in Hindi and had good knowledge of the Ramayana, he got an offer to change his religion and become Hindu to make money and followers. Rahman Khan though did not change his religion, but participated as priest many a times in the rituals of the Hindus.74 Another aspect of these sects and their ‘religious gurus’ was the exploitation of indentured women. These men used their religious authority to fool these ignorant labourers, and in many cases appropriated their women, wrote Baba Ramchandra elliptically: The rule is of gurus (religious teachers) and chelas (followers). There is no difference between gurus and chelas there is no difference between their women, they share their women.75

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In some cases, women ran away with the gurus or chose to stay with them. One Kharpat Rai, a chamar, who believed in guru Ramnath left his wife with the guru for a month at his command. When he went to ask for her, the guru said: ‘When Shiva and Shakti have merged, it is a sin to separate them. See for yourself how this girl is blooming.’ Kharpat knew at once what had happened… he returned home while Baba Ramnath eloped with his [Kharpat’s] wife to India.76

The above episode confirms that women on the plantation frequently chose to stay with anyone they found appropriate. Plantation regime provided them all the liberty to exercise their choices. Another interpretation of this episode has been provided by Rohini: Kharapat let his wife go with the guru because if he had reclaimed his wife, it would have been a sin. The guru after wrongfully appropriating his wife left for India. In the entire episode, what strikes is the silence of Kharapat’s wife, which is open to many interpretations. First possibility is that she just gave into the role men negotiated for her. Second possibility could be that she consented to stay with the guru of her own free will to escape the drudgery of her life with Kharapat.77

Sometimes indentured women also cheated the gurus and tried to run away with their money. Here is Totaram again: … the woman put opium in his soft drink. When Raghodas was in an intoxicated state, she stole the one thousand rupees he had set aside for his cremation.78

The Arya Samaj in Fiji was established to improve the quality of religious life of indentured labourer. However, it also suffered serious loss of credibility when two of its teachers, Sharmaji and Ram Moharanand Swami, got married to the girl students of 14 and 16 years of age, respectively, of Arya Pathshala. Describing the wedlocked peccadillos of the Arya Samaj giants, Totaram is at his caustic best: Just when things looked promising, the fortunes of the Samaj came under a cloud. Mr Sharma eloped with a 14 years old pupil at his school to Suva. When people confronted him, he asked them to talk to the girl. The girl

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replied: ‘I want to stay with Sharmaji… after this episode came Swami Ram Manoharanand Sarswati from India. Soon after arriving, he married a 16 years old girl. He too, got what he wanted.79

The Arya Samaj in Fiji also got embroiled in different kinds of debates with the proponent of Sanatan Dharma. In the context of Arya Samaj, Baba Ramchandra comments that in Fijian society, there was no tension along caste or communal lines. It was only after the Arya Samaj, which was active there for quite some time, sent Ram Manoharanand Swami that the Hindu immigrant community started becoming more polarized: There was no tension along caste communal lines in this country but when Arya Samaj sent Ram Manoharanad Swami from India, there is a polarization here.80

Munshi Rahman Khan’s account also describes how communal tensions arouse in Surinam and for this he blames Arya Samaj and Sanatan. Munshi Rahman Khan writes: In Surinam, the Indians lived peacefully and in harmony for 60 years like brothers and sisters. When Mehta Gemini Ji arrived in Surinam in 1929, he was given a warm welcome by the Hindus and Muslims alike. He gave several lectures and talks at different places and laid the foundation of Arya Samaj and with it, the seeds of discontent and ill-will amongst the communities in a few days and then returned back to India. Initially this friction took place between Arya Samaji’s and Sanatanis while the Muslims befriended both of them.81

Totaram’s account also shows that the indentured Indians did not follow the traditional marriage system. Most often the basis of marriage was the consent of bride and the groom. The Brahman or the pandit had no role in performing the marriage ceremony. Often marriages were registered before the Magistrate after payment of a five shillings’ charge. Such kinds of marriages were called marit. Many widows who went to Fiji registered their marriage before the Magistrate. As Totaram writes: Those who go as a married couple try to find worthy partners for their children. But such people, who were few in number, invite a priest to officiate at the ceremony. The majority of the marriages are registered at the magistrate’s office for a fee of five shillings. Widow, victims of maltreatment back at home, normally have their marriages officiated by the magistrates.82

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There was another kind of marriage called Andhadhundh Paddhti (indiscriminate system of marriage). Such kinds of marriages were performed between Hindus and Muslims. For such a marriage, a pandit and a maulavi had to perform Satyanarayan Katha and Maulud Sharif, respectively. When Totaram asked a woman, who married under such a system, she replied: Dear sir, I am Urhari pyorau and my marriage was celebrated under ‘andhadhundh paddhti’. Actually Thakur (now her husband) started loving me and praised for marriage. Our liking was same, so he kept me happily. And this is andhadhundh riti of marriage.83

The above story confirms Shahid Amin’s observation that the various categories of north-Indian women, who were living outside their wedlock, migrated to Fiji and colonies frequently.84 Such kinds of marriages and their wide prevalence surprised Totaram. He wrote: That which one has never seen or heard of an amazing sight to watch. … one wonders where the world is heading.85

Totaram’s account also shows that the Hindu rites and rituals of death were not sustained in Fiji and were transformed into Christian kind of funeral system. The way the Fiji Indians bury their dead is pathetic. They dig a hole and dump the body in it. A well-to-do person might invite a few Brahmans to his place for a ceremonial feast. In some places, people read religious books and sing bhajan during the mourning period. Nowadays, there is no ban on cremation, but people still bury the dead because cremation is looked down upon. Suva people bury their dead – and their customs – in a casket. The most they do is erect a headstone. Once a year, they cut the grass around the grave. This is the sum total of their obligation to the dead.86

Indentured Indians in Fiji celebrated many festivals such as Ramlila, Holi, and Tazia. On Ramlila, indentured enjoyed a holiday. It was an occasion when people met each other and could share their sorrows and happinesses. Many indigenous tribes also participated in Ramlila, and interestingly were given the parts of rakshasas in Ravan’s troop in the play. Tazia was another festival in which Hindus and Muslims participated equally. The indentured Indians also celebrated Holi. Ramnavami, Surya Puran, Satyanarayan Katha and Janmastami were also prevalent among Indians. However, the most important

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and biggest festival, as Totaram contended, was Christmas. Totaram comments on this festival sarcastically: People spare no expense in celebrating it. Thousands of animals are slaughtered for the occasion, and a lot of liquor drunk, much to the delight of the hoteliers. This is the most popular occasion.87

Problems of Returnees Most indentured emigrants left India hoping to return one day after they had earned enough money. While a majority remained in the colonies, quite a few did return. Totaram and Ramchandra were two of the most remarkable of such persons. Most Indians who returned did so because they thought ‘there was no place like home’. However, after their return home, their hopes tended to get smashed. In their villages, returnees suffered ostracizing for having crossed the ‘black waters’ and having mixed with other castes and religions. If they returned with money, they were fleeced by the priest and his relatives. As long as it lasts they endured him, but with little sympathy and only selfish interest. As Totaram wrote: If you have no money then there is no son or brother in this world… when I was in Fiji I was called Coolie and I return to home, I have been named Tapuha (from Island) … another problem is pandit. Pandit came and asked, you have come from the tapu, will you have bath in Ganga? … We will not eat at your house till tapuha will not atone.88

Totaram describes the fear of losing one’s caste and being penalized for crossing the sea as the reasons that kept the emigrants permanently in Fiji. Many indentured wanted to return to their homes, but did not due to the fear of losing their status in their family, society and caste. So, they were forced to go back to Fiji. Many returnees were looted by their brethren in India and cheated by the Brahman priests for daring to have crossed the seas. My countrymen drop from the caste their brothers who have made ocean journeys and then return from the islands. They give them so many troubles that with sadness they return to the islands. Some of their wealth, which they earned penny by penny with great difficulty, going to the foreign country and suffering assaults, disgraces, and hunger, is taken by close relatives. Then selfish family priests (purohit) casually cause some of the wealth to be extended in ceremonies of atonement.89

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Beside his own, Totaram told the story of an indentured returnee Guljarilal, who was cheated by his brother and outcasted by the priest when he could not throw a feast for the people of six villages. Girdhari found himself in big trouble and wrote to his friend in Fiji for Rs. 600. On receiving the money, he thought it to be better to go back to Fiji. One Galdhan returned to Fiji in April 1914. Totaram questioned the makers and controllers of such Hindu customs, which had compelled many Hindus to leave the motherland forever. He asks: I ask this modest question of the directors of Bharat Dharm Mahamandal: Have you thought of a plan for these foreign-dwelling brothers? What instruction do you give them? Should these people take part in cow sacrifices or in Christianity? Or will you encourage them, and embrace them? May I ask the speech-giving religious people of our country, what is the harm in mixing these people into the castes again? Oppressed by outrages of the home, fooled by the wicked arkatis, sent to a foreign country, what are the defects in this of these helpless people?90

The barriers of caste, the strangeness of surroundings and, above all, the dawning of the realization that there was no longer a ‘real tie’ impelled the returnees often to hurry back to Fiji. Many returnees’ homes had been occupied by their relatives (Kitne logon ke ghar joki chhodkar gaye usame unke kutumbiyon ne dakhal kar liya).91 Now from a distance, the harsh aspects of life in the colonies receded into the background and contrasted with the crude reality in India. So, those who found the surroundings in India unbearable found their way back to the colonies: They roam around like vagabonds and in desperation reach Matiaburj (Place in Calcutta). There they wait for a ship that will take to them the tapu.92

As Totaram says, till the returnees had money, they were received and feted in their villages. Some of them bought land and settled down with the support of zamindars. Those who returned empty-handed faced the full force of exclusion from their family, caste and community. The man, who reaches home without any earnings empty handed, is treated by the rest like a stranger who is there for a temporary stay.93

One thing is also very clear in Totaram’s writings that ‘power’ and ‘money’ was everything in Indian society. Those without power and money could not survive in such a society. As Totaram says:

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… Those who find you weak will suppress you.94 … The zamindar wields a great deal of influence in the village and the village folk agree with everything he says. 95

Totaram and many others went to Fiji to earn a living in the absence of any support from siblings, or from fellow villagers or caste brethren. Reflecting on his passage to Fiji, Totaram wrote: If we had any support from you either as co-villager or as mentor of same caste, why would we have gone to Fiji at all? Hunger took me there.96

While in Fiji, the absence of old connections based on caste and community led many emigrants to enter inter-caste marriages. This further led to the formation of mixed social groups. Baba Ramchandra, a Maharastrian Brahman, got married to a woman from the chamar community. However, in many cases, these marriages were not permanent. Many regarded marriages with women they met in Fiji as a temporary convenience – they would disown it when they returned to India.97 Totaram Sanadhya has discussed this problem in some detail, citing many cases where women were duped and left destitute by their husbands after reaching India. To quote him: Brahmans, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas who return from Fiji wonder if the women they married in Fiji would be able to live according to the norms of the society, were they to be brought here. This thought inspired them to betray and abandon them. And they return home leaving behind false address so that the women can never find them. While leaving Fiji they gave half their earnings to their wives and abandon them.98

The reason that Totaram offers for this is the difficulty in getting social approval for such marriages outside the normal kith and kin networks. The causality was as always – women’s interests, who were not given any role in the making of their fates. That a caste-conscious Indian society of the time sought to preserve its purity and honour through women is not surprising.

Leadership on the Plantation The accounts of Ramchandra and Totaram show that indentured labourers mounted few organized protests against the plantation authorities and the oppressive conditions under which they laboured in Fiji. This also squares with

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Brij Lal’s characterization of ‘non-resistance’ on Fiji plantations.99 However, in a retrospective account, Ramchandra talks at length of a coolie mobilization that he undertook in Fiji, reminiscent of his role as the great peasant leader of Awadh. As Ramchandra wrote: …thode hi dinon me ek dictator kele ke kampany me āya tha. Usane hindustāni kisānon ke kele ke pedon ko katawa diya tha. In logon me mera prābhāv achha tha isase wah log mere pās daude – maine kisi ke rāy na lekar un kisānon ko kele ke ped ladwākar use kai koson se paidal chalākar lāt sahib ke bangale par le āraha tha. Yah kām maine turant kyo kiya- kyon dusaron ki salāh na li isko mai hi jānata hun-āge likhunga- jab kisān shahar suva me pahunche jay ke nāre lagate the-dukāne gore-kālon ki band hoti jāti thikuchh log vyāpāri jo shahar committee ke member the pahile se hi lāt ke bangale par pahunchkar bātchit kar rahe the. Isi awasar me kisānon ke jatthon ko apne sāth lekar lāt ke fulwāri me jā pahuncha. Waha mere jān pahichān ke shankardās ji ko mālum huwa- yah barason se in lāt sahib key aha hi cook the. Inhone lāt sahib ko ja kar batāya. Lāt sahib ne kisānon ko kahala bheja ki āta hu- thodi der me lāt āya aur ek box par baith kar kisānon ki halation ko puchhane laga. Sab batāi gayi-jabāni hokum diya ki kisi vakil ke pās ja kar dāva karo mavaja (muwawaja) milega-. Manilal ji us samay Nausuri me rahate the. Dusare tārikh ko un sab kisānon ko wah mawāja sarakār se mila va Dr. nikāl diya gaya.100 (Recently, a dictator had joined a banana plantation. He ordered to chop off the banana trees planted by Indian peasants. Since I had an influence over these peasants, they came running to me. Without taking anyone’s advice, I accompanied the peasants, with the banana trees, to the governor’s residence. I will explain later why I did not take anyone’s advice. When these peasants reached Suva city, a slogan of ‘ jai’ were being raised, and shopkeepers – black and white – started downing their shutter. When we reached the governor’s residence, some merchants, who were members of the city committee, were already there talking amongst themselves. We finally reached the governor’s garden. I met Shankardas here who was cook at governor’s house. He informed the governor about our arrival. In a few minutes, the governor appeared and asked about the problems. He heard the problems of peasants and ordered orally to go and claim the compensation in the court. Doctor Manilal was residing in Naisuri then. Next day, every peasant received compensations and dictator was thrown out.)

Munshi Rahman Khan has also given many instances when he raised voices against discrepancies and succeeded in his demand on the plantation of

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Surinam. He mentions his leadership under the heading of episodes (Vardat). He writes that his quality of leadership finally made him sardar on a plantation of Surinam. He accepted the position of a leader with the following terms and conditions: First, I should decide how much should be paid to someone according to the hard or easy assignment and have the right to raise the amount upto 6 annas if needed. Second, if somebody does not do his work properly, you may deduct from my allowance and let me decide his or her emolument. And third, is that your behavior towards me should not be like that meted out towards your other sardars, because if I am treated badly, I shall have my own solutions.101

The above episode contradicts Tinker’s idea of ‘lackly leadership’ and the coolies hardly acted in support of their demands for new gains.102 Several times Baba Ramchandra himself wrote petitions regarding the problems faced by the girmitiyas in Fiji. In a petition, he, with other Indians of Ba district of Fiji, demanded the appointment of a Hindustani languageknowing clerk at the local post office who could write correct addresses on postcards and letters. As an evidence, they produced a letter of Surajuddin that had found its way back as a dead letter in the post office due to wrong address.103 Another petition written by Ramchandra, on behalf of Rambharosh Maharaj and others, to the Governor of Fiji shows how the male girmitiyas were aggrieved by the behaviour of women. They complained that these women stayed with one man, took their jewellery and moved on to another. I produce a rough English translation of his petition (Appendix-VI): Suva-Fiji 25th, November, 14. Sir Ernest Bickham Sweet Escott, K.C.M.G. Governor, Fiji. May it please your Excellency, This petition to your Excellency is concerning the cause leading to a great number of hangings [suicide] in Fiji. We think that it is on account of women. A woman lives with a man for 5 or 10 years and after receiving jewelry, etc. deserts him and goes to live with another man. We shall be grateful if Your Excellency will bring before the Legislative Council some suitable law to put a stop to such a practice, and compel a woman to live with one man.

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Coolies of the Empire When a man who has been deserted by his woman attempts to get his jewelry back from her he is sent to goal. Your Excellency is our parent [mai-bap] and there is no one else. We request Your Excellency to consider our petition favourably. 1. Rambharos Maharaj 4. Jughan.

2. Bakhtawar Singh. 5. Wasdeo Rai.

3. Imam din. 6. Mohan Goldsmith.104

In the colonies, all Indians were the same for planters and all had come for the same sort of coolie work. Here, many lower and untouchable castes took revenge from Brahmins and Kshatriyas, who would have been outraged by any contact with them in India. This comes across graphically in the story of Bhagawana Bhangi as recorded by Totaram: I once went to the Luvluv sector [in Lautoka]. There, Bhagavna was the sirdar (foreman) over 150 workers. He enjoyed the confidence of the white manager, who asked him to supervise the work and the workers in the sector. On Sundays, he used to lie in his hammock and get the higher castes to serve him, preparing his smoking pipe and fetching him water. If anyone complained, he would note his name down, mark him absent for a day, and have his indenture extended by a week. In this way, Bhagavna maintained his stranglehold over his workers. Such a thing [an untouchable lording over the high castes] would be unheard of back in India. All this is the result of the indenture system. Bhagavna narrated his story thus: I am from Faizabad district. My landlord there used to beat me every day. All day I would spend collecting his due from his debtors. In the evening he would give me a few cheap rotis. Once my mother took me to the village temple on Lord Ram’s Birthday. Since my mother could not get a good glimpse of Rama’s statue from outside the boundaries of the temple, she began cry. Unable to bear this, I took her inside for a better view. My mother was delighted, but I was severely beaten by the [higher caste] villagers. Fearing more beating the next morning by the landlord, I ran away, got registered in Faizabad, and came to Fiji. Now, for the next five years, these people under me can’t even squeak. Every dog has its day. What happened to me I still remember vividly, and won’t forget for the rest of my life.105

If someone looks at the indenture system from the point of view of an untouchable, it provided an escape from the socio-cultural suppression faced by the lower castes in India. Apart from the above writings of three girmitiyas, there are many other such books which depict the memories and experiences of indenture written by the

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grandchildren of labourers. Their writings are also significant because they represent the views – often scholarly – regarding a new community formed by the indenture system. The extensive writings on indentured Indians in Fiji by Brij V. Lal provide valuable insights on how the system was seen by the FijiIndians. Brij Lal as a grandchild of a girmitiya and as a historian contradicts Ramchandra and Totaram. Lal is also not convinced of the idea of Hugh Tinker that indenture was a kind of slavery, nothing more, nothing less.106 Apart from Brij Lal, many other scholars of the indentured society all over the world such as Gauitra Bahadur, Gerard Tikasingh, Lomarsh Rupnarain, Brinsley Samaroo, Radica Mahase, Kusha Haraksingh, Verene Shepherd, Jeremy Poynting, Maurits Hasankhan (West Indies), Goolam Vahed, Kalpana Hiralal and Ashwin Desai (South Africa) have made indenture a subject of their writings. In their own ways, they have contributed significantly to our revised understanding of the indenture experience (gender, family, work experience and resistance). Basing himself on the experience and memory of his grandfather, Lal argues that though working under the indentured system in the plantation was exploitative, it provided a new space for future development. He compares the development of the girmitiyas’ children and the children in the labour catchment areas of UP and Bihar. Returning from Bahraich – the village of his grandfather – Lal writes caustically: The nouveau riche of New Delhi and the nattering nabobs of Lucknow are quick to consign the bhaiyas, their poor country cousins from the east, to the unlovely fringes of civilized society as a people with no enterprise, no industry, nothing, an embracement and a national disgrace. How sadly and cruelly mistaken they are. These are the same people whose girmitiya cousins in the colonies were able to break the oppressive shackles of caste and communalism and through their sweat and blood lay the foundations of many a new nation in the Third World. Their children and grandchildren are ornaments to their chosen professions: Sir Seeosagar Ramgoolam, Cheddi Jagan, Sridath Ramphal, Rohan Kanhai, V. S. Naipaul. There was nothing inherently defective about the girmitiyas just as there is nothing inherently wrong with the bhaiyas of eastern Uttar Pradesh. It is the system and the values they engendered, which condemned the people to a life of permanent subservience that were at fault. Unfortunately, both are with us still today.107

Brij Lal has written about his journey to India (his grandfather’s country) and he experienced that the country was not what he had in his heart and

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mind. When he visited Vanarasi, a pious pilgrim of Hindus, a pandit cheated him.108 He feels disappointed with the incompatibility of Fiji-Indian and the indigenous Fijian that led to constant tensions between both communities. It was this internecine tension that made him move to Australia. He feels sad that he does not quite belong to any country, which he can call home. It is perhaps appropriate to end this chapter with Brij Lal’s words: How many generations do a people have to live in a place to be allowed to call it home?109

Conclusion The experience of Baba Ramchandra and Totaram Sanadhya shows that girmitiyas realized that they had to undergo the old perennial, oppressive routines of being re-admitted into caste when they came back to their ‘original home’ after a gap of time. They found that everything was already lost – most of their fortune in the hand of their ‘own ties’. They also found the links to their ‘actual ties’ had loosened and needed to be reinforced by expending money which they had earned through their hard labour as indentured labourers overseas. The experiences of Baba Ramchandra and Totaram Sandhya clearly depict that despite having faced the perils of an indentured labourer’s life for a period of five years, it was free from untouchability and other socio-religious discrimination to a great extent.110 Both Ramchandra and Totaram Sanadhya, who belonged to high castes with a penchant for leadership, made small fortunes in Fiji. Ramchandra managed very soon to move away from manual labour to serving in the house of a colonial official. Totaram, for his part, set up a ‘religious shop’. The Fijian experience of being girmitiyas did not outcast these Brahmans, even though they may have married low-caste women. This was due to the no-caste hierarchy to be enforced through hukka-pani band or tat-bahar in the sugar colonies. However, this did not mean that there was no opportunity for low-caste men and women girmitiyas to rise above their caste-station in one or two generations. Labouring away from home did make a world of a difference even to their ‘low-caste’ lives.

Endnotes 1. I am here borrowing from the opening lines ‘Peasants don’t write, they are written about’ of Amin, Shahid. 1995. Event, Metaphor, Memory: Chaura Chauri, 1922–1992. Oxford University Press.

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2. On Baba Ramchandra in Awadh and Chattisgarh, see Siddiqi, Majid Hayat. 1978. Agrarian Unrest in North India, the United Provinces, 1918–22. Delhi: Vikas Publishing House; Kumar, Kapil. 1983. ‘Peasants’ Perception of Gandhi and His Programme: Oudh, 1920–1922.’ Social Scientist 11 (2): 16–30, February; Pandy, Gyanendra. 1988. ‘Peasant Revolt and Indian Nationalism.’ Subaltern Studies II: Writings on South Asian History, pp. 233–287; Dubey, Saurabh. 1998. Untouchable Pasts: Religion Indentity and Power among Central Indian Community, 1780-1950. New Delhi: Vistaar Publication; Rohini. 2003. ‘Baba Ramchandra: An Entry Point of Rural Women of Awadh, Satnami and Chhatisgarh.’ Unpublished M. Phil Thesis. Delhi: Department of History, University of Delhi. 3. Baba Ramchandra Papers [hearafter BRP], Speeches and Writings [hearafter SW], Serial No. 2D, p. 4. 4. BRP, Serial No. 2D, p. 6. Original Hindi Text: Chalne ka karan meri sauteli māta hui. Jisne ki mere pita ko apne vash me kar liya tha. 5. Sanadhya, Totaram. 2012. Bhootlen Ki Katha: Girmit Ke Anubhav, edited by Brij V. Lal, Ashutosh Kumar and Yogendra Yadav (in Hindi), p. 91. New Delhi: Rajkamal Prakashan. Original Hindi Text: Pet Ki Chinta [Fiji] Le Gayi. 6. Sanadhya, Totaram. 1973. Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh, p. 5. Varanasi: Pandit Banarasi Das Chaturvedi. 7. Khan, Munshi Rahman. Jiwan Prakash. Unpublished manuscript, p. 130. Original Hindi text: Unhone [Munshi Rahman’s relative] kaha ki tum pardesh nahi ghume aur na tumko shahar ke thakeron ke chhand fanad malum hai. Mujhe dar hai ki aisa na ho ki kisis thug (arkati) ke jaal me fans jaye aur kahi se kahi chala jaye. Tab maine kaha ki bhai sahib kya mai chidiya hu ki mujhe fansa kar pakad kar bench lewega. 8. Munshi Rahman Khan, Ibid. Original Hindi Test: Unhone puchha ki kyo sahib naukari karenge. Maine kaha kiski naukari hai, unhone kaha sarkari naukari hai. Fir mujhse puchha ki aap padhe likhe hain, maine kaha ji haan middle pass hu. Tab we khush hokar bole tab to sardar honge. Aur tankhwah bhi tumko barah ane roz milegi. 9. BRP, Serial No. 2D, p. 6. Original Hindi Text: Kuch Madrasi kuch Hindustani pahle se hi wahan fans kar rakhe gaye the. … us samay mera naam Ramchandra Rao wald Lakshaman Rao Maratha brahaman va umr me bhi tabdili ki tabto mai kuliyo me bharti huwa. 10. Sanadhya, Totaram. 1973. Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh, p. 5. Varanasi: Pandit Banarasi Das Chaturvedi. This translation is from Kelly, John Dunham and Uttra Kumari Singh. 1991. My Twenty-One Years in Fiji Islands and The History of Story of the Haunted Line by Totaram Sanadhya, pp. 33–35. Fiji Museum. 11. Grierson Report, Diary for 4th–5th January 1883, p. 27. 12. Sanadhya, Totaram. Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh, op.cit., p. 56. It is important to note that the word ‘government work’ has a context refrain. This is a word through which one can be easily enticed. Totaram uses this word to make mockery of the indentured recruitment that recruiters were enticing people through that word. 13. Sanadhya, Totaram. 2012. Bhootlen ki Katha: Girmit Ke Anubhav, edited by Brij V. Lal, Ashutosh Kumar and Yogendra Yadav, p. 98. New Delhi: Rajkamal Prakashan. (Translation mine.)

