Literature of Girmitiya: History, Culture and Identity 9811946205, 9789811946202

Table of contents :
Contents
Notes on Contributors
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 Literature of Girmitiya: History, Culture, and Identity
Introduction
Part I: Language, Literature, and Identity
Part II: Culture, Music, and Songs
Part III: Migration and History
Part I Language, Literature, and Identity
2 Language, Literature and Cultural Identity: A Narrative from the Malaysian Tamil Diaspora
Introduction
Theoretical Outline
Formation of Indian/Tamil Diaspora in Malaysia
The Advent of Tamil Language and Culture in Malaysia
Case Study: 01—The Malaysian Movement for Tamil Culture
Case Study: 02—The Tamil Literary Society of Malaysia
Case Study: 03—Tamil Foundation
Hindu Temples and the Formation of Tamil Cultural Identity in Malaysia
Role of Tamil Mass Media in the Promotion of the Tamil Language
Construction of Tamil Cultural Identity Through Transnationalism of the Malaysian Tamil Diaspora
Case Study: 04—The International Movement for Tamil Culture (IMTC)
Conclusion
References
3 Poetics of the Crossing: Rerouting Identity in Indian Indenture
Historical Background
The Concept of Kala Pani and Fragmentation of Identity
The Spatial Trope on the Ships
The Voyage as a Leveller of Social Hierarchy
Reconstitution of Identity on Board the Ships
Gendering on the Ships
Medical Conditions on Board the Ship
References
4 Unutterable Sufferings of Girmitiyas in Amitav Ghosh’s Sea of Poppies
References
5 A Critical Reflection on Imperialism, Nostalgia and Traumatic Experiences in Totaram Sanadhya’s My Twenty-One Years in the Fiji Islands
Introduction
Story of Kunti: Physical, Mental, and Sexual Assaults
Story of Narayani: Physical, Mental, and Sexual Assaults
Conclusion
References
Part II Culture, Music, and Songs
6 Tracing the Girmitiya Consciousness in Bhojpuri Folkloric Songs: A Study of Three Bhojpuri Video Songs
Introduction
Sampling
Calcutta Se Chootal Jahaaj
Girmitiya Kantraki
Fiji Bidesia
Methodology
Delimiting the Borders of Girmitiya Consciousness in the Songs
The Passage In-Between of the Girmitiya: Tropes of Cultural Imagination
Transformation of Girmitiya Consciousness in the Songs’ Visuals and Languages
Conclusion
References
7 The Poetics of Unsung Chutney Singer Lakhan Karriah of Trinidad
Introduction
Poetics in Song Lyrics
Ethnic Literary Theory
Lakhan Karriah
Literature Review
Methodology
Theoretical Framework
“Doh Doh Sundar Popo”
Conclusion
Bibliography
8 Preservation of Cultural Heritage: A Case Study of Asians in Mauritius
Presence of Indians in Mauritius
Socio-Economic Development/Evolution of Asians in Mauritius
The Concept of Culture and Heritage
Heritage Preservation in Mauritius
Preserving the Cultural Heritage of Asians in Mauritius
References
9 Relocating Cultural Identity: Pattern and Conditions of Indian Diaspora in Fiji
Labor Emigration from India
Pattern of Migration
The Major Trend of International Migration from India, 1830–2011
Migration of Indentured Labor
Indentured Labor System Pathway
Kangani and Maistry Migration
System Under Kangani
Nature and Characteristics of Kangani System
Maistry System
Free Migration
Fiji: History and Population
Accommodation and Ration
Coolie Lines
The Working Conditions of Indian Laborers in Fiji
Wages
Working Conditions of Women Laborers
Picture-Violence Against Women by the Overseers
Summary
Bibliography
10 Vivid Girmitiya Sacraments and Ganga Talao
Introduction
Girmitiyas in Mauritius a Transnational Context
Literature Review
Spiritual and Symbolic Significance of Ganga
The Legend Is Associated with the River Ganga in India
The Symbolic Interpretation of the Legend
Ganga as a Symbolic Representative of Knowledge of Vedas
Significance of Ganga Jal in Hinduism
Ganga and Varanasi
Sacred Hindu Rituals Performed at the River Ganga
Ganga Talao in Mauritius
Girmitiyas and Establishment of Ganga Talao
Sacred Rituals Performed at Ganga Talao
Ganga Talao as Sacred Complex
Conclusion
References
Part III Migration and History
11 Girmit as a Global Labour Regime: Essentials, Expansion and Exceptions
Need for the New Labourers
Indentured Labour Regime: Making of the Girmitiya World
Ideological Debates and Dilemmas
Regulations of the System
Essentials of Indenture
Labour Mobilisation
Wage Payments
Freedom of Mobility
Indenture and Capitalist Development
Consequences of Girmit Regime
Creation of Plural Societies
Celebration of Girmitiyas?
Transformations of Labour Regime and the Labourers
Conclusions
12 ‘Convicts’ as the Indentured Labour: Contribution of Indians to the Development in Southeast Asia
Introduction
Genesis of ‘Convicts’ as Indentured Labour
Origins and Transportation of ‘Convicts’ from Colonial India
Strait Settlements of ‘Convicts’ as Indentured Labour
Employment of ‘Convicts’ Indentured Labourers in Southeast Asia
Contribution of Indian Convicts to the Development in the Southeast Asia
Conclusion
References
13 The Girmityas and Power Politics: A Genealogical Analysis of Colonial Fiji
References
14 Indentured Labour Migration from Bombay Presidency: A Study of Marathi-Speaking Community in Mauritius
References
Index

Citation preview

Literature of Girmitiya History, Culture and Identity Edited by Neha Singh · Sajaudeen Chapparban

Literature of Girmitiya

Neha Singh · Sajaudeen Chapparban Editors

Literature of Girmitiya History, Culture and Identity

Editors Neha Singh Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies, School of Humanities and Social Sciences Manipal University Jaipur Rajasthan, India

Sajaudeen Chapparban Centre for Diaspora Studies Central University of Gujarat Gandhinagar, India

ISBN 978-981-19-4620-2 ISBN 978-981-19-4621-9 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4621-9 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore

Contents

1

Literature of Girmitiya: History, Culture, and Identity Neha Singh and Sajaudeen Chapparban

1

Part I Language, Literature, and Identity 2

3

4

5

Language, Literature and Cultural Identity: A Narrative from the Malaysian Tamil Diaspora M. Mahalingam

23

Poetics of the Crossing: Rerouting Identity in Indian Indenture Anjali Singh

43

Unutterable Sufferings of Girmitiyas in Amitav Ghosh’s Sea of Poppies Pulkita Anand

59

A Critical Reflection on Imperialism, Nostalgia and Traumatic Experiences in Totaram Sanadhya’s My Twenty-One Years in the Fiji Islands Rabindra Kumar Verma

73

v

vi

CONTENTS

Part II Culture, Music, and Songs 6

7

8

9

10

Tracing the Girmitiya Consciousness in Bhojpuri Folkloric Songs: A Study of Three Bhojpuri Video Songs Anisha Badal-Caussy and Jay Ganesh Dawosing

91

The Poetics of Unsung Chutney Singer Lakhan Karriah of Trinidad Kumar Mahabir

111

Preservation of Cultural Heritage: A Case Study of Asians in Mauritius Zareen Beebeejaun-Muslum

127

Relocating Cultural Identity: Pattern and Conditions of Indian Diaspora in Fiji Sushma Pandey

145

Vivid Girmitiya Sacraments and Ganga Talao Anshuman Rana

179

Part III Migration and History 11

12

13

14

Girmit as a Global Labour Regime: Essentials, Expansion and Exceptions Amit Kumar Mishra

197

‘Convicts’ as the Indentured Labour: Contribution of Indians to the Development in Southeast Asia Aparna Tripathi

227

The Girmityas and Power Politics: A Genealogical Analysis of Colonial Fiji Dhanya Joy

241

Indentured Labour Migration from Bombay Presidency: A Study of Marathi-Speaking Community in Mauritius Dhanraj Gusinge

Index

255

267

Notes on Contributors

Pulkita Anand is Assistant Professor of English at Shahid Chandrasekhar Govt. PG College, Jhabua. Her areas of research are Indian Writing in English, British Drama, Gender studies and Afro-American literature. She is the author of a book. She has participated in many workshops, symposiums, international conferences, and national seminars and has written papers that have been published in reputed journals. Her creative work has been published in various journals. Anisha Badal-Caussy is Lecturer from the Department of Mauritian Studies at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute, Mauritius. Her research interests are Mauritian Literature, Postcolonial Literature, Border Studies, Cultural Studies, Feminism, and Postmodernism. She has participated in many national and international conferences. Mrs. Zareen Beebeejaun-Muslum is a senior lecturer at the Department of Mauritian Studies, Mahatma Gandhi Institute. She has lectured for more than fifteen years in the field of Sociology and Anthropology. Apart from teaching, her research interests are as follows: Gender Issues, Contemporary Mauritian Society, HIV/AIDS related stigma and discrimination, Social impact of Type II Diabetes amongothers. She recently collaborated on a book publication titled ‘Achieving Work-Family-Balance (WFB) among professional working women in Mauritius’. Sajaudeen Chapparban is Assistant Professor in the Centre for Diaspora Studies at Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, India. vii

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NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS

Jay Ganesh Dawosing is a Lecturer from the Department of Bhojpuri, Folklore and Oral Traditions at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute, Mauritius. His research interests are Bhojpuri Language and Culture, Bhojpuri folk songs, Heritage, Folklore and Oral Traditions. He has published several papers and is an active researcher in his fields of interest. Dhanraj Gusinge is Assistant Professor in Department of History at Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. He completed his Ph.D. entitled ‘History and Cultural Identity of Marathi Diaspora in Mauritius’ under the Centre for Diaspora Studies at Central University of Gujarat. He completed his M.Phil. entitled ‘Indian Diaspora in Mauritius: A Historical Study of Indentureship (1834–1920)’ from the Central University of Gujarat. He was awarded the ICSSR Doctoral Fellowship in 2018–2019. He has presented research papers in various International and National Seminar/Conferences. His area of interest includes Indian Diaspora, Migration, Indian History, Culture and Identity. Dhanya Joy is Assistant Professor of English at St. Joseph’s College for Women, Alappuzha (affiliated to Kerala University, India). Her interests span an eclectic range of cross-disciplinary domains including literary theory, film studies, philosophy and life studies. She has published research papers in various national and international journals. She is currently working on the post-theoretical implications in the works of Jorge Luis Borges, the master craftsman of Argentine literature. Kumar Mahabir is a full-time anthropologist at the University of Guyana (UG) and a Fellow of The Eccles Centre for American Studies—British Library. He is also the founder and chief director of the weekly Sunday ZOOM program hosted by the Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre (ICC). Dr. Mahabir is also a former Assistant Professor at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT). He obtained his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Florida (UF) in the USA, and his M.Phil. and B.A. degrees in Literature in English from the University of the West Indies (UW). He is the author of 12 books to date. M. Mahalingam is currently working as Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law of SGT University, Gurugram, Delhi-NCR, India. He has been teaching history and sociology to law students since 2015. He has numerous research publications to his credit. He is currently a Co-project director for the research project of the Indian Council of Social Science

NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS

ix

Research (ICSSR) entitled ‘The Plight of Migrant Labourers During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Delhi- A Socio-Legal Study’. Amit Kumar Mishra is Associate Professor, School of Global Affairs at Ambedkar University Delhi, New Delhi. His research, teaching and publications explore south asian diaspora, transnational migrations, and diaspora-development. He was consultant to Truth and Justice Commission (Mauritius), Fellow Weatherhead Initiative on Global History (Harvard University) and a member of UNESCO Indentured Labour Route Project. Sushma Pandey is currently working with ‘Jharkhand Anti Trafficking Network’ as Project Coordinator, (SPARK Ranchi Jharkhand). She has Ph.D. in diaspora studies and is a recipient of ICSSR Foreign Travel grant. She conducted ethnographic research in Fiji. She has published a paper on the topic of Invisible Indentured History of Women Migration During Social Reform in India International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research. She is a part-time research intern at women’s studies centre Ranchi Dept. of Economics, Ranchi University, Supported by Indian Association for Women’s Studies (IAWS). She worked with Tribal Research Institute Ranchi Jharkhand. As a research associate, she completed In-house Project ‘Megaliths of Jharkhand, Encyclopedia of Tribes of Jharkhand’. She also worked with ‘Azim Premji University’ as Research Associate on the project ‘15 meters back’: schemes to support women working in traditionally male jobs, competition, and violence. She has working experience with Himalayan Heritage Research and Development Society (HHRDS) as a Cultural Counsellor/Program Coordinator Sikkim and Uttarakhand. Anshuman Rana is currently Assistant Professor and Head of the Department in the Institute of Media Studies, Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University, Lucknow. He holds a Doctorate in Diaspora Studies. He has done his bachelor’s and master’s in Journalism and Mass Communication. His research interest lies in Lifestyle migration, Development Communication and Culture Studies. Neha Singh is Assistant Professor in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies at Manipal University Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.

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Anjali Singh holds a Ph.D. in English. Her areas of interest include Indenture Studies, Migration Studies, Postcolonial Literature, Women’s Writing, and Gender and Queer Studies. She has travelled widely and has also presented research papers in Australia and Fiji, apart from publishing papers in several peer-reviewed and referred journals. Her book Voices and Silences: Narratives of the Girmitiyas and Jahajis from Fiji and the Caribbean (2022) has been co-published by Manohar Publishers and Routledge. Aparna Tripathi is currently working as Ph.D. Research Scholar at the Centre for Diaspora Studies, Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. She has been awarded her M.Phil. from the same centre. She published more than 4 papers in international and nationally reputed journals and also published 2 book chapters in the edited books. She obtained her B.A.(Hons.) and M.A. in Political Science from Banaras Hindu University. Her research interests include Political Thought, Indian Foreign Policy, Indian Diaspora in Southeast Asia and USA and International Relations. Rabindra Kumar Verma teaches English at the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies, Manipal University Jaipur. He has earned 11 years of teaching experience in the domain of English literature, language and literary theory and criticism. He was awarded D.Phil. in 2011 by the Department of English & Modern European Languages, University of Allahabad, India. He has published more than 25 research papers in national, international, and Scopus-indexed journals, and book chapters in the edited books.