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14. Sanadhya, Totaram. Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh, op.cit., p. 31 15. Ibid, op.cit. pp. 39–42. 16. Gajpuri, Mannan Dwedi. 1917. Ramlal: Gramin Jiwan Ka Ek Samajik Upanyas, pp. 112–13. Prayag: Indian Press. Original Hindi Text: …Kya aisa bhi koi ādami ilāke me hai jo daroga ji se na darta ho? Aise koi ādami hai to kuli depot ke naukar hain. Bharti wale sahib ke jor par we log police se bilkul nahi darte hain. Rahman kitni hi dafe th āne ke s āmane se gāta chāla gāya. Yah batla dena thik hoga ki bharti ka naukar akela rahman hai, lekin nāta aur jagropan yon chhip- chhip kar kām karte hain, auraton ko phansa-phansa kar lāte hai. 17. Ibid. p. 175. Original Hindi Text: … badahal ganj me jab gāon bhar ki auraton ko dekhte dekhte kuli depot ke ādami ne Dhamarajiya ko jabardasti steamer par chada liya tha. 18. For debates on the migration of single women to Assam tea plantations, see the detailed discussion in Sen, Samita. ‘Unsettling the Household: Act VI (of 1901) and the Regulation of Women Migrants in Colonial Bengal.’ In “Peripheral” Labour? Studies in the History of Partial Proletarianisation (Internation Review of Social History), edited by Shahid Amin and Marcel van der Linden. 4: 135–56. Cambridge University Press. See also Lal, Brij. Girmitiya, p. 78. 19. Samita Sen, Ibid., p. 137. 20. Amin, Shahid. 2005. A Concise Encyclopedia of North Indian Peasant Life, pp. 47–48. New Delhi: Manohar. 21. BRP, SW File No. 2 A, notebook no. 1. p. 14. No other indentured emigrants revealed that the plates provided to them were earthen plates. Original Hindi Text: Nukalau depot vyāpāriyon ka adda hota hai, yaha kuli log pahuchane par vyāpāri jānwaron ko mol lete hai, aise hi kuli longon ko kharidate hain. Acche janwaron ko jaise chhantate hai waise hi ache hatthe katthe kuli va unki auraton ko chhantate hain. Us samay iski aurat usko aur uski aurat koi ski rona padata hai, iske sāth jo samān wagaira rahta hai jahāj wale idhar- udhar kar dete hain. 22. Sanadhya, Totaram. Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh, op.cit. p. 5. Original Hindi Text: Jabardasti chamār, Koli, Brahman ityadi sabko ek jagah baithākar bhojan karāya jāta hai. Lagbhag sabko mitti ke juthe bartanon me bhojan karāya jāta hai aur pāni pilāya gaya. 23. Khan, Munshi Rahman. Jiwan Prakash, p. 136. Original Text: is jagah [in depot] bhi kisi brahman va Kshatriya ne uzr nahi kiya ki in muslmanon avam chamaron, domon ke sath ek me baith kar ham bhojan nahi karenge. Nahi to hamara dharm bhrasht ho jayega! 24. Sanadhya, Totaram. Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh, p. 10. 25. Ibid. p. 61. 26. Lal, Brij. Girmitiya, pp. 41–42, where Lal provides an analysis on women recruitment outside home district. 27. Sanadhya, Totaram. Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh, p. 32, translation from Kelly, John D. and Uttra Kumari Singh, 1991, op.cit., p. 62. 28. BRP, SW File no. 2A, notebook no. 2, p. 10. Original Hindi Text: Sundar striyon ko ekānt me kām de kar gore aur kale dono bhog-vilash karte hai. Garbhavati striyon

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30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40.

41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48.

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ko barabar santān utpati tak kām karna padta hai- na karne par yaha tak kriya ki jāti hai ki garbh patan ho jata hai. For detail of Kunti’s case, see CSOMP 8779/13, 10603/14, 6609/14, 3986/15 NAF. Brij Lal discusses this episode in great detail. Lal, Brij. 1985. ‘Kunti’s Cry: Indenture Women in Fiji Plantation.’ Indian Economic and Social History Review 22 (1). Totaram Sanadhya, op.cit. pp. 13–14. See also the discussion in Rohini. 2003. ‘Baba Ramchandra: An Entry Point of Rural Women of Awadh, Satnami and Chhatisgarh.’ Unpublished M. Phil Thesis, pp. 80–81. New Delhi: Department of History, University of Delhi. Totaram Sanadhya, pp. 15–16. Burton, John Wear cited in ibid., pp. 45–46. Kelly’s translation, op. cit., p. 42. BRP, SW File No. 2A, notebook no. 1, p. 19. Ek stri ke sāth ko purush rakh sakte hain. Bigadne par faujdāri bhi kar sakte hain. Ibid. p. 34. … striyon ki kami hone se jara her fer me padne se jiwan mukt ho jana padta hai. BRP, SW File No. 2D, p. 2. Original Hindi Text: …Fiji ke mazduron ki kamāi striyon ke chaāndi son eke jewar aur kapade reshami khāne pine me ashnāiyon ke jhagadon ke kāran gore vakilon ki kāphi āmdani hoti hai. Sanadhya, Totaram. Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh, p. 47. Original Hindi Text: prati sau purush pichhe 33 striyan lai jātin hai. Iska kāran hota hai ki balātkār apaharan aur vyābhichār ityādi ke hi abhiyog prāyah kachahariyon me dikh jāte hai. Kelly, John D. 1991. A Politics of Virtue: Hinduism, Sexuality, and Countercolonial Discourse in Fiji, pp 30–34. Gill, Walter. 1970. Turn North-East at the Tombstone. Adelaide: Rigby Ltd. In his account Gill describes Indian women. For him, Indian women were highly erotic, ‘feral’, ‘as joyously moral as a doe rabbit.’ ‘If they moved on their bare brown feet with the grace of cats, it was because they all had the uninhabited instincts of animals.’ They were ‘primitive’ ‘who can paint a word-picture of primitive telling a man with her eyes that she loves him’. The woman for him [Gill] was ‘supple, supine Oriental thing of pleasure’. See Gill, pp. 33–40 and 71–84, cited from John D. Kelly, p. 38. Translation from Kelly, John D. and Uttra Kumari Singh, op.cit., p. 58. Ibid. p. 59 Graves, Adrian. 1984. ‘Crisis and Change in the Queensland Sugar Industry, 1862– 1906.’ In Crisis and Change in the International Sugar Economy, 1860-1914, edited by Bill Albert and Adrian Graves, pp. 261–80. Norwich: ISC Press. Sanadhya, Totaram. 1973. Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh, op.cit., p. 34 Ibid, p. 35. Translation from Kelly, John D. and Uttra Kumari Singh, op. cit., p. 68. Ibid. p. 37 Sanadhya, Totaram. 1973. Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh, op.cit., pp. 38–39.

202 49. 50. 51. 52. 53.

54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72.

73. 74.

Coolies of the Empire A Calcutta-based newspaper. Totaram has not provided the date of the publication. Sanadhya, Totaram. 1973. Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh, op.cit., p. 39. Ibid. p. 41. Ibid. 48. Burton , p. 271 Burton mentions in his book about a long conversation with a Brahmin on the religion and on other issues. Totaram’s description confirms that the Brahmin, which Burton was in conversation, was Totaram. See Burton, J. W. 1910. The Fiji of To-day, edited by Charles H. Kelly, 322–42. London. Sanadhya, Totaram. 1973. Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh, op.cit., p. 50. Burton, J. W., op.cit., p. 270. Ibid. p. 51. Burton, p. 270. Ibid. pp. 58–61. McNeil and Chimman Lal report was published in 1914. See, Parliamentary Papers 1914–16 [Cd. 7744] Sanadhya, Totaram. 1973. Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh, op.cit., p. 73 cited translation from Kelly, John D. and Uttra Kumari Singh, p. 95. Sanadhya, Totaram. 1973. Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh, p. 77. Sanadhya, Totaram. 1973. Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh, op.cit., p. 80, cited translation from Kelly, John D. and Uttra Kumari Singh, p. 100. Sanadhya, Totaram. 1973. Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh, p. 82; Sandhya, Totaram. 2012. Bhootlen Ki Katha, p. 42. Sanadhya, Totaram, 1973. Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh, p. 82. Brij Lal has also raised issues regarding the status of Indians in Fiji in his autobiographical writing, Aadhi Raat Se Aage: Fiji Yatra. New Delhi: National Book Trust, 2005. Sanadhya, Totaram. 1973. Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh, p. 84. Ibid. p. 85. Ibid. pp. 85–87. Ibid. p. 89. Ibid. Sanadhya, Totaram. 2012. Bhootlen Ki Katha, p. 42, Cf translation from Lal, Brij V. Chalo Jahaji, p. 246. Ibid., p. 240. Khan, Munshi Rahman. Jiwan Prakash, pp. 58–61. Ibid. p. 49. Sanadhya, Totaram. 2012. Bhootlen Ki Katha, p. 40. Original Hindi Text: Are, lāl dev ye tu bak raha kya Mere paristān me kām insān ka kya Tikhau le lo hansiya, pura kāt pachās ji Mārag chhāy le jhonpada, mā pujau teri ās ji. Ibid., p. 43. Original Hindi Text: Jis jagah kuti hoti hai, ās pās ke logon par har waqt ek na ek chande ka mār āa hi padta hai. Kisi bhi kuti me padhāne ka kām kuchh bhi nahi hota. Khan, Munshi Rahman. Jiwan Prakash, p. 176.

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75. BRP, SW, serial no. 2D. p. 3. Original Hindi Text: Guru aur chelon ka rājya hai guru chelon me antar nahi- guru chele ki striyon me bhi antar nahi. 76. Sanadhya, Totaram, Bhutlen Ki Katha op.cit., p. 47. Original Hindi Text: Shiv me Shakti mil gayi ho to usko alag karna pāp hai, alag ho hi nahi sakti, dekh bachhi ka rup badal gaya hai. Sab kartvya bāba ke samajhkar kharpat laut kar ghar āya. Bābaji bachhi ko lekar desh ko chale gaye. Translation from Lal, Birj. Chalo Jahaji, p. 249. 77. Rohini. 2003. ‘Baba Ramchandra: An Entry Point of Rural Women of Awadh, Satnami and Chhattisgarh.’ MPhil Thesis, p. 83. Delhi: Delhi University. 78. Sanadhya, Totaram, Bhutlen Ki Katha, op.cit., p. 49. 79. Ibid., p. 50. Cf translation from Lal, Brij. Chalo Jahaji, op.cit., p. 251. 80. BRP, SW, F. No. 2A, notebook, no. 1, p. 34. 81. Khan, Munshi Rahman. Jiwan Prakash, p. 124. 82. Sanadhya, Totaram. 2012. Bhootlen Ki Katha, p. 56. Cf translation from Lal, Brij. Chalo Jahaji, op.cit., p. 253. 83. Sanadhya, Totaram. 2012. Bhootlen Ki Katha, p. 58. 84. Amin. A Concise Encyclopedia of North Indian Peasant Life. 85. Sanadhya, Totaram. 2012. Bhootlen Ki Katha, p. 59. 86. Ibid., p. 59. Cf translation from Lal, Brij Chalo Jahaji, op.cit., p. 253. 87. Ibid., p. 59. Cf translation from Lal, Brij. Chalo Jahaji. op.cit., p. 254. 88. Sanadhya, Totaram. 2012. Bhootlen Ki Katha, p. 95. Lal, Brij V. and Yogendra Yadav, eds., op.cit., pp. 136–37. 89. Sanadhya, Totaram. 1973. Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh, pp. 32–33. Cf Kelly’s translation of Totaram’s My Twenty-One Years in Fiji Island, op.cit., p. 62. 90. Sanadhya, Totaram. ibid., p. 34. 91. Sanadhya, Totaram. 2012. Bhootlen Ki Katha, p. 94. Lal, Brij and Yogendra Yadav, ed., op.cit., p. 135. 92. Ibid. 93. Ibid. 94. Ibid. p. 93. 95. Ibid. p. 138. 96. Ibid. p. 130. 97. Lal, B. V. Chalo Jahaji, op.cit., p. 219. 98. Sanadhya, Totaram. 2012. Bhootlen Ki Katha, p. 99. 99. Lal, Brij. 1993. ‘“Nonresistance” on Fiji Plantations: The Fiji Indian Experience, 1879-1920.’ In Plantation Workers: resistance and Accommodation, edited by Brij Lal et. al. Hawaii University Press. 100. BRP, SW, 2D No. 1, pp. 26–28. 101. Khan, Munshi Rahman. Jiwan Prakash, p. 69. 102. Tinker, H. 1974. The New System of Slavery: The Export of Indian Labour Overseas, 1834-1920, p. 226. London. 103. See CSOMP, 10293/14; in Chapter 2, p. 33. 104. CSOMP, 10385/14. See Appendix-IV for the original letter. (Emphasis added). 105. Sanadhya, Totaram. 2012. Bhootlen Ki Katha, pp. 60–61, Translation from Lal, Brij. Chalo Jahaji, op.cit., p. 254.

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106. Brij Lal, grandson of a girmitiya, was born in Tabia (Labasa), Fiji. He is now Professor of History and Director of the Centre for the Contemporary Pacific in the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies at The Australian National University. 107. Lal, Brij. 2001. Mr Tulsi’s Store: A Fijian Journey, pp. 41-42. Canberra: Pandanus Books, Australian National University. 108. Brij. Lal, ibid., pp. 127–38. 109. Lal, Brij. 2005. On the Other Side of Midnight: A Fijian Journey, p. 33. New Delhi: National Book Trust. 110. For more literature on girmitiyas see, Anat, Abhimanyu. 1997. Lal Pasina (in Hindi). New Delhi: Rajkamal; Subramani, ed. 2001. Dauka Puraan (in Fiji Hindi). New Delhi: Star Publication; Kanwal, Joginder Singh. 1999. Dharti Meri Mata. Lautaka; Naipaul, V. S. 1961. A House for Mr. Biswas. Pecador India; Lal, Brij V. 2001. Mr. Tulsi’s Store: A Fijian Journey. Canberra: Australian National University; Sharma, Vivekanad. Jab Manavta Karah Uthi,; Anjaan Kshitij ki Ore (Towards Unknown Horizons – a novel based on a jamnapari Brahman girmitiya); Prashant ki Lahren.

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7

•

The End of the Indenture System Introduction Mobilization against the indenture system began as soon as it came into its own in early 1830s. Humanitarians and others, who were associated with the British abolitionist movement, labelled the indenture system as ‘A New System of Slavery’ and raised their voices against it. They maintained their position until the 1870s, but the system continued with various modifications despite their protests. By the first decade of the twentieth century, Indian nationalists were using the indenture system to criticize colonial rule and organized a campaign for the abolition of the system. This chapter explores the nationalist discourse on indentured emigration and the ways in which Indian nationalists molded their criticism of the system to fit the imperatives of the anti-colonial movement and the elitist and caste bias of some of the Indian nationalist leaders. It argues that the question of indentured Indians did not become a key issue of concern until the first decade of the twentieth century, and a meaningful campaign generated only in the second decade of the twentieth century. By exploring the various dimensions of this nationalist campaign against indentured emigration as it was carried out in the public sphere, including its incorporation into the wider anti-colonial agenda, and the centrality of women in the anti-indenture emigration campaign, it will argue that the overall exploitative nature of the system was a secondary concern in a nationalist discourse that mobilized the question of indenture for wider political purposes.

M. K. Gandhi, the Indian National Congress (INC) and Indian Political Rights in South Africa The pre-history of the Indian nationalist movement’s campaign against indentured emigration was associated with the experience of Indians in South Africa. South Africa was a British colony to which both a large number of indentured labourers and a good many of ‘free’ Indian traders and merchants had emigrated. These trading communities belonged prominently to Gujarat, Bombay and Madras. They ranged from shopkeepers and hawkers

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to prosperous merchants.1 These ‘free’ Indians did not try to establish a relationship with Indian indentured labourers. They were largely indifferent to the condition of their indentured brethren and always perceived themselves to be superior to the latter. 2 The first political shock came for ‘free’ Indians of South Africa in 1894, when the Natal Assembly passed a bill to disenfranchise Indians. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who was in South Africa at that time to help Gujarati businessmen in legal matters, resolved to fight against this bill. Gandhi writes that he formed the Natal Indian Congress (NIC) to fight against such discrimination and sent a petition with ten thousand signatures to Lord Ripon, Secretary for the Colonies in London, who finally cancelled the Natal Assembly Bill disenfranchising Indians.3 The NIC was primarily concerned with the interest of non-indentured Indian traders as the act they were protesting against was affecting ‘free’ Indians’ rights in Natal.4 In 1906, Gandhi started his Satyagraha campaign in South Africa. Dominant historiography contends that the aim of Gandhi’s movement was to abolish the abominable indenture system.  Huge Tinker argues that Gandhi’s movement in South Africa was to ‘improve the condition of Indians,’ especially indentured labourers, and that Gandhi was the man who questioned the whole indenture system. According to Tinker, ‘Gandhi in South Africa succeeded in elevating the conditions of his fellow countrymen into the burning issue of the day for all politically-conscious Indians’.5 He went on to argue that Gandhi, during his Satyagraha campaign, altered his style of dress to look like an indentured labourer.6 However, a more careful study of Gandhi’s Satyagraha in South Africa leads to different conclusions. During 1906–13, Gandhi focused his campaign on some specific issues – the annual license tax of three pounds for every ‘free’ Indian, a restrictive immigration bill which prevented Indians travelling to or settling in other regions and the state’s refusal to recognize traditional Indian marriages. Though Gandhi’s campaign against such acts on the part of the South African Government was indirectly related to the condition of indentured as well as ‘free’ Indians, it was not until 1913 that he directly evinced a concern for the fate of indentured Indians. In a confidential letter written to Hermann Kallenbach in June 1913, Gandhi declared that he had resolved ‘in my own mind the idea of doing something for the indentured men’.7 Yet, letters written by Gandhi to Kallenbach and other friends show that the great strike of 1913 was not influenced by Gandhi, rather the participation of indentured workers in the great strike against the annual license tax of three pounds was mostly

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spontaneous.8 Similarly, if we look at its final outcomes, we find that Gandhi ended his Satyagraha campaign with a compromise that did not achieve the ‘actual’ goal of legal equality for which he had initiated his struggle. Indians were still without political rights and still had to obtain permits to travel from one South African province to another. The Indian Relief Act, which Gandhi once described as a ‘Black Act’, did not relieve the situation of the indentured labourers still under contract, who had been the main body of strikers and marchers. Thus, as Joseph Lelyveld points out, the end of the indenture system had never been one of the declared aims of Gandhi’s Satyagraha in South Africa, nor did his campaign materially affect the condition of Indian contract labourers.9 Indian National Congress (INC) took up the issue of discrimination against Indians in South Africa simultaneously with Gandhi’s protest. Soon after the Natal Assembly Bill to disfranchise Indians was passed, the INC passed a resolution against it in 1895. Parmeswaram Pillai, in Poona Congress of 1895, spoke on the issue: The Natal Government had not differentiated between different classes of Indians, referring to all as ‘coolly immigrants’ ... Many of our brethren being equally competent with white settlers in point of wealth and ability to exercise the right to vote, are disenfranchised and are further subjected to other disabilities, for no other reason that some of the Indians have to work as coolies.10 (Emphasis added)

For Pillai and other early nationalists, it was not the condition of indentured workers that was the problem per se, but the fact that respectable and wealthy ‘free’ Indians were being treated in the same way as those who were working as ‘coolies’. ‘Indian coolies’ were thus seen as part of the problem, rather than as focus for reform, as their presence resulted in ‘free’ Indian merchants and middle-class migrants being treated with the same attitude and subjected to some of the same restrictions in the political arena of South Africa. Thus, while the act itself was racist in its attitude against (free) Indians, the assumptions on which opposition to it were based were deeply embedded in hierarchical assumptions about caste and status within the overseas Indian communities. Gandhi, during a visit to India in 1896, delivered a speech against racial discrimination in South Africa, raising the issue at the INC meeting held in Bombay that year. ‘Every Indian, without exception, is a coolie in the estimation of the general body of the Europeans.’ He told his audience:

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Coolies of the Empire storekeepers are coolie storekeepers. Indian clerks and schoolmasters are ‘coolie clerks’ and ‘coolie schoolmasters’. Naturally, neither the traders nor the English-educated Indians are treated with any respect.11

Similarly, at a meeting in Madras, he declared ‘every Indian without distinction is contemptuously called a coolie’.12 Gandhi and other Indian nationalists saw such discrimination as racism against Indians in South Africa, but this did not mean that they were immune from their own caste and classbased forms of prejudices. In a speech at the Calcutta Congress in 1901, while raising the issue of the racism being faced by Indians in South Africa, Gandhi himself presented an upper-caste elitist argument: Gentlemen, throughout South Africa, our grievances are arises [sic!] from the reproduction of that anti-Indian feeling in anti-Indian attitude of the European Colonialist, and the second class of grievances arise from the reproduction of that anti-Indian feeling in anti-Indian legislation throughout the four colonies in South Africa. To give you an instance of the first class of grievances, I may tell you that all the Indians, no matter who they may be, are classed as a coolie. If our worthy president [D. E. Wacha] were to go to South Africa, I am afraid he too will class as a coolie.13

Thus, while the Indian nationalists were criticizing the Act of the Natal Government against non-indentured Indian mercantile groups as racist, they were discriminating between indentured and non-indentured Indians, and reproducing hierarchies of status which assumed that the latter were superior than the former. Hence, even though the issue of indentured Indians came up for discussion again at the INC Ahmedabad session in 1902, and the issues of indentured labourers in colonies other than South Africa began to figure into the proceedings of the Congress in 1904, it was not until the first decade of the twentieth century that the indenture system itself became central to their concerns. Prior to that, it was the discrimination faced by ‘free’ Indians which formed the focal point of criticism by Gandhi and other nationalists. Indentured labourers, or ‘coolies’, came into the picture primarily as a way of contextualizing the inferior status that was supposedly imposed on ‘free’ Indians by their association with their indentured compatriots. In this early period, Gandhi and other Indian nationalists were concerned primarily with the institutionalized tendency of the whites in South Africa to group all Indians into one category, rather than with the bad treatment or conditions encountered by indentured migrants. When Gandhi and INC saw no hope

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from the government in securing equal treatment for ‘free’ Indians in South Africa, they looked for an alternative. They thought that if they could cut off the supply of indentured labour from India, the prosperity of Natal would decline, forcing the authorities to take a more conciliatory stance. When they failed in a limited effort to this effect in 1905, the INC passed a resolution asking the Government of India and Her Majesty’s Government to prohibit the recruitment of indentured labourers for Natal. It was a frustrating moment for Indian nationalists, especially when the union of South Africa in 1909 initially passed a bill that provided no political rights to British Indians. Although political rights for British Indians in South Africa were the main focus of the campaign, the nationalist incorporation of the ‘coolie’ in their debates raised the profile of indentured labour in the Indian public sphere. Many newspapers began covering issues relating to emigrants who were serving in the colonies. A correspondent of Swarajya (Allahabad), for example, writing in the issue of 22 August 1908 under the heading ‘Is slavery entirely suppressed?’, complained that Indian coolies were grossly ill-treated in Mauritius, and that the agreement they signed condemned them to a refined form of slavery. ‘No coolie can expect justice from the Magistrate and Europeans,’ he declared. The newspaper advised the people of India to start an agitation on behalf of their countrymen in Mauritius.14 Likewise, responding to a letter published in Swarajya regarding the ill-treatment of Indian coolies in Mauritius, the Abhyudaya (Allahabad) on 11 September 1908 suggested the desirability of government appointing a commission consisting of one official and two non-official Indian members to enquire and report on the ill-treatment of Indians in Mauritius and other colonies. The commission was also asked to suggest suitable steps to secure good treatment for its Indian subjects on foreign lands, suggesting that the government feel it was its duty to ascertain how far the regulations of the Indian Emigration Act were being considered in practice. Suggesting a solution to the problem, the editor urged both the government and leading Indians to take steps to encourage the industrial development of India. This way, Indian labourers might be able to find employment in their own country, and not be obligated to migrate to colonies where they are subjected to unheard miseries and troubles.15 The attitude of the press in the early twentieth-century India on the issue of indenture seems quite confrontational. The press not only highlighted the murders, suicides and large number of persecutions under various Acts by the colonial courts in the colonies, but also questioned the application of ‘colonial

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justice’. The Indian People (Allahabad) on 13 September 1908, referring to the recent persecution of Indians in South Africa, remarked16: How long oh! How long shall this state of affair go on? It is really a fiction, this love of justice and fair play of the Britisher [sic!]? Or, is it that the old sturdy race of God-fearing Englishmen is passing away? So long as Indians are treated in South Africa in the way they are treated now will Extremism thrive in the soil of the peninsula of Hindustan, the Incitements to Violence Act, the Sedition section of the Indian Penal Code and the ‘Good Behaviour’ section of the Criminal Procedure Code notwithstanding.