List of Figures

Fig. 13.1

Fig. 13.2 Fig. 13.3 Fig. 14.1

Map 8.1

Map 14.1

Fiji: Ethnic Composition (2007): Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. www.britannica.com/place/Fiji-republic-Pacific-Ocean /People Sample of emigration pass: www.fijigirmit.org/ph_passes.htm A group of Girmityas: www.fijigirmit.org/ph_girmitold.htm Marathi language in Mauritius (Source Census of Mauritius, 1990, 2000, 2011) The main regions and districts of recruitment for Indian indentured labourers (1826–1910) (Source Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund Collection, published in Peerthum [2017]. They came to the Mauritian Shore’s: The Life-Stories and the History of Indentured Labourers in Mauritius [1826–1937]: Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund) Marathi Settlement in Mauritius (Source Mauritius Marathi Cultural Centre Trust [2012], p. 33)

242 245 248 263

131 262

xi

List of Tables

Table 6.1

Table 6.2

Table 6.3

Table 8.1 Table 8.2 Table Table Table Table Table Table

9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6

Traditional Girmitiya song Calcutta Se Chootal Jahaaj rewritten by Suchita Ramdin (1989), performed by Roots Foundation and translated by Prof. Ramesh Ramdoyal depicts their agony during the unending voyage to an unknown world which fate had chosen as their new home, leaving behind their beloved ones, and their country, their hope of seeing their motherland gone forever Girmitiya song Girmitiya Kantraki (2017), a Champaran Talkies Production, produced by Neetu Chandra and sung by Raj Mohan in the attire of an Indentured Labourer and the video has a cartoon story of the girmitiya in Suriname Girmitiya song Fiji Bidesia sung by Ranpoo Singh in 2010, written by late Master Santa Prasad Bahadur Korokade India School, Lekutu, Bua, Fiji Islands, 1961 Number of convicts in Mauritius 1815–1848 Arrival and departures of Indian immigrants between 1834 and 1912 Chronology of indentured system Year- and country-wise migration Number of laborers emigrated to colonies Percentage of Port-Wise migration (1835–1844) Numbers of emigrating Indian indentured laborers Districts wise recruitment

95

97

98 129 130 152 153 153 154 155 155

xiii

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LIST OF TABLES

Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table

9.7 9.8 9.9 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 9.14 9.15 9.16 9.17

Table 11.1

District-Wise North Indian migration in Fiji District-wise caste composition of emigrants Commissions of agents for laborer recruitment Labor recruitment for Kangani system Indians employed in Fiji during 1911 Free Indian population in Fiji, 1908–1912 Emigrants from Calcutta to Fiji, 1891–1902 Emigration from Calcutta to Fiji by age, 1879–1916 Cost of rations in Fiji Daily wages of indentured labor in Fiji Male and female percentage of emigration during the colonial period Production of sugar and arrival of Indian indentured labourers in Mauritius

156 156 158 160 165 165 167 168 170 172 173 216

CHAPTER 1

Literature of Girmitiya: History, Culture, and Identity Neha Singh and Sajaudeen Chapparban

Introduction People have been moving from one place to another for various socioeconomic and political reasons since ancient times. In recent times also there is a visible increase in human mobility across national and international boundaries. People are relocating to other villages, cities, states, and nations. Studies of migratory mechanisms categorized human mobility into national and international and temporary and permanent migration. These human mobilities are further divided on the basis of two primary characteristics, that is how and why they chose to migrate from their place of origin. There are various driving factors that instigate people to migrate which include political, social, cultural, economic as well as demographic.

N. Singh (B) School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Manipal University Jaipur, Jaipur, India e-mail: [email protected] S. Chapparban Centre for Diaspora Studies, Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, India

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 N. Singh and S. Chapparban (eds.), Literature of Girmitiya, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4621-9_1

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Everett Lee,1 a renowned demographer calls these factor ‘push and pull factors’ and categorized migration as a ‘permanent or semi-permanent change of residence’. Indians have also been migrating for various push and pull factors and crossing the ‘social-cultural setting2 ’ which leads to the formulation of Diaspora. Chapparban (2020) argued the ‘Sociocultural setting is an attachment with feeling, memories, and familiarity with the things which an individual loved and experiences at the primary stage of life. This similarity can span a settlement category such as a locality, city, region, state, country, or continent. It varies from place to place depending upon sociocultural similarities and dissimilarities. It can also be a setting that is marked by social category and dominance of that particular category be it race, culture, religion, ethnicity, or language group which also constitutes the identity of a settlement category. If a person migrates from one sociocultural setting to another sociocultural setting, he experiences a difference in the host society, and this experience of being different in another sociocultural setting is called the post-migration feelings and diasporic sense. The pre-migration feelings are always positively colored with new hopes, dreams, and a better life full of passion and eagerness. These feelings vary in the forced migratory patterns’ (2020: 1880). Indians who migrated during the colonial time under the indentured laborer system crossed the sociocultural settings which led to the formulation of early Indian diaspora communities in the new sociocultural setting of the different host societies. Etymologically, as Clifford3 follows, the word ‘diaspora’ comes from the Greek roots ‘dia’ and ‘speirein,’ which means ‘to disperse.’ It was first applied to the Agean population later to the Jewish exile, Africans, Chinese, Indians, Palestinians, Armenians, and more recently to almost all patterns of contemporary migrations, mostly to all international migrations in the post-nation societies. Jacobsen and Pratap4 say although South Asia is a peculiar and noticeable cultural zone, this doesn’t entail that all its cultures are identical. Perversely, South Asia is indeed one of the world’s largest linguistically, 1 Lee, E. S. (1966). A Theory of Migration. Demography, 3(1), 47–57. 2 Chapparban, S. (2020). Psychology of Diaspora. In David Leeming ed., Encyclopedia

of Psychology and Religion. 3rd edition: Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020. 3 Clifford, J. (1994). Diasporas. Cultural Anthropology, 9(3), 302–338. 4 Jacobsen, K. A., & Kumar, P. (Eds.). (2018). South Asians in the Diaspora: Histories

and Religious Traditions. Brill.

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religiously, and ethnically multifarious regions. South Asian affiliates with varied countries of origin, speak different languages and practice different faiths. India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bhutan consist of the six contemporary nation-states that represent South Asia. India, being a multicultural society and diverse of these republics, is further subdivided by religious, linguistic, and racial identities. Across the world, the South Asian diaspora is a conspicuous interlude. The first era of migration spanned the 1830s till the South Asian countries gained their freedom. The mobilization of people from the South Asian region to establish the British colonies is what defines this time period as the colonial era. In response to the great depression requirements of the British regime, this exodus was largely orchestrated by the British colonial state. The end of enslavement in the British Empire coincided with an increase in the need for plantation consumables like sugar and the viability of agricultural production to include coffee, tea, and subsequently rubber, which led to the development of a new kind of labor engagement for Indians. Indentured laborers (also known as contract laborers) from India were employed to address the issue of the shortage of laborers, mostly in the British plantations across continents. Consequently, the colonial administration began the process of hiring cheap labor from South Asia and transported them to Mauritius, Fiji, Guyana, East Africa, South Africa, Trinidad & Tobago, Caribbean islands, etc. The insinuation that the stated contract payments were far relatively higher than what could be earned by continuing to work in India was supposed to be to the worker’s advantage. There is evidence to suggest that, irrespective of the contractual system in place, laborers were at a disadvantageous position within the framework of that notorious system: frequently debilitated from exposure to unidentifiable diseases, they were rarely given better healthcare outlined in their contracts. This made them unable to accomplish their full contract obligations due to sickness; and in Mauritius, this was the reason for being susceptible to the infamous ‘double-cut,’ wherein one day of absence from work resulted in a two-day pay cut.5 The present book aims to critically engage in one of the earliest noticeable forms of Indian migration under the indentured labor system of the British colonial enterprise, on the eve of the abolition of slavery. Earlier, 5 Brennan, L. (1998). Across the Kala Pani: An Introduction. South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 21(1), 1–18.

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enslaving lives was a common phenomenon in world history. Early colonial commercial development in the new world and the Caribbean islands was highlighted by the emergence of large plantations sustained by a labor pool composed mainly of purchased slaves from the West African coast. Plantations as modern agricultural architecture and servitude as a labororganizing entity both seem to have a long-standing tradition within western civilization’s frameworks. Burnard6 explicates the idea that slavery has been chronicled in the European continent since the Greco-Roman era when slave labor was used to construct the structural fabric of human civilization. Western European states benefited enormously from the trans-Atlantic slave trade before the prohibition on slave ownership in the nineteenth century. Slaves were transported to the Americas from Africa to labor in mines, on plantations, and in other colonial development projects. The termination of the transatlantic slave trade was likely attributable to Britain’s measures and in 1807, the British Parliament outlawed slavery. Slavery in Britain’s territories was repealed in 1833, liberating more than three-quarters of a million slaves. Using its naval power, Britain implemented its anti-slavery stance over the world at the same time and for decades afterward. According to Gwyn Campbell,7 it is critical to consider both the historical connection between different manifestations of unfree labor as well as the movements from slavery to abolition to alternative methods of labor. It is essential to clarify the circumstances during which Indian emigration evolved amid the colonial system to fully understand its peculiarities. It is vital to consider how indentured labor emerged as an immediate result of the British empire’s global domination and the construction of its financial power, and how the prohibition of slave labor in British colonies spurred the labor supply. Slave labor from the African slave trade was used to develop the early plantation empires. The British initially hired workers from China and other European countries, but they fled the plantation due to their unsuitability for the tropical climate and meager wages. The British resorted to Eastern India’s financial recession areas (primarily today’s Bihar and Uttar Pradesh) or some provinces of the 6 Burnard, Trevor G. Planters, Merchants, and Slaves: Plantation Societies in British America, 1650–1820. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2015. 7 Campbell, G. (2004). Structure of Slavery in Indian Ocean Africa and Asia. Routledge.

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Madras and Bombay Presidency to recruit labor. The abolition of slavery had a considerable influence on plantation-dominated economies, notably because former slaves were unwilling to compromise for the planters’ wages. Thus, the ‘apprenticeship’ system was explored as a remedy, which permitted farming to flourish by engaging former slaves as apprentices. The plan was essentially a four- to six-year compulsory apprenticeship for former slaves over the age of six and a half. The indentured system was introduced as a model of contract labor for this reason, with workers signing a five-year agreement to operate in the plantation system. According to Brij V Lal,8 there were also initiatives to recruit Chinese labor and they were thought to be inappropriate for longterm plantation labor because they would depart at the first opportunity to profit through commerce and supporting processes. They also reject to work on meagre wages on plantation. Brij V Lal puts forth his argument on Indian migration that these failures placed special emphasis on India as a sustainable and long-term supply of labor. India was indeed the main source of labor for the British Empire’s sugar estates in the nineteenth century. “Pressure to emigrate has always been significant enough to create a stream of emigrants considerably larger than they are actually offered possibilities,” Kingsley Davis9 said of emigration in India. Local recruiters known as arkitas /arkatiyas enlisted laborers in India by painting a rosy and glossy picture of the working environment in the plantation colonies. They also kidnapped people and took them to a coolie depot, where they commenced their trek to the new world. One of the earliest records of studies on Girmitiya can be traced back to the study of Brij V Lal in the 1980s. Gounder et al. (2020) observed in their book that the first in-depth statistical examination of the demographic underpinnings of the girmitiyas was offered by Brij Lal’s thesis in 1983. Lal proved unequivocally that, contrary to the colonial myth of indenture, the girmitiyas were not India’s ‘flotsam and jetsam.’10 Instead, the girmitiyas represented

8 V Lal, B. (2012). Chalo Jahaji: On a Journey Through Indenture in Fiji. ANU Press. 9 Davis, K. (1988). Social Science Approaches to International Migration. Population

and Development Review, 14, 245–261. 10 Gounder, F., Hiralal, K., Pande, A., & Hassankhan, M. S. (Eds.). (2020). Women, Gender and the Legacy of Slavery and Indenture. Routledge.

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a mixture of castes and classes in India. David Northrup11 explicitly forefronts the idea that almost all indentured laborers were acquired by abduction and threat of force, and were gravely deluded about their itineraries, responsibilities, and remuneration by nefarious recruiters, especially at the beginning of the trade. Certain events gave rise to derogatory nicknames, such as ‘blackbirding’ in the South Pacific, the ‘pig trade’ in China, and the ‘coolie trade’ in India. British colonization resulted in overseas migration from India, both in India and on archipelagos. Local recruiters were also forced to rely on sirdars, or labor group leaders, who volunteered to help the recruiters and the emigration agent, as Marina Carter12 recounts in her book ‘Sirdars, Servants, and Settlers.’ As indentured servants, many Indians sailed overseas territories such as Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Mauritius, Fiji, and others. The British government then began the process of recruiting laborers from the Asian colonies. As a corollary, in 1834, the first group of 36 dhangars (hill coolie) of Eastern India was transported to Mauritius to serve in the plantations. Previously, the British tried bringing convict labor to Mauritius to develop infrastructure. Hugh Tinker13 calls this recruitment of indenture labor a ‘new form of slavery (Tinker, 1974).’ After working for the term of the contract they were allowed to be free. It was estimated that around 30 million people migrated to different parts of the world between 1834 and 1937 whereas, in the period between 1901 and 1937, a total of 451,000 laborers migrated (Tinker, 1974). The experiences of women in this infamous system of indentured labor become equally important because they had varied experiences and contributions to the colonial plantation settlements in the British Empire. Satish Rai14 in his documentary ‘In Exile at Home: A Fiji Indian Story’ explored how this whole system of transportation of laborers was implemented. According to his documentary, it was thought that girmitiyas had migrated to Fiji voluntarily, and the majority of them didn’t come back, 11 Northrup, D. (1995). Indentured Labor in the Age of Imperialism, 1834–1922. Cambridge University Press. 12 Carter, M. (1995). Servants, Sirdars, and Settlers: Indians in Mauritius, 1834–1874. Oxford University Press, USA. 13 Hugh, T. (1974). A New System of Slavery. The Export of Indian Labour Overseas, London, Hansib Educational Book. 14 Rai, S. C. (2010). In Exile at Home: A Fiji-Indian Story. University of Western Sydney (Australia).

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instead preferring to reside in Fiji for sustainable development. The newly discovered facts debunked this myth and sparked an investigation into the reasons for the 35,000 girmitiyas’ refusal to repatriate to their ancestral homeland in India. The central problem to investigate was whether girmitiyas wanted to settle in Fiji or if they did so because of being prohibited from relocating to India and building a home in exile. In his documentary, Shahista Shaman said women were vital in the formation of the plantation economy. Many of the women were alienated from their friends. Fiji lured women with farming backgrounds and arkatias kidnapped many of them. After being recruited from cities and religious centers, naive Indians were escorted to Calcutta or Madras for immigration clearance and deportation to colonies. People were sobbing and had no idea where they were sailing. During the travel to a distant land, emotional anguish was experienced. These girmitiyas arrived in Fiji after a three-month trek, where they were segregated and relocated to a plantation. In this film ‘In exile at home,’ Satendra Nandan claimed that girmitiyas were tricked into fleeing their homes in India to serve in Fiji. Additionally, the fact that they committed to visiting Fiji only for five or ten years suggested that they were only passing through. He described this historical migration as chaotic. He says hard work was nothing new to them; it was a neverending pace of labor in the absence of civilization and community. It was a mentally taxing time for women because they had to work incredibly hard during their gestation and immediately after childbirth. Colonialism not only shaped the capital and trade but also human life and mobility across the cultures, borders, and communities, whose legacies left indelible marks and dark shadows on the lives, culture, literature, and identity of colonized subjects even in the postcolonial times. Indentured/Girmitiya migration is one of the largest colonial enterprises that forced millions of people from China, Arab countries, and the Indian subcontinent/South Asia to leave their beloved families, home, memories, culture, and people behind to join indentured colonies beyond the kalapani.15 Although they rebuilt/re-created many things that they left behind in the places of arrival, these catastrophic departures fractured their psyches, hyphenated their identities, and had significant effects on their lives and their generations. 15 Kalapani is a term that was common parlance among the Indian masses during the sea voyages during the colonial time. Sea journeys of indentured laborers and deportation of anti-colonial voices to island prisons.