The Advocate (Lucknow) on 1 October 1908 referring to the large number of suicides among the indentured Indians in Natal advised the government to establish a board of emigration to give correct information about the conditions of labour in foreign countries and to look after labourers in the colonies. In conclusion, the editor opined: Here is indeed a plain duty incumbent upon the government of India at a time when Natal has chosen to make things so hot there fore the free Indian. A sharp reminder at this juncture may act like a tonic.

It was the build-up of opinion against indenture in the Indian press that formed the backdrop of the efforts of the veteran nationalist Gopal Krishna Gokhale to pressurize the Government of India into abolishing the system. Apparently, still more interested in the indentured labourers’ potential political value than in whether they were victims of an unfair system, Gokhale suggested that Natal’s labour recruitment could be used as a bargaining point to gain a better position for free Indians. On 25 February 1910, Gokhale moved a resolution in the Legislative Council for the prohibition of the recruitment of indentured labour in British India for Natal and argued that the ‘Indian problem in South Africa has arisen out of the supply of indentured labour to Natal’.17 For him, the indenture system should be abolished because: …continued influx of indentured labour into South Africa and the consequent inevitable annual additions to the ranks of the ex-indentured tends steadily to lower the whole position of the free Indian population. The feelings of contempt with which the indentured Indians is generally regarded comes to extend itself not only to the ex-indentured but even to traders and other Indians of independent means.18

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So, for Gokhale, the indenture system was affecting the status of free Indians in South Africa. For him, the South Africans were treating all Indians on the same footing in the civic and political arena. This was lowering the status of non-indentured Indians. Hence, the system had to be abolished. Gokhale showed considerable anxiety on the issue of the political rights of ‘free’ Indians in South Africa. He admitted that one of his motives was to retaliate against South Africa. He spoke: I urge this resolution on the acceptance of the council because I believe it will prove of some use in remedying the evil from which we suffer. But I confess that even if there had been no chance of its proving in any degree effective, I should still have proposed it, because I think it is necessary for us now to mark in a formal and responsible manner our resentment at the treatment meted out to us by the South African colonies and not to take that resentment entirely lying down.19

The most important Muslim politician on the council, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, was even more outspoken. He declared: ‘I have no hesitation in stating frankly here, that the first, and the primary object of this resolution is, retaliation, and the second or subsidiary object which is no doubt in the interests of the labour itself.’ Attempting to strike a bargain, Dadabhai Naoroji supported the resolution and suggested the Government of India to pressurize the South African Government to sort out the issue of ‘free’ Indian settlers. He also indicated that if this was not done, it would be disadvantageous for their prosperity which depended on Indian indentured labourers. He spoke: Of the South African colonies Natal employ a large number of Indians under a system of indenture. So many as five to six thousand labourers emigrate to that colony every year from India. This is a lever in the hands of the government, which can be used to great advantage in any settlement of the Indian question throughout South Africa.20

Dadabhai Naoroji was, thus, not interested in the abolition of the indenture system in South African union. Rather, he suggested that the Government of India should bargain with the South African Government on behalf of ‘free’ Indians who have settled there. He wanted to use the benefits of Indian indentured migration to inf luence their decision. South African union’s capitalists had indeed already stopped demanding indentured labour from

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India by 1910. It was instead intended to support the political rights of nonindentured Indians in South Africa. The idea of abolition was only a tactic to help achieve that goal. In the meantime, the Government of India appointed a committee under Lord Sanderson in 1909 to review indentured emigration to the colonies. The Sanderson Committee submitted its report in April 1910. The committee pointed out the positive and negative aspects of the indenture system and recommended some modifications. 21 With the publication of Sanderson Committee report by the Government, Indian nationalists, especially Gokhale, took up the issue once again. In spite of the prohibition of indentured labour recruitment from India to Natal in 1910, ‘free’ Indians could not get equal political rights in South Africa. This was a big challenge for the upper caste elites of India. It was now time for retaliation against the British Government, as Indian nationalists felt that the British Government was conniving in the discrimination against diverse British subjects in the empire. Gokhale took advantage of the evidence contained in the Sanderson Committee Report, and on 4 March 1912, he proposed a resolution in the Imperial Legislative Council for the abolition of the indenture labour system altogether. This time Gokhale picked up the abuses of the indenture system. For instance, he raised the issue of criminal penal laws, suicides and murders on the plantations and mortality on ships. He paid attention to women recruited under indenture and argued that incorporation of women of ‘loose character’ to fulfill the required quota of female workers on the plantation encouraged peasants to indulge in immorality. The immoral relations on the plantation existed not only between many of indentured women and men, but also between the women and some of planters themselves, or their overseers.22 He argued that the system degraded the people of India from a national point of view. Due to this system, overseas Indians were known as ‘coolies’, no matter what their actual position was. In South Africa, unbearable tax burdens drove men to crime and women to shame. Gokhale concluded that such a system degraded the self-respect of Indians.23 H. S. Fremantle, an official member of the Legislative Council with experience of the north Indian labour market, strongly objected to the grounds on which the system was criticized by Gokhale.24 He contended that people from Gonda, Fyzabad, Basti, Gorakhpur and Benaras were very well acquainted with the conditions of service in the colonies. ‘Every man goes because his own people or relations have been there and knows perfectly well the conditions under which they work.’25 To reject the views of Gokhale, he provided the statistics of land acquired by indentured Indians in the various colonies:

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Indians in British Guiana own property averaging pound 2 per head for each man, women and child in the community; that in Trinidad in 14 years 70,000 acres of crown lands have been bought by the Indians; that in Fiji between the years 1898 and 1908 the land held by the Indians, whether on leasehold or freehold terms, increase from 6,600 acres to 46,000 acres. 46,000 acres would be 17 acres per head for every man, woman and child in the free community in Fiji.26

Fremantle quoted the two English-educated children of an indentured labour, Francis Edward Muhammad Hussain and George Fitzpatrick, who testified before the Sanderson Committee that coolies were well treated in the colonies and ended up becoming prosperous. Fitzpatrick had stated in his memorial submitted to the Sanderson Committee: The east Indians, after their term of indenture, have proved themselves to be desirable colonists; they have purchased Crown lands, and have successfully opened up the country; they undertake cane farming, kitchen-gardening, and on them the colony is largely dependent for vegetables, &c. they became skilled labourers and are employed by the local roads, municipalities, railways, etc. They and their descendants became proprietors, merchants, shopkeepers, contractors, teachers, etc., all of whom are most loyal and patriotic, thus forming an important factor in the colony.27

Further, Fremantle contended that the conditions and wages of emigrants are far better than that of the sawak labourers of Bahraich.28 Fremantle, the Indian Civil Service officer, tried to reverse the nationalist argument. For him, Gokhale’s resolution was an attempt to stop poor labourers of India becoming successful proprietors: …Only last week I read in the Statesman about a class of self-tenants in the vicinity of Giridih who in return for a loan of from Rs. 20 to Rs. 40 practically sell themselves into perpetual servitude. It is said, indeed, that the position becomes hereditary, the son taking over the burden of his father’s debt. Well, that is some indication of the position to which these poor labourers, with their dependents numbering some 46 million in this Indian empire, may fall, and I think that a class of men who are exposed to such economic conditions and who are liable to fall into a state of lifelong hopeless servitude will hardly object to a five years’ indentureship and to a free life to come; and I think that they will not thank the Hon’ble Mr. Gokhale for the attempt which he is now making to cut away the ladder to becoming proprietors of land and self-respecting citizens of Empire.29

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Hence, Gokhale’s criticism did not successfully affect the government attitude towards indentured emigration. Over a period of time, the system had undergone considerable improvements and had produced an economically enhanced new class in the colonies, who were more concerned about their rising social status than ending the indenture system. In South Africa, for instance, there were two major organizations, the Natal Indian Patriotic Union (NIPU, founded 1908) and the Colonial Born Indian Association (CBIA, founded 1911), comprising of members who were former indentured Indians, or their offspring, who represented a newly emergent elite. As a result, they were centrally concerned about their rising social status rather than the abolition of the system.30 At the same time, there was no vocal opposition to the system among the indentured labourers themselves. For this reason, the Government of India ignored the demands for abolition of the system by Indian nationalists. Twenty-two members of the Imperial Legislative Council supported Gokhale’s resolution of 1912 and thirty-three opposed it. So the resolution was rejected. This defeat of the anti-indenture resolution was frustrating for the nationalists. Gokhale promised to keep introducing similar motions until one was passed. In the meantime, nationalists concentrated on the issue of treatment of Indians in the empire and abolition and, on the eve of the First World War, began a mass campaign against indenture.

Indentured Women and Nationalist Mobilization A column published in Bharat Mitra in 1913 titled ‘The cry of an Indian woman from Fiji’ provided an opportunity for Indian nationalists and anti-indentured campaigners to criticize colonial policy and British rule. The column concerned a letter from an Indian indentured woman named Kunti, daughter of Charan Chamar of Lakhuapokhar in Gorakhpur district. In her letter, Kunti alleged that she had been raped by the white overseer and a sardar of her plantation on 10 April 1913. With great difficulty, she was able to protect her virtue by running away and plunging into a river. She was rescued by a boy who was on his boat nearby. Many English and vernacular newspapers reproduced the letter of Kunti,31 while Indian nationalists also brought the case to public notice and started raising the issue of outrages on the plantations against the daughters of India. Despite the fact that she belonged to a chamar caste, many nationalists eulogized Kunti and expected all Indian women to be like her when it came to protecting their virtues. Bharat Mitra wrote on 8 May 1914:

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In spite of her being of the cobbler caste, she has surpassed many well-to-do (high class) ladies by the courage shown by her in jumping into the stream to save her chastity. This will gain for her a place in the list of honourable and brave ladies. Our countrywomen should learn a lesson from the way in which she treated the immigration officer. Even on critical occasions one ought to stand by right (i.e. virtue?). A time there was when our country had many ladies of Kunti type, but unfortunately that condition does not prevail now. 32

A poet composed a poem on the episode: To attack the virtue of pure women (satis) The unjust people got ready,

Kunti plunged into the bottomless water. But did not flow in the midstream. In the mill of oppression,

Did not abandon her duty.

The brave will not relinquish their righteous Hindu way of life; They are not fools.

This degradation must be addressed. Every Kunti’s life must carry on.

Without adopting a righteous way of life, Truth cannot prevail.33

The story of Kunti provided a strong base to criticize the colonial rule. The Kunti episode became a powerful counter-colonial discourse, wherein an Indian woman was considered to be devoted to her husband, even at the cost of her life.34 Kelly believed that Indian nationalists have created a devotional image of the Indian woman through the Kunti episode, who was saved by God when in crisis.35 As in the Indian bhakti discourses, satitva, the virtue or chastity of woman, is central, the wife’s purity exists through her devotional attachment to her lord/husband.36 Hence for Kelly this devotional aspect of Indian womanhood was made an issue against the colonial rule by the Indian nationalists as under the colonial rule the satitva of Indian women was under threat.37 When Totaram Sanadhya wrote his autobiography Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkish Varsh with the help of Banarsidas Chaturvedi in 1914, he provided details of the Kunti case and pointed out how Kunti protected her chastity through difficulties on the plantation. The Indian nationalist praised the courage of

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Kunti, but the praises were casteist and elitist in nature: for the nationalists, Kunti’s case was not of a virtuous wife but a Chamar woman deciding not to get raped, which was an emulation of high-caste wifely devotion and the ideal of Indian womanhood. In other words, Indian nationalists prioritized the high-caste values even in the selection and interpretation of the victimized Indian woman. The lower caste women could not become the subjecthood for the Indian nationalists till they displayed the virtues usually attributed to upper caste women. The focus of historiographies on Indian women has been understood in the context of Indian nationalists’ responses to the imperialists’ view of Indian society and its women.38 Although scholars have identified masculinity and patriarchy in the nationalists’ construction of women, they have largely failed to appreciate the heterogeneity of the experiences of women in India.39 Historians and feminists have ‘homogenized’ the ‘women’ in Indian contexts and have ignored the layers of female subordination in Indian society. That is why their criticism of nationalist discourse on Indian women is confined largely to masculinity and patriarchy and does not include the parameter of caste. The Kunti episode is a good example of the caste bias of Indian society – the voice of ‘lower castes’ women – is often blurred into the broader category of ‘women’ in historical analysis. Kunti returned to Calcutta in July 1914 with her husband and two daughters when Indian nationalists were politicizing the issue of cruelty towards Indian women in the sugar colonies and demanding the abolition of the indenture system.40 The story of Kunti was already in the public realm and had become the subject discussion for newspaper editorials and poems.41 Emigration officials in India were anxious to hear the news of Kunti’s return to Calcutta. They were apprehensive about her joining the anti-indenture campaigners. After her arrival in Calcutta, Kunti reported her story of victimization on the plantation of Fiji, as well as the psychological and economic troubles she faced during her return journey to concerned officials. She could not return to her village due to her husband’s illness. Instead, she came into contact with Dr. Rambihari Tandon, an anti-emigrationist. She stayed at 160 Harrison Road, which was the main office of the Indentured Cooly Protection Society, or Anti-Indentured Emigration League.42 She also joined the anti-indenture campaigners in Calcutta and delivered a public lecture. Totaram Sanadhya (whose writings were discussed earlier) was another Fijian Girmitiya, who returned from Fiji in April 1914 after spending twenty-one years there. Totaram was already in contact with anti-indenture campaigners like Manilal, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, M. K. Gandhi and C. F.

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Andrews. After his return, he stayed at Dharamtalla in Calcutta for a month and delivered thirteen speeches and distributed fifteen thousand pamphlets with the help of Marwaris campaigning against indenture in the Indentured Cooly Protection Society.43 Totaram travelled from village to village claiming to inform the people about the real truth of the indenture system. He delivered speeches at Calcutta, Lahore, Ambala, Mathura and other places against the coolie system. He appeared as a representative of Fiji Indians at the 29th session of Indian National Congress at Madras and delivered a thirty-minute speech against the indenture system. At the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, Totaram also campaigned against the coolie system and distributed fifty thousand pamphlets attacking the arkati recruiters. To expose the indenture system and to mobilize Indians against it, Totaram, with help from Banarsidas, published his own experiences in the form of an autobiography called Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh in 1914. The book played a significant role in the nationalists’ campaigns against the coolie system. A government official wrote: ‘… he describes in stirring language the brutal atrocities practiced on Indians in Fiji and the numerous ways in which violence is done to their feelings’.44 In his book, along with various errors of the system, he paid special attention to the treatment of women labourers on the plantations. For Totaram, emigration of women under indenture system created a bad image of India in Fiji. An indigenous Fijian commented to Totaram on the condition of women on plantations as follows: … India is a bad country, whose women come to a foreign country, Fiji, to do the work of labourers. Coming here, they suffer many outrages. If the outrages, which are done to your women were done to our women, then we would destroy to the roots the ones responsible.45

What is implicit in Totaram’s story is that although he recognizes the work of women on plantations and is sympathetic to their problems, according to him, women are not naturally built for difficult work. They ‘are soft and tender by nature, who never did hard work at home.’ Thus, Totaram confines women within the walls of a home, and they do not belong to the category of the labourers. In doing so, he ignores the equal role of women in economic labour at ‘home’, that is, India.46 His sympathy for women on the plantations cannot be logically extended while they work in the fields in India. This acts as a contradiction as in his understanding, domesticity being the norm for ‘all’ women, irrespective of their class/caste, have made them already at home. The

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grounds on which the issue of exploitation of women on plantations is being fought is therefore fraught with problems. The campaign to save women from this double exploitation begins, not surprisingly, on the plantations abroad. Ironically, there was no such recognition given to similar exploitations in India. At this point in history, Indians were nowhere near to recognizing the economic contribution of women, whether at home or in the fields. What became visible was women’s role in the nationalist discourse as carriers of culture. Therefore, every time an Indian woman was assaulted on the plantation, it took no time for it be transformed into an attack on the very pride of the newly emerging nation. Influenced by Totaram’s autobiography, many nationalist writers wrote against the system. Lakshman Singh Chauhan wrote a play named Kuli Pratha Arthat Biswi Sadi ki Gulami and published it in Pratap, a popular newspaper of UP.47 The play condemned the policies of British Government and tried to instill patriotism among its readers. However, the Government of India banned this play under the Press Act of 1910.48 The play Kuli–Pratha attacked the indenture system and compared it with slavery. The verse of the front page begins with a poem: Hai ghulam-vyapar yah coolie-pratha ke vesh me Jo ab tak dekha na tha dekha Bharat desh me

(This coolie system is a form of slave trade

We now see in India what we never saw before)

The playbook mentioned in its dedication section that it wished to not fall into the hands of ‘honourable members’ – Rajas and Rai Bahadurs – who bought votes at the cost of the future of the countrymen. It said: Jo ki kiraye ki ‘voton’ par chad council ko jate hain

Ban kar member government se honourable kahalate hain Deshwasiyon ki asha ko kuchal chur karne wali

Sansay sanyunkt mananiyata dhan bal se jinane pa li Un sab raja raybahadur ityadi ke shri kar me

Kabhi na pahuche yah pushtak he ish! Mangta hu var main (Those who come to council, riding on votes bought for money Become honourable getting honour from the government They crush the hopes by sheer force of their money or prowess let Such Rajas and Rajwaras may never get this book, Oh lord! I seek only this moon and blessings.)

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The play was divided into three acts and twenty-four scenes. In the first scene, a prayer was sung by pilgrims to God Sri Jagannath in the temple at Puri. The pilgrims prayed for physical and mental powers and the glory and splendour that once belonged to them. Brij Lal appears as a recruiter who uses various devices and deceptions to motivate villagers to emigrate. Kunti, the original character who was an indentured labourer in Fiji, and Bhola, her husband, were two characters who were influenced by the recruiter to travel to Fiji. The play shows how they were cheated. It also shows how Kunti was separated from her husband and was humiliated during the medical examination. In this episode, Kunti sings: Kaise dharungi dhairya nath ha! Tum bin mai abla nari, Mere lochan tum bin andhe shunya mujhe basudha sari Jiwan ki yatra bhari hai path bhavi me chhipa huwa

Vipada ki nadiyen bahti hain bipin bhayanak sansari Isi liye he nath mujhe tum tajo nahi ha! Daya karo,

Mujhe bachana nath satawengen jab dusht atyachari.49 (How will I be patient oh lord! Without you I am a helpless woman, My eyes turn blind, and naught is the world to me How tiresome/arduous this journey of life is, the road to future is unknown The river of misfortune is endlessly in this horrific world Do not leave me in lurch oh lord! Have pity Save me oh lord from the tyranny of persecutors)

On the plantation, the overseer beat Bhola to death. The play also depicted how Kunti faced lots of troubles on the plantation. After the murder of Kunti’s husband, when the white inspector tries to take advantage of her situation, Kunti burst out with these lines: Fod dungi anguliyon se mai teri aankhe jabhi Khinch leungi tere is pet ki anten sabhi

Ragad dungi adiyon se nich tera hriday bhi

Bas dukhmay is jagat me shanti paungi tabhi.50 (When I’ll blind you with my fingers Will pull out your innards from your stomach Trample your heart with my heels, Only then I’ll rest in peace in this anguished universe.)

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In another scene, some youngsters are shown reading the story of Indians overseas in newspapers. Here, one of them finds a poem depicting the condition of Indians overseas: Arya bhu, tab shantija ramniyata wah hai kaha? Kyo mlan hai, tera badan yah dinta kaisi yaha? Mam balakon ke pair me hai dasta bedi padi Hath me unke jadi nihshastrata ki hathkadi

Pardesh ke sab dwar unke hetu bilkul band hain

Ja sakenge to kuli ban, bhagya unke mand hain.51 (The peace and pleasant of India [Arya land] is not here? Why your body is dirty and how poor you are here? The chain of slavery is in young children here And hands are bound with chain of non-arms).

The play also argued that government–sponsored enquiries were giving false information about the conditions of Indian workers in the colonies. The play concludes that the condition of Indians in Fiji is deplorable, and the resolutions in the Viceroy’s council are not the solutions to the problems. Rather, mass active mobilization and protest is the only way to save our ‘coolie’ brethren in the colonies. The literature on indentured system was distributed among the Indian revolutionaries. Bal Gangadhar Tilak published two articles on such pamphlets in his Marathi newspaper Kesari. Such literature was also found with the conspirators of the Mainpuri case.52 There was a build-up of anti-indenture feeling and mounting pressure by Gandhi’s friends’ – Charles Freer Andrews and William Winstanley Pearson – visit to Fiji to look into the evils and sufferings of indentured labourers as joint honorary secretaries of the League for the Abolition of Indenture Labour.53 Even the Indian government was concerned about treatment of Indian indentured labourers in Fiji as Christian missionaries like J. W. Burton, Hannah Dudley and R. Piper also depicted a negative picture. Indentured labourers such as Totaram Sanadhya too portrayed a similar picture of the conditions at the plantations. Andrews and Pearson published their independent enquiry reports in February 1916.54 Andrews cited many stories of how recruiters deceived men and women in order to bring them to the depots. For these purposes, recruiters chose places of pilgrimage such as Mathura (especially for women), Allahabad and Benaras. Andrews and Pearson were surprised to find that a very large proportion of women were

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recruited at these pilgrim centres.55 (This was quite likely because they were widows.) They reported that the system had produced an abnormal number of murders and kindred crimes among Indians. For them, the cause of such crimes was the disproportion between the number of males and females. They reported that: The majority of those found guilty of such crimes are otherwise quiet and law abiding; and the murders, for which they are condemned to death, are not due to any murderous instinct in them, but really to sexual jealousy.56

Similarly, the Colonial Government contended that the murders in the plantation were due to sexual jealousy. To solve the problem, the government passed a rule imposing a ratio of 40:100 in the recruitment of women and men for work in the sugar plantations. An interesting petition filed by the Fiji Indians, seen by Andrews and Pearson, also contended that the murders in the plantation were due to the disproportionate sex ratio in the colonies. Explaining the causes of violence on the plantations, Brij Lal has argued convincingly that the murders of women in the colonies were not solely due to sexual jealousy, but also due to the disruption of normal social bonds under the plantation regime. To quote him, ‘sexual jealousy was a symptom rather than the cause of the problems that bedeviled indenture…it was the disturbance of the integrative institutions of society – family, marriage, caste, kinship and religion – that was the underlying cause of suicides and other ills afflicting the Indian indentured population in Fiji’.57 In an insightful article, Prabhu Mohapatra has argued that the murder of wives in the plantations was possibly due to the discriminating nature of the labour regime, which had effectively disarmed them of any heavy weapons, such as cutlasses. According to him, ‘the division of labour on plantations had ensured that the women were employed primarily in the lowest paying tasks, in the weeding gangs, while the heavier tasks requiring the use of cutlass, hoes, and shovels were reserved for men’. Hence, the women were unable to defend themselves.58 What has been overlooked by these scholars is the patriarchal mindset of Indian men, which lay behind many of the murders on the plantations. The freedom of women in the colonies from traditional patriarchal restrictions made many male labourers feel threatened. The plantation system had produced a comparatively freer society, devoid of many patriarchal restrictions that shaped gender interactions in India. It had provided a comparatively less restricted space to women where they could choose to follow their own interests. Whenever women faced problems with their husband or partner, it was quite

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convenient for them to free themselves from marital bondages in a way that was simply not possible in India. The plantation system had also removed restrictions over inter-caste and inter-religion marriages. Often, the choice of couples, rather than an arrangement by parents and elders, formed the basis of marriages on the plantations. Indian nationalists found these developments very disturbing. Andrews reported: Divorces were equally common. Women left their husbands for the sake of jewelry and went to live with other men. They seemed to do just what they pleased, and to live just as they liked. Caste and religion were mixed together in common jumble. Hindu girls were sold in marriage to Mahomdans and vice versa. Sweepers’ children were sometimes married to Brahmans. … immigration department marriages are called by the Indians ‘marit’ and it was always necessary in Fiji to ask a man, or women, if they had a ‘marit’ for nothing else was legal.59

Andrew’s report highlighted many cases of ‘honour killings’ in which women were killed for choosing a life partner by themselves. These men supposedly attempted to save the honour of their family and religion to preserve dharma. For Andrews and Pearson, the moral ruin was most pitiful. They reported that the Hindu women in the coolie lines, having no semblance of even a separate home for herself that she can cherish and divorced from all familial ties, had abandoned religion itself. On the whole, Andrews and Pearson tried to show that the indentured system broke every Indian socio-cultural norm and led to the emergence of a different society, where caste and religion were no longer barriers to marriage. For them, it was a degradation of Indian moral-cultural values. All such developments were seen as a danger to Hinduism and to the nation’s prestige. To highlight the issue of the disproportion of women – sexual jealousy among indentured and honour killings – Andrews and Pearson put the women’s sexuality at the centre arguing that these women had lost their ‘morality’. Even though women and men were treated almost equally on the plantations in terms of wages and rights, Andrews and Pearson considered women’s sexuality as the prime reason for this discrimination.

Gandhi, Arya Samaj and Mobilization against Indenture in India In 1913, Lord Hardinge – the newly appointed Governor General of India – had set up a committee under James McNeil and Chimman Lal to enquire

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into the conditions of indentured emigrants in various colonies.60 McNeil and Chimman Lal were sent by the Indian government to report on conditions prevailing in Jamaica, Trinidad, British Guiana and Fiji. They were also sent to the Dutch colony of Surinam and Dutch Guiana. These were colonies where the indenture system was still permitted. They interviewed plantation managers, protectors, government officials, indentured labourers and exindentured workers. Their enquiry concluded by alluding to the few defects in the system while noting its many positive aspects. The report published in 1914 was not to the satisfaction of Indian nationalists. Srinavasa Shastri put forth his views at the 30th Indian National Congress in 1916. He said: … like most reports it contains a certain proportion of facts… some statistics, but the greater ingredient you will find in its composition is that commodity known as ‘white wash’.61

Many newspapers also criticized the report. The Zemana of UP wrote that ‘the condition of the indentured emigrants was lowering the status of all Indian overseas’. Jam-e-Jamshed reviewed the report and condemned the indenture system. The Leader contended that reform is the solution and no palliative measure could prove adequate.62 Indian nationalists now accelerated their mass campaign against the system. On 28 October 1915, Gandhi addressed a huge gathering in Bombay and criticized the McNeil–Chimman Lal report in the following terms: … a benign and sympathetic Viceroy wished to remove this abominable system of indenture from the Indian Statute Book, there was a very serious difficulty in his way and that was the report by the two Commissioners, who were sent by Lord Hardinge, namely Messrs McNeill and Chimmanlal, which was contained in two bulky volumes. All might not care to wade through the rather dull pages of those volumes, but to him who knew what real indentured labour was they were of great interest… the report recognized that indentured labour should continue just as it was … and the recommendations showed that they really could not seriously have meant that the system of indenture which existed today in Fiji, Jamaica, Guiana and other colonies should be continued a minute longer than was actually necessary.63

In his long speech, Gandhi quoted William Hunter’s view that the indenture was ‘semi-slavery’.64 Gandhi said that the labourers were bound hand and foot to the employer, and the ‘protectors’ of emigrants were the same type of people as the planters. According to Gandhi, the system robbed India of national self-respect and was a hindrance to the growth and national dignity.65

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In the December issue of Gujarati magazine Samalochak, Gandhi wrote an article titled ‘Indenture or Slavery’ and explained the indenture system as follows: Girmit is a corrupt form of the English word agreement.66 The term cannot be dispensed with. What it suggests, “agreement” does not. There is an alternative word in the language. The document under which thousands of labourers used to emigrate and still emigrate to Natal and other countries on contract for five years is known by the labourers and employers as girmit. A labourer so emigrating under girmit is a girmitia. About 12,000 such indentured labourers emigrate annually from India, mostly to the Fiji Island near Australia, Jamaica near South America, British Guiana and Trinidad.67

Gandhi further wrote: Indenture is indeed a state of semi-slavery. Like the slave before him, the indentured labourer cannot buy his freedom. A slave was punished for not working; so also is an indentured labourer. If he is negligent, does not attend work for a day, if he answered back, he will suffer imprisonment for any one of these lapses. A slave could be sold and handed over by one owner to another, so too indentured labourer can be transferred from one employer to another. The children of a slave inherited the taint of slavery; much in the same way, the children of an indentured labourer are subject to law specially passed for them. The only difference between the two states is that while slavery ended only with life, an indentured labourer can be free after a certain number of years. It should be noted, moreover, that the indenture came after the abolition of slavery and that indentured labourer were recruited to take the place of slaves.68

Here Gandhi posited himself at variance to Gokhale and the arguments of other nationalists against the indenture system. He sided with the views of nineteenth-century humanitarians like John Russell, John Scoble and others, who had previously criticized the system and described it as a legacy of slavery. Gandhi also criticized the system for making moral and religious Indians immoral. In the countries to which they emigrate, they receive no moral or religious education. Most of them are unmarried. On every ship carrying indentured labourers, there is provision for taking women to the extent of 40 percent. Some of these are women of ill fame… Going to lands so far away, they get into the habit of drinking. Women, who in India would never touch wine, are sometimes found lying dead-drunk on the roads.69

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It is now well - established that the peasants who left India belonged to every social stratum of the society and a sizeable number of them were of high and medium social standing. As Lal has shown, of all women who emigrated to Fiji, 31.4 percent belonged to middle castes, 29.1 percent low caste, 9 percent Kshatriya, 4.1 percent Brahmin and 16.8 percent Muslims.70 It is also important to note that men who were listed with their marital status as single on the plantations were actually not so in many instances. Many of them were not interested in marriage because they had left their wives behind in India and wanted to return after finishing their indenture contract. John D. Kelly has argued that Gandhi borrowed much of his theory of labour and critique of capitalism from Western anti-capitalist writers like Ruskin and Tolstoy. His party was allied in the struggle against indenture with the European anti-indenture critics, including missionaries and anti-slavery campaigners.71 The Arya Samaj and Marwari community of Calcutta also supported the anti-indenture movement.72 The Marwari Association began providing legal aid to those who were victims of this system. In the early 1910s, an incident compelled them to become involved actively in the campaign against the indenture system. The motivation for this was the case of Lakshmi, a Marwari woman, who was enticed by the recruiter on her way to Ajmer from her husband’s house in Agra.73 After this incident, the Marwari community of Calcutta, under the Marwari Sahayak Samiti, began lobbying against the indenture system and its recruitment.74 The Arya Samaj’s movement against indenture system was based in UP and Bihar, and the Marwari Sahayak Samiti was active in Calcutta and its adjoining areas. On 14 August 1914, A. Marsden – a government emigration agent at Benaras – wrote to the Colonial Office about the gathering movement to secure the termination of indentured labour.75 He warned that an association akin to the ‘anti-slavery society’ of Britain has been formed and its objective is to terminate the system of indentured labour. The association ‘consisted of a number of natives influenced by caste prejudices’ with ‘political motives’. ‘They don’t want to hear favourable reports of indentures’, and are ‘opposed on principle to Indians crossing the sea and so losing their caste’.76 The members of the association were distributing pamphlets throughout the recruiting districts and were warning the people about the fraudulent methods of the recruiters. As proof of this movement, the emigration agent at Benaras attached an antirecruitment pamphlet that was being circulated in the districts: Save Yourself from Depot Wallas

Be Careful!!! Be Careful!!! Be Careful!!!

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Coolies of the Empire It is not service but pure deception.

Don’t get enmeshed in their meshes, you will repent. They take you overseas!!!

To Jamaica, Fiji, Damra, Mauritius

British Guiana, Trinidad and Honduras. They are not Colonies but jails.

Save, be careful from depot wallas,

They spoil your religion under the pretense of service. Don’t hear sweet talks, they are your enemies. Dear brothers,

You will find these ‘arkatis’ at the station, at the bazaar and enquire if you are in need of service. They have not got services to offer. They will take you to Calcutta and sell you in other people’s hands on agreement.

They got money for this, with including talks; by offering sweets they induce you. They say they will offer you service. They take you to sahebs. Don’t entangle yourself with their cajoling.

Don’t hear what they say, don’t stand near them. They have sub-depots and agencies everywhere. Wherever you go be careful of these people, don’t forget. Circulate this news to all villages. Satyadeva

Satya Granthamala, Johnstongunj, Allahabad.

Printed at Swadharma Pracharak Press, Delhi.77

The members of the anti-indentured organization of UP were simultaneously addressing the public in markets or hats, delivering lectures denouncing emigration. They had established their branches in Allahabad and Delhi. They chose places like Muttra (Mathura), Allahabad, Benaras and adjoining areas in UP for public lectures. Most of the emigrants belonged to these places. The recruiters were also attacked in these lectures. Marsden saw such kinds of activities as a ‘crusade against colonial recruiting’ which was causing a small decline in the number of intending emigrants.78 In Calcutta, Marwari Sahayak Samiti members were seeking out the relatives of recently enrolled indentured labourers to discourage them from leaving their families. Sometimes these Marwaris raided trains carrying indentured labourers to Calcutta from the countryside. In Marsden’s view, these associations had been formed either at the instigation of or were under the direction of the Arya Samaj, a society constituted for the political and

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social regeneration of India. To describe the objectives of Arya Samaj, Marsden quoted Valentine Chirol’s work Indian Unrest (1910), where he concludes that: Though the Arya leaders are generally men of education and sometimes of great culture, they know how to present their creed in a popular form that appeals to the lower classes, and especially to the agricultural population. One of the most unpleasant features has been the propaganda carried on by them among the sepoys of the native army and especially among the Jats and the Sikhs, with whom they have many point of affinity. The efforts of the Aryas seem to be chiefly directed to checking enlistment, but they have at times actually tempered with the loyalty of certain regiments and their emissaries have been found within the lines of the native troops.79

It is important to note here that many sepoys, who had participated in the 1857 uprising against the British, had enlisted themselves under the indenture system in order to escape imprisonment. In many cases, they had changed either their names or caste to hide their identity.80 The Arya Samaj wanted these emigrating sepoys and their descendants to return to India. Bihar also witnessed anti-indenture campaigns. Several pamphlets were distributed, lectures were organized against indentured emigration, and people were warned of these recruiters in the districts of Patna, Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga.81 Swami Satyadev was the chief leader here, who published and distributed pamphlets and delivered lectures in Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga against the indenture system.82 Purushottam Das was another leader active in Muzaffarpur against the ‘coolie’ system. He printed twenty thousand pamphlets in Hindi against indentured emigration to the colonies. These were distributed widely in the district. A translation reads as follows: ESCAPE FROM DEICEVERS.

ESCAPE FROM THE DEPOT PEOPLE BEWARE! BEWARE! BEWARE! It is not service. It is woe.

Don’t fall in to their snare. They will ruin you. You will weep your life along.

Instead of rupees, rubbish will fall (on you). They are taking you across the sea!

To Mauritius, to Demerara, to Fiji, to Jamaica, to Trinidad, to Honduras. They are not islands; they are hell.

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Coolies of the Empire Do not go by mistake. By exciting your greed for money they will destroy your caste. There will you have to break stones. On board ship people only get one seer of water in twenty-four hours. At stations, on pilgrimages, in dharmsalas, in the bazaar they will ask you if you want employment. They have no employment to give. They will take you to Calcutta where by contact They will sell you into the hands of sahibs.

These men are given money to deceive people. They delude them with sweet words and sweetmeat. Fall not into their snare.

Do not listen to their words. These men are to be found everywhere. Proclaim this loudly in all villages.

The petitioner Purushottam Das, Vaishnav, Muzaffarpur [Let anyone who wishes, ask for this notice free of charge.]

Every literate brother is prayed to read this to his illiterate brethren and sisters. It will be as meritorious as a yajna. Narayan Press, Muzaffarpur, no. 68, 6-6-15, 20,000 copies printed.83

Malaviya Resolution and the End of Indenture It was in such a charged atmosphere of propaganda and mobilization on the indenture issue that Madan Mohan Malaviya moved a resolution on 20 March 1916 in the Indian Legislative Council for the abolition of the system of Indian indentured labour. On this occasion, Malaviya criticized the system and repeated the points raised by many nationalists in their earlier resolutions. For instance, he highlighted the communication and legal-literacy gap between the contractors and the ‘simple village people’ who entered indenture. He pointed out that the structure of legal provisions that underpinned the system was utterly unfair. Under such a system, once a peasant or villager was tied down to work, he could not buy back his freedom as he had no means to do so. The next point he raised against the indentured system was the nature of services which the emigrants had to render. Often coolies were not given the work they had been contracted to perform. Malaviya affirmed that the coolies were compelled to perform the hateful task of chopping meat. Here again, Andrews was quoted: A low caste Hindu, who was brought out under for ‘agricultural work’ was set to cut up meat in a butchery. When asked by us how he, a Hindu, could engage in such work, he replied that he could not help it, as he was ordered to do it.

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A Kabir Panthi, now out of indenture, had been originally obliged to do the same kind of work. He told us that he had continually refused and had been imprisoned. We looked up his record on the estate and found he had been given 692 days’ imprisonment while under indenture.84

He maintained that the emigrants were confronted with poor conditions on board emigrants’ ships, and sometimes plunged into the Hugli river to escape or committed suicide in the high seas. He pointed out the cruelty of working hours, especially for women. He claimed that even women with children had to work for seven to ten hours a day. Girmitiyas were also troubled by wage cuts and the high cost of food. Another point of criticism of the system was the large number of prosecutions of indentures. Indians were prosecuted not only for desertion or criminal conduct, but also for indecent use of words or gestures.85 On the basis of data provided by Sanderson Committee and two other committees of 1909 and 1913, respectively, Malaviya demonstrated that the system placed too much power in the hands of overseers who were equally involved in the delinquency on the plantations. Malaviya raised many issues related to the sexuality of women, such as the allegation of growing immorality due to the paucity of women and non-validity of the Indian marriage system. This resulted in the high frequency of suicide and murders on plantations. In Malaviya’s resolution to abolish indenture, the question of women’s sexuality and national pride were central to his argument. As mentioned above, even though various claims made by Malaviya were justified in some ways, he was building up a nationalist agenda against indenture, instead of addressing the actual problems of the labourers. At first, the British government was unwilling, but ultimately gave in to the nationalist campaign. At this juncture, the planters in the colonies were no longer in need of fresh Indian labourer. Sydney Mintz has explained that this was due to the increase in the settled population, falling sugar prices and the huge development of the sugar-beet industry in Europe and North America by 1917. This led to a worldwide decline in the plantation system, and a move away from plantations to a ‘central milling’ system with cultivation increasingly in the hands of small-scale proprietors.86 Hence, the British government gave in rather quickly, accepting Madan Mohan Malaviya’s resolution pressing for abolition. However, this was done on the condition that they will ensure that the emigration of Indian labour continued in a different form (e.g. contracted rather than indentured labour). While the Government of India and Colonial Government were asking various authorities to suggest an alternative system,

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protests against the continuance of indentured emigration to colonies were on the rise all over the country.87 The Nightingale of India, Sarojini Naidu, addressed a mass meeting in Allahabad on 9 January and said: I am a woman, and though you may not feel the dishonour that is offered to your mothers and sisters, I feel the dishonour offered to me in the honour of my sex… for women, for those women whose proudest memory is that Sita would not stand the challenge to her honour but called upon Mother Earth to avenge her and the earth opened up to avenge her…I came to speak on behalf of those women whose proudest memory lies in this, that Padmini of Chitor preferred the funeral pyre to dishonour. I come to speak on behalf of those women who like, Savitri, have fooled their men the gates of death and have won back, by their indemonstrable love, the dehumanized soul of their men in the colonies abroad. ...I ask you in the name of murdered sister, that sister whom Mr. Andrews told us,88 that found in death only deliverance from dishonour. I ask you in the names of those two brothers who preferred to save the honour of their family and religion in the blood of their sister rather than let her chastity be polluted.89

What we would recognize as ‘honour killing’ is eulogized by a woman nationalist leader, who justifies this murder as martyrdom so long as women remained an agent of Indian patriarchal norms. Andrea Major argues in the context of Sati and Indian nationalism: ‘the ethos of Sati epitomized the stoicism, purity and sacrifice of the nationalists’ new women’.90 Hence, in the debate on indenture, Indian nationalists, both male and female, were defending murders and the killing of women as an ideal of Indian femininity and Hindu tradition. While the termination of the indenture system was under consideration by the Colonial Government, poet Maithalisharan Gupt captured the plight of indentured labourers and the loss to India of overseas emigrants in a long poem. He wrote in his poem Kisan about the miserable conditions of peasants that force them into migration to Fiji. He mentions how arkatis cheated and used fraudulant means to recruit illiterate peasants. He also shows how they suffered on the plantations. A person just asked me on the bank of the Triveni Oh! I moved to pity to see you.

You seem sad, what troubles do you have?

It is hard to live on, as this country is ruined! But there is no need to be worried now,

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You have the blessings of God now. Today, and just from today your troubles are over, Your bad days are over. Clothes-food and a monthly salary of fifteen rupees, pilgrimage too; Work that gives you name and fame and also leisure. You will be sailing the seas and wonderful sights you will see. Do you know of Puri?

Have you ever been to Dwarika?

Is she daughter-in-law/ wife? Very well then, this is an opportunity designed by destiny. You will remember me; someone there was concerned about me! I was surprised, is he human or divine;

But later I came to know about that arkati (recruiter)! Beware! Countrymen, yes in your country

Many devils roam in the guise of human!91

Under a subtitle ‘Fiji’, he writes: The evil Arkati had said – Fiji is heaven on the earth,

Even though under the sky, it soars above in the heaven! I say if Fiji is heaven, then where is hell?

Wherever hell may be but the conditions [in Fiji] are worse than hell could never be.92

Gupt also praised Andrews and Pearson for their restless work for the indentured labourers and abolition of the coolie system. Two hearted persons came there soon

Seeing our miseries, tears welled up in their eyes. Their names are Andrews – Pearson

They worked for the welfare of humanity.93

Gupt also praised Lord Hardinge, the Governor General of India, for abolishing the indenture system: Finally, the government of India took cognizance of the matter The breach of trust inherent in the voluntary coolie system. Lord Hardinge a man of stature, may he be blessed,

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Coolies of the Empire Did not tolerate we evil in justice!

Where there was one woman among three men,

That unethical kuli system finally, came to an end.94

Other writers made the same issue the subject of their writings. Mannan Dwivedi Gajpuri in his novel Ramlal wrote: …Is there anyone in this region who does not fear the darogaji. If there are some, they are the servants of coolie depot. On the strength of recruiter sahab, they do not feel any fear of the police. Many a time Rahman must have passed the thana, singing. It may be noted here that the recruiter is Rahman alone, however, Nata and Jagropan work clandestinely and trap women to bring them here.95 …in Badahal ganj in full view of all the village women he forced Dhanrajiya to get on board the steamer.96

A Bhojpuri poet, Babu Raghuvir Narayan, composed a purbi – a genre of Bhojpuri song which depicted India as a heaven on the earth. It metaphorically portrayed how indentured Indians imagined their home country from the host country and eagerly dreamed of visiting their homeland. His song titled Batohiya became extremely popular in the beginning of the twentieth century when the anti-indentured migration campaign was at its height. G. A. Grierson recorded this purbi song by Jadunandan Sahay in their gramophone in 1920 for Linguistic Survey of India: Beautiful good land brother India its country is, My life soul lives snowy cave O traveller.

One door (gate) encircling Rama Himalaya sentinel like, Three door (gate) sea roars O traveller.

Want to go O traveller to see Hindustan, Where Cuckoo sings coos O traveller.

Scented air breeze slowly from the sky,

Wife sings a song of separation O traveller...

Pure and transparent water of Ganga and Jamuna,

Sarju runs ripples O traveller... Agra, Prayag, Kashi, Delhi, Calcutta, My life (soul) lives Sarju’s bank O traveller.

All areas of country are fortunate with nice faces, My Hindustan is essence of world O traveller.

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Beautiful good land brother India its land where, People ‘Raghubir’ head down O traveller.97

Influenced by the nationalist campaign, many folk songs were composed tallying with the contemporary rhythm of popular folk presentations. Some of these were Bidesiya by Pandit Beniram written in the mid-nineteenth century, and later presentation of a very popular play named Bidesiya by Bhikhari Thakur.98 The latter depicted the alleged fraudulence in recruitment and hardships on the plantations of sugar colonies. One such song composed on the theme of Bidesiya is. In the regime of British,

I was compelled to leave country,

White government played a trick O migrant …

To see me innocent an arkati/recruiter misled me, Go beyond Calcutta for five years O migrant.

To bring into depot make over the [contract] paper, Took fingerprints on it O migrant.

In the sailing ship sit with lots of cry,

How would I cross the black-water O migrant… In the dark room the night was not passing, How do I express my pain O migrant?99

In this respect, the abolition of indenture mirrored the movement for the abolition of slavery. It was a great moral campaign, which was of tremendous political importance. The Malaviya resolution was the first major piece of legislation proposed by Indian nationalists to be accepted by the Indian legislative council – a cause which was economically not so difficult for the authorities to concede. It served only their self-interest – political hegemony and profit. In this case, they were able to keep the nationalist elite on their side, without ruining an important industry. Only the Indian labourer was to suffer by being denied an employment opportunity.

Conclusion The movement against the indenture system did not begin due to the issue of sufferings of Indian indentured brethren and sisters under the plantation regime. Rather, it was the desire for equal political and citizenship right to

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‘free’ Indian migrants in the colonies, especially in South Africa, which set the ball rolling in the early twentieth century. Till the first decade of this century, indentured Indians were not the main concern for the Indian nationalist elites. Both ‘free’ Indians in South Africa and elite Indian nationalists differentiated themselves from the ‘coolie’ Indians overseas. The opposition of the Indian nationalists to indentured migration stemmed from the fear of Indian merchants and middle-class migrants of being treated on the same pedestal in the civic and political arena as ‘coolies’ in South Africa. In Indian nationalist campaign against indentured emigration as it was carried out in the public sphere, the overall exploitative nature of the system was a secondary concern. When the question of exploitation of Indian women on the plantations came to the forefront, it became a meaningful campaign against the British Colonial Rule. But ironically that working women were seen just as sexual objects whose morality became a contested terrain between the nationalist and imperial government. The system came to an end from 1 January 1920 – the year that Gandhi was pondering over the question of non-cooperation.

Endnotes 1. Gandhi, M. K. 1927. An Autobiography, or The Story of My Experiments with Truth, pp. 93–102. Ahmedabad: Navjivan Trust. 2. Bhana, Surendra. 1991. Indentured Indian Emigrants to Natal, 1860–1902, p. 116. New Delhi: Romilla & Co. 3. Gandhi, M. K. 2009. Dakshin Africa Me Satyagaraha Ka Itihas, pp. 53–55. Translated from original Gujarati (1924). Delhi: Sasta Sahitya Mandal Prakashan. 4. As Gandhi himself mentions in his book that NIC was formed to protest against the Natal Legislative Assembly Bill under which trading Indian community was disfranchised from any political rights in Natal, this association was not for the installation of indentured Indian rights. The bill affected the whole non-indentured Indians in Natal. See Gandhi, ibid; Bhana, Surendra. Indentured Indian Emigrants to Natal, 1860–1902, op.cit. 5. Tinker, Hugh. 1974. A New System of Slavery: The Export of Indian Labour Overseas, 1830–1920, p. 288. London: Oxford University Press. 6. Ibid. p. 303. 7. Cf. Lelyveld, Joseph. 2011. Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India, p. 108. New Delhi: Harper Collins Publishers India. 8. Ibid. pp. 110–12. 9. Ibid. pp. 129–30. 10. Pillai, Parmeswaram. 1896. Report of Eleven Congress, 1895, pp. 106–7. Poona (Emphasis added). 11. Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi [herafter CWMG] Volume 2, p. 409, speech at Bombay on 26 September 1896.