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The present book aims to cover the contract labor migration and migration during this contract labor. Although this form of mass labor migration was ‘legal’ and ‘free’ in nature, in practicality it was loaded with gross violations of basic human rights, injustices, lack of proper wages, health facilities, malnutrition, and other civil facilities. It is ingrained with the pains and pangs of dislocation, relocation, memories, nostalgia, separation, belonging, etc. There is also a positive aspect of this migration in terms of providing employment to the masses who were affected by social inequalities, debt, natural calamities, taxation, repressed women, and workers of small industries in colonial India. Most people who joined and were forced to join this colonial labor enterprise were the socioeconomically backward castes and classless from the Indian subcontinent. This indentured system was also commonly known as girmitiya migration. The adjective word ‘girmitiya’ comes from the noun ‘girmit’ a malapropism of the English word ‘agreement.’ The Indian illiterate masses who joined and signed the labor contract were not able to pronounce the English word ‘agreement’ thus they mispronounce it as a ‘girmit ’ which later came to be known as ‘girmitiya.’ The girmit community while traveling brought with them many of their cultural and religious traits, languages, customs, food habits, traditions, etc. in the gathari 16 to the colonies. Gathari 17 has been explained as cultural baggage that indentured laborers took along with them and called these tangible and intangible assets their cultural belongings. Many religious ceremonies and celebrations, including Phagwah, Diwali, Dussehra, Eid, Moharram, Mahashivratri, and Ram Navmi, were held on plantations under trees. Auspicious days for the performance of specific chores, the naming of newborns, celestial details, and so on were transcribed into birth and death rites, and marriage.18

16 As the bearer of cultural baggage or gathari, the individual carries it into unfamiliar cultural settings where he segregates through his personal experience and calibrates to his surroundings in a foreign land. This ethnic identity, which is based on ancestry, family, a shared language of expression, historical and ingenious remembrances, and religious convictions, has served as a shield to defend, maintain, and advance the ethnic culture. 17 Gautam, M. K. (2013). Indian Diaspora: Ethnicity and Diasporic Identity (MEA Report). 18 Ramsarran, P. (2008). The Indentured Contract and Its Impact on Labor Relationship and Community Reconstruction in British Guiana. International Journal of Criminology and Sociological Theory.

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K. Hazareesingh19 says it is true that among several of the early immigrants to Mauritius, a huge proportion could be perceived as guardians of their motherland’s cultural heritage. He writes in his article that he stumbled upon a document in the Mauritius Department of Immigration’s records indicating that most of the immigrants brought religious scriptures from India with them, including the Mahabharata, Ramayana, and Gita Puran. There had been a proliferation in religious zeal among the inhabitants, and the Indian immigrants who landed in Mauritius in the mid-nineteenth century were fully cognizant of their ancestry and referred to the ‘Shastras ’ for religious enlightenment. He also added that there were few festivals revived to share a common descent and cultural identity. The ‘phagwa’ (Holi), ‘Diwali,’ ‘Durga Puja,’ and ‘Shivaratri’ were among the prominent festivals and events of the Hindu community observed on plantation. ‘Ramanavami’ was principally recognized by women. The Tamils performed a fire walking ceremony, while Muslims commemorated Eid. Every estate had a Baithka (village club or an informal gathering) which was arguably the most critical social institution in the Hindu community at the time. Badri Narayan Tiwari in collaboration with Maurits Hassankhan20 completed one humungous project on Kahe Gaile Bides: Why did you go overseas? wherein both discuss that this bidesia 21 (foreigner) community who were leaving for unknown destinations carried away both tangible and intangible cultural heritage as a part of their cultural memory. They were traveling with copies of Hanuman Chalisa, Ramayana, Quran, Kabir poems, etc. The girmitiya community preserved the language and culture of their homeland. The prime aim of preserving their cultural heritage is to strengthen the bonds between the Bhojpuri-speaking community who are living in India and across the globe. Parbattie Ramsarran22 mentions Seecharan who asserts that this Hindu religious literature (Ramayana, Mahabharat, and Bhagavad Gita) gave enslaved 19 Hazareesingh, K. (1966). The Religion and Culture of Indian Immigrants in Mauritius and the Effect of Social Change. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 8(2), 241–257. 20 Hassankhan, M. S. (2013). Kahe Gaile Bides: Why Did You Go Overseas? An Introduction in Emotional Aspects of Migration History: A Diaspora Perspective. Man in India, 93(1), 1–28. 21 The word bidesia originated from the word ‘bidesh’ which means foreign. 22 Ibid. (16).

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laborers the instructions and rituals they needed to build a new congregation outside of India. The present book aims to critically engage in documenting the history, experiences, culture, patterns of assimilation, acculturation, cultural preservations, and formulation of new identities of the girmitiya community. It also critically analyses the articulation, projection, and production of their experiences of migration, their narratives, tradition, culture, religion, and memory. It also explores how this labor community formulated into a diaspora community and re-connected/created the home (land) and continues to do so in the wake of globalization and ICT (Information and Communication Technology). The proposed book is an attempt to bring the intriguing neglected diverse historical heritage of colonial labor migration and their narratives into the mainstream scholarly debates and discussions through trans- and interdisciplinary perspectives. The book covers various forms of the production of girmitiya culture and literature. This book assesses the routes of migration of the old diaspora, and it explains the nuances of cultural change among the generations. Although, they have migrated centuries back, absorbed, assimilated, and got citizenships of respective countries of destinations but it’s pertinent to know how they are (re)connected/ing with their homeland in the age of globalization and ICT and the growing long-distance nationalism in the twenty-first century. How the approaches of Indian diasporas toward India and India’s approaches towards its scattered diaspora engage and re-engage these scattered communities to their roots, culture, identities, and home(land). The chapters in this book analyze the longing, and the constant struggle of the diaspora to preserve identities and connections with their homeland through their sociocultural and art practices such as religious festivals, arts, music, songs, language, food, and dress, folklore, and literary manifestations. The narratives of the Indian diaspora deal with the voices of their struggle. In this struggle, these subjects often find themselves trapped in defining their affiliation with their homeland and loyalties to their respective land of residence. This struggle is heart-wrenching as the concept of home has become a contested category. This feeling of half here and half there still made them feel that they are battling for their association and newly formed (hyphenated) identity. Stuart Hall23 stated in his 1996

23 Hall, S. (1990). Cultural Identity and Diaspora. 1990, 222–237.

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essay ‘Cultural Identity and Diaspora’ that cultural identity is not solely a result of ‘being’ but also of ‘becoming,’ ‘belonging as much to the future as it does to the past.’ Identity, according to Hall, is always transforming and spanning time and location. This book envisages understanding how diasporic subjects despite having the feeling of existential crisis endeavored to focus on the process of continuity to keep alive the memories of their homeland and passed down the ancestral cultural legacy to the next generation to maintain a shared belief and common ancestry. We picked the phrase ‘Literature of Girmitiya: History, Culture, and Identity’ as the title for the edited volume because it appears to encompass a broad spectrum of labor relations between free and unfree labor. It gives us space to accommodate and explore the experiences of girmitiya by negotiating the past, reviewing the relationship, and recognizing the subjective realities. The question arises here, why do we need to study the traditions? Traditions connect us to the past which helps us to understand where we stand. Memory plays an imperative role in the process of connecting to the past. Memory serves as the cornerstone of individual and collective identity because it provides a framework to accommodate human experiences and space for cultural dialogue. As Vijay Mishra24 argued that the term ‘girmit’ is unusual given the experience of Fiji’s Indian plantation. The girmit ideology can be effectively interpreted as a ‘sign’ that provides a theoretical framework for the experience of the ‘old’ Indian indenture diaspora. This is why, one of the major reasons for this book is to critically investigate who the girmityas are. It talks about the history of girmitiyas, their memories of homeland, diaspora consciousness, and their experiences in new cultural surroundings. It also studies how their traditions and cultures traveled with them to colonies and preserved/changed/hybridized/assimilated/acculturated/re-rooted over a period. The book also analyses how girmitya arts, music, songs, literature, and folklores both oral and written struggle depict their longing, cultures, beliefs, traditions, identity, memories, nostalgia, pain, and hardships. And how does the idea of a home play a significant role in shaping and reshaping their diaspora imaginaries, identities, and psyches in the diasporic space? Some of the interesting aspects this book covers are the conceptualization of the idea of girmitya and girmitya literature. The book explores 24 Mishra, V. (2007). The Literature of the Indian Diaspora: Theorizing the Diasporic Imaginary. Routledge.

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different facets of girmitya studies through the cultural process. In institutions, we study colonial and postcolonial literature, it has been noticed that ‘third world’ countries emerged as nation-states due to colonial rule and this world has witnessed the anti-colonial struggle as well as the social and cultural impact of colonization on the life and culture of natives. It is interesting to know how these natives responded to cultural alteration and how they survived their culture and identity. The destruction of culture and identity left an indelible mark on their psyche. This book tries to interrogate the effects of colonialism, and attempt to rewrite the history of girmitya, and it also tries to evaluate how the concept of home, history, and memory are represented in the writings and other forms of cultural productions and manifestations. The book also covers the oral(ity) tradition of the girmitya community. The practices of conveying, telling traditions, and narrating histories or stories are almost on the verge of extinction. But this practice was very much dominant among the communities of girmitiyas, who were illiterate initially and did not have a practice of writing down traditions, stories, and histories. It is a reliable source of literature that defines their rituals, cultural practices, the community of practice, lifestyle patterns, etc. The presence of Indian culture was observed and preserved in oral form among the indentured laborers in the colonies. The oral tradition of Indians in the British colonies has evaluated the importance of oral culture. These oral forms are used not only to entertain but also to educate a generation and to confirm cultural continuity. It only expresses emotions but represents the various aspects of Indian cultural life as attitudes, history, customs, values, eating habits, dress, songs, music, dance, drama, etc. As Da Vinci says History is always a one-sided account, therefore, it is important to show how historical changes affect everyday life activities. Anyone interested in studying the girmityas’ struggle, their oral traditional practices, and interested in re-interpreting the history of girmitya will find this book indispensable. The interdisciplinary account of the book also adds a unique dimension to this book. The book is divided into three sections: Part I: Language, Literature, and Identity, Part II: Culture, Music, and Songs, and Part III: Migration and History.

Part I: Language, Literature, and Identity The call for the paper of this book received an overwhelming response from distinguished scholars who worked and are working on indentured

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migration across the world to explore various aspects and dimensions of girmitiya scholarship. Quite often the girmitiya scholarship is merely associated with the Hindi/Bhojpuri-speaking indenture migration to the island countries like Mauritius, Fiji, Guyana, Trinidad, and Tobago. But there is a substantial migration under the indentureship from the South Indian states and united India (today’s Pakistan and Bangladesh) to other than island countries in the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean. It has been noticed that these are often not discussed in the girmitiya scholarship. This may be due to a lack of clarity among the scholars to be or not to be the situation to call Kangani and Maistry migration as girmitiya migration. Girmitiya migration includes all forms of contract labor migration during colonial times. One of the papers, ‘Language, Literature and Cultural Identity: A Narrative from the Malaysian Tamil Diaspora’ by Mahalingam attempts to fill up this kind of academic vacuum. It explores the history of various colonial labor migrations (traders, free passenger migrants, labor migrants, sepoys, etc.) from mostly Tamil-speaking regions to Malaysia and how this community preserve and negotiate its linguistic and cultural identity in the multicultural and multiethnic Malaysia. The paper highlights the significance of the Tamil language and literature in the Federal Constitution of Malaysia and the Malaysian school curriculum. It also highlights the importance of various community-based organizations, societies, and Tamil media in promoting, sustainably preserving, and protecting the growth and development of the Tamil language, literature, and cultural continuity of Tamils in Malaysia. Like Hindi, Urdu, and Bhojpuri in Island countries like Mauritius, Trinidad, Tobago, and Fiji—the Tamil language served the linguistic comfort, aspirations, and identity of people from the Tamil region to Malaysia. Mahalingam’s paper attempts to do justice to the Tamil language and its role in shaping the cultural identity of the diaspora. Crossing the Kalapani encapsulates a journey that is both emotional and physical and has cultural significance. In the context of girmitiya, kalapani did not mean the Black Water/Black Sea—it is a symbolic crossing of water which also means crossing of the sociocultural setting for the Indians. The Kala/Black also resonates with the impurity and mingling where the social dominant practices like caste were highly impossible, particularly for the upper caste Hindus which further led to the dismantling of the idea of purity and caste hierarchies. Crossing boundaries and borders, identity shifts and reinventions occurred. The trauma of traversing the Kalapani/ black waters quickly replaced the

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Middle-Passage paradigm in terms that are more distinctly Hindu. The severe circumstances of the encounter would have been made even more traumatic by leaving the Indian region and crossing the ocean. Mathieu25 cites Appanah who portrays the destruction of Hindu cultural symbols aboard the boat, where mingling is both forced (resulting in isolation, misery, and shame) and irreverent considering Hindu philosophy. The indentured laborers were immediately exposed to a noxious confidentiality irreconcilable with caste identity because they were constricted in the boat and detached from their societal structure, which was orchestrated in compliance with Hindu ritual purity necessities. The re-construction of the first family unit on the boat created a bond in the name of jahaji Bhai/Behan. Sailing on the same boat with a different methodology Anjali Singh looks at the production of identity, belonging, and poetics of migration critically. She discusses how identities are dis-rooted/dislocated (emigration), deconstructed (being onboarded on a vessel—all Caste Hindu and lower caste Hindus, Muslims placed together—thus breaking all caste and religious identities), and reconstructed (emerging new identities as ‘coolies,’ ‘girmitiyas,’ ‘jahaji bhai or behen,’ etc.) in this process of indentured emigration. She looks at the Hindu caste identity while crossing the Kala Pani and how the voyage, vessels, and resettlement into host societies worked as the leveler of social hierarchy and status and thus, a way toward new identities. She also tries to document the unheard voices of women in the indenture and how they were branded as ‘shamelessly immoral.’ They also faced medical conditions and shipwrecks on board and on host land. In nutshell, her paper argued that the sea voyage undertaken is an essential component in indenture poetics. Crossing land borders/Kala Pani is a very tangible experience. However, while border crossings over water are fraught with trials and tribulations, they are also sites of ambivalence—belonging both here and there, and in a sense, nowhere. Thus, indenture becomes a dynamic place of destruction and creation of identity, which is preliminary to putting down roots in the host country. Using literary text as a point of analysis Pulkita Anand tries to understand and trace the history, dislocation, various issues, and challenges experienced by labor under indentureship. His paper critically applies the postcolonial perspective to study the idea of home, homeland, belonging, and the development and 25 Claveyrolas, M. (2017). ‘Indo-Mauritians’ and the Indian Ocean: Literacy Accounts and Anthropological Readings. Journal of the Indian Ocean Region, 13(2), 174–189.