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12. Ibid p. 428, speech at Madras on 26 October 1896. 13. CWMG, Volume 11, 1897–1902. Speech at Calcutta Congress, p. 429. See also Report of the Seventeenth All Indian National Congress [hereafter AINC] in Calcutta, 1901. 14. Swarajya, 22 August 1908, in Report on Native Newspapers [hereafter RNN], Uttar Pradesh, August 1908. 15. Abhudaya, 11 September 1908, in RNN, Uttar Pradesh, September 1908. The editor seems influenced by the idea of British abolitionists with Indian connections who stressed the need to provide employment in India, rather than exporting her labour. 16. Indian People, 13 September 1908, in RNN, Uttar Pradesh, October 1908 17. Proceedings of the Council of the Governor General of India, Legislative Department, February 1910, pp. 239–285. 18. Ibid. p. 240. 19. Ibid. 20. Dadabhai Naoroji, Ibid, p. 251. 21. PP, 1910 [Cd.5192], report of the committee on emigration from India to the Crown Colonies and Protectorates, 1910. (Here after Report of Sanderson Committee). 22. Proceedings of the Council of the Governor General of India, Legislative Department, March 1912, p. 368. 23. Ibid. p. 370. 24. In 1905, S. H. Fremantle had enquired into the scarcity of labour and had in course of that inquiry visited a large number of emigrants’ depots in United Provinces and Bengal. See Fremantle, S. H. 1906. Report on the supply of Labour in the United Provinces and in Bengal. Lucknow. In subsequent years, as a registrar of co-operative societies, he also toured around United Provinces and talked to the returnee coolies from colonies and those who were leaving for the first time for work in plantations. 25. Fremantle, Proceedings Legislative Department in Delhi, 1912, op.cit. pp. 373–74. 26. Fremantle, ibid. p. 374. 27. Cited by Fremantle, ibid. op.cit., p. 374. 28. The system of Sawak labour was common in the districts of Gonda and Bahraich. ‘The Sawak is a member of the lower castes, such as Koris, Chamars or Lunnias, who for a fixed sum of a money, almost invariably required for marriage expenses, binds himself in serfdom to the zamindar until the loan be repaid- a contingency which hardly ever occurs in actual experience. The consideration varies with the necessities of the borrower but rarely exceeds one hundred or is less than twenty rupees. A man in this position receives the ploughman’s customary share in the produce, supplemented by contributions from his master, which are converted at the market rate and added to the principal.’ Gonda District Gazetteer, 1905, cited in Frementle, ibid. 29. Frementle, Proceedings of the Council of the Governor General of India, March 1912, op.cit., p. 374. 30. Bhana, Surendra. 1991. Indentured Indian Emigrants to Natal, 1860–1902, p. 116. New Delhi: Romilla & Co.

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31. Colonial Secretary Office Minute Papers [hereafter CSOMP], 8779/13; 6609/14, National Archives of Fiji [hereafter NAF]. Government of Fiji set up an enquiry and it was found that the letter was written by Swami Manoharanand Saraswati on behalf of Kunti at the house of Totaram Sanadhya. Brij Lal discusses this episode in great detail. See Lal, Brij. 1985. ‘Kunti’s Cry: Indenture Women in Fiji Plantation.’ Indian Economic and Social History Review, 22 (1): 55–71. Also see Kelly, John D. 2005. A Politics of Virtue: Hinduism, Sexuality and Countercolonial Discourse in Fiji University of Chicago Press. 32. CSOMP, 6609/14. 33. See Varma, Dhira. 2000. ‘Fiji Ke Hindi Lok Geet: Girmitiyayon ke Maukhik Dastavej.’ Gagananchal, p. 212, April–June. 34. Kelly, John D. 2005. A Politics of Virtue: Hinduism, Sexuality and Countercolonial Discourse in Fiji, pp. 45–65. University of Chicago Press. 35. Ibid, p. 48. 36. Ibid., p. 63. 37. Kelly, Ibid., Chapter 2. 38. Chatterjee, Partha. 1993. The Nation and its Fragments: Colonial and Post-colonial Histories. Princeton University Press; Sangari, Kumkum and Sudesh Vaid. 1989. Recasting Women: Essays in Colonial History. New Delhi: Kali for Women; Patel, Sujata. 1988. ‘Construction and Reconstruction of Women in Gandhi.’ In Economic and Political Weekly, February; and Krishnaraj, M. and A. Thorner. 2000. Ideals, Images and Real Lives: Women in Literature and History. Bombay: Orient Longman; Thapar, Suruchi. 1993. ‘Women as Activists; Women as Symbols: A Study of the Indian Nationalist Movement.’ In Feminist Review 44: 81–96; Rao, Shakuntala. 1999. ‘Woman-as-symbol: The intersections of Identity Politics, Gender, and Indian Nationalism.’ In Women’s Studies International Forum 22:3; Mondal. 2002. ‘The Emblematics of Gender and Sexuality in Indian Nationalist Discourse.’ Modern Asian Studies 36: 913–36. 39. For example, when historians analyse the nationalists’ construction and formulation of ‘new women’ against the imperialists’ view of Indian society and its women, then they failed to understand high castes’ opposition of lower castes’ women education. The classical example is the experience of Savitribai Phule. 40. Colonial Secretary Office Minute Papers [hereafter CSOMP], 8779/13; 6609/14, National Archives of Fiji [hereafter NAF]. See Lal, Brij. 1985. ‘Kunti’s Cry: Indenture Women in Fiji Plantation.’ Indian Economic and Social History Review 22 (1). See also Kelly, John D. 2005. A Politics Venture: Hinduism, Sexuality and Countercolonial Discourse in Fiji. The University of Chicago Press. 41. For detailed coverage of newspapers’ editorials and poems composed by nationalist poets, see Kumar, Ashutosh. 2013. ‘Anti-Indentured Bhojpuri Folk Songs and Poems from Northern India.’ Man in India 93 (4): 12–13, October–December. 42. CSOMP, 8865/15, NAF. Kunti recorded her statement in an affidavit and declared before Amylya Chandra Dutt, Presidency Magistrate, Calcutta, on 14 August 1915. ‘Indentured Cooly Protection Society’ or ‘anti-Indentured Emigration League’ was formed by wealthy Marwaries and Arya Samajist as a joint venture to stop overseas migration. Its office was at 160, Harrison Road/ Sutta Patti Road, Calcutta. I have

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43. 44. 45. 46.

47.

48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53.

54. 55. 56. 57. 58.

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discussed the activities of these associations in the later part of this chapter. See Letter No. 322, dated Darjeeling, 14 October 1915, from James Donald, secretary to the GoB Financial Department to the Secretary to GoI, C&I. Sanadhya, Totaram. 1914. Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh, printed by Kunwar Hanumant Singh Raghubanshi at the Rajput Anglo-Oriental Press, Agra; published by Bharti Bhawan, Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh. Note 1151, C.I.D., Uttar Pradesh, 20 April 1915, in UP Government to Madras Government, Madras, Public, Ordinary Series, G.O.N. 1331, 13 September 1915, NAI. Sanadhya, Totaram. Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh, p. 32. (Fourth Edition). The economic role of women in India has been analysed by various scholars. To list some, see Sen, Samita. 1999. Women and Labour in Late Colonial India: The Bengal Jute Industry. Cambridge University Press; Chowdhry, Prem. 1987. Socio-Economic Dimensions of Certain Customs and Attitudes – Women of Haryana in the Colonial Period 12 (48), November 28; Mukherjee, Mukul. 1983. ‘Impact of Modernisation on Women’s Occupation: A Case Study of the Rice-husking Industry of Bengal.’ Indian Economic & Social History Review January 20: 27–45. Lakshman. 1916. Coolie-Pratha Arthat Bisawi Shatabdi ki Ghulami. Kanpur: Shivnarayan Mishra and Pratap Karyalay. Totaram Sanadhya writes in his preface of second edition of Fiji Dwip Me Mere Ikkis Varsh (1916) that government banned his book and he also helped Lakshman Singh Chauhan in writing the play KuliPratha, which was proscribed by the Government of India. Karen A. Roy in her PhD thesis noted wrongly that Totaram Sanadhya returned to India around January 1915, see p. 214 and Kuli-Pratha was his own work, see p. 220. Proscription of Kuli–Pratha under 1910 Press Act, note by Seton, 27 March 1917, J. and P. 1109/17, IOR. Lakshman. 1916, op.cit., p. 34. Ibid. p. 59 Ibid. p. 18. Sanadhya, Totaram. Fiji Dwip Mein Mere Ikkis Varsh, op.cit., p. 19. Charles Freer Andrews (1871–1940), born in England, became a priest in 1896, leaving the avocation in 1899 due to poor health. He reached India in 1904 as a teacher at the Saint Stephen’s College, Delhi. He became a close friend of Mahatma Gandhi  while visiting South Africa at the suggestion of G. K. Gokhale, and subsequently identified closely with the cause of  India’s independence; William Winstanley Pearson (1881–1923), a Christian missionary and an active supporter of Indians; for some time a teacher at Santiniketan. Andrews, C. F. and W. W. Pearson. 1916. Report on Indentured Labour in Fiji: An Independent Enquiry. Allahabad. Ibid., p. 12 Ibid., p. 19. Lal, Brij V. Chalo Jahaji, op.cit., p. 218. Mohapatra, P. P. 1995. ‘“Restoring the Family”: Wife Murders and the Making of a Sexual Contract for Indian Immigrant Labour in the British Caribbean Colonies, 1860–1920.’ Studies in History 11: 227–60, August.

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59. Andrews, C. F. and W. W. Pearson, op.cit., p. 35 60. James McNeil, 1869–1938, was an Indian civil servant from 1890 to 1915 and was about to retire from I.C.S. He was an Ulsterman, a nationalist and came to support united Ireland. His later career was bound up with the creation of free Irish State. See Hill, John L. 1980. ‘A. P. MacDonnel and the Changing Nature of British Rule in India, 1885-1901.’ In British Administration in Indian Reassessed, edited by R. I. Crane. Columbia: South Asian Books; Chimman Lal was a nephew of the Honourable Rai Nathimal Bahadur, C.I.E., who represented Indian Commercial Interests on the United Provinces Legislative Council. For more details, see Chief Secretary, United Provinces, to Commerce and Industry; 25 July 1912, Govt. of India, C&I, Emigration, November 1912, A proceeding, pp. 22–26. 61. Report of the thirtieth INC, 1915 (Bombay, 1916), p. 83. 62. Zemana, December 1914, RNN, Uttar Pradesh 1915; Jam-e-Jamshed, 23 Feberuary 1915, RNN, Bombay, 1915; Leader, 1 July 1915, RNN, UP, 1915 63. The Bombay Chronicle, 29 October 1915 cited in CWMG, Volume 15, 21 May 1915–31, August 1917, pp. 55–56. 64. Sir William Hunter (1840–1900) served in India for 25 years, was sympathetic to Indian aspirations and was member of the British Committee of NC in London. 65. The Bombay Chronicle, 29 October 1915 cited in CWMG Volume 15: 56–57. 66. The word Girmit and Girmitiya was used by the indentured labourers of Fiji. In their petitions, indentured labourers identified themselves as girmitiyas. See petition filed by Nazirat, C.SO.M.P. 850/1903, NAF; among Indian nationalists, Gandhi was the first who used this term. Lal, Brij V. 1980. Leaves of Baniyan Tree: Origin and Background of Fiji’s North India Indentured Emigrants, 1879–1916. Phd Thesis. Australian National University, contends that the word was used by their grandparents. On the ground of anecdotal evidence, Brij Lal thinks that it was the Fiji indentured who used such terms as a Bhojpurization of English word ‘agreement’. It is interesting that Grierson, a distinguished linguist and compiler of North Indian Peasant Life, did not mention such a word in his monumental enquiry report on indenture labour migration from Bihar. Pitcher and Grierson went through many other words like ‘arkati’ for recruiter, mirich for Mauritius and Chinichat for Trinidad but did not mention any word like girmit or girmitiya for agreement or the illiterate peasant’s language for the system. Even Sanderson, McNeill–Chimman Lal did not go through with such term in their substantial enquiry reports. Andrews and Pearson in their independent enquiry report mention the term ‘girmit–wala’ for indentured Indians. 67. Samalochak, December 1915 in CWMG Volume 15, p. 74. 68. Ibid. p. 74. 69. Ibid. p. 75. 70. Lal, Brij V. 2004. Girmitiya, the origin of the Fiji Indians, p. 137. Lautoka. 71. Kelly, John D. 2005. A Politics Venture: Hinduism, Sexuality and Countercolonial Discourse in Fiji, p. 63. The University of Chicago Press. 72. Marwari are a Vaisya caste that originally belonged to Marwar of Rajasthan and spread all over India. In Calcutta after 1897 they emerged as the wealthiest and most successful business and industrialist communities widely known as a homogenous

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73. 74.

75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85.

86. 87.

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category ‘Marwari’. See Hardgrove, Anne. 2004. Community and Public Culture: The Marwaris in Calcutta. New Delhi: Oxford University Press; Marwaris have been a moving business and industrial community from fourteenth century. See Das, Banarasi. 1943. Ardh Kathanak. Bombay. For details about the case of Lakshmi, see GoI, C&I, Emigration, A Nos. 30–33, April 1916, NAI. Marwari Sahayak Samiti was formed by the wealthy Marwaries of Bengal to promote the moral, physical and intellectual advancement of Marwari boys in straightened circumstances and to render aid to helpless Marwari families. Its office was at 61, Cotton Street, Calcutta. See GoI, C&I, Emigration, B Progs Nos. 30–33, April 1916, NAI. IOR/P/9778, BL; Govt. Emigration Agent, Benaras to Colonial Office, 23 July 1914, GoI C&I, Emigration, A Progs Nos. 43, December 1915, NAI. Ibid. English translation, in Emigration Agent Benaras, to CO 23 July 1914 in Ibid. This undated pamphlet is attached in the letter of Marsden. Ibid. Ibid. See Carter, Marina and Crispin Bates. 2010. ‘Empire and Locality: A Global Dimension to the 1857 Indian Uprising.’ Journal of Global History 5 (1): 51–73. See letter of 7 June 1915, Ranchi, E. L. L. Hammod, Secretary GoB and Orissa, Municipal Department to Secretary GoI, C&I, Emigration, A Proceedings, Nos. 43, December 1915. Ibid. See letter dated Ranchi, 13 September 1915, from E. L. L. Hammond, Secretary, GoB and Orissa, Municipal to the Secretary GoI, C&I Department. GoI, C&I, Emigration, A Progs. Nos. 8, July 1916, Resolution by the Hon’ble Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya Regarding the Abolition on the System of Indian Indentured Labour (hereafter M. M. Malaviya Resolution), 1916. p. 4. On the same issue, Dipesh Chakravarty has looked into the mode of functioning of authority in Mills of Calcutta and shown how the managers, lacking the knowledge of language of the workers, their manners and habits which was the cause of standing of workers against them, tried to enforce the ‘Ma–Baap’ relationship with workers. Chakravarty, Dipesh. 1983. ‘On Deifying and Defying Authority: Managers and Workers in the Jute Mills of Bengal, circa 1890–1940.’ Past and Present (100): 124–46. Mintz, Sydeny. 1985. Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History. New York: Penguin. Resolution passed by the All-India Moslem League, Lucknow, on 31 December 1916; the Bengal Provincial Congress Committee held on 31 December 1916, at Allahabad on 19 January 1917, Aligarh on 22 January 1917, Cawnpore on 23 January 1917, Allahabad on 28 January 1917, Tuticorin on 30 January 1917, Madura on 31 January 1917, United Provinces Congress Committee held on 31 January 1917, Belgaum on 3 February 1917; Punjab Provincial Muslim League held on 4 February 1917, Trinchinpoly on 4 February 1917; by the Ladies’ branch of the Home Rule

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88.

89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97.

98.

99.

Coolies of the Empire League, Kumbhakonam, on 7 February 1917; at Cocanada on 15 February 1917, Allahabad on 16 February 1917 under the auspices of the League for the Abolition of Indentured Emigration. Andrews in his report mentioned a story told by a missionary: Two brothers of a respectable Hindu family were guardians of their younger sister. They caused her to be married by Hindu religious rites to a husband whom they regarded as suitable. The Hindu religious ceremony was fully and duly performed. Then another man intervened, and induced the sister to be married to him by means of a ‘marit’ at the immigration office. This ‘marit’ was legal. The Hindu marriage was illegal. There was no redress. When the brothers knew that there was no other remedy, they went and killed their sister, and gave themselves into custody. They declared at the trial that they had done if for the honour of their family and their religion. They had done it, they said, to preserve Dharma. They were condemned to be hanged. See Andrews and Pearson Report, 35. Sarojini Naidu’s speech is transcribed in the booklet of Girmit Diwas: Commemorating 125 Years of the Arrival of Girmitiyas in Fiji, organized by National Farmers Union, Fiji, p. 62. Major, Andrea. 2008. ‘The Burning of Sampati Kuer: Sati and the Politics of Imperialism, Nationalism and Revivalism in 1920s India.’ Gender and History 20 (2): 232. Gupt, Maithilisharan. 1916. Kisan. Chirgaon, Jhansi: Sahitya Sadan, subtitle Deshtyag, pp. 31–32. See Appendices-II and VII for original Hindi text. Ibid. p. 36. See Appendices-III and VIII for original Hindi text. Ibid. p. 41. See Appendices-IV and IX for original Hindi text. Ibid. p. 42. See Appendices-V and X for original Hindi text. Gajpuri, Mannan Dwivedi. 1917. Ramlal: Gramin Jiwan ka ek Samajik Upanyas, pp. 112–113. Prayag: Indian Press. Ibid. p. 175. Raghubir Narayan Sahay’s Raghuvir Patra-pushpa cited in Singh, Sri Durga Prasad. 1958. Bhojpuri Ke Kavi aur Kabya. Patna: Bihar Rashtra Bhasha Parishad, second edition, 2001, pp. 216–17; see also Gramophone Recordings from the Linguistic Survey of India, South Asia Digital Library, available at: http://dsal.uchicago.edu/ lsi/6591AK. See Appendix-VI for original Hindi text. Pandit Beniram, a contemporary of Bhartendu Harishchandra, was a great composer of Kajari, a kind of Bhojpuri song. Beniram composed a Kajari Bidesiya around 1860s. See Sri Durga Prasad Singh, ibid., p. 142. During, the second decade of the twentieth century, Bhikhari Thakur composed a play Bidesiya that became very popular in northern India. The theme of the play was on migration and separation of family/newly married wife. See Nagendra Prasad Singh. ed. 2005. Bhikhari Thakur Rachanawali. Patna: Bihar Rashtra Bhasha Parishad. Upadhyay, Vishwamitra. 1997. Lokgiton me Krantikari Chetna, pp. 42–43. Prakashan Vibhag, Suchana aur Prasaran Mantralay, Bharat Sarkar. See Appendix-VII for original Hindi text.

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8

•

Conclusion This study has endeavoured to develop an alternative view on the ‘world of girmitiyas’. The Indian peasants who became indentured workers to produce sugarcane and sugar on the capitalist plantations in Indian, Caribbean and Pacific oceans belonged to a rich agricultural and cultural background. The introduction of the indenture system and Indian labour to sugar islands can be best understood in the context of the failure of capitalist sugar production in India as well as promotion of Caribbean sugar in the world economy. India was considered to be a place where plenty of labourers were found, and they could be sent to overseas plantations to produce sugar, as sugarcane cultivation was one of the various agricultural operations. In Chapter 5, I have pointed out that before the commencement of indentured contract, the prevalent mode of sugar production was dependent on slaves. The Caribbean plantations, owned by the British capitalists who dominated in the British Parliament, were the main sugar suppliers to Britain. These were the places where the consumption of sugar was on the rise. When slavery was outlawed, plantations of the Caribbean were affected severely. Another depressing factor for British planters of the Caribbean was the equalization of duty on West and East Indian sugar. This led to a sharp decline in the production of West Indian sugar during 1830s and 1840s. These circumstances created a high demand of labour for sugarcane cultivation in the former slave-driven colonies. Hence, pressurized by the Caribbean plantation lobbyists in the British Parliament, a new system was announced known as the indenture system. In his magisterial Empire of Cotton: A New History of Global Capitalism, Sven Beckert has shown how slavery or slavery-like labour relations meshed in myriad ways, and over several centuries, with the cultivation of cotton fibre over large parts of the world. The noticeable and large exception of course was India, where cotton and other high-value crops were cultivated under conditions of small peasant commodity production. Except for a period of the 1830s and 1840s when, post-emancipation, several prominent British sugar planters organized a short-lived plantation phase, cane was raised in north

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India predominantly by peasant producers. And it was this relative freedom of Indian peasants that led, post abolition of slavery in the sugar colonies of the Caribbean, to their insertion into the empire of sugar on either side of the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, where not coincidentally Britannia ruled the waves. The requirements of a labour force tied to the large sugar plantations were now met by the indenture system, a novel variation of time-bound unfreedom of five to ten years, after which the Indian ‘girmitiyas’ could revert, in principle, to their pre-indenture condition of petty peasant production in their villages back home or on allotments in the sugar colonies themselves. The circumstances in the Indian countryside compelled the peasants to leave their villages in search of work. This is evident in various songs and poetries dating back to the Sultanate rule in India. These poetries, folklore and songs depicted the separation of wives from their husbands who were travelling to far off lands in search of work. This shows that small peasants of northern India were mobile. They worked under an army of sultans during the Sultanate and Mughal periods. Ujjainias of the Gangetic Bihar were one such mobile peasant army deployed for sepoys in the rulers’ army. Purabia and Baksariya were peasants who served in the Mughal army and later in British East India Company’s army. Eighteenth and early nineteenth-century north India experienced the internal migration of Indian peasants for employment into the East India Company’s army or in the various growing industrial cities or in railroad construction. Entering into an agreement (girmit) to work across the seas in tapus (sugar islands) was no doubt an absolutely novel venture, full of risk, but there were the enticements of a better life, which, even when frequently unrealized, made sense to peasant men and women who were already on the move. Soon after its introduction, the indenture system became popular in the countryside. North Indian peasants conceptualized many new terminologies and myths related to the indentured migration. These terminologies in various enquiry reports revealed a lot about the indenture system. They helped us conclude that the large sugar colonies and the working of the indenture system was quite known among the people in India and workers overseas. Returnees became a reliable source of information on the lives of indentured workers. Although economic reasons were an important factor in becoming a girmitiya, there were many other factors such as social and cultural oppression of lower castes, deplorable conditions of widows, non-acceptance of inter-caste and inter-religion marriages and strict patriarchal households. The indenture system in many ways became a way to escape such socio-cultural suppressions.

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Although north Indian peasants had been mobile, indentured emigration was different from internal migration, where there was a stronger chance to return home. Overseas migration on contracts of indenture entailed longer absences and lower chances of return. The acute familial separation resulting from the distances, contracts of indenture service and the potential for migrants to settle permanently in the destination colony may help to explain why the colonial government was so keen and anxious about depot marriages1 of emigrants, when many of the emigrants were already married.2 This preoccupation was made evident in the legislation for quotas of female emigrants. The Indian Emigration Act of 1864, for example, provided a rule for the fulfilment of 40 women per 100 men (40:100) to be sent to the colonies. This may be because the pre-history of migration had always implied separation of the husband from wife. Under the indenture system, emigrants were transported in the ratio of 40:100 with an explicit intention of weakening and displacing an indigenous or previously resident group by forming a permanent new community that could be utilized to meet colonial labour needs. While exploring the coming of various emigration legislations and acts, it is obvious that over a period the emigration regulations got stricter to plug the loopholes both for intending emigrants and for the emigration agencies. The gradual strictness in the regulations was due to the ill practices prevailing in the emigration process. The colonial government was anxious about the comparison of the indenture system with slavery by humanitarians and the Anti-Slavery Society members. At the same time, they were concerned about the continuity in the supply of workers from India to the planters. Hence, it not only tightened rules for emigration agencies, but also restricted the possibilities of intending emigrants melting into the flotsam and jetsam of Calcutta instead of embarking on the emigrant ships. It was the actions of the intending immigrants and their exploitation of the loopholes of the system that contributed in shaping the indentured laws and enactments. Anti-indenture groups and later historians have claimed that the indentured legislations were coercion by state through legal means. Here, once an intending emigrant signed the contract at his/her district, it was not possible for him/her to breach the contract. One can equally suggest that there was a scope in the laws for those choosing not to finally embark at Calcutta for the plantation. It was technically possible to pay for it by a month’s rigorous imprisonment, but it would have held greater attraction for those entertaining the idea of desertion. Nineteenth century’s technological development in the shipping industry certainly made the journey of indentured workers more bearable. The various

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legislations related to shipping out of indentured labourers proved effective in minimizing the sufferings of the long voyage. The higher mortality rate in the initial phase of emigration was alarming for the empire. However, the various measures as well as the provisioning of food and medical comforts where colonial officers considered labourers’ choices and beliefs became a significant aid to migrants in coping with the psychological aspects of morbidity. It also helped to control the general level of mortality. A close look at the medical facilities and food items provided to the emigrants revealed that rather than keeping labourers away from their habitual dietary regimes, emigration authorities provided a wide range of food and medicines. The ships were loaded with items relating to the migrants’ cultural attires like dhotis, saris and items for feminine use such as make-up, ornaments (tikuli) and, more importantly, a ready stock of sindur – a requisite for all married women to indicate their marital (as opposed to widowed) status. The provisions of food that were made reflected what the colonial officials and emigrants’ agents thought was fit for Indian labourers’ consumption, while providing a ‘dietary space’ for contestation. Not only were labourers provided with some of their habitual foodstuffs, but their religious beliefs regarding food and its preparation were in several instances accommodated. However, some other particularities of dietary regimes in India based on caste distinctions (where lower and upper castes cannot eat together) were disregarded on board the ship. This latter disregard was perhaps the most crucial legacy of the experience of the journey as it provided the ground where Indians, for the first time, could imagine a casteless space. Although crossing the Kalapani could be psychologically traumatic for many girmitiyas, it also bound them together in new relationships, such as jahaji bhai/jahaji behan (ship-brother/ship-sister), considerably free from the caste prejudices. Massive literature was written by the grandchildren of indentured labourers from all over the colonies. Sometimes the indentured themselves wrote about their experiences on the plantation, which bring out the fact that though it was hard work in alien surroundings, the plantation regime did allow them a space where they lived their life their way. This was free from some of the abominable features – and there are a good many of these – of the Indian social structure. Somehow these intending girmitiyas realized that it was better for them to board ships for plantation as paid labourers than be employed as forced labour at the behest of landlords or to be tied in local variants of agrestic servitude in UP and Bihar – the main catchment areas of sugar colony emigrants.