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transformation of the self as depicted in the select text whereas Rabindra Verma’s paper used personal testimony and offered a critical analysis of the imperial and parochial powers, nostalgia, emotional sustenance, and traumatic experiences narrated in Totaram Sanadhya’s My Twenty-One Years in the Fiji Islands. Amba Pande mentions that we can’t study the repercussion of migration without the inclusion of women as a unifying force of inquiry. Keeping in mind this thought of her, Rabindra uses the Kunti episode in Fiji is considered the most brutal example of the physical exploitation and sexual harassment of women by the planters and their agents. The heartbreaking account of Kunti’s attempted rape serves as a platform for protesting the sexual and physical harassment of women.

Part II: Culture, Music, and Songs Robin Cohen says, thus, there are many different conceptions of a diaspora. All diasporic populations, however, who have made their homes away from their actual or imagined home countries, accept that ‘old country- a concept frequently submerged in customs, language, religion, folklore-always does have some stake on their allegiance and sensitivities.26 ’ To comprehend the construction of new identities, it initially appears as a consolation that Mauritius and India are connected. Indentured laborers wanted to rebuild a location where they could symbolize what they had lost after losing their culture and yearning for their own country. It has been stated by Brij Lal, a luminary in the use of numerical data, that while scientific study offered meaningful information about patterns and attitudes, it did not delve into the narratives on the underlying aspirations and viewpoints of the immigrants themselves. The memory of migration is also whimsical, traversing worldwide in people’s thoughts, ideas, and knowledge and it also remained in the visions, melodies, and performances of those who witnessed others leaving for foreign shores.27 There are many literary studies including stories, 26 Cohen, R. (2008). Global Diasporas: An Introduction. Routledge. 27 Narayan, B. (2018). Migration and Cultural Productions: Documenting History

of Cultural Practices. In Culture and Emotional Economy of Migration (pp. 133–152). Routledge India.

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poetry, and autobiographies that deal with sociopolitical and economic aspects of migration, but it is important to understand the consequence of migration that unbridles an inundation of emotions. On the same lines, Anisha Badal-Caussy and Jayganesh Dawosing’s chapter tries to add the aesthetic, cultural, and psychological dimensions to the concept of girmitiya by analyzing the girmitiya consciousnesses through history and the select folksongs. While analyzing Calcutta Se Chootal Jahaaj rewritten by Suchita Ramdin and performed by the Roots Foundation (2019) in Mauritius, Girmitiya Kantraki by Raj Mohan in Suriname, and Fiji Bidesia by Late Master Santa Prasad Bahadur in Fiji the researchers observe that the girmitiya consciousness, not only, becomes a site of exchange of history, but also, an exchange of the cultures and languages spread across borders in the songs. The authors have selected very carefully these three songs to understand the triadic relationship between three components that symbolize the folkloric history of migration/separation (Chotal ), indentured contract (Kantrak), and the settlement and becoming immigrants (Bidesia). The Bhojpuri was one of the major literary and cultural heritage that the Girmitiya from the Bhojpuri-speaking region in India maintained, developed and preserved with them in the diaspora. Chutney Music is like Salman Rushdie’s Chutney English, which is a mixture of (Bhojpuri) Indian and Caribbean folk Music. Kumar Mahabir’s chapter ‘The Poetics of Unsung Chutney Singer Lakhan Karriah of Trinidad’ tried to trace one of the neglected Trinidad and Tobago-based local chutney singers Lakhan Karriah. He tries to analyze this chapter through the lens of subalternity, marginality, literary theory, and Ethnic Studies. His chapter brings the Chutney musical tradition of the Bhojpuri girmitiya to the academic discussion and its singers. He compares Karriah with Sunderlal Popo Bahora and argues that he is no less than Popo. This chapter attempts to document and analyze Lakhan’s contribution to the genre of chutney music and the poetics of his songs. He argues that the existing scholarship on this music genre has consciously or unconsciously neglected Lakhan’s contribution. Kumar also critically analyzed some of his songs such as ‘Windsor Records” label with Moean Mohammed as the producer and “Doh Doh Sundar Popo’ from a literary perspective. Beebeejaun-Muslum’s paper exclusively provides the history, sociocultural profile, customs, and religion of indentured laborers in Mauritius. Her close contact with Indians and personal experiences with this community provided a base for her solid understanding of various religious and linguistic diversities within

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the Indian Diaspora community in Mauritius. She also provided a brief historical account of the arrival of Indians along with the introduction of indenture on this tiny island. Sushma Pandey studies the brief history of various patterns, routes, and features of Indian migration to the colonial British plantations. Her paper has paid specific attention to the indentured migration pattern and looks at the process, form, impact, reasoning, etc. of Indian indentured migration from India. She highlights how the cultural identity of Indians made them outsiders. She argued that the Indian Diaspora in Fiji is still not in good condition because of racial discrimination. They are forced to migrate from Fiji to other countries like Australia, New Zealand, and other parts of the world. The reconfiguration of a family system, their religious beliefs, and explicitly acceptance of Ramayana as the indispensable manuscript of the Hindu diaspora are three characteristics that Bhikhu Parekh28 claims were unique to Hindu indentured workers and helped them to build a distinct and unique diasporic subjective experience. The Brahmins were at the vanguard of the struggle to re-establish a customary ceremonial belief structure on Hinduism as the religion of the diaspora.29 Similarly, the essence and presence of the holy Ganga River in Mauritius is an example of ‘migratory instinct’ wherein Anshuman Rana critically analyzed the significance of the Hindu culture, rituals, ceremonies, festivals, and some sacred places in the life of both Indo-Mauritians and Indian Hindu community. He tried to study how Gangajal, and River Ganga are considered pious and play a significant role in religious Hindu sacraments. And how the Girmitiyas of Mauritius tried to recreate the Ganga of Banaras in Mauritius which came to be known as the Ganga Talao. In this paper, he has tried to understand the symbolic importance of Ganga and Gangajal and how it is re-created in the diaspora. The paper is a comparative study of the Ganga (India) and Ganga Talao (Mauritius) and how both played a significant role in the cultural and religious nurturing of a Hindu community at home and abroad.

28 Parekh, B. (1994). Some Reflections on the Hindu Diaspora. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 20(4), 603–620. 29 Ibid. (22).

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Part III: Migration and History In the last part ‘Migration and History’: The South Asian labor migration visibly started with the introduction of the indentured labor system after the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire in 1833. Historically, the dates of labor migration in various forms including slavery during the time of French and Dutch administration can be traced back to 1772. The official documents produced by the government, or the colonial elite serve as the foundation for colonial history of Indian migration. Additionally, the imperial and colonial ruling elites’ perspectives overshadowed the history of colonized people for so long. The fact that many authors have a deep interest in what occurred to migrants from the period of their enrollment to the moment of their settling in the different destinations countries is a significant aspect of current historiography. This is a fundamental rebuttal to colonial historiography, which concentrated on the system and how it operated to further the colonial objectives and the interests of the dominant classes.30 The competing groups enable a reinterpretation of history through archival records and a global perspective. In this way, the experience of contractual agreement has a wide and fresh audience outside of the academic setting thanks to its approachable voice. Amit Kumar Mishra’s chapter ‘Girmit as a Global Labour Regime: Essentials, Expansion, and Exceptions’ is one of them wherein he critically engages in the colonial history of the Indian indentured labor regime. It highlights how the agrarian labor regime contributed to colonial capitalist expansionism and colonial hegemony across the world. His analysis provides an insight into the commodification of labor and constitution of labor as an analytic category in interconnected histories of global capitalism under the aegis of imperialism. He underscores, that although there were different dimensions to the colonial labor regime, the servitude and subalternity of laborers continued in the indentured labor system albeit with certain adaptations to realize the changing requirements of the capitalist production process and mollify the political-moral archetypes of the colonial authorities. Girmit provided the laborers to escape certain social-economic subjugations at home as it has been often argued, but a comprehensive analysis of the labor regulation under the

30 Hassankhan, Maurits S. (2013). Kahe Gaile Bides: Why Did You Go Overseas? An Introduction in Emotional Aspects of Migration History: A Diaspora Perspective. Man in India, 93(1), 1–28.

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indentured regime makes it clear that they were simultaneously drawn into a more ruthless structure of moral and physical domination. The definition of girmitiya covers not only the indentured laborer who signed the contract but also those who did not sign the contract but migrated to various indentured colonies of the British empire during the indenture period (1834–1920). Some scholars are reluctant to apply the term girmitiya to those who did not sign the contract such as the lawyers, free migrants/passenger Indians, civil servants, sepoys, etc. Aparna Tripathi discusses one of the important dissensions of the definition of Girmitiya in her paper ‘Convicts’ as the Indentured Labour: Contribution of Indians to the Development in Southeast Asia.’ She highlights the role and contribution of Indian Indenture Laborers as ‘Convicts’ for the development of colonial settlements in Southeast Asia. She draws our attention to an interesting segment of the migration of convicts to various colonies of the British Empire in Southeast Asia which is later also considered the indentured migration. She traces the displacement of 4000–6000 convicts to Bengkulen between 1787 and 1825 and 15,000 to the Straits Settlements between 1790 and 1860. After providing a brief history of various patterns of the Indian migration to Southeast Asia such as the ‘Kangani,’ Maistry, ‘free’ and ‘unfree labor’ or ‘passage’ emigration of traders, clerks, bureaucrats, and professionals. She analyzes the reasons behind the convict migration to Southeast Asia due to the demand for labor in sugar, tea, coffee, cocoa, rice, and rubber plantations. Her paper also analyzes the trajectories and various faces and roles of those convicts in various colonial development projects in these countries and subsequently contributes to the broader identity of Indian Indentured migration to Southeast Asia. She observed that the convicts were crucial to Southeast Asia’s economy in the early years as a regular source of cheap labor capital. Dhanya Joy in her chapter traced the colonial history of Fiji and revealed its complex social, economic, racial, and political problems and rivalries between the Fijians and Indo-Fijians and how Britishers instigated the Fijians against the Indo-Fijians. With its varied ethnic groups, the island country remains a potpourri of different cultures. The troubled past and the uncertain present of Indo-Fijians constitute one of the vexing problems that the country faces. She briefly sketches the history of girmitiya migration to Colonial Fiji and analyzes the power struggle through the Foucauldian theory of power. It also covers how Indi-Fijians struggled and strike for their rights, identity, culture, and equality. Another field-based study of Dhanraj Gusinge provides a brief history of Indian

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migration to Mauritius with a special focus on linguistic identities within broader pan-Indian identity among Indian diasporas. It tries to study the people who migrated from-Bombay presidency (now Maharashtra state) and those who speak the Marathi language. The paper discusses the history of Marathi as a language and people’s migration to Mauritius and how this Marathi identity emerged and was preserved in Mauritius. It also describes the present situation of the Marathi community in Mauritius. Moreover, it also focuses on their political participation. Indians are in majority in Mauritius and the Marathi community in minority, but they preserve their cultural identity and language. He also uses data from his field visit and other secondary sources. In a nutshell, the present book covers interesting topics, importantly these topics are driven by the ongoing research or research degrees of distinguished scholars across the globe. Many chapters are based on primary data collected from fieldwork in various countries wherever the Indian Diaspora resides, particularly the indentured diaspora. The book adopts multidisciplinary approaches as it covers various topics and subjects from Humanities/Arts and Social Sciences. It provides scholarly input into the growing demand for colonial indentured labor migration across the disciplines.

PART I

Language, Literature, and Identity

CHAPTER 2

Language, Literature and Cultural Identity: A Narrative from the Malaysian Tamil Diaspora M. Mahalingam

Introduction Malaysia is a multicultural and multiracial country located in the Southeast Asian region of the world. The diverse Indian community is the third largest ethnic group after the Malays (also known as Bumiputeras) and the Chinese immigrant communities. The major Indian ethnic group is the Tamils, who form approximately ‘eighty percent of the total Indian population’. Given the majority of Tamils among the Indian ethnicity, ‘Tamilness’ is asserted in Malaysia’s culture, religion and political representation. The migration of Indians to the Malay Peninsula can be traced back to historical antiquity, given its physical proximity to India (Arasaratnam, 1970; Tinker, 1974; Sandhu and Mani, 1993; Mahalingam, 2016).

M. Mahalingam (B) Faculty of Law, SGT University, Gurugram, India e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 N. Singh and S. Chapparban (eds.), Literature of Girmitiya, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4621-9_2

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Nevertheless, the settlement of the Indian/Tamil community in Malaysia was a reality under the British colonial regime as the mass influx of unskilled labourers, and a few professionals met the demands of the British plantation capital. They are now categorized as ‘old Indian Diaspora’ or ‘People of Indian Origin’ (PIO), which is an official jargon of the Indian government. Aftermath Independence, the Tamil language has been recognized in the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, though not as an official language of independent Malaysia. Tamil language and literature are a part of the curriculum in schools and universities in Malaysia. Tamil media plays an active role in sustaining the growth and development of the Tamil language, literature and cultural continuity of Tamils in Malaysia. As the Malaysian Tamil community is proud of its civilization and culture, various civil society groups work to preserve Malaysia’s Tamil language and culture. In the wake of Malay majoritarian cultural politics after independence, the Malaysian Tamil community has been trying to protect its socio-economic and cultural identities through negotiations and compromises with the Malaysian state. Further, the Malaysian Tamil community has been a pioneer in starting various movements among the global Tamils to preserve Tamil cultural identity. This chapter attempts to analyse the Tamil language, literature and cultural identity of the Malaysian Tamil community. Research data collection is drawn from field observation, primary and secondary sources. The study has adopted to case study method and interpretative method for the analysis.

Theoretical Outline Diasporas are forcefully or voluntarily dispersed, displaced and deterritorialized national communities (See for details Sheffer, 1986; Safran, 1991; Basch et al., 1994). Diasporas’ identification with its real or putative homeland entails a new type of consciousness (Vertovec, 1997) and ‘ethnic identity’ assertion ‘in the host lands’. They are involved in a ‘triadic relationship between the diaspora, the host country, and the homeland’ (Sheffer, 1986: p. 8). Therefore, they live in transnational social fields (Schiller, 1999). They are ‘exemplary communities of the transnational moment’ (Toloyan, 1991: p. 5). Diasporas are thus imagined transnational communities. The advent of globalization has complemented the transnational aspects of diaspora. Globalization accompanied by the advancement of

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transport, communication and information technologies has reinforced and sustained the national identification and the intensification of transnational practices of diasporas with the actual or putative homeland. Steven Vertovec captures the phenomenon of transnationalism by giving the following transnational framework ‘(a) transnationalism as the reconstruction of “place” or locality, (b) transnationalism as the movement of capital, (c) transnationalism as a mode of cultural reproduction, and (d) transnationalism as a site for political engagement’ (Vertovec, 1999). Nina Glick Schiller, Linda Basch and Christina Blanc-Szanton define ‘transnationalism as how immigrants build social fields that link their country of origin and their country of settlement’ (Schiller, 1999, pp. 26– 27). Apart from economic, political and social relations across the space, Appadurai argues that transnational cultural flows span across nationstates under the guise of globalization (Appadurai, 1997). Based on the above premises, we try to analyse the cultural identity of the Malaysian Tamil community.