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The experience of Baba Ramchandra, Totaram Sanadhya and Munshi Rahman Khan shows that girmitiyas realized once again the betterment that was offered to them by the indenture system. When they came back to their native country after their tenure in the plantations, they found that most of their fortune was lost at the hands of their own kin. They had to undergo the oppressive routines to reclaim their place in their respective castes with payments of fines and organizing feasts for villagers. This was imposed by caste assemblies on the indentured labourers. The experiences of Ramchandra and Totaram Sanadhya clearly depict that despite having lived the life of indentured labour for a period of five years, they had a life which was free from untouchability and other socio-religious discriminations.3 Both Ramchandra and Totaram Sanadhya were people belonging to high castes with a penchant for leadership and made small fortunes in Fiji. Ramchandra managed very soon to move away from manual labour to serving in the house of a colonial official. Totaram, for his part, set up a ‘religious shop’. The Fijian experience of being girmitiyas did not de-caste these Brahmins, even though they may have married low-caste women as there was no caste hierarchy to be enforced through social boycott (hukka-pani band or tat-bahar) in the sugar colonies. However, that did not mean there was no opportunity for low-caste men and women girmitiyas to rise above their caste-station in two or even one generation. Labouring away from home did make a world of a difference even to their ‘low-caste’ lives. The socio-cultural life they lived on the plantations was not an ersatz ‘plantation culture’ sans roots, nor was it completely Indian. Girmitiyas may have left their past behind in the cane fields of the Gangetic plains, they may have vacated the cultural spaces of home and hearth, of sacred rivers and nearby dihs and sthans (holy sites), but they had carried enough of portable Bhojpuri culture with them to be able to reproduce their cultural selves away from home. Girmitiyas did not follow the lead of the Indian nationalists to mount a criticism of the system. There is good evidence to show that the girmit system and girmitiyas were not of real concern for elite Indian nationalists, mindful of status and caste considerations. They were more concerned about the political and economic rights of commercial-trading Indian communities in the British colonies and especially in South Africa. The girmit system was seen by them to be abominable only when they did not get any of these rights. To stand for abolition of the indenture system by these casteist-elitists Indian nationalists was mere retaliation in the face of failure to successfully bargain for the political-economic rights of trading community in the colonies, especially Natal.

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Coolies of the Empire

While paying attention to the economic, social and cultural background of the girmitiyas in their home districts, this book has refrained from limiting itself within the parameters of the coercion/agency debate. What needs reiterating is that the entire girmitiya saga, from the Gangetic hinterland to the sugar plantations of British Guiana, Natal and Fiji, was underwritten by the overbearing and enabling structure of the British Empire. For it was because our Bhojpuri peasants were the subjects of this far-flung ‘Empire’ that they could be shepherded all the way from the villages of Bahraich, Buxur and Gorakhpur in the Gangetic hinterland to the sugar plantations on either side of the globe. It was the armature of the ‘Empire’ which in the immediate postemancipation phase, c. 1833, made possible the bestowing of large landholdings in the sparsely cultivated district of Gorakhpur on dislocated planters such as Leonard Wray and Arthur Cooke from the Western Indies, to restart sugar exports for the London market on a reworked mode of capital-intensive control over north Indian peasant labour. The pre-history of involvement of peasants from the cane-growing tracts of Gorakhpur in the world sugar production was as workers on large landholdings managed by ex-West Indian planters trying their hand, quite successfully from 1836 to 1848, at speculation in sugar and timber trade. In the aftermath of abolition of slavery, the Eastern United Provinces (Uttar Pradesh) then first provided sugar lands and later cane labourers to the planters of West Indies. It was the ‘Empire’ that facilitated this two-way move. It would be a truism to say that it was the lines, both administrative and shipping, that connected the hinterland of north India to the cane plantations in the Indian Ocean, South Africa, the Pacific and the New World. Equally, it was this very grid – Kunti’s cry in Fiji symbolizing the sexual exploitation of women girmitiyas by white supervisors and the exertions of barrister Gandhi, against the tainting of all Indians with the tainted brush of ‘coolitude’ (and subsequentially against the system itself) – that brought about sufficient ‘nationalist’ pressure in India, both inside and outside the Legislative Council, by uniting diverse problems of the girmitiyas into a pan-Indian national grievance – something which led to the colonial Indian officials to acquiesce to abolish it in principle in 1917. Concomitantly, it was because India, the ‘brightest jewel in the Crown,’ could be factored into supplying the labour requirements, post-emancipation, in other parts of the British Empire. The colonial state in India could, so to speak, generously provide ‘its labour’ from the Gangetic heartland to the sugar colonies such as Surinam, or French Réunion – areas that lay outside the ‘Empire’ proper.

Conclusion

247

Endnotes 1. A marriage performed at the depot before the voyage begins as a more stable form of union, which encouraged the continuity of the indenture system. 2. The general age of marriage in North India for a male was 15 years and for a female was 10 years. 3. For more literature on girmitiyas see, Anat, Abhimanyu. 1977. Lal Pasina (in Hindi). New Delhi: Rajkamal; Subramani. ed. 2001. Dauka Puraan (in Fiji Hindi). New Delhi: Star Publication. Singh; Joginder Kanwal. 1999. Dharti Meri Mata,Lautaka; Naipaul, V. S. 1961. A House for Mr. Biswas. Pecador India; Lal, Brij V. 2001. Mr. Tulsi’s Store: A Fijian Journey. Canberra: Australian National University; Sharma, Vivekanad. Jab Manavta Karah Uthi; Anjaan Kshitij ki Ore (Towards Unknown Horizons – a novel based on a jamnapari Brahmin girmitiya; Prashant ki Lahren).

Appendices

249

•

Appendices Appendix I Original copy of the earliest agreement and correspondences related to Hunter Arbuthnot & Co. of Mauritius and Hill Coolies of Bengal.

Source: RA-341 NAM.

250

Appendices

To H. Prinsep, Esq., Secretary to Government, General Department. Sir, With reference to proceedings which took place on a former similar occasion, I think it right to appraise you for the information of the Hon. The Vice President in Council that 36 coolies of the Dhangur or Hill caste appeared before me yesterday having been brought by Mr. Arbuthnot of the House of Gillanders Ogilvie & Co. and entered into engagements to proceed to the Mauritius for 5 years to work on a sugar plantation. The men appeared fully to understand and to be well pleased with the arrangement and the proceeding was recorded here to prevent future cavil. I am not aware that government will be disposed to interfere with the agreement but it appears to me proper that the fact should not be concealed. 10th

September 1834

Mc Farlan

D. Mc Farlan, Esq., Chief Magistrate of Calcutta Sir, I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated 10th September 1834 reporting that 36 coolies of the Dhangur or Hill caste have entered into engagements to proceed to Mauritius for 5 years to work on a sugar plantation in that colony and in reply to enquire what arrangements have been made for the return of the Dhangur labourers when the term of their service expires or their services are no longer needed. The Vice President in Council would wish to be able to assure the Mauritius Government that these men cannot hereafter be source of expense to His Majesty’s government on the island. H. J. Prinsep Secretary of Government Council Chamber 15TH September 1834

Appendices

251

Agreement entered into by the parties Between the undersigned G. Arbuthnot acting on behalf of Hunter Arbuthnot & Co. of Mauritius and the 36 natives whose names are hereunto affixed, the following agreement has been entered into the several parties binding themselves to the observance of the conditions thereof. 1. The natives agree to proceed to Mauritius to work as labourers there upon a sugar estate, the property of Hunter Arbuthnot & Co. and to remain there as required for the term of 5 years. 2. The passages of the natives to the Mauritius shall be paid H. A. & Co. who shall also provide a passage again to this country at the end of 5 years for each native who may then wish to return; but if any individual from any cause, should leave the employment of H. A. & Co. for a passage. 3. The pay of the natives shall be fixed at the rate of rupees per month for each man and rupees per month for each women (no women accompany this expedition), it being understood, that the proportion of the latter does not exceed women for 30 men. The same labour will required from both, that of digging holes, weeding canes, or working in the sugar house, the quantity of daily labour required from each to be fixed by the manager of the property – the pay of 1sirdar shall be fixed at 10 rupees per month and that of one mate at 8 rupees. 4. As H. A. & Co. must be responsible to government tht the natives shall not be a burden to the colony, in the event of their leaving their employment, one rupees per month shall be retained from the pay of each individual till a sufficient sum to provide a passage for each to Calcutta shall be collected. Should no such contingency take place the money shall be restored at the end of 5 years. 5. In addition to the pay as above fixed, food and clothing shall be supplied to each as follows for each man per day: ½

Ib of dholl 2 oz. of salt and some oil and tamarinds and annually for each; clothing as follows: 4 Dhotees 1 Sheet 2 Blankets 1 Jacket 2 Caps

252

Appendices

6. Each individual shall receive 6 months pay in advance for which he shall give an acknowledgement here, their pay to commence from the date of their going on board the ship. 7. The nature of this agreement, which shall be registered at the Police, is such that each native is individually responsible for the observance of its conditions by every one whose name it bears. - G. Arbuthnot Sooroop Sirdar

List of Names

Lungen

Sabram mate

Callachand

Champah

Tisara Bhoodhoo

Bhoodhoo Bhudhoo

Chooneeram

Bholah

Sibchurn

Chota bundhoo

Juttoo

Deenram

Bachoo

Muggroo

Rammohun

Choytun

Choto bhoodhoo Arjoon

Sookram

Budhram

Jhareeah

Choolungo

Dhieram

Bhigyrath

Bhoonum

Chota Muggroo

Ghanssee

Chota Choneelall Bigna

Auklah

Gungaram

Chota Dhieram

Dookhun

Bhomarah

Thirty- Six men calling themselves by the names herein written and being of the caste of Dhangers and Bhoona Coolies appeared before me this day 9th day September 1834 and after having had the conditions above recited thoroughly explained to them by myself and Mr. Furie the clerk expressed their entire agreement in all the conditions specified and signed their marks. D. Mc Farlan Chief Magistrate of Calcutta

Appendices

253

Appendix II Original copy of agreement for the various colonies in English and Indian vernacular Languages, CO323/733

254

Appendices

Appendices

255

256

Appendices

Appendices

257

258

Appendices

Appendices

259

260

Appendices

Appendices

261

Appendix III Caste, sex and numbers registered within and outside the district of origin (D/O) in United Provinces District of origin

Females register in D/O

%

Females register in out of D/O

%

Males register in D/O

%

Males register in out of D/O

%

Ahir Basti

54

37.8

89

62.2

144

38.7

228

61.2

Benaras

14

53.8

12

46.2

14

41.2

20

58.2

Fyzabad

60

65.2

32

34.8

155

67.7

74

32.3

Gonda

25

33.8

49

66.2

73

27.8

190

72.2

Ghazipur

30

65.2

16

34.8

25

39.1

39

60.9

Jaunpur

13

25.5

38

74.5

22

16.9

108

83.9

Brahman* Basti

5

11.4

39

85.6

32

29.4

77

75.5

Benaras

5

50.0

5

50.0

3

30.0

7

70.0

Fyzabad

28

59.6

19

40.4

48

62.3

29

37.7

Gonda

9

22.5

31

77.5

19

19.4

79

80.6

Gorakhpur

9

56.3

57

43.7

11

50.0

11

80.6

Jaunpur

3

16.7

15

83.3

3

12.5

21

87.5

Ghazipur

1

14.3

6

85.7

1

12.5

7

87.5

Chamar Basti

346

54.9

284

45.1

570

53.8

489

46.2

Benaras

44

63.8

25

36.2

26

40.6

38

59.4

Fyzabad

138

75.8

44

24.2

201

71.0

82

29.0

Gonda

11

22.9

37

27.1

36

25.5

105

74.5

Gorakhpur

51

70.8

21

29.2

114

74.5

39

25.5

Jaunpur

54

40.6

79

59.4

62

34.1

120

65.9

111

67.7

53

32.3

83

59.7

56

40.3

Ghazipur

Source: Lal, Brij V. Girmitiya: The Origins of Fiji’s Indians, p. 142. Note: *Excluding sub-castes.

262

Appendices

Appendix IV List of medicines carried on the ship during the journey and its description Name of medicine Calomel

1846 1863 (amount (amount per 100 per 100 men) men)

Six oz.

1.5 oz.

1864 (amount per 100 men)

1.5 oz.

Description

Calomel is a mineral form of mercury (I) chloride, rarely found in nature. Mercury is now acknowledged as an extremely toxic material (so toxic to the user as well as the infection). Uses: It was used as a purgative (inducing vomiting and defecation) in order to treat various medical conditions, including digestive and liver problems; as a curative for syphilis and skin diseases; and as a sedative for fever sufferers. In conjunction with other substances it covered a huge range of treatments. Could be ingested or applied externally as a plaster.

Blue Pill

Rhubarb Powder

Four oz. One oz. One oz.

Three oz.

One oz. One oz.

Also known as: hydrargyri subchloridum (Latin), muriate/sub-muriate, horn quicksilver, horn mercury, Plummer’s pill1

A mercury based medication (often using calomel). Ingredients included confection of roses, liquorice root, and blue dye used for colour.

Uses: As a purgative and for treatment of syphilis amongst other conditions. Rhubarb, originally from China and Tibet (multiple species). The root was used in medicine.

Uses: Taken in various guises including with sherry as ‘Wine of Rhubarb’ (vinum rhei), a tonic for the stomach or in stronger doses as a purgative. Also used as an astringent (a drying agent) to dry wounds and suppress coughs.

Appendices Name of medicine

1846 1863 (amount (amount per 100 per 100 men) men)

Compound Four oz. Six oz. Jalap Powder

1864 (amount per 100 men)

Six oz.

263 Description

Also known as: rheum palmatum (Latin), rhei radix (root of rhubarb). As a compound powder it was known as pilula rhei composite (Latin) or ‘Gregory’s Powder’. Denoted by the Latin ‘rhei’ in various medications.2

The jalap plant is native to Mexico and is a vine-like plant. It is the roots that were used in medicine. The compound powder also contained acid tartrate of potash and ginger. Uses: It is a drastic purgative and was used to alleviate constipation, dropsies (oedema or watery fluid collecting in cavities and tissues of the body) and inflammation of the brain. It was recommended that it be used alongside calomel and rhubarb.

Ipecacuanha Powder

Three oz.

One oz. One oz.

Also known as: exogonium purge (Latin). It’s presence in medicines is denoted by the Latin ‘jalapae’.3

The dried root of cephaelis ipecacuanha, imported from Brazil. Uses: Used as an expectorant, emetic and sedative. It was thought to promote the activity of the ‘secreting organs’, especially of the chest. It caused nausea, and vomiting. Large doses caused extreme inflammation, despite this it was seen as a milder nauseant than other substances. It was used in cases of dysentery. Also known as: Previously known as radix antidysenterica (Latin). The Latin ‘ipecacuanhae’ denotes its presence. When mixed with opium and potassium sulfate it was called ‘Dover’s Powder’.4

264 Name of medicine Opium

Appendices 1846 1863 (amount (amount per 100 per 100 men) men)

Three oz.

1864 (amount per 100 men)

One oz. One oz.

Description

‘The juice obtained from the unripe capsules of the poppy (papaver somniferum).’ Opium poppies were grown in various places including India. Uses: A highly addictive narcotic and painkiller administered in multiple forms and in combination with other substances. It was seen as one of the most valuable and important remedies.5 There were very few maladies that did not require the use of opium in some form.

Dover’s Powder

Magnesia

Three oz.

One oz. One oz.

One oz. One oz.

Also known as: denoted by Latin ‘opii’ in medicines. Derivative forms include: Laudanum, when in a solution with ethanol, and Morphia. A huge number of patent medicines included opiates as the active ingredient. 6

A composite powder made from Ipecacuanha Powder, opium and potassium sulfate.7

Uses: Used as an emetic. See entry for ‘Ipecacuanha Powder’. Magnesium Oxide.

Uses: Used as an antacid in smaller doses and as a laxative in large doses. Thought to arrest vomiting and combat an irritated stomach. Also used in an ointment form to soothe skin conditions such as eczema. Also known as: oxide of magnesium, calcined magnesia, magnesia usta (Latin), talc earth, talkerde, bittererde.8

Appendices Name of medicine Epsom Salts

1846 1863 (amount (amount per 100 per 100 men) men)

Two lbs. Three lbs.

1864 (amount per 100 men)

265 Description

Three lbs. Sulphate of Magnesia. It takes its name from a saline spring in Epsom, Surrey, where it can be found naturally. Uses: A saline laxative that in small doses was used as a diuretic. It was also used as an antidote in cases of lead poisoning.

Tartar Emetic

Two Two drachms drachms

Also known as: magnesiae sulphas (Latin), sal amarus, bitter purging salt, shwefelsaure bittererde.9

Antimony potassium tartrate. Antimony is mainly known today as a powerful poison. Uses: A powerful emetic (ie an inducer of vomiting) particularly thought to help in the early stages of inflammatory diseases, fevers, and in cases of poisoning.10

Quinine

¾ oz.

One oz. One oz.

A crystalline alkaloid that can be derived from the bark of the cinchona tree. Uses: Used as a tonic and most commonly to treat fevers, including malaria. It suppresses inflammation and was also employed as a prophylactic to prevent the recurrence of fever.

Antimonial Powder

Two oz.

Two Two drachms drachms

Also known as: Sulphate of quinia, denoted by the Latin ‘quiniae’.11

Mixture of antimony oxide and lime phosphate. Uses: Its action and uses resemble those of tartar emetic but it was considered weaker. It was used in the treatment of skin diseases, as a diaphoretic and as an emetic. Also known as: Pulvis antimonialis (Latin), James’s fever powder.12

266 Name of medicine Extract of Colocynth Compound

Appendices 1846 1863 (amount (amount per 100 per 100 men) men)

Three oz.

Carbonate of Three Ammonia oz.

1864 (amount per 100 men)

Four Four drachms drachms

Description

A mixture of colocynth pulp and other ingredients. Uses: Particularly used in cases of severe constipation, it was also used as a mild purgative for keeping the bowels regular. Also thought to alleviate hernias. Sometimes employed in response to diseases of the brain on the principal of ‘counter irritation’.13

Six Six drachms drachms

Also known as: Colocynth was also known as citrulius colocynthis (Latin), the bitter cucumber, bitter apple.14 Ammonium carbonate. Today it is mainly used in leavening bread.

Uses: Less caustic than pure ammonia and therefore seen as a milder treatment, it was thought to be useful in cases of epilepsy and ‘hysteria’. It was also used to treat pneumonia, bronchitis and some cases of scrofula (tuberculosis of the neck). Could be used as an emetic. It was also the main component of smelling salts.

Assfoetida

Four Four drachms drachms

Also known as” Ammoniae carbonas (Latin), ammoniae sesquicarbonas (Latin)15

The dried latex extracted from the root of the ferula plant. Found in Persia, Afghanistan and India. Uses: Thought to act as a stimulant and antispasmodic. Used to aid digestion particularly when an inflammatory disorder was suspected. Also thought to work as an antispasmodic for convulsive disorders, such as epilepsy and hysteria. Also known as: denoted by the Latin ‘assafoetidae’.16

Appendices Name of medicine Camphor

1846 1863 (amount (amount per 100 per 100 men) men)

Six oz.

1864 (amount per 100 men)

Six Six drachms drachms

267 Description

Camphor is a terpenoid found in the wood of the camphor laurel. Usually in the form of a white or transparent solid, it is waxy and flammable. It was usually imported from China, Japan and Cochin-China (Vietnam). Uses: Camphor is a strong-smelling wax used in multiple forms, including as an emulsion or ‘spirit of camphor’ to be applied externally, or ingested in pill or tincture form. The latter usually involved it being mixed with other substances, such as opium. Externally it was used for rheumatic pains, sprains, bruises, chilblains and other skin conditions. Internally it was thought to temporarily help the heart and spirits and act as an antispasmodic and sedative, therefore being used for some fevers and delirium tremens, amongst other conditions. Too large a dose could induce vomiting, delirium and convulsions. Dried rosemary leaves contain up to 20% camphor. It was also used since ancient times as an insect repellent and was employed in embalming and in the manufacture of mothballs.

Camphorated Liniment

Eight oz.

Also known as: denoted by the Latin camphorae in other medicines. 17

Eight oz. Camphor mixed with oil.

Uses: Used as a powerful rubefacient (it reddens the skin) and ‘counter-irritant’. Applied externally. Found today in Vicks vapour rub, which is used for coughs and chest infections. Also known as: linimentum camphorae (Latin).18

268 Name of medicine Catechu

Appendices 1846 1863 (amount (amount per 100 per 100 men) men)

1864 (amount per 100 men)

One oz. One oz.

Description

An extract of the acacia tree. It comes in two forms: a ‘pale’ version from the uncaria gambir and a ‘black’ version from the acacia catechu, amongst other species of Acacia. Grown in India and traditionally used there in Ayurvedic medicine and for washing hair. Uses: The pale catechu or ‘catechu pallidum’ appears to have been the most commonly used. It was applied as an astringent (or drying agent) for infections and soreness of the mouth and throat, either as an infusion, as a bolus mixed with sugar and gum Acacia, or chewed in its pure form. It was also used to remedy dyspeptic complaints (ie indigestion) and diarrhoea.19

Prepared Chalk

One oz. One oz.

Also known as: Catechu pallidum (Latin), gambir, cutch.

Purified calcium carbonate. Usually dried into small masses of a conical form. Uses: It was taken internally as an antacid in cases of dyspepsia and for diarrhoea. Externally it was used as a desiccant to be dusted over ulcers, burns and excoriations (broken skin). Employed as an antidote in cases of poisoning by mineral acids. If used for too long it could form intestinal blockages for which laxatives were required. Commonly employed in the manufacture of pills it was also used as a companion ingredient in other treatments to ‘balance out’ or reduce their irritant or poisonous qualities. Also known as: Craeta preparata (Latin), calcis carbonas praecipitata (Latin), precipitated carbonate of lime, precipitated chalk.20

Appendices Name of medicine Tincture of Opium

Turpentine

1846 1863 (amount (amount per 100 per 100 men) men)

1864 (amount per 100 men)

One Ibs Four oz. Four oz. Eight oz.

Eight oz.

269 Description

A solution of opium mixed with alcohol. Uses: This solution of opium contained all the active ingredients of opium but acted more promptly. See Opium above. Very widely used in the 19th century until restrictions on its use (to prevent addiction) were introduced in 1919 (see James Mill, Drugs and Empire, 2007). Also known as: Tinctura opii (Latin), laudanum21

Eight oz. A fluid obtained from the distillation of resin from live trees, mainly pines. Uses: It was thought to act in small doses as a stimulant, diuretic, diaphoretic (to induce sweating), astringent and antispasmodic. In large doses it was considered a purgative. Externally it was used as a rubefacient and counterirritant. It was mainly employed internally to ‘arouse energy’ and to arrest haemorrages and mucous discharges. It was commonly used also as a paint thinner

Senna Leaves One Ibs Four oz. Four oz.

Also known as: oil of turpentine, spirits of turpentine, oleum terebinthinae (Latin). 22

Leaves from the cassia plant, cultivated in the tropics, including India. There are multiple variations. Uses: Used as a safe laxative, it is still in use today. Also known as: Tinnivelly senna, Common East Indian senna, Bombay senna, Mecca senna23

270 Name of medicine Blistering Plaster

Appendices 1846 1863 (amount (amount per 100 per 100 men) men)

1864 (amount per 100 men)

One Ibs Four oz. Four oz. Eight oz.