Formation of Indian/Tamil Diaspora in Malaysia Malaysia has had close social, economic, political and cultural connections with India since its inception as a nation-state. The process of Indianization happened through the spread and influence of Indian religions like Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, and the rule of Chola kings of the Tamil region. Thus, Malaysia bears a strong mark of Indian civilization in its culture and language. Moreover, the prolonged presence of Indian traders in the coastal areas of Malaysia has cemented the link between both countries throughout history. Though the presence of Indian traders in Malaysia was visible earlier, the Indian settlement came into being due to the mass influx of Indian labourers with the advent of British Imperialism. The East India Company, as an ensemble of British traders under the patronage of the British government, took over Penang, Melaka, and Singapore in the Straits Settlement between 1786 and 1824. By 1914, the whole Malay Peninsula was under British influence. The British encouraged plantation agriculture in peninsular Malaysia, catering to the needs of the British Industrial Revolution. But, plantation agriculture demanded a cheap labour force. The British planters did not prefer the Chinese in Malaysia as they knew they had an unruly and independent mind. The locals were not

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interested as they found the plantation sector jobs de-skilling and challenging. Under these circumstances, India became an ideal destination to outsource its cheap labourers given its geographical proximity. Among the Indians, especially, South Indian Labour was preferred ‘because of its docility’, in the words of Sandhu, South Indian Labour was also considered the most satisfactory type of labour because of its docility, which created a relationship of dependence between employer and coolie. The south Indian peasant was malleable, worked well under supervision, and was easily manageable. He was not as ambitious as most of his Northern Indian compatriots. Certainly, nothing like Chinese (and) was the most amenable to the comparatively lowly paid and rather regimented life of estates and government departments. He had fewer qualms of religious susceptibilities, such as aversion to crossing the dreaded kalapane and food taboos… and costless in feeding and maintenance. (Sandhu, 1969, pp. 47–48)

The British carried out the labour exodus through innovative, cheap immigration mechanisms such as Kangani1 and other contractual systems, which helped meet the ever-increasing demands of labour on the plantations. The British imported labourers not only for plantation works but also for building roads, railways and ports. Along with labour immigrants, other skilled professionals, unskilled people, and traders also immigrated voluntarily in large numbers to take up jobs in the colonial government. For instance, Sikhs were hired as policemen, a paramilitary force, security guards, watchmen and caretakers by the colonial authorities and the private sector. But, they were ‘free migrants’ unlike the labour migrants, who had embarked on the journey independently. Apart from Sikhs, other North Indians were primarily merchants, traders, shopkeepers and peddlers. Gujarati traders were especially visible in the urban landscapes of Malaysia, selling silk and other textile goods in exchange for tin and other spices. They were also involved in financial trading systems like the Chettiars of Southern India. Among the traders, the South Indian Chettiars played a significant role in developing the plantation sector through money lending; they also acted as money transfer agents to remit the labourer’s money back home. 1 “Kangani means ‘foreman’ or ‘overseer’ in Tamil in the Malaysian plantations. As per the Kangana system, the already employed kangani on the plantation was sent by his employer to recruit labour from his village”.

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The third leading urban Indian group was the English-educated South Indians and Sri Lankan Tamils recruited as Junior or subordinate administrative staff in the clerical and technical sectors. They served as intermediaries between colonial administrators and labourers. But, the Tamils, followed by Telugus, monopolized the plantation sector as working class and Malayalees as supervisory staff on the plantations. Tamils became an inevitable labour force of the plantation economy given their numerical majority and the presence of Tamils on the plantations. The Indian ethnic minority is a heterogeneous group, along with Sri Lankan Tamils, consisting of south Indians, mostly Tamils (80%), Malayalis, and Telugus; beside North Indians, mainly Sikhs; and a sprinkle of Sindhis as well as Gujaratis. Thus, it is divided along regional, linguistic and religious lines and caste categories. The descendants of the early Indian immigrants are now 1.90 million Malaysian Indians, as reported in the 2010 census. The Malaysian Indian community is scattered across the length and breadth of peninsular Malaysia. Tamils are predominant, albeit economically marginal ethnic group among Indians as most of them had arrived as unskilled plantation labour immigrants to Malaysia. The Indians are the third-largest ethnic group after the majority of local Malays and the immigrant ethnic minority Chinese in the multicultural society of Malaysia at present.

The Advent of Tamil Language and Culture in Malaysia The Tamil language is now widely spoken in Malaysia as Tamils are the majority ethnic group. The Tamil language was allowed to flourish during the colonial period as part of the British colonial strategy to keep the labour force from desertion. Tamil labour immigrants demanded Tamil schools and temples be given to them as they were a transient labour force, so that on their return from Malaya, they would be accepted back in the homeland. As part of the labour code, the plantations were encouraged to start Tamil primary schools on the premises of estates. Though it was done half-heartedly by the estate management, the Tamil schools started functioning informally, as a day-care centre, for estate children. Over time, through legislation and policy measures, they were upgraded and recognized as a part of national education.

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The establishment of Tamil schools is as old as the arrival of Indian immigrants to Malaysia. As the Tamils were the majority of immigrants, Tamil schools became an inevitable reality. Tamil school education completed 190 years of its existence in 2007 (Arumugam, 2008, p. 399). Initially, various Christian Missionaries and some individuals ran Tamil schools. The first regular Indian school was the Tamil school attached to the Penang Free School (PFS), founded in 1816. Gradually, it sprang up in many places of Indian settlements. As the rubber and coffee plantations were under expansion, a massive flow of Tamil labour immigrants to the plantations necessitated the establishment of Tamil schools on the fringes of the estates. The start of Tamil schools on the estates was not to educate or empower the children of the labouring class; the main intention was to retain the cheap labour force to avoid desertion. Whatever the reason, it paved the way for Tamil schools’ proliferation on the estates. In 1956, the numbers of Tamil schools were 902 (Anbalakan unpublished manuscript). Though the Tamil schools existed, the infrastructural facilities were nominal. The schools had wooden sheds or estate temple annexes without partitions for different sections (Arasaratnam, 1970; Marimuthu, 1987; Ramachandran, 1995).

Case Study: 01---The Malaysian Movement for Tamil Culture It is part and parcel of the world movement for Tamil culture. It functions from a ‘Tamil Panpagam’ building on Tun Sambanthan Street in Kuala Lumpur, and M. Mani Vellaiyan now heads it. The membership is open to anyone interested in participating in the movement. It conducts Tamil Neri (Tamil Way of life) meetings every Sunday. In collaboration with the Tamil Literary Society of Malaysia and Chennai Manavar Mandram, it offers courses like Diploma in Tamil Studies (Tamil Mani Pulavar). It also ties up with global Tamil culture organizations in connection with popularizing Tamil culture and language. Since 1990, it has propagated the Tirukkural way of life to the general public. It lays emphasis on Tirukkural Neri Valvu (Tirukkural Way of life). The movement has conducted many seminars, workshops and conferences to promote Tirukkuaral ideologies. The members are requested to chant Tirukkural twice daily, i.e., morning and evening. For this, on 25 June 1997, an audio cassette was released with methods of chanting. It introduced Tirukkural songs and

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commentaries on Tirukkural by various scholars. It has plans to set up the Tirukkural secretariat and permanent Tamil centre. This movement propagates ‘Tirukkural is the Tamil’s epic’. It documents and provides ample information on Tamil history, Tirukkural philosophy, culture, language, and economics for research scholars and institutions. It is involved with conducting, reviving, and popularizing Tamil’s life cycle ritual functions—giving Tamil names to a newborn child on the third day of the birth, ear piercing and birthday, introducing Tamil vowels, conducting weddings, housewarming, death anniversary following the Tamil rituals, etc. The movement strives for the usage of pure Tamil words in day-to-day life. They popularized and started using Tamil names for weekdays and months. It framed an action plan for Tamil culture and language promotion. The ideals are as follows: 1. Propagation of Tirukkural philosophy to the general public, irrespective of race. 2. Publishing of an organ-Tamiliam to promote the ideologies. This has to be brought out in Tamil, English, and French. 3. Formulation of Tamil customs, wedding-death rituals, etc., with the assistance of Tamil scholars all over the world. 4. Conducting training and dialogues sessions—Tirukkural correspondence course. 5. Conducting Tamil Mani Pulavar—Diploma in Tamil Studies and Degree courses to the Tamil-speaking public worldwide. 6. Formation of an Open University to promote Tirukkural studies and Tamil studies—language, literature, art, culture, economy, politics and philosophy. 7. Production of books and cassettes, propagating the fundamentals of the Tirukkural concept. 8. Encouraging Tamil scholars, creators, writers, poets, teachers and authors to increase interest in these things. 9. Formation of Tamil cultural families following Tirukkural concept of lifestyle. 10. RM 5 million projects for the institute’s foundation for Tirukkural Consciousness. The aim of setting up the Tamil centre is to provide up-to-date information on the Tamil language in terms of creating new Tamil words for

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new products discovered and invented. It has a memorandum of understanding with Tamil University in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, with assistance from the Tamil Nadu government. As said earlier, it has plans to put up a Tirukkural Permanent Secretariat that would serve to propagate the noble ideals of Tirukkural. Regarding this, many memoranda have also been sent to the Minister of Unity and Social Development to recommend to the Ministry of Education to include Tirukkural in the Tamil school syllabus. The audio cassettes on Tirukkural have been released to make Tirukkural learning very simple and easy. In the Words of Mani Vellaiyan.2 The Malaysian movement for Tamil culture conducts ‘Tirukkural’ classes every weekend at a chosen member’s house in Malaysia to propagate Tirukkural way of life. At this special gathering, all members come along with their wives and children to read and understand the ‘Tirukkural’ couplets. Our Vedam or Marai is Thirukkural. ‘Kural Neri’ is not the scripture of any popular faith and has no religious susceptibilities. It is for humanity to live in peace and order. At these meetings, the members not only read ‘Thirukkural Couplets’ but also do meditation and discussions on moral ethics depicted in ‘Kural’ and enjoy a free sumptuous vegetarian feast hosted by the respective member. Such gatherings not only foster unity but also helps to erase the political, economic, religious differences and caste consciousness among people.

It has organized the following conferences for the promotion of Tamil language in general and Tamil literature in particular: Panther Bharathithasan centenary celebration in 1991. Ravana Kaviyam Literary conference in 1992. International symposium on Devaneyam Tamizh Neri in 2002. International Tirukkural Conference in 1996. International Conference on Silappadhikaaram Literature in 1999. To enrich and widen the horizon of the Tamil language, it has been publishing a Bimonthly Tamil journal called ‘Agaram Tirukkural’. The Malaysian movement for Tamil culture also publishes a quarterly called

2 Phone Interview with Mani Vellaiyan, Ex-president of Malaysian Movement for Tamil culture, dated 15th March 2022.

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Tamizhism. The other civil society group, ‘Tamil Literary society of Malaysia’, works to promote the Tamil language. At present, there are 543 Tamil primary schools all over the country. However, the physical infrastructure is not satisfactory, and there is a persistent demand for incorporating Tamil schools as government-aided schools. It has catered to the Tamil language’s growth and development needs since its arrival in Malaysia. Moreover, the Indian Studies Department was begun in 1956 at the University of Malaya which is attached to the Faculty of Social Sciences. Tamil literature, Tamil grammar and Tamil language courses are being offered. So, Tamil literature is taught, and research is being carried out. Since its inception, it has had eight well-trained faculty members with expertise in the Tamil language and literature. Further, the Tamil language was sustained since the plantations were cut off and isolated geographically. Most of the labour belonged to the Tamil linguistic group; they conversed in and maintained the Tamil language. The linguistic and racial isolation helped for nurturing the Tamil language. Later, the Tamil language was recognized in the federal constitution of Malaysia. In the national schools where Malay is a medium of instruction, Tamil is offered if there is a petition from fifteen students to learn in. Tamil language and Tamil literature are taught at the University of Malaya. In addition to this, Tamil language-based civil society groups like Malaysia Dravida Sangam, Malaysian Tamil Literary Society, Malaysian Tamil Youth Bell clubs, Tamil foundation, and other socio-cultural, Hindu religion-based civil society groups are at the forefront to preserve Tamil language; they use the Tamil language to preach the religious texts, cultural values and cultural education. For instance, ‘Devaram’ (Tamil hymns on Lord Shiva) classes are common in the Malaysian Tamil community. There was so much movement to preserve ‘chaste Tamil’ and Tamil culture within the Tamil community. They organize conferences, symposiums, and exhibitions, emphasizing popularizing the Tamil language and Tamil culture within the community. There is a strong wave among the Malaysian Tamil community members to learn ‘Tirukkural’ as it teaches and reflects the tenets of Tamil culture.

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Case Study: 02---The Tamil Literary Society of Malaysia It was founded in 1970 to preserve and nurture the Tamil language and culture. The main objective of the Tamil Literary Society states, ‘Tamil school is our body, and the Tamil language is our life’. Owing to drastic changes in the Malaysian education system, the importance of the Tamil language is diminishing as Tamil students have to switch to Malay from the sixth standard onwards. Realizing this, it started to offer Tamil Studies for those interested in having a depth of knowledge in Tamil literature in collaboration with Chennai Maanavar Mandram. Approximately 250 students have gone through the programme. To improve the Tamil teachers’ professionalism, it offers the ‘Tamil Mani Pulavar course’ to upgrade their expertise in the subject. The course is available through correspondence mode. It organized seminars in 1972, 1980, 1985, 1990 and 1995 to discuss ways to improve Tamil teaching in schools, usage of Tamil in schools and University teaching, enhancing the pedagogy of Tamil syllabus, and sorting out the inherent problems of Tamil school teachers.

Case Study: 03---Tamil Foundation The Tamil Foundation was founded on 14 July 1990 and was registered on14 February 2003 by a committed professional from various fields to help the development of Tamil education and Tamil schools. The organization aims to empower communities through Tamil education and culture and conduct research on the development and uses of Tamil in various sectors. It is a leading advisory body on Tamil education in Malaysia. Being a leading Tamil educational research and development body, it organizes flagship programmes namely total immersion camp, young scientific explorers, a science fair for young children, young nature campers, project read, head start-preschool programme, English Enrichment programme, conducting drama, theatre and arts, parents assuring students success and so on for Tamil school students.

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Hindu Temples and the Formation of Tamil Cultural Identity in Malaysia The early Hindu religious influence dates back to the ancient period when the Indian kings conquered the Southeast Asian region during their expeditions. The remnants of Hindu temples in Bali of Indonesia and Bujong valley in the Kedah state of Malaysia are classic examples of Hindu influence. Later, Hindu temples were constructed by the trading community before the British colonized Malaya. During the British occupation, the plantation labour migrants were welcomed and encouraged by the British colonial authorities as the plantation capital demanded a cheap labour force to work on the plantations. It has been noted that ‘Hinduism was “re-created” as a significant minority religion in Malaya as an outcome of the waves of Indian migration, which followed the British colonization and continued up until the very eve of the pacific war’ (Belle, 2008, p. 457). The colonial authorities of Malaysia guaranteed three Ts, i.e., Tamil school, Toddy shop and Temple on the plantations to the intending labour immigrants. As a result, one could find many temples on the fringes of plantations built by the Tamil labour immigrants. Besides Tamil labour migrants, traders—especially Nattu kottai Chettiars of the Tamil community, professionals, North Indians and Ceylonese Tamils—built Hindu temples. The immigrants were interested in building temples to keep the Hindu culture, identity and tradition alive on alien soil. Further, Tamils have a strong belief, cultural conviction and practice that there should be a temple wherever there is a settlement, village, or small; otherwise, life is incomplete for a Hindu Tamil. To support this belief, the author would like to cite an adage by Tamil poetess Avvaiyar, ‘[D]o not live in a place where there is no temple (as in Tamil, kovil ellatha uril kudierukka kudathu)’ and another saying ‘the temple worship will make everything good’ (Alayam tholuvathu salavum nandru). Hence, Malaysia’s topography is dotted with innumerable Hindu temples in urban and rural areas. Broadly, the Hindu temples of Southern India can be categorized into two types: Agamic temples and non-Agamic temples or village or folk deities. The Agamic temples have elaborate rituals based on Sanskritic and Tamil Agama texts. The Brahmins, or well-trained priests, perform the rituals. The Agamic gods are Shiva, Vishnu, Murugan, Mariamman, etc. Malaysia has lots of Agamic temples,

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dedicated either to the Tamil deity Murugan3 (Subrahmanya) or to the goddess Mariamman4 The non-Agamic temples have an emphasis on ‘little tradition Hinduism’.5 The non-Agamic deities are Muniandy, Muniswaran, Madurai Veeran, etc. The rituals are very simple and are performed by the Pandaram or Puchari.6 They vary as per the local regions. It has been argued that ‘Malaysian Hinduism has historically been dominated by Dravidian folk religions, the so-called “little traditions” or village Hinduism. These have been characterised by the centrality of Mother (Amman) worship, the worship of “little” deities, the construction of non-Agamic temples served by lower caste pucari-s(priests), spirit medium ship(sometimes employing rituals based on “left handed” or “debased” Tantrism), folk beliefs and animal sacrifice’ (Belle, 2008). The Upper-class Hindus especially Chettiars as well as Ceylonese Tamil communities adopted Agamic or ‘Great tradition Hinduism’.7 Both the Chettiars and Ceylonese Tamils established ‘superior Agamic temple construction that adhered to scriptural injunctions, rituals, festivals, and prescribed observances’ (Belle, 2008, p. 458). ‘There are approximately 17,000 Hindu temples in Malaysia’ (Ramanathan, 1996). The proliferation of temples in Malaysia reflects the diverse practices of Hinduism based on caste, clan, sub-ethnic, sect, or cult-based Hinduism (ibid.). It has broadly been classified as Agamic temples, non-Agamic temples, plantation-based temples, orphan temples, Nattu kottai Chettiar temples, Caste temples, spirit medium temples and Ceylonese temples. In addition, the practice of spirit medium is as popular as temple worship among the Hindus over here. This practice is attractive to the Tamils but Chinese, and Sikhs as well (Rajoo, 1987). These temples serve as sites of Tamil cultural reproduction of Malaysian Tamils.

3 Murugan’ is regarded as the younger son of Lord Shiva, and he is a clan deity of Nattukottai Chettiars of Tamil community. 4 ‘Mariamman’ is viewed as a form of Parvati, consort of the supreme God, Lord Shiva. 5 Little tradition means the temple worship is based on village or folk beliefs. 6 Pandaram or Puchari is regarded as a priest either from non-Brahmin caste or lower caste who knows the folk deity’s rituals that are handed over down by the predecessors. 7 ‘Great tradition’ is the temple worship based on agamic or Sanskritic rituals.

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Due to the Dravidian movement during the 1930s in the homeland, the Hindu population of Malaysia was deeply influenced by the Dravidian ideologies; there was a massive drift towards Tamilization of Hinduism by which the Tamil Saivaite tradition was emphasized over Sanskritic tradition. Many civil society organizations became active in protecting the Hindu heritage and promoting the Hindu religion. Malaysia Hindu Sangam (MHS) and Hindu Sevai Sangam (HSS) are prominent among many organizations. Hindu festivals are celebrated with zeal and religious fervour for spiritual or religious purposes and ethnic identity assertion. The major Tamil Hindu festivals include Adipuram, MahaSivaratri, Deepavali, Pongal, Thaipusam, Masi Magham, Panguni Uttiram, Vaikasi Visakam, Vinayaga Chathurthi, Navarathri, Karthikai Deepam are celebrated with heightened devotion. Thaipusam8 is a major Tamil Hindu festival in Malaysia celebrated in all Lord Karthik’s abodes. On the eve of the festival, some states in Malaysia declare local public holidays considering Hindus’ religious sentiments. Thai Pusam at Batu caves in Kuala Lumpur is quite popular and significant. It attracts one million people, including Chinese and Sikhs. The massive mobilization of the Hindu population asserts Hindu unity and identity. The vast crowd consists of urban and rural men who throng the temple to get darshan. During Thai pusam, kavadi ritual9 is quite popular among the devotees. Many kavadi bearers will pierce their cheeks with vel (lance) or push them through their tongue to fulfil their vow. On this day, chariot procession, bodily mortification and chanting of Arohara (Lord Muruga) would be a common sight. Further, the folk deity of Tamil Muneeswaran or Ayya god is equally popular among the Chinese. The worship of local or folk deities like Muneeswaran or Ayya god is getting Sanskritized in the wake of Islamic resurgence. On visiting the Muneeswaran temple located at a junction of roads on the way to Water hill temple at Penang, the priest told the researcher that this Muneeswarar could be called Saiva Muneeswarar, unlike the general worship pattern of Muneeswarar consist of liquor, 8 Thai pusam is a “Saivaite festival dedicated to worshiping the deity Lord Murugan. It is held on or near the full moon day in the month of Tai (January–February”). 9 Kavadi consists of “a small wooden pole surmounted by an arch. The devotional pictures are fixed under the arch. The Kavadi may be decorated with peacock feathers, margosa leaves, flowers, and other materials. At the same time, there are different versions as well”.

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sheroot and sacrifice rituals of goat or chicken is not permitted here. One could discern from the priest’s statement that there is a move towards raising the local or folk deities to a higher level. Vinitha Sinha observes this kind of process in Singapore (Sinha, 2005).

Role of Tamil Mass Media in the Promotion of the Tamil Language Tamil newspapers play a proactive role in sustaining the Tamil language and the cultural continuity of Tamils. It serves the Tamil community’s social, cultural and political needs despite the community’s voice. Many newspapers came into being and disappeared over time, for example, Ulaga Nesan (1878), Hindu Nesan (1888) and Penang Varthamani (1897). Three major newspapers are Malaysia Nanban, Makkal Osai and Tamil Nesan. Tamil Nesan is the oldest; it was founded in 1924. These papers have a wide readership among Tamils due to their comprehensive coverage of local Indian affairs and India and Sri Lanka-related news. Further, they carry messages about the importance of the Tamil language, poetry and culture feature articles, and creative writing to keep the public informed about Tamil society’s history and glorious past. In the wake of integration and modernization processes, the newspapers play an essential role in preserving Tamils’ ethnic and cultural continuity. Tamil print media is also very active and has a wide readership cutting across the classes. The Tamil print media, especially Tamil vernacular newspapers like Malaysia Nanpan, Makkal Osai, and Tamil Nesan carry four news pages on Tamil Nadu and India, covering ongoing events and episodes. Apart from this, these dailies cover the Sri Lankan Tamil issues. In Malaysia, they are three TV channels and two radio channels that use Tamil as the medium. Programmes like Let Us Speak and Learn Sweet Tamil, etc., improvise and nurture the Tamil language. A study by Karthigesu in 1987 shows that Indian and Sri Lanka news occupied 21.20% of the newspapers of Tamil Nesan, Tina Mani (Tamil Malar), and Tamil Osai (Karthigesu, 1989, p. 196). It evokes Benedict Anderson’s understanding of Diaspora as a ‘transnational imagined community’. In the absence of Malay movie industry, Tamil films are quite popular among the Tamils. They promote the Tamil language and culture among the Diaspora. The influence of Tamil cinema is powerful and profound

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in the Tamil community of Malaysia. In almost every town and city, one could come across Tamil movie cinemas besides the availability of VCDs and CDs. There is an overwhelming élan to watch Tamil movies by going to theatres. Given this reality, Tamil films carry diasporic narratives and characters to cater to the needs of the global Tamil. Not surprisingly, there are Tamil cine stars fans associations for yesteryears stars like Sivaji Ganesan, M.G.R and presently for Rajinikanth, Kamal Hassan, Vijay, Surya, etc. When Rajinikanth’s movie Shivaji was released, a crowd waited for extended hours from morning to evening at Coliseum theatre in Kuala Lumpur to watch the film’s premiere (Makkal Osai, 15 June 2007). As Willford argues, Tamil films are the most popular entertainment medium among the Tamil working class without any popular movie industry in Malaysia (Willford, 2006). Apart from Tamil movies, there is an excellent response to cine stars and Tamil music nights from the Malaysian middle class. Further, the television programmes such as movies, talk shows and Tamil soaps like Chitthi, Annamalai, Rudra Veenai and Metti Oli command high ratings among Tamil communities in Malaysia (Prasad and Shanthi, unpublished manuscript). A study by Prasad and Shanthi on a Tamil serial called Chitthi has shown that Indian Tamil television serials provide a source of cultural knowledge to Malaysian Indian youths. They can identify with the cultural practices like dressing, language, worship traditions and gender relations shown in these serials. Further, the study finds that the youth could identify with the characters and narratives created in this serial and share similar experiences in Malaysia (Ibid.).

Construction of Tamil Cultural Identity Through Transnationalism of the Malaysian Tamil Diaspora Ever since Tamils’ arrival to Malaysia, there has been a strong back-andforth movement of economic and cultural flows between Malaysia and India, given the geographical proximity and the recent development of modern communication and transportation. Hence, the diasporic socio-, economic and cultural flows are active today. Frequent political, religious and reform-oriented leaders visit Malaysia from India. Further, most of the socio-religious and cultural organizations of the Malaysian Tamil community have close connections with homeland-based organizations. In Malaysia, all the major cities have an Indian commercial

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enclave called Little India, where clothes, pooja materials, Indian spices and groceries, flowers, and garlands are available from the homeland. The presence of these commercial enclaves has made for a lively cultural flow between Malaysia and India. Apart from this, the Indian trade fair is an annual established feature in the major cities of Malaysia to market the new trends in homemade goods locally. As said earlier, Malaysia’s grand traditional Hindu temples regularly recruit well-trained Vedic Tamil Brahmin priests from India to continue the temple worship patterns prevalent in the homeland. Moreover, temple construction is an ongoing activity within the Malaysian Tamil community; the sculptors from India construct the traditional South Indian temples. Further, the frequent visits of astrologers, numerologists, religious gurus belonging to various sects, denomination and soothsayers from India, continues to the present day. The conferences and seminars are an excellent platform for establishing and reinforcing transnational networks among the diasporic population. There was a conference on ‘Tamil Bhakti Literature’ in 2010, chaired and addressed by Rev. Ponnambala Adigalar from Kundrakudi Adinam (Tamil Saiva Mutt), who spoke on the significance and special features of Tamil Bhakti literature, namely Periya Puranam, Thiruvasagam and so on. Throughout the year, the Malaysian Tamil community embarks upon pilgrimage trips to holy places all over India. The Tamils frequently visit Palani, Tirupathi, and Sabarimala temples after finishing their penance as prescribed to take darshan to fulfill their wishes. There has been a tradition of performing at Indian cultural festivals in various places by Bharatnatyam, Carnatic music artists. There is a transnational movement for preserving the Tamil language, literature, and culture among Tamil Diaspora worldwide. One such case is the International Movement for Tamil Culture.

Case Study: 04---The International Movement for Tamil Culture (IMTC) It is a worldwide movement to popularize Tamizham among the global Tamils. It was founded in 1974 in Sri Lanka with the efforts of R.N. Veerappan. In 1977, branches were opened in Malaysia and Singapore. The International headquarters has been functioning from Malaysia. It has expanded its activities in many parts of the world to serve global Tamils. Tamil Nadu branches in 1979 and 1980, Medan branches in Indonesia

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by 1981, and Thailand branches in 1982; it has thirty centres worldwide. The movement’s main objective is to discuss and debate upcoming issues of Tamil people’s language, history, art, culture, philosophy, and literature and assist victimized Tamils. It is a non-religious and non-political movement to bring global Tamils on a single platform. The delegates meet at different venues worldwide to deliberate Tamil issues and development. Malaysian Tamil community was the pioneer in floating the idea of organizing the First World Tamil Conference in Kuala Lumpur under the leadership of Reverend Father Thaninayagam Adigal of the University of Malaya in 1966. Later, it was organized in many parts of the world. The sixth World Tamil conference was again organized in Malaysia. Malaysia also organized the fourth World Tamil Internet Conference in 2001, attracting worldwide Tamil internet scholars. This conference paved the way for establishing Tamil Virtual University in Chennai in 2001 to nurture Tamil through digital mediums for global Tamils.

Conclusion As discussed above, the Malaysian Tamil community has contributed in many ways and means to growing the Tamil language and literature since their arrival in Malaysia. Given the voluminous contribution from the Malaysian Tamil community over the years, the emergence of the ‘Malaysian Branch of Tamil literature’ is a reality today. The Tamil mass media in Malaysia has been proactive in promoting the Tamil language, literature, and culture during colonial and post-colonial periods. Further, the various civil society groups have contributed to sustaining Malaysia’s Tamil language, literature and culture apart from state patronage. Tamil language, literature, and culture will continue to flourish in Malaysia because of numerous Tamil schools. Globalization, aided by the advancement of transport and communication technologies, has enhanced the Tamil ethnic and cultural consciousness by having intense socio-economic and cultural relations with the homeland and co-ethnics across the globe. The Tamil language, literature and cultural identity will persist in Malaysia in the years to come, given its geographical proximity to India and various formal and informal socioeconomic and cultural institutions working for its promotion, protection and preservation.