Description

A thick mixture (plaster) that was applied directly, or used to coat paper to be applied, to the body. The plaster contained wax, spermaceti (a wax from sperm whales), oil, resin, Canada balsam (a type of turpentine) and the active ingredient cantharides. Cantharides is a type of beetle, commonly known today as Spanish Fly. Uses: The ground cantharides causes burning and ultimately blistering of the skin. Blistering was considered desirable as a counter-irritant and to ‘draw out’ inflammation.

Sulphur Sublimed

Sulphur Oinment

Eight oz.

Six oz.

Also known as: Blistering paper, charta epispastica (Latin), emplastrum cantharides (Latin) or cantharides plaster.24

Eight oz. The purified powder form of sulphur.

Uses: Sulphur acts as a stimulant, diaphoretic and laxative. In larger doses it was used as a gentle laxative, especially in cases of haemorrhoids, fissure, prolapses and other diseases of the rectum. It was also used for chest infections. Mainly it was seen as a remedy for itchy skin diseases, such as scabies. It was administered in various forms from internally taken ‘confections’ to baths.

Six oz.

Also known as: sulphur sublimatum (Latin), flowers of sulphur, sulphur lotum.25

A ready-made mixture of sulphur and lard. Uses: This ointment was for external application in cases of skin diseases and irritation. It has antibacterial properties. Also known as: unguentum sulphuris (Latin).26

Appendices Name of medicine Linseed Flour

1846 1863 (amount (amount per 100 per 100 men) men)

1864 (amount per 100 men)

Two lbs. Two lbs.

271 Description

The seeds of common flax (linum usitatissimum - Latin) ground into a flour after the oil has been pressed. The common flax was cultivated in Britain Uses: Used as an emollient applied externally in the form of a poultice to inflamed and suppurating surfaces.

Country Soap

Twelve oz.

Twelve oz.

Also known as: lini farina (Latin), linseed meal27

The composition of soaps usually involved oil and soda. The ‘country’ probably refers to an indigenous Indian brand of soap containing particular herbs/oils. Uses: Beyond the obvious detergent and lubricating uses for skin conditions, soap was used as an antacid and, in combination with other substances, as a laxative. It was also commonly used to render other medicines ingestible and to give the right consistency to pills.

Castor Oil

Four lbs. Three Eight bottles oz.

Three bottles

Also known as: saponis (Latin).28

Oil extracted from the ricinus communis (Latin) plant. It was chiefly from India and America. Uses: Used as a mild emetic and purgative and was administered through the channel (ie orifice) it was being used to remedy. You would swallow it in large volumes to induce vomiting, and orally or anally to induce defecation. It was widely used in smaller doses to ensure regular bowel movements. Also known as: oleum ricini (Latin).29

272 Name of medicine Oil of Peppermint

Adhesive Plaster (spread)

Appendices 1846 1863 (amount (amount per 100 per 100 men) men)

1864 (amount per 100 men)

Half oz. One oz. One oz.

Description

Oil extracted from the peppermint plant. Uses: Peppermint was used either alone for digestive problems as an antispasmodic, or with other medicines to disguise their taste or to balance out their irritating qualities. Still widely used for this purpose today.

One lbs. One yard

Also known as: oleum menthae piperitae (Latin).30

One yard Resin was distilled from turpentine and used for its adhesive properties. For the plaster it was usually mixed with lead plaster and hard soap. It was kept readyspread.

Uses: the adhesive plaster was applied to the skin to stimulate and protect ulcers and other similar skin lesions. 31 It was also used to keep wounds and surgical cuts closed. It was considered more adhesive than lead plaster, but more irritating.32

Simple Ointment

Eight oz.

Also known as: resin plaster, emplastrum resinae (Latin)

Eight oz. A mixture of white wax, prepared lard and almond oil.

Uses: This was either used as a mild dressing or as the basis for more active treatments. It is often listed as an ingredient in other ointments.

Ringworm Ointment

Eight oz.

Also known as: unguentum simplex (Latin).33

Eight oz. An ointment for the treatment of ringworm (a common fungal infection of the skin). Often contained coal tar.

Appendices Name of medicine

Jeremies’ Opiate

Aromatic Spt of Hartshorn

1846 1863 (amount (amount per 100 per 100 men) men)

1864 (amount per 100 men)

1 small 1 small oz. phial oz. phial Two oz. Two oz.

273 Description

Uses: Ringworm was usually recognised as an inflammation of the scalp, accompanied by reddening, itching, peeling circles of skin and hair loss. This ointment was likely applied directly to the scalp. Coal tar slows the growth of skins cells and would make skin less scaly and alleviate the symptoms of fungal infections. It also suppresses psoriasis. Also known as: Ointment of tar, unguentum picis liquidate (Latin). 34

Probably a patent opiate medicine.

A mixture of substances, often including carbonate of ammonia (as listed above), ammonia solution, nutmeg oil and lemon oil. Uses: Used mainly as a stimulant and to arouse consciousness. Used to treat fainting.

Cholera Pills in Phial

Six dozen

Also known as: smelling salts, spirit of sal volatile, aromatic spirit of ammonia, spiritus ammoniae aromaticus (Latin).35

Six dozen There were probably various forms of these, but one example that originated in British India included opium, black pepper and asafoetida and was to be administered with calomel and quinine.36 Uses: to treat cases of cholera, the main symptom of which was extreme diarrhoea. The diagnosis of cholera could include a wide range of gastrointestinal problems. Also known as: there were probably multiple patent versions of these (none of which were effective).

274 Name of medicine Cubeb Power

Appendices 1846 1863 (amount (amount per 100 per 100 men) men)

1864 (amount per 100 men)

Two lbs. Two lbs.

Description

Produced by grinding dried cubebs, a type of pepper. The cubeb was introduced to Europe via India where it was used in Ayurvedic medicine. Uses: Used much like common pepper as an acrid and stimulant to the stomach. They had a particular effect on the urinary tract and were therefore used to treat gonorrhoea and other infections of the urinary organs.

Sweet Spirit Nitre

Ten oz.

Eight oz.

Also known as: denoted in medicines by the Latin cubebae.37

Eight oz. This is the chemical compound ethyl nitrate. It was produced from a process including nitric acid and sulphuric acid.

Uses: A poison used as a diuretic in cases of dropsie, for instance, and as a diaphoretic and refrigerant in febrile cases alongside ‘acetate of ammonia’ and ‘tartarated antimony’.

Copaiba

Eight oz.

Also known as: spirit of nitrous ether, Spiritus Ætheris Nitrosi (Latin), Spiritus Ætheris Nitrici (Latin).38 (It is different to plain ‘Spirit of Nitre, which is Nitric Acid).

Eight oz. This is an oleoresin extracted from several trees of the genus copaifera. It can be separated into an oil and a resin. Originally found in South America and the West Indies.

Uses: It was used as a general and topical stimulant, stronger than a balsam but weaker than a turpentine. Internal use could cause nausea and vomiting. Copaiba was particularly used as a stimulant to the urinary tract in cases of gonorrhoea and leucorrhoea. 39 Also known as: copaiva, oleum copaibae (Latin).

Appendices Name of medicine Sulphate of Copper

1846 1863 (amount (amount per 100 per 100 men) men)

Three oz.

1864 (amount per 100 men)

One oz. One oz.

275 Description

Made by heating copper and sulphuric acid. Acts as a fatal irritant poison if ingested in quantity (as do most of the medicines on this list). Uses: It was used medicinally as an astringent (drying agent) and tonic, a stimulant of the nervous system, an emetic, a styptic (to suppress bleeding) and an escharotic (to remove dead tissue). It was used in cases of chronic dysentery and ulceration, and in a gargle or wash to treat mouth ulcers and sore throats. In injection form it was widely used as a treatment (largely ineffective) for gonorrhoea and leucorrhoea (being directly and painfully injected into the affected male or female organ).

Sulphate of Zinc

Three oz.

Half oz. Half oz.

Also known as: cupric sulphae (Latin), cuprum oxidatum sulphuricum (Latin), blue stone, blue vitriol.40

Prepared from zinc, sulphuric acid, distilled water, chlorine solution and zinc carbonate. Uses: Used as an internal astringent in cases of chronic dysentery, chronic bronchial infections with profuse secretion, and in ‘gleet’ and leucorrhoea (a term used for vaginal discharges). In the latter it was associated with turpentine medicines and could also be injected. Used as a topical astringent much like sulphate of copper. Also known as: sal vitrioli, white vitrio, white copperas, zinci sulphas (Latin).41

276 Name of medicine Lunar Caustic

Appendices 1846 1863 (amount (amount per 100 per 100 men) men)

1864 (amount per 100 men)

Two Two drachms drachms

Description

This is silver nitrate, made from combining nitric acid and silver. Uses: A wide-ranging medicine. Used as a sedative, alterative, astringent, antispasmodic and tonic when ingested and as an astringent, stimulant, vesicant (blistering agent) and manageable caustic when applied externally. When taken for a considerable length of time the skin can turn blue. Employed in cases of dyspepsia, irritable stomach, and diarrhoea and cholera symptoms. Could be administered in enema form. Also used for spasmodic diseases such as hooping cough, epilepsy, asthma, and some cases of insanity. Externally, in lotion or solid form, it was used for eye infections, such as gonorrhoeal opthalmia, in oral and throat infections, and to treat a variety of skin conditions and wounds. Injections were used to treat diseases of the genitals or urinary tract, from cancers of the female reproductive system to gonorrhoea.

Hydr. E. cretoe

Two drachms

Also known as: argenti nitras (Latin), nitrate of silver, lapis infernalis (Latin). Refers to mercury and chalk: a grey powder of one part mercury and two parts chalk.

Uses: This was considered the mildest of the mercury-based preparations. It was given as an alterative, antacid, and purgative. Used in cases of syphilis. See calomel above. Mercury is highly poisonous it was always doubtful whether the drug or the disease would kill you first. Also known as: grey powder, hydrargyrum cum creta, hydrargyrum et cretae.42

Appendices Name of medicine Plumbi Acetas

1846 1863 (amount (amount per 100 per 100 men) men)

1864 (amount per 100 men)

Four drachms

277 Description

Lead acetate crystals made from a process involving lead oxide, acetic acid and distilled water. Uses: Used as an astringent and sedative and thought to be useful in cases of choleraic diarrhoea, haemorrhages in internal organs, chronic bronchitis, aneurisms and palpitations. It was also thought to balance out the excessive salivation caused by mercury. Externally ointments made of this mixture were used on skin conditions and injections containing it were used to combat gonorrhoea and related diseases. Lead is also a poison, although not as lethal as mercury.

Pulvis Acetas

Two oz.

Also known as: acetate of lead, sugar of lead, acetate de plomb, bleizucker43

This is most likely a salt obtained from acetic acid. Uses: Usually employed as a test in the preparation of other substances.

Pulvis Cretoe e Opio

Four drachms

Also known as: sodae acetas (Latin), acetate of soda.44

Powder of chalk and opium much heavier on the chalk, with only 1/40 of the mixture being opium.45

Uses: A mild version of opiate medication or when opium was thought useful to the action of the chalk. See Opium and Prepared Chalk. Also know as: pulvis cretae cum opio (Latin)

278 Name of medicine Acid Sulphuric dil

Acid Tartaric

Tincture Camphur Com.

Appendices 1846 1863 (amount (amount per 100 per 100 men) men)

1864 (amount per 100 men)

One oz.

Description

Diluted sulphuric acid. Uses: Used as a component in various solutions, but also on its own as a treatment for multiple illnesses. For febrile diseases it was thought to act as a ‘refrigerant’ to reduce temperature, sweating, and thirst. It was considered to be an astringent in cases of haemorrhage, but mainly when applied directly to the site. Thought to reduce itching of the skin if taken internally and used in the preliminary stages of cholera. However it was recognised that it ulcerated the bowels and should be used with chalk or similar neutral substances to dilute its effects. Used to combat lead colic.

Six drachms

Also known as: acidum sulphuricum dilutum (Latin)46

Tartaric acid.

Uses: As a strong irritant poison it could easily cause death if administered in a large dose. Medicinally it was used as a refrigerant in febrile and inflammatory cases. Mainly used to prepare effervescing drinks for the bowels in the place of citric acid. Also known as: acidum tartaricum (Latin)47

Three oz. A mixture of opium, benzoic acid, camphor, anise oil and alcohol. Uses: See camphor above.

Also known as: tinctura camphorae composite (Latin), compound tincture of camphor.48

Appendices Name of medicine Do.Ferri Sesq

1846 1863 (amount (amount per 100 per 100 men) men)

1864 (amount per 100 men)

One oz.

279 Description

‘Sesqui’ within chemistry means in a ratio of 3:2. Therefore, this could refer to any compound of iron with that ratio, however iron carbonate appears to have been a common one so that is probably what this. Uses: Iron derivatives were used in a wide variety of treatments. In general terms it was thought to combat feebleness within the body, blood disorders concerning ‘red corpuscles’ (red blood cells), and was used palliatively when the blood disorder was a result of organic disease. In addition it was used to treat nervous conditions and occasionally scrofula and rickets.49

Sodae Sesquicarb

Also known as: iron carbonate or ferri carbonas (Latin)

One oz. 4 Sodae sesquicarbonas was used to drachms refer to the naturally occurring natron. However, it is more likely that here it meant Bicarbonate of Soda, which naturally occurs in natron but can also be manufactured. Uses: An alkali, used as an antacid and ‘alterative’ (a catch-all term for a drug that restores normal health). Could be mixed with tartaric or citric acid in order to make an effervescent draught. Used externally in a lotion or ointment for skin diseases. Probably an effective treatment for indigestion but little else. Also known as: sodae bicarbonas (Latin), bicarbonate of soda, hydrosodic carbonate, natron, sesquicarbonate, carbonate.50

280 Name of medicine Sir W. Barnett’s

Appendices 1846 1863 (amount (amount per 100 per 100 men) men)

1864 (amount per 100 men)

Seven Gallons

Description

A formula for disinfecting fluid created by Sir William Burnett made from zinc chloride. A relative of the bleach that we use today. Uses: Used to remove dead or dying tissues from damaged skin when applied in a paste made with flour, for example. However due to its strength it was advised that a poultice was directly applied afterwards and the surrounding area protected as although lethal to bacteria it was highly corrosive. It was employed to remove cancers and growths and to arrest the pain of toothache when placed as a paste into the tooth cavity. Used in injection form to treat gonorrhoea.

Disinfectingfluid Norton’s carbolic acid

Thirty Gallons

Also known as: Sir William Burnett’s Disinfecting and Antiseptic Fluid, liquor zinci chloride (Latin), Solution of the chloride of zinc.51

Various forms of disinfecting fluid existed, nearly all of them involving chlorine. See Sir W. Burnett’s disinfecting fluid above for an example. A patented version of carbolic acid, an acid obtained from coal-tar.

Uses: Applied to wounds and gangrenous sores as a caustic and anti-septic. It Could be mixed with shellac and spread on calico, which was then either applied directly to the wound or over other dressings. Also known as: acidum carbolicum (Latin), phenic acid, phenol hydrate of phenyl.52

Appendices Name of medicine Leeches

1846 1863 (amount (amount per 100 per 100 men) men)

1864 (amount per 100 men)

100 in no.

281 Description

Segmented worms used to blood-let; only certain species were used. The earliest evidence of this practice can be seen in Ayurvedic texts. Leeches pose little risk of infection from their own bacteria but they can pass on parasites, bacteria and viruses from their previous blood sources. Uses: Blood-letting was seen as a remedy for many ills.53 They were applied to different parts of the body depending on the ailment, for example in cases of fever they were applied to the temples.54 Also known as: hirudo medicinalis (Latin)

Chlorodyne

Cloride of Lime

Four lbs. 10 lbs. Eight oz.

One oz. A patent medicine invented by Dr John Collis Browne, an officer in the British India army, for cholera and other illnesses in 1848. Contained opiates amongst other ingredients.55

A white powder made by exposing slaked lime to chlorine gas. It is essentially what we term bleach today. Uses: Employed as a disinfectant, deodoriser and antiseptic. Applied to gangrenous parts, skin conditions, ulcers and external wounds that give off offensive odours. Used also to disinfect the environment in a limited way, for example it was recommended that a handkerchief doused in a solution be suspended in the ‘sick chamber’. It was also ingested as a remedy for some fevers. Also known as: calx chlorata (Latin), bleaching powder, hypochlorite of lime56

282 Name of medicine Acacia Gum

Appendices 1846 1863 (amount (amount per 100 per 100 men) men)

Six oz.

1864 (amount per 100 men)

Description

A gum extracted from the stems of the acacia plant. (see also Catechu). Uses: It was thought to act topically as a demulcent and emollient and to sooth irritation of the throat, air passages and urinary tract. A thick solution was used on burns and scalds and chapped skin. It was most commonly used as a base for other medications, to form emulsions, loz.enges and pills.

Acetate of Lead Alumen

Three oz.

Six oz.

Also known as: acaciae gummi (Latin). There were various names for it depending upon where it was obtained or extracted, i.e. gum Arabic, gum Senegal, Barbary gum, East India gum, Cape gum etc.57 Crystals made from acetic acid and lead oxide. See ‘Plumbi Acetas’ above.

Alum is both a class of chemical compounds and a specific compound. In this case it is probably referring to what we call potassium alum, the specific compound. It is a naturally occurring sulphate mineral and there is evidence of it being used in Ayurvedic medicine. It could also be referring to ammonium alum another related compound. It was manufactured in Britain. Uses: It was used as an astringent and styptic in cases of diarrhoea, haemorrhage (including nosebleeds), hooping cough, heart problems, gonorrhoea etc. Taken internally as a wash or solution. Externally it was applied either as a poultice or lotion to various skin conditions including chilblains. It was effective in stopping bleeding but otherwise of doubtful benefit. Also known as: ammonia alum, potassium alum58

Appendices Name of medicine Aromatic Spirit of Ammonia Cerate (simple)

1846 1863 (amount (amount per 100 per 100 men) men)

Eight oz. One lbs Eight oz.

1864 (amount per 100 men)

283 Description

See Aromatic Spirit of Hartshorn above. Cerate, from the Latin for wax ‘cera’, is a basic application thicker than an ointment but thinner than a plaster. Its main ingredients would be wax, oil and lard, with other medicines added depending on the use. Uses: Applied externally to wounds and skin conditions. Including mild complaints such as corns.59

Compound Tincture of Camphor Ginger Powder

Eight oz.

See Camphor

Six oz.

Ground ginger root. Uses: Chiefly used as an aromatic stimulant and to aid nausea and digestion. It could be used in conjunction with purgatives to balance out their irritating effects. Used as a rubefacient (skin redenner) externally. This would stimulate blood circulation and (they believed) help to ‘draw out’ disease from the patient (a similar motive to that behind blood letting).

Nitrate Silver ½ oz. Peruvian Balsam

Also known as: denoted by the Latin cerati.

Six oz.

Also known as: zingiber (Latin)60

See Lunar Caustic above.

A balsam obtained from the ‘myroxylon pereirae’ tree in Central America. Uses: Used as an expectorant and stimulant when given internally, and as a detergent (cleanser) and stimulant for external wounds and sores, and alopecia.

284 Name of medicine

Red Precipitate

Sulphur Country Medicines, &C.

Appendices 1846 1863 (amount (amount per 100 per 100 men) men)

One oz.

1864 (amount per 100 men)

Description

It was thought to cause an increase in circulation and to loosen bronchial mucous, and was employed chiefly in remedying coughs and catarrh. Often used in mixtures with other substances. Also known as: balsamum peruvianum (Latin).61

A heavy red crystal called mercuric oxide.

Uses: As an external agent it was used as a caustic by sprinkling it over skin lesions such as venereal warts and fungous ulcers. It was used to induce greater discharge in application to open sores, inflamed eyelids and chronic conjunctivitis. Another toxin, irritating to the skin, that was probably more injurious to the patient than the disease it was being used to treat.

Two lbs

Also known as: red oxide of mercury, hydrargyri oxidum rubrum (Latin), peroxide of mercury..62 See Sulphur Sublimed above.

Also known as: Brimstone

Some form of patent medicine.

Endnotes 1. Jackson, Robert Edmund Scoresby. 1871. Note-book of Materia Medica, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, pp. 209–304. Edinburgh; Pereira, Dr Jonathan. 1874. Dr Pereira’s Materia Medica and Therapeutics, edited by R. Bentley and Theophilus Redwood, pp. 343–344. London. 2. Jackson, R. E. S. Note-book, pp. 528–529 3. Pereira, J. Materia Medica, p. 637; R. E. S. Jackson, Note-book, pp. 506–507 4. Pereira, op. cit., pp. 702–709. 5. Ibid., p. 960.

Appendices 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47.

285

Jackson, R. E. S. Note-book, pp. 335–360. Ibid., p. 460. Ibid., pp. 218–219. Ibid., pp. 222–223. Pereira, J. Materia Medica, p. 258. Jackson, R. E. S. Note-book, p. 472. Idid., p. 278. J. Pereira, Materia Medica, pp. 789–790. Jackson, R. E. S. Note-book, p. 440. Pereira,J. Materia Medica, p. 32. Jackson, R. E. S. Note-book, pp. 448–449. Ibid., Note-book, p. 531–532. Ibid., Note-book, p. 531. Pereira, J. Materia Medica, p. 751. Jackson, R. E. S. Note-book, p. 215. Pereira, J. Materia Medica, p. 973. Jackson, R. E. S. Note-book, pp. 558–560. Pereira, J. Materia Medica, pp. 860–863. Ibid., p. 1028. Jackson, R. E. S. Note-book, pp. 143–144. Ibid., p. 144. Pereira, J. Materia Medica, pp. 925–926. Ibid., p. 197. Jackson, R. E. S. Note-book, pp. 541–542. Ibid., p. 524–525. Ibid., p. 560. Pereira, J. Materia Medica, p. 476. Ibid., p. 1039. Jackson, R. E. S. Note-book, p. 561 Pereira, J. Materia Medica, p. 33 Kotar, S. L. and J. E. Gessler. 2014. Cholera: A Worldwide History, p. 305. North Carolina. Jackson, R. E. S. Note-book, p. 551. Pereira, J. Materia Medica, p. 96; Jackson, R. E. S. Note-book, p. 606. Jackson, R. E. S. Note-book, pp. 422–423. Ibid., p. 249–252. Pereira, J. Materia Medica, p. 270. Jackson, R. E. S. Note-book, p. 294. Ibid., p. 272–273. Ibid., p. 198. J. Pereira, Materia Medica, p. 209. Ibid., p. 63. R. E. S. Jackson, Note-book, p. 170.

286 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62.

Appendices Ibid, p. 531. Pereira, J. Materia Medica, pp. 292–293. Jackson, R. E. S. Note-book, pp. 191–193. Ibid., p. 256. Pereira, J. Materia Medica, p. 125. Jackson, R. E. S. Note-book, p. 596. Pereira, J. Materia Medica, p. 1020–21. Entract, J. P. J. 2004. ‘Browne, John Collis (1819–1884).’ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Accessed 16 July 2015. Available at: http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/ article/39014. Pereira, J. Materia Medica, pp. 218–219. Jackson, R. E. S. Note-book, pp. 423–424. Ibid., pp. 224–225. Pereira, J. Materia Medica, p. 281. Jackson, R. E. S. Note-book, p. 567. Ibid., p. 397–398. Pereira, J. Materia Medica, p. 346–347.

Appendices

Appendix V Malmutra ka mantra:

Sone ki dharti rupe ki dhār, dharti māta namaskār Satya ki māya asatya ki kaya, das indri ka bhog banāya. Sarva dev ki vinati Karen, sahit mayadi malmutra. Dātun ka mantra:

Rakh mukhāri missimanjan, nitya prātah mukh dhowe niranjan Much dhowāi gāyatri padhāi, gyān buddhi purusharth badhāi. Chola ka mantra:

Kurta bandi vartani, kot angrakha aur kafani. Alafi chaddar patambar, sabko pahirai datt digamabar. Chimte ka matra:

Sorah angul sabse chhota, assi angul sabse mota Kasi ke pakade gurumukh baat, muh kān dono jari jān. Bhojan ka mantra:

Chhattis vyanjan chhattis prakār, chhah ras chakhe āp nirākār. Shakti banāya dev khāya, satya purush ka bhog lagāya. Agni much khawāi, jal much nahawāi, guru āgya se bhog lagwāi. Kaya ko pyāri sukhar ko pyāra, jah par baitha sirjanhāra Satya purush ki lāgai bhog, take pichhe sadhu log. Jo bhandāra se nikasai so bharpur, kāl katak jāye dūr. Karou bhaiya harihar! Bhagwa kapade ka mantra:

Bhag se upaja bhagwa rang, shiv bhagwān pārvati sang. Bhag se tin lok upjāya, ādi purush aur ling banāya. Bhagwa pahire brahma Vishnu, nārad sanakādik ādi ganesh. Bhagawa rang ādi jugadi, soham shabd anhad nād. Amal athawa nashe ka mantra: Amal se āmil amal se amāil Amal se kāmil amale kamal Sanp ki yāri Bandar ki pyāri

287

288

Appendices

Ye kuka khoda ek asawāri Ikkis lakh fulfal pān Sabme gānja hai pradhān Shat darshan sab gānja piye Gānja kewal yogi jiye. Madira athawa sura pine ka mantra:

Dhanwantar ne banāya, varn ko pyāya Chaudah ratn chhir sāgar me pāya. Sura varuni tirath mad, jogi piwāi rakhāi had Daivi bhairav siddhi purandar Suddh kiya sab nal ka yantar. Māns ka matra:

Jal char nabh char bhuchar nana Pashu machh pakshi parmāna Atmdrohi yoni bharmāwe Nāsh karat achha fal pāwe Gorakh datt machhandar khāya Devi bhairav bhog lagāya.