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References Appadurai, Arjun. (1997). Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization. Delhi: Oxford University Press. Arasaratnam, S. (1970). Indians in Malaya and Singapore. London: Oxford University Press. Arumugam, K. (2008). Tamil School Education in Malaysia: Challenges and Prospects in the New Millennium. In K. Kesavapany, A. Mani and P. Ramasamy (eds.), Rising India and Indian Communities in East Asia (pp. 399–421). Singapore: ISEAS Basch, L. N., Glick Schiller and C. Szanton Blanc. (1994). Nations Unbound: Transnational Projects, Postcolonial Predicaments and Deterritorialized Nation-States. Amsterdam: Gordon and Breach. Belle, Carl Vadivella. (2008). Indian Hindu Resurgence in Malaysia. In K. Kesavapany, A. Mani and P. Ramasamy (eds.), Rising India and Indian communities in East Asia. Singapore: ISEAS. Karthigesu, R. (1989). The Role of Tamil Newspapers in Ethnic Cultural Continuity in Contemporary Malaysia. Sojourn, 4(2), 190–204. Mahalingam, M. (2016). Postcolonial Indian Labour Migration to Malaysia: Trajectories, Trends and Tensions. In K. F. Lian, et al. (eds.), International Migration in Southeast Asia: Continuities and Discontinuities (pp. 103–124). Singapore: Springer. Marimuthu, T. (1987). Tamil Schools: Problems and Prospects. Kuala Lumpur: EWRF Report. Ramachandran, Selva Kumaran. (1995). The Poverty of Education in the Malaysian Plantation Frontier. Modern Asian Studies, 29(3), 619–635. Ramanathan, K. (1996). Hinduism in a Muslim State: The Case of Malaysia. Asian Journal of Political Science, 4(2), 42–62. Rajoo, R. (1987). Hindu Religious Values and Economic Retardation among the Indian Plantation Workers in Peninsular Malaysia: A Myth or Reality. Journal Pengajian India (Journal of Indian Studies). Sandhu, Kernial Singh. (1969). Indians in Malaya: Some Aspects of their Immigration and Settlement (1786–1957). London: Cambridge University Press. Sandhu, Kernial Singh and A. Mani. (Eds.). (1993). Indian Communities in Southeast Asia. Singapore: Times Academic Press and ISEAS. Safran, William. (1991). Diaspora in Modern Societies: Myths of Homeland and Return. Diaspora, 1(1), 83–99. Schiller, N. Glick. (1999). Transmigrants and Nation States: Something Old and Something New in U.S. Immigrant Experience. In C. Hirschman, et al. (eds.), Hand Book of International Migration: The American Experience. New York: Russell Sage.

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Sheffer, Gabriel. (1986). A New Field of Study: Modern Diasporas in International Politics. In Gabriel Sheffer (ed.), Modern Diasporas in International Politics. London: Croom Helm. Sinha, V. (2005). A New God in Diaspora: Muneeswaran Worship in Contemporary Singapore. Singapore: Singapore University Press. Tinker, Hugh. (1974). A New System of Slavery: The Export of Indian Labour Overseas, 1830–1920. London: Oxford University Press. Toloyan, Kachig. (1991). The Nation-State and Its Others: In Lieu of a Preface. Diaspora, 1(1), 3–7. Vertovec, Steven. (1997). Three meanings of “Diaspora”, Exemplified Among South Asian Religions. Diaspora, 6(3), 277–330. Willford, Andrew. (2006). Cage of Freedom: Tamil Identity and the Ethnic Fetish in Malaysia. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.

CHAPTER 3

Poetics of the Crossing: Rerouting Identity in Indian Indenture Anjali Singh

Historical Background The nineteenth century witnessed some of the greatest transcontinental migrations in world history; two of the important movements were of the Europeans to the Americas, South Africa and Australasia; and of the Asians, especially the Chinese and the Indians, to the plantation colonies. Slavery and indenture, both historical movements, one preceding the other, brought about mass migration of human resource across continents. Globally, the British had been actively caught up in the transatlantic slave trade for around 200 years (from early seventeenth to the nineteenth century) and different forms of slavery were being practised in the British colonies across the globe, particularly in the Caribbean and in North America. The newly acquired colonies were henceforth rapidly

A. Singh (B) Department of English, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur, India e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 N. Singh and S. Chapparban (eds.), Literature of Girmitiya, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4621-9_3

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converted from predominantly white European settlements with smallscale agriculture into slave colonies employing thousands of African slaves on large, white-owned plantations. The Abolition of the Slave Trade Act was passed by the British Parliament on the 25th of March in 1807 but “slaves were still held, though not sold, within the British Empire”. The campaign to abolish slavery was resumed in the 1820s. On the 23rd of August in 1833, “the Slavery Abolition Act outlawed slavery in all the British colonies” (Asaolu, 2011: 67). Indian indentured emigration is widely regarded as the successor to the erstwhile African slave trade. Post the abolition of slavery in the British Empire, large-scale recruitment of Indian indentured labourers was undertaken to compensate for the shortage of labour in the plantation colonies in the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific oceans. India is held sacred as the common ancestral homeland for Indians who were (in most cases) forcibly taken away as indentured labour to the plantation colonies spread across the globe. “About 1.3 million indentured Indian workers migrated to the following colonies/countries: Mauritius, British Guyana, Natal (South Africa), Trinidad, Fiji, Guadeloupe, Kenya, Uganda, Jamaica, Dutch Guiana/Suriname, Martinique, Seychelles, St. Lucia, Grenada and St. Vincent” (Clarke et al., 2010: 9). While some south Indians were indentured, their number was very small. It was the region of north India that became the largest supplier of indentured labour to the British colonies. A large number of indentured labourers came from the present-day states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The first lot was sent to Mauritius in 1834 and then to British Guiana in 1838. Trinidad received the first batch of indentured people from India in 1845 while Fiji received the first girmitiyas much later in 1879 (Lal & Seecharan, 2004: 12). “The girmit contract stipulated that an individual had to work nine hours on five consecutive days of every week, plus five hours on Saturday, and for each full day’s work he would receive one shilling” (Ali, 2004: 7). “Girmit ” was the vernacular term given by the indentured people to the contract (agreement) they had put their thumbprint on. The English term was not easily pronounced by the illiterate indentured people and over time, the simple mispronunciation of the term became a synonym of indenture. While Ali’s work pertains largely to indenture in Fiji, the terms of the agreement were more or less similar in the other colonies. Work hours were very long and arduous (stretching between twelve and sixteen hours a day) with minimal wages of about ten cents per day.

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Further, there was deduction in the wages, from which about one-third was taken for the rations that were supplied to the labourers (Klass, 1988: 14–15). Under the indenture contract, a migrant did not pay for his or her passage. Their agreement entailed receiving transportation to a plantation colony in return for a fixed duration of labour (Carter, 1997: 101). While the exact terms of engagement for indenture varied across the plantations, the general agreement was for an indentured person to work for an employer for a period of five years. The contract further stipulated the terms of employment, specifying “the wage rate, working hours and the type of work, rations, housing and medical attendance” (ibid.: 108). According to the agreement, once the stipulated period of five years was complete, the labourer was free to “either re-indenture in the same plantation or work elsewhere in the colony; and after a period of ten years, depending on the terms of the contract, he or she was entitled to a free or partly paid return passage to India or to receive a piece of crown land on the colony in lieu of the fare” (ibid.). Thus, the indenture process comprised five steps—first, the recruitment in the villages, second, being taken to the depots to complete the process before boarding the ships, then the ocean voyage, being quarantined on arrival in the host land, and finally, rehabilitation on the plantations. The theme of voyages is an intrinsic feature of the anglophone literature on Indian indenture, among other prominent themes of trauma, identity, nostalgia and belonging, as well as of adaptation, assimilation and acculturation. In particular, literature written on the indenture diaspora deals primarily with the navigation of identity, drawing special focus on its construction, deconstruction and reconstruction. The journey on the ships forms a crucial chapter in the almost century-long (1830–1920) history of Indian indenture. Indenture narratives discuss the nature of the exile, the role of nostalgia, the importance of memory, the feeling of alienation, “the state of inbetweenness”, as well as the resultant identity crisis. The diaspora sensibility which emerges is in a sense, a search for the self, for roots, for identity and for belonging. It attempts to decode the “I” and is essentially a quest for identification. The word diaspora “invokes the imagery of traumas of separation and dislocation… but diasporas are also potentially the sites of hope and new beginnings” (Brah, 2018: 237). Since crossing the oceans is a fundamental process of becoming a diaspora, the ship became a metaphor for the process of migration; the site where identity was renegotiated. The transoceanic crossing is an indelible part of indenture literature and each

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narrative written on the experience of indenture, either by the indentured labourers themselves or by their descendants details the critical importance of the journey. Literature on Indian indenture comprises the narratives of indentured labourers, who were lured away by the false promises of the recruiters. A majority of these narratives indicate that indenture was not a passive event with the poor and low castes walking willingly into it. Almost all accounts talk about the different methods of force adopted by the recruiters, i.e., akratis (also referred to as arkatis ) to lure unsuspecting men and women. They made false promises and gave assurances of a better life in the plantations. Where their talk failed to move the people to indenture themselves, the akratis resorted to using force and kidnapping them. The indentured people were even deceived about the actual distance to the plantation colonies. Almost all indenture voices agree that they were not told about the living conditions they would be offered in the plantations. Nor were they given a fair summation of the money they would earn. Among the list of deceptions practised by the recruiters, the recurrent complaint was about the lack of information on the return to the homeland. It was only when they reached the plantations that the indentured people learnt they would have to pay for their food from their salary, and that the food given to them for a week would not be enough for even five days. They soon learnt that they would be punished for the smallest of “offences”, which would entail their money being deducted by the overseer. They would have no recourse to legal measures and the natives and indigenous people would continue to remain hostile to them. This was the fate that greeted the indentured labourers on their arrival in the plantation colonies. They would also have to face extreme humiliation at the hands of the overseers, and be treated as animals, violently thrashed and beaten, while their women would be sexually assaulted. The Indian Emigration Act of 1864 made it compulsory for women to comprise 32 per cent of the passengers on each ship that was sailing to the colonies. This was later revised to a ratio of 40 women for every 100 men indentured into the system, a figure which continued to remain problematic till the end of indenture. There is very rich and comprehensive historiography on various features of the Indian indentureship, beginning from as early as the 1910s, comprising letters to editors of newspapers to support the abolitionist cause. Later, we have writings detailing the different aspects of this system, including the structure of the colonial system (Northrup, 1995; Tinker, 1993). Across the decades, the trauma faced by indentured people has

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also been explored in great detail (Lal, 2012; Khan, 2005, as well as Sanadhya, 1991). The second, third and fourth generation have analysed the entire system of indenture with a critical lens (Prasad, 2010; Mohan, 2007, as well as Bahadur, 2013). The historiography detailing the journey on the ships is broadly divided into two categories. The colonial papers in the form of diaries of the Surgeons on board the ships and the Emigration Acts form the first category while the narratives of the actual lived experience of the indentured people make up the second category. For the purpose of this chapter, only select narratives have been referenced to effectively bring out the details of the journey and its effect on the resultant identity of the indentured people.

The Concept of Kala Pani and Fragmentation of Identity The Hindi term kala pani (literally meaning “black water”) is associated with the restriction enforced on high-caste Hindus from crossing the oceans. Doing so would term them outcastes and essentially negate their complete identity since caste for an Indian Hindu signified the entire sum of their existence. Getting on board the ship signified the point of no return for the indentured people. Many upper-caste Hindu men let go of their janew (sacred thread worn by Brahmin boys when they turn thirteen years of age) in the waters of the Hoogly river before boarding the ships in Calcutta. While the men had their janews, the women owned nothing that was a manifest of their caste and class status. What they could change was their name, which most did. Casting off their janews and names was akin to casting themselves adrift in the ocean, since their entire identity had been wiped out the moment they boarded the vessels. Forced into a new social order, they were called coolies (Sanadhya, 1991: 17). Crossing the kala pani has since become a metaphor symbolising crossing of oceans and becoming diaspora. Indenture has also been defined as an “atemporal ontology of suffering, hardship and deceit” (Mishra, 2006: 14). He surmises that the indentured people were misled when they boarded “the wrong ship, to undertake the wrong voyage, to disembark at the wrong destination” (Mishra, 2005: 22). Aboard the ship that was to take them to Fiji, the girmitiyas found their identities further wiped out. They were housed in “a space one and a half feet wide and six feet long” where they were given four “dog biscuits and one-sixteenth of a pound of sugar”. Sanadhya describes the biscuits

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being so hard that they had to be broken “by their fists”, and “soaked in water, then eaten” (Sanadhya, 1991: 36). His ship set sail in the evening and when they were awoken at dawn the next day, they “saw nothing but the blue sky”. Sanadhya’s feeling about leaving his homeland for Fiji is a testimony to what almost every indentured person must have felt. “At that time many emotions were born in our hearts. In just the way a free bird is imprisoned in a cage, we were all locked in” (ibid.: 37). It is interesting to note here that the ship does not signify freedom. Instead, the metaphor carries a sinister tone in that it is likened to a collective prison. “Coolitude” is a term given to the poetics of indenture which “explores the concept of the ocean as a nodal moment of migration, a space for destruction of identity, yet also one of regeneration, when an aesthetics of migration was created” (Torabully & Carter, 2002: 17). It discusses the voyage as an essential component in indenture poetics and decrees it to be “understood as a place of destruction and creation of identity, which is preliminary to the ‘enracinement’ in the host country, itself comprehended as a dynamic space of the diversity of perceptions and cultures” (ibid.: 15). The ship is thus both, a place for contestations, as well as convergences. The ship was also a heterotopia. In his lecture, “Of Other Spaces”, French philosopher Michel Foucault outlined the concept and principle of heterotopias. He argued that places are defined and given meaning and substance based on their relationship to other places. A ship is a place that has a relationship to other places in that it contests and challenges the relationships according to which other spaces are constituted. Foucault described the ship as the best example of a heterotopia (Foucault, 1984: 48–49). It is also a liminal space, in that it is a space between boundaries and it operates as a threshold. Ships, as heterotopias, hold the space between one time and another, one place and another, a kind of suspension between feeling a part of one culture or context and then feeling a part of another. Thus, they mark differences in time and space. The girmit experience on the ship was unlike any the newly indentured labourers had faced. These ships had earlier been used to transport slaves and carried a strong connection to a dark past. In that sense, whether the terms of indenture had been voluntary or forced, the girmitiyas were always aware of the pall of slavery hanging over them in the vessels. Prasad (2010) narrates that even the clothes given to the girmitiyas were the same as those worn by the prisoners in British India. The ships were specially fitted for the transport of erstwhile slaves and were

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designed looking at the expediency of travel. They definitely did not think about the comfort of the immigrants. “They seemed to be shipwrecked by fate in a place they did not, perhaps could not, fully embrace, and they could not return to the place they so dearly loved. They were a people caught in-between the tensions of culture and history, resisting assimilation into the ways of their adopted homeland by re-enacting archaic customs from a remembered past” (Lal, 2012: 26). Lal further elaborates on the sentiments of the indentured people undergoing the voyage, “girmitiyas remembered them as floating funeral processions: chalta firta, jeeta jagata janaza” (ibid.: 29). Sanadhya also narrates his experience aboard the ship on similar lines. “We each got bottles of water to drink twice each day. We didn’t get more even if we were dying from thirst. Fish was cooked and rice was cooked. Many people suffered from sea-sickness… then left this world forever. Those people were thrown into the ocean!” (Sanadhya, 1991: 37).