Appendices

289

Appendix VI Petition by Girmitiyas address to the Governor of Fiji for a regulation to control the liberty of women vis- a- vis men

Source: CSO MP, 10385/14 NAF.

290

Appendices

Appendix VII Ek jan ne yo triveni-tir par mujhse kahaTaras mujhko aa raha hai dekhkar tumko aha! Tum dukhon-se dikhte ho, kya tumhe kuchh kasht hai? Kathin hai nirvah bhi, yah desh aisa nasht hai! Kintu ab chinta nahin, tu par hui prabhu ki daya Aaj lo bas, aaj se hi din fire, dukh mit gaya. Vastra-bhojan aur pandrah ka mahina, dham bhi; Kam bhi aisa ki jisme nam bhi aram bhi. Sair sagar ki karoge drishya dekh naye naye, Jante ho puri ko? Dwarika bhi ho gaye? Yah bahu hai? Thik hai bas, bhagya ne awasar diya, Yad mujhko bhi karoge, tha kisi ne hit kiya! Mai chakit sa rah gaya, yah manuj hai ya devta; Par laga pichhe mujhe us arkati ka pata! Sawdhan! Swadeshwasi, han! Tumhare desh me Ghumte hai dusht danav manvon ke bhesh men!

Appendix VIII Adham arkati kahta tha-Fiji swarg hai bhu par, Nabh ke niche rahkar bhi wah pahunch gaya hai upar! Mai kahta hu Fiji swarg hai to fir narak kahan hai? Narak kahi ho kintu narak se badhkar dasha yaha hai

Appendix IX Do sahriday sahab shighra waha par aye, Dukh dekh hamara char netra bhar laye. Andrews-pearson vidit nam hain unke, Manujochit mangal manskam hai unke.

Appendices

Appendix X Samjhi Bharat sarkar ant me baten. Nij kuli pratha ke sath yaha ki ghaten. The bade lat harding-bhala ho unka, Sah sake na lagna nayay dand me ghun ka! Thi tin naron me jahan ek hi nari, Tuti akhir wahkuli-pratha vyabhichari

Appendix-XI Sundar subhumi bhaiya Bharat ke deshwa se, Mor pran base himkhoh re Batohiya. Ek dwar ghere rama him kotwalwa se, Tin dwar sindhu dhahrawe re batohiya. Jahu jahu bhaiya re batohi hind dekhi aau, Jahawa kuhuki koeli bole re batohiya. Pawan sugandh mand agar gaganava se, Kamini birah rag gawe re batohiya… Ganga re jamunwa ke jhagmag paniya se, Sarju jhamaki laharawe re batohiya… Agra Prayag Kashi Dilli Kalkatwa se, Mor pran base sarju tir re batohiya… Apar Pradesh desh subhag sudhar bes, Mor hind jag ke nichod re batohiya. Sundar subhumi bhaiya bharat ke bhumi jehi, Jan ‘Raghubir’ sir nave re batohiya.

291

Glossary

293

•

Glossary Abkari Agwa Akhada Akadasi Mahatma

Manufacture or sale of liquors or drugs Matchmaker Sect Hindu calendric holyday that falls on the eleventh day of every month Alhakhand The lay of Alha, a saga of Rajput chivalry as sung by minstrels of northern India Andher pachh (amāwas) The first night of the first quarter of the lunar month Anjor Pachh (Poornamasi) The second half to full moon Arkati Bhojpuri word for recruiter Asarh A month of North-Indian calendar, which falls during the monsoons, between June and July Baksariya Soldiers from the region of Buksar (Buxar). It has been an area for military recruitment from at least sixteenth century in the army of sultans and later under the East India Company and the British rule. Banjh A barren woman Banj A woman without son Bhagwat A Hindu religious mythology that deals with Barahmasa The ‘songs of twelve months’ has been a part of early Hindi literature. This folk poetry expresses the pangs of separation of a wife with her travelling husband. Barahmasa genre is deeply rooted in north-Indian peasant life and in seasonal changes that accompany the annual agricultural cycle. Barkha Rain Basti A slum inhabited by poor people Batohiya One who travels between home and migrant destination Bedharam To severed from once religion Bhagat Devotee

294

Bhakti Bhandara Bhauji Bhojpuri Bidesiya Biyah Chabani Chait Chakla ghar Chamain Chandramās Chauki Chinitat Chokedars/Chaukidar Chulha Chura Chutki Dadi Dai Dal Damra/Damarailla Dhobi Dhoti Dolkarhi Dulhan/dulhin Firangi Ganja Garmi Gayatri Mantra Ghargaili

Glossary

Devotion Devotees preparing food on large scale as a religious offering to god Wife of elder brother A language of eastern United Provinces and Bihar One who leaves home (to go to a foreign land or Bides) Marriage Fried rice, pittance The first month of the year in a Hindu calendar (mid-March to mid-April) A brothel A woman belonging to the untouchable community, or Dalit, who are now classified as a Scheduled Caste Lunar month A low wooden seat or stool Bhojpuri word for Trinidad Watchman A small earthen or brick stove Flattened rice Tiny lock of hair on the back of the male’s head Grandmother Midwife Lentil Bhojpuri word for Demerara Washerman Unstitched yard of cotton used wrapped around the waist of men as a lower garment A woman who had taken to the bridegroom without barat, or marriage procession Bride Foreigners especially the British people. Ganja is narcotics made from the top leaves and unfertilized flower of young female plant. Hot Widely chanted a religious Sanskrit shloka A woman who had taken up her residence with a man without marriage

Glossary

Girmit Girmitiya Golaur Gur Guru Halal Har Hukka Hukka-pani band Jagannath Jahajibahan Jahajibhai Janambhumi Janmastami Janmpatri Janta Jatsar Jawan Indra Sabha Kalapani Kaliyug Kalkatiya Kartik Katha Kolhuwar/kolsar Kontraki Lal Bazar Lohban (dhup/agarbatti) Longue–duree

295

Bhojpuri word for agreement A person who went to colony under indenture ‘agreement’. The whole manufactory, including cane–mill and boiling house Unrefined or raw sugar A religious teacher Denoting or relating to meat prepared as prescribed by Muslim law To plough Single or multi-stemmed instrument for vaporizing and smoking flavored tobacco Social boycott God of the world Ship sister Ship brother Birthplace/motherland An annual celebration of the birth of the Hindu god Krishna Horoscope Grindstone Song sung during grinding corn with hand-mill Sepoy or soldier An extremely popular play written Blackwaters Age of the demon A migrant from Calcutta A month in the Hindu calendar (mid-November to mid-December) Story The whole manufactory, including cane–mill and boiling house A person who has signed the contract of indenture to Surinam Literally red market, the name of red light area or prostitute market Joss sticks Long term (French word)

296

Madrasi Mahapitar Mahuva Marani Marit Mimiai ka tel Mirich Mithai Nagapanchami Naka Nakshatra or nakhat Nani Naukari Nikah Palaki Paltan Pirha Purabia Pujeri/pujari Purab Puri Ram katha Ramnavami Rand Raswai Sadabrat Sari Satitva Sattu

Glossary

A migrant from Madras The name of a sub caste of Brahmins who presides over death rituals Bassia Latifolia The period ritual after death (usually thirteen days) Court marriage in among Indians in Fiji Oil extracted from the head of young person Bhojpuri name of Mauritius Sweet The day of worship of snakes or serpents. It is the fifth day of bright half of Lunar month of Shravan (July/August), according to the Hindu calendar Check–post Lunar mansion Maternal grandmother Service or job A Muslim marriage Palanquin Battalion A wooden plank A person from the eastern United Provinces and northern Bihar Priest The region of eastern United Provinces and northern Bihar Fried chapatti Story of God Ram A Hindu festival celebrating the birth of the god Ram Widow The first day of the cane pressing, the ceremony of distributing the juice Religious fast A garment consisting of a length of cotton or silk elaborately draped around the body, traditionally worn by women from South Asia The virtue or chastity Parched gram

Glossary

Satyagraha Satyanarayan ki katha Sendur Shadi Shauhar Shighra bodh Sill-batta Sipahi Sloka Surajmās Surya puran Taadi Tapu Tapuha Tarki Tat-bahar Tikli Tilak Tulsi Ramcharitmanas Urhari Valmiki Ramayan Vedi Viraha Vivah padhhati

297

Insistence on truth The story of God Satyanarayan Red pigment made from powdered red lead applied in the parting of the hair of married Hindu women Marriage Husband A book of real comprehension Grindstone Soldier Poetic meter Solar month A relious text about the Sun God Very raw Palm liquor Island A person from Tapu An ear ornament Social boycott An ornament worn by women on their foreheads A distinctive spot of colored powder or paste worn on the forehead by Hindu men and women as a religious symbol Hindu religious text of story of God Ram written by Tulsidas A woman, living with a man, but not his wife (synonymous with ‘mistress’) Hindu religious text Ramayan written by Maharshi Valmiki Alter Separation A book of instruction to perform Hindu marriage

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299

•

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Index

315

•

Index abolition of the indenture labour system, 15, 205, 246 Gokhale’s view point, 210–211, 213–214 Indian indentured woman and, 214–222 Indian nationalist movement’s campaign, 205–214 Malaviya resolution and end of indenture, 228–233 McNeil-Chimman Lal report, 223 media coverage on issues relating to emigrants, 208–209 role of Andrews and Pearson, 220–222 Sanderson Committee on, 212, 229 Afro-Caribbean slaves, 1 agrarian society of north India, 4–5 Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India, 133 Ali, Ahmed, 155 Amin, Shahid, 132–133, 173 Anderson, Michael, 56 Andrews, C. F., 138, 158n44, 184, 216– 217, 220–222, 222, 237n53, 240n88 anti-slavery, 3–4 anti-slavery movement, 2 Archer, Major E., 58 Archer, Sally, 92 arkati, 26 , 164, 166,167, 170, 172, 185, 230, 231, 233 Arnold, David, 90 Arya Samaj movement, 136–137, 225–227 in Fiji, 188–189 Bahadur, Gaiutra, 11 Bahadur, Ray Jay Prakash, 31 Bakewell, Dr, 89 baksariya peasant soldiers, 24, 242

Barahmasa, 21–22 Barrett, William Garland, 3 ‘barwai chand’ metre, 20, 29n2 Bates, Crispin, 40, 43 Bayley, S.C., 63–64 Beaumont, Joseph, 3 Benedict, Burton, 99, 142 Bhojpuri-speaking indentured labourer, 13 bidesia, 25 British Emancipator, 3 British Guiana: Facts! Facts! Facts!, 3 Brown, Laurance, 84, 92 Buksariya, 242 Burton, John Wear, 181 Calcutta Committee, 59 Campbell, A.C., 103, 104 Carter, Marina, 8–9, 10, 40, 41, 43, 47, 90, 91, 143 Charles, James, 58 Chinese labourers, 2 Chokedars [Chaukidar], 3 Colonial Born Indian Association (CBIA), 214 coolies. see also indentured emigration/ migration; journey of indentured workers on high seas awareness of the system and places of work, 27–38 becoming, 23–27 kidnapping, 3 ‘mimiai ka tel,’ rumour of, 28–30 trading of, 5 treatment of, 3, 28–30 Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture (Guaitra Bahadur), 41–42 Coolie Woman (Gaiutra Bahadur), 11

316

Index

Crooke, Arthur, 133 Crooke, William, 126, 127, 135, 139, 140, 144 cultural ethnography, 244–246 family life and marriage, 135–140 festivals, 145–150 food preparation, 150–155 mantras for various ablutions and practices, 153, 287–288 materials on north Indian popular culture, 126 of north Indian societies, 125 under the plantation life, 125 quotidian culture of Indian peasant life, 125–126 regarding the cultivation of sugarcane, 126–135 religious texts, sects and traditions, 150–155 rite of chhathi, 140 rites and rituals of birth and death, 140–145 sorcery acts, 151 supernatural practices, 151 culture of migration, 12, 20–23, 49n2, 111–113 Cumpston, I.M., 5 Dickens, T., 58 dietary provisions during indentured journey, 102–110. see also journey of indentured workers on high seas under bad weather, 105 for Christian sepoys, 109 daily dietary requirements, 103 dietary accommodation of religious belief, 108–109 Dr Mouat’s, 104–106 food rations on board per person, 103 for Hindu sepoys, 110 list of dry provisions, 108 for Muslim sepoys, 109 provisions for cooking for eighteen weeks, 106–107 sattu and chura, 103–104, 122n69

stock of semolina (suji), oatmeal and arrowroot, 105 taste preferences of Indians, 105 weekly rations for 33 regiment of British soldiers, 110 Dowson, W.F., 58 Dudley, H., 172 Dutt, Russomoy, 58 Elliot, H. M., 127 Eltis, David, 79 Emigration Act of 1883, 68–69 emigration-related legal enactments and regulations, 12, 55, 243 Act of 1864, 79, 97, 243 Act of 1883, 68–69 Act VII of 1837, 57–58 Act VII of 1871, 61–63 Act V of 1837, 78, 102 Act XIII of 1864, 59–60, 59–61, 106 Act XV of 1842, 59, 103 Act XXI of1843, 59 Act XXI of 1844, 59 Act XXI of 1883, 98 alleged abuses of Indians, 58 challenges, 63–64 in colonial India, 56 in context of Assam plantations, 56 from coolies point of view, 63 emigration agents and, 51n31, 60–61, 62, 64, 66, 68–70, 74n48 historiography of labour legislations, 55–57 Indian Emigration Bill 1880, 65–68 key ideas and forms of governance, 56–57 making of early regulations, 57–68 provisions of emigration statute for punishment of breach of contract, 61–62 Emmer, P. C., 10, 41, 80, 138 European planters, 2 female migrants, 40–43 as an escape hatch, 41–42

Index campaign to save women from exploitation, 214–222 classes of women enlisted to emigrate, 41 condition of women on plantation, 175–178, 182, 217 emigration to retrieve good character, 43 Kunti episode, 41, 176, 182, 214–215, 216–219, 219, 236n42, 246 as a route out of patriarchal oppression, 40–41 women’s rights, 42–43 Fijian indenture life, 244–245 Arya Samaj in, 188–189 beginning of the journey, 164–173 condition of women on plantation, 175–178, 182, 217 discrimination in the colonies, 177 economic conditions, 180 education condition, 179 hospital facilities for indentured Indians, 180 issue of overtasking, 181 life on plantations, 174–185 petition by Girmitiyas for a regulation, 289 problems of returnees, 191–193 protests against the plantation authorities, 193–198 religious and cultural values under indenture, 185–191 religious condition, 179–180 testimonies of women seduction, 172–173 Fiji Indians, 5–7 Fiji of To-day (Christian Padre), 176 Fitzpatrick, George, 213 Forbath, Willy, 55 free labour, 9 Fremantle, H.S., 212–213, 235n24 Gandhi, M. K., 15, 205–214, 216 criticism of indenture system, 223–224

317

on racial discrimination in South Africa, 207–208 Satyagraha campaign in South Africa, 206–207 Gill, Walter, 138 Gillian, K.L., 5 girmit/girmitiyas, 1, 2, 6, 7, 13, 14, 15, 16n3, 25, 33, 102, 111, 113, 150, 153, 238n66, 242 experiences as, 163–164, 244–245. see also Fijian indenture life as symbol of slavery and liberation, 7 Gokhale, G. K., 15, 212, 216 Gokhale, Gopal Krishna, 210–211 Grant, J. P., 58 Grierson, George A., 21, 26–27, 31, 39–40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 68, 115–116, 127, 129, 156n7, 232 Bihar Peasant Life, 115 Gupt, Maithalisharan, 230–231 Handbook for Surgeons ( James M. Laing), 98 Haycock, David Boyd, 92 Hussain, Francis Edward Muhammad, 213 Ilbert, C. P., 68 Indentured Cooly Protection Society, 217 indentured emigration/migration, 10 awareness of the system and places of work, 27–38, 51n31, 166 case of a Rajput family of the Shahabad district, 40 caste-wise data of emigrants, 44–47, 261 correspondence and copy of contract of emigrants, 249–260 correspondence between emigrants and their relatives, 30–38 emigration as a ‘loss,’ 30–31 female migrants, 40–47 Kangni style of migration, 40 natives’ objections to, 31 remittances sent to relatives, 31–32, 35–38

318

Index

returnees and emigration network, 38–40 returnees who saved money and returned, 47 as a route out of difficult social, economic or existential conditions, 47 subaltern migration strategies, 43 varied views of people on emigration, 28 zamindars and landlords point of view, 43–44 indenture system, 1. see also abolition of the indenture labour system agency and subjectivities of migrants, 9–10 comparison of features of slavery and, 8–9 empowerment of women, 11 experiences of women, 10–11. see also female migrants field of indenture studies, 11 government policies regarding, 9 interactions of indentured labourers with Sirdars (foremen), 9 migration under, 23–27 as a new form of slavery, 5–6 popularity of, 242 scholarly works, 8 significance to labour migration from India, 9 significant role in labour mobilization, 9 vocabularies related to, 15, 27–28, 48, 51n29 Indian indenture system, 2 horrors of, 3 main feature of, 2 progenies of the indentured Indians, 8 trade of kidnapping coolies, 3 treatment of coolies, 3 Indian labourers, 1–2 in agricultural sector, 25 bidesia and girmitiya of the sugar colonies, 25 in Mauritius (Mirich), 24, 27–28

number who migrated to colonies, 1880, 24–25 recruitment of, 24 rules and regulations of recruitment, 26–27 Saran people recruited as indentured labourers, 25 in West Indian colonies, 24 Indian National Congress (INC), 207–208, 217, 223 Indian Relief Act, 207 jahaji relationship, 8 Jatsar songs, 22 Jenkin, Edward, 3, 28 jhumar song, 136, 158n42 Jinnah, Mohammed Ali, 211 journey of indentured workers on high seas, 12, 76 additional articles and fittings used, 100–101 alcohols used, 101 cultural life, 111–113 dietary provisions during journey, 102–110 experience of emigrants aboard the ship, 113–117 health and medical facilities for indentured labourers, 84 health and mortality of indentured labour migrants, 80–91 list of items carried by girmitiyas to Fiji, 111–112 medical provisions for improving migrant health outcomes, 92–102 Kale, Madhavi, 8–9, 134 Kelly, John D., 41, 225 Khan, Abdoollah, 88, 115, 120n32 Khan, Boodoo, 114 Khan, Munshi Rahman, 1, 14, 116, 136, 163, 164 accounts of Fiji indenture. see Fijian indenture life Khana, Abdul Rahim Khan, 20

Index Klass, Morton, 99, 142, 145 Kolff, D. H. A., 23–24 Kuli Pratha Arthat Biswi Sadi ki Gulami (Lakshman Singh Chauhan), 218–220 Kungra, Mir, 32–33 Labour Act of Mauritius 1842, 153 Laing, James, 113 Lal, Brij V., 6, 8, 25, 41, 136, 143, 145, 153, 175, 197, 219, 221 Lal, Chimman, 222–223 League for the Abolition of Indenture Labour, 220 Lelyveld, Joseph, 207 Mahase, Radica, 84, 92 Malaviya, Madan Mohan, 15, 228–233 Mangru, Basudeo, 8, 138 Manque (Manik) of Meergunj, 114 maps 1907 map of Bengal with Sikkim, xvi of United Provinces, xvii Marsden, A., 225 Marwari Sahayak Samiti, 225–226, 239n74 McNeil, James, 222 medicines for indentured journey, 92–102, 262–284. see also journey of indentured workers on high seas copper sulphate and ‘lunar caustic’ (silver nitrate), 96 disinfectants, 96 instruments and appliances used, 97–98 loaded on ships from 1846 to 1864, 93–95 opioid derivatives, 96 styptics and astringents, 96 miasma theory of diseases, 95, 120n38 Mintz, Sydney, 71 Mishra, Sudhesh, 117 Mitchell, R. W. S., 62 Mohammed, Niyaz, 99 Mohapatra, Prabhu, 9, 56, 149

319

mortality on indenture voyages, 80–91, 104. see also journey of indentured workers on high seas Mouat, Dr, 87–88 Naidu, Sarojini, 230 Naoroji, Dadabhai, 211 Narayan, Babu Raghuvir, 232 Natal Indian Congress (NIC), 206 Natal Indian Patriotic Union (NIPU), 214 A New System of Slavery (Hugh Tinker), 5, 76 Northrup, David, 10, 79, 80 Omvedt, Gail, 9 Pearson, W.W., 138, 158n44, 184, 220–222 peasant movement for naukari, 23 peasant soldiers, recruitment of, 24 Persaud, Anil, 84 Pillai, Parmeswaram, 207 Pitcher, Major D. G., 25–28, 39–40, 42, 43, 68, 115, 116 Planalp, Jack, 140, 142 Prakash, Gyan, 151 purabia girmitiya, 15, 242 purabia soldiers, 24 quotidian life on the ship, 98–99 Ramchandra, Baba, 14, 136, 163, 164 accounts of Fiji indenture. see Fijian indenture life Ramdin, Suchita, 139 Ramlal (Mannan Dwivedi Gajpuri), 232 Ramsurrun, Pahlad, 99 Reddock, Rhoda, 10, 40–41, 138 religion of indentured Indians, 14. see also cultural ethnography Akhtij, Nagpanchami, Rakshabandhan celebrations, 145–146 Diwali and holi celebrations, 146, 148 in Mauritius, 152–153 Muharram celebrations (Tazia celebration), 146–150, 148 religious texts, sects and traditions, 150–155

320

Index

stories of Badshah Pir and Soofie Saheb from South Africa, 151–152 religious gurus from India religious sects in Fiji, 150, 151, 152–153 Robb, Peter, 56 Russell, W.E., 137 Sanadhya, Totaram, 14, 136, 137, 139, 142, 145, 148, 149, 152, 153, 163, 164, 216 accounts of Fiji indenture. see Fijian indenture life Fiji Dwip Me Mere 21 Varsh, 217 visit to Australia, 182–183 Sanderson Committee, 212, 229 Sawak labour, 213, 235n28 Scoble, John, 3 Sea of Poppies (Amitav Ghosh), 30 seasonal migrants, 23, 25, 48 Sen, Samita, 43, 173 Shastri, Srinavasa, 223 shipping world of the nineteenth century, 77–80, 243–244 average passenger density on indentured labour ships, 79–80 basic design of a standard sailing ship, 77 Blue Jacket, 78 evolution and improvement in the ventilation systems, 78 John Allan’s ships, 78–79 Steamer Bhima, 78 structure of a ship, 81–83 technological changes and indenture regulation, 78 three types of sailing ships, 77–78 Shlomowitz, Ralph, 84, 90 Singh, Prag, 39 slavery, 1, 241 abolition, 24

abolition of, 24, 131–132 South American planters, 2 Stanley, Amy, 55 Steinfield , Robert J., 56 Sturman, Rachel, 56, 70 sufferings of indentured Indians, 3, 14, 28–30. see also Fijian indenture life; journey of indentured workers on high seas condition of women on plantation, 175–178, 182, 217 sugarcane cultivation and production, 126–135 agricultural operations, 128–129 calendar relating to harvest, 126–127 harvest ceremonies, 127–128 method, 128 production of raw sugar, 130 sugar colonies, expansion of, 131 timings of plantings, 128 types of ploughs used, 128–129 West Indies cultivation of sugarcane, 131–132 sugar production, 241. see also sugarcane cultivation and production Swinton, Captain, 84 Thakur, Bhikhari, 136 Tinker, Hugh, 5–6, 55 Tomlins, Christopher, 55 Vicks Vaporub, 121n49 western medical practices, nineteenthcentury, 95–96 West Indian planters, 24, 241 widowhood, 42 Wingfield, Edward, 105 Wray, Leonard, 131–132 Yang, Anand, 25