The Spatial Trope on the Ships Living in the confined and cramped cabins below the deck on the long ship voyages across the kala pani allowed for further breaking down of the social and cultural barriers of caste, which has long been held as a key feature of identity for the Hindus (which made up a majority of the indentured people). Now they were all bound by the same identity. Overnight, on signing the agreement, they had become “coolies” of the British Empire. A core element of identity in the Indian context, caste was obliterated with Chamars, Kolis, Brahmins, etc., all wearing the same clothes and eating from the same communal pot during the voyage. The ship thus, while breaking down their identity given at birth, also served to provide the space for alternate identity-building. Deeply rooted ethnic identities of caste, village and language were homogenised into one collective identity. “Those recruited had ceased to be individuals, they were all labourers together, that was the only recognized common denominator; caste, religion and status by birth were of little or no consequence” (Ali, 2004: 3). Aboard the ship that was to take them to Fiji, the girmitiyas found their identities further wiped out. In his book, My Twenty-One Years in the Fiji Islands, Sanadhya recollects that they were all housed in a cramped space measuring only one and a half feet by six feet (Sanadhya, 1991: 36). He also believes that it is on account of their black colour that the indentured people had to

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endure so many hardships on the steamers, narrating that he was made to sit with pigs and other animals (ibid.: 46). There is a strange dichotomy that comes to the surface here. While caste had been negated, race (in the form of colour) comes to the fore. Caste is a distinctly Indian (Hindu) concept while race carries European (Christian) undertones. It would be pertinent to point out here that for the indentured Muslims on the ships (Muslims believe in a casteless society), this would have been a new experience of “othering”. However, if identity was being broken down on the ships, it was also being reconstituted simultaneously. Deconstruction carries within itself the elements of reconstruction. In this respect, theorist Homi Bhabha’s concept of the liminal space is expounded further by Peirce, where she quotes American author Richard Rohr, who describes it as the “crossing over” space—a space where you have left something behind, yet you are not yet fully in something else. Rohr refers to it as “an anthropological term, the in-between, often in rituals or rites of passage, the place of disorientation where an individual sheds their former status or identity but has not yet become what they will be …” (Peirce, 2017: 182). Further, it can be defined as “when you have left the tried and true, but have not yet been able to replace it with anything else. It is when you are between your old comfort zone and any possible new answer” (ibid.). She further suggests that in such a space “Continuity of tradition may become uncertain, and future outcomes once taken for granted may be thrown into doubt. Your sense of belonging, purpose and identity can be compromised” (ibid.). In this sense then, the journey of the indentured people can be viewed as the site of the initial transformation. According to Lal, this is a fundamental change. He sees the “ship as the site of a massive social disruption. The voyage was a great leveller of hierarchy and status: the immigrants were all coolies in the eyes of the sahibs” (Lal, 2012: 29). In that sense, “everyone is equal in the denial of their individual humanity. The indenture experience was a great leveller of hierarchy and status” (ibid.: 13). Lal views the indenture process as the death of one world and the beginning of another (ibid.).

The Voyage as a Leveller of Social Hierarchy The dreaded voyage across the kalapani (black water) was a traumatic experience for the indentured Indians within the forced interaction hastening the breaking down of social and cultural mores. The first to

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break down was the social hierarchy-based caste system. After that, it was nothing less than a vertical descent into “Hell”. “On one hand, the ship was 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” (Kumar, 2017: 116). Despite the upheaval of departure from the homeland that caused many established identities to break down, the voyage managed to converge all the divergences into one cohesive whole. “… 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… all for one and one for all…” (Mishra, 2002: 12). The voyage had allowed new relationships to be forged in the form of jahaji bhais (ship-brothers) and jahaji behens (ship-sisters) which were based on “a shared sense of servitude” and became even more enduring than intimate familial relationships left behind in India. When they were not working on cleaning the ships, the immigrants used to spend time singing songs and playing the drums to keep depression at bay. In light of the foregoing discussion on new-found relationships aboard the ship, all accounts about indenture testify to the description of Bhabha’s concept of interstices and clearly elucidate how it ties in with their description of life on board the ships “It is in the emergence of the interstices – the overlap and displacement of domains of difference – that the intersubjective and collective experiences of nationness, community interest, or cultural value are negotiated” (Bhabha, 1997: 2). The journey marked a shift from the homeland to the adopted land. In a sense, it was the point from where all moorings would be removed and a new beginning would be made. These bonds of jahajihood would survive the test of time and the generations to follow would realise their sense of belonging in a distant land from these new moorings. The liminal space of the ship can also be viewed as a metaphor for displacement, and eventually collective “transplantation”. The ship became “a unifying symbol for indentured peoples just as it did for those who endured the middle passage”. “In their collective transplantation – one which facilitated the mobility of values, customs, traditions, and goods in the process of resettlement – the labourers together formed large enough ethnic, cultural, and religious entities to counteract the assimilative forces of life overseas, far from the protective bail of their ancient homeland” (Pirbhai, 2009: 55).

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Pirbhai also compares the labourers’ journey to the search for El Dorado (the mythical city of gold) According to her, the ship reveals the “chaotic nature of an identity in flux and the steady continuum of deeply rooted beliefs that are themselves ‘carried across’ in the process of migration”. The ship thus, carries both—continuity and change. The symbolic importance of the ship, the water, and the sea serve as sites not only of flux but also of a counter discourse of cultural and political reconfiguration. Thus, “while the individual’s sense of identity is destabilised, both in the process of transplantation and the moment of contact, there is a counter impulse toward a transcendent spiritual fraternity. The ship and, by extension the sea, nonetheless serve as the primary arena for the reconfiguration of identity” (ibid.: 57). All accounts of the voyage undertaken by the indentured people support this hypothesis.

Reconstitution of Identity on Board the Ships The long voyages aboard the ships took three months on ships and one month on steamboats (depending upon the distance to the plantation colony), which brought new relationships into play. With the loss of caste and family left behind in the motherland, the new association of jahaji bhais and jahaji behens became the much-needed emotional anchor during the journey and translated into becoming the most enduring of all relationships during indenture. The jahaji brotherhood was the only tie that sustained the indentured people in the new and alien (sometimes hostile) landscape. The jahajihood became a sterling example of how cultural identity gave birth to a new cultural hybridity, which was retained in the host country. These relationships acted as a “cathartic release” of long-held trauma and grievances against the system. As the journey progressed, most of the labourers began to accept their fate and mix and mingle with the others on board. This was borne out of necessity and shared experiences. The environment on the ship was conducive to the forming of new relationships which “took root, strengthened and endured. People of different castes, cultures and languages found common ground in their new identity” (Prasad, 2010: 57). The jahaji brotherhood transformed the motley group of indentured people into one cohesive united group. This new identity of calling each other jahaji bhais and jahaji behens can be seen as subtle wresting of control by the indentured people of their own identity. The loss of

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caste and the subsequent change in their identity, can be seen as the first instance of resistance by the indentured people. It is pertinent to note that this new identity was not restricted to the time and space spent abroad the ships. Instead, the ethos of jahajihood was upheld to a sacred degree and endured long after their indenture period ended. “Those on the same boat were looked on as apan palwaar (our family) and they started addressing each other as jahaji bhai and jahaji behen. Their new identity, the one they chose for themselves, was jahajis (shipmates)” (Mohan, 2007: 83). In many ways, it took the place and shape of kinship and filled the vacuum left behind with the breaking of familial and blood ties in the homeland. The jahajihood functioned in a similar manner to family codes and the jahaji bhais and behens from the same ship did not intermarry. The journey was also the site of coming together and of the beginning of a “collective consciousness” that would prevail over their indenture and would seep into the generations that would follow. “The moorings of caste had loosened, and people who had left behind uncles, sisters, husbands and mothers substituted shipmates, their jahajis, for kin. Unraveled, they began, ever so slowly, to spin the threads of a novel identity” (Bahadur, 2013: 62).

Gendering on the Ships Survivors of indenture have recounted memories of the moment of departure being one of collective weeping, wailing and breast-beating as the boat journeyed down the Hoogly river. There were many instances of the indentured throwing themselves overboard and drowning to escape crossing the oceans. The alienation, uprootedness and emotional turmoil linked to nostalgia were more keenly wrought in the men than in the women. Women who had been brought into indenture (either voluntarily or under duress) had become outcastes in Indian society owing to their crossing the kalapani. There could be no return home for them. In fact, home would be denied to them even if they returned. They now had the opportunity to renegotiate their position and emerge from the margins and centre stage themselves. Their ratio of 40–100 men ensured them a level of privilege during the early years of indenture. The quarters below the deck were divided into three sections—single women were placed at one end, married couples, along with their children, were placed in the middle section, and single men were put up under the other end of the

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ship. Thus, great care was taken to house the single men and women separately. “Power was being renegotiated between men and women in the ‘tween decks. What had seemed unthinkable in India was becoming conceivable as the seas were crossed. In some cases, women discovered a whole new ability to set terms and conditions” (Bahadur, 2013: 72). The emerging new man–woman relationships changed the perceptions of the immigrants towards marriage and family, the two institutions considered sacrosanct in India. On board the ship, the toilets “served as a bizarre portal to the women aboard, where ‘puddings’ were occasionally left as sad enticements for sexual favours” (ibid.: 51). Since women received fewer chapattis than men did, lack of food was reason enough for women to resort to desperate measures to get it, including sleeping with the white seamen and the Indian lascars (seamen) on these ships. The lack of a rigid rule that would enforce the “no-sex with female immigrants” clause, as well as the absence of any penalties allowed the sexual abuse to continue unabated on board the vessels. The Surgeon Superintendent on the ship, although in charge of the emigrants, had technically no authority over the crew members. He could not discipline them into any action. Some surgeons adopted a paternalistic attitude towards the Indians while some proved to be the perpetrators of the sexual liberties taken by the women. A rare testimony informs, “One night the surgeon came down between the decks, took me by the arm, and dragged me into his cabin, and had connexion with me…I was not a prostitute in India” (ibid.: 58–59). When they tried to complain to the Protector of Immigrants, the women found the colonial narrative characterizing them as “sluts”. Whether they gave in willingly in return for “pudding” or were sexually molested and raped, the indentured women in colonial history have been marked as “shamelessly immoral”. On the ships, the longing for the receding motherland led to moments of nostalgia, of looking back and of a hope for return. At the same time, there was a longing to belong in the new place they were setting course to. The further they sailed, the more they changed. They started talking in a different way. “We stopped talking about all that happened before. It was as if we had left the people we used to be behind us, around the cape” (Mohan, 2007: 83). It is interesting to note that while men carried religious books binding them to the culture of the homeland, women carried seeds of assimilation and acculturation. “In a little cloth bag she was carrying some damp soil

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from muluk, and growing in that soil was a root of hardee, turmeric. The masala that turns food yellow, and keeps wounds from getting infected. She was keeping it alive so she could plant it when we reached” (ibid.: 64). The pregnant women hoped their wombs would yield girls. “We already have too many boys… What we need now is some girls” (ibid.: 65). This marks a stark departure from the patriarchal society in India that demanded boys from wombs. Indenture had offered these women a sense of freedom to voice their hope and wishes for a future distinct from the one they had anticipated in India. Women carried the seeds of tomorrow in their wombs. As if the name carried positive connotations, navigating the Cape of Good Hope (southernmost tip of Africa) shook off the sense of inertia that had made the voyagers listless. “We stopped looking back. I think we had finally crossed the kala pani in our minds, changed from being the people we were before. The sad notes of the beeraha we had sung as we crossed that ocean had brightened into a new song, a song with no dark corners and no storms” (ibid.: 82).

Medical Conditions on Board the Ship Most of the migrants who had come from the land-locked hinterland of India had never seen a ship before. On board they had to contend with crowded living quarters, seasickness and other diseases, such as typhoid, dysentery and cholera. The fire was also common. One of the worst maritime tragedies of the period occurred in May 1884, when the immigrant ship Syria was wrecked on a reef off the coast of Fiji, resulting in the death of fifty-six indentured immigrants and three Indian lascars (seamen) (Lal, 2012: 154). Apart from maritime disasters, shipboard mortality owing to disease and ill nutrition was another cause for concern, both for the immigrants as well as for the British. Diseases contracted at sea soon became epidemics and were dreaded killers. In 1859, eighty-two immigrants died of cholera en route to Guyana, and one hundred and twenty-four died of fever in 1863 on the same route. The dead on the ship could not be given the kind of cremation that would appease the religious sensibilities of the migrants. The bodies were thrown overboard into the ocean. This practice was a grave cause of concern and further undermined the psyche of the survivors. Since the Surgeon-General on the ship was “paid a commission

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for every recruit safely delivered to the ultimate destination”, better sanitary reforms were introduced by the British in order to enable healthier living conditions for the labourers on the high seas (Prasad, 2010: 54). The British doctors on board the ships lacked the knowledge to treat indigenous Indian diseases. The stark change in the diet of the girmitiyas also led to the under-nourishment of the immigrants on the sea voyage. Depression became a cause for great worry during these long voyages. Dr. Lang’s Handbook reveals, “I know that many people died from nostalgia pure and simple … and can it be wondered at with all their caste prejudices, their leaving their native land, perhaps never, to see it again, and being thrown among people strange habits, language, and even colour? The excitement of the newness of everything keeps them up for a time, but soon dies away, and is followed by depression when they realise what they have done” (Gillion, 1973: 62). In order to combat these ills, the Surgeon-General on the ship encouraged participation in singing, dancing, playing musical instruments and indulging in various forms of games and entertainment to keep the depression at bay. Surgeon-General Liang’s diary entry comprises a careful note of his solution to keep depression on the ship at bay by encouraging “every available means of entertainment” (ibid.). On board the ship, punishments were meted out for non-compliance in broad view of everyone in order to act as a deterrent to the others. “Bizarre methods of punishment were used. People caught stealing, or committing other offences, were sometimes frogmarched with faces painted black, accompanied by people of low caste yelling and ridiculing them as others laughed” (Prasad, 2010: 55). In the Indian cultural context, painting someone’s face black was tantamount to one of the most demeaning ways to ridicule that person. These punishments also led to a number of suicides. Unable to bear the ignominy of shame, and already reeling under the pressures of the voyage, the migrants could not cope and chose to drown themselves by jumping overboard. Women also suffered more on the voyage than men. They gave birth, had miscarriages, lost children and suffered post-partum depression. “Infants and children lost their lives to a disproportionate degree during the crossings”. They were “overlaid, suffocated while cradled besides a sleeping mother” and a large number were lost to malnutrition (Bahadur, 2013: 63). Bhabha speaks about the concept of “hybridity” as an in-between third space straddling different cultures. He marks hybrid identities as “neither

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the One…nor the Other…but something else besides” (Bhabha, 1997: 28). Further, he maintains that the hybrid operates in an interstitial space which is neither fixed nor static but allows “difference without an assumed or imposed hierarchy” (ibid.: 4). In his theory of the “third space of enunciation” he suggests that the hybrid is articulated in the liminal space that emerges during a point of interaction between two or more individuals (ibid.: 54). In other words, the third space is the space of hybridity. Indenture constituted many such third spaces—the depot, the ship, the plantation, the colony, the carnival—in each of these places, hybridity was being articulated and enunciated. The sea voyage undertaken is an essential component in indenture poetics. Crossing land borders is a very tangible experience. However, while border crossings over water are fraught with trials and tribulations, they are also sites of ambivalence—belonging both here and there, and in a sense, nowhere. It is a dynamic place of destruction and creation of identity, which is fundamental towards putting down roots in the host country. In indenture literature, the sea voyage highlights the forging of a collective identity, that of “Jahaji bhais and Jahaji behens ” which is created on the long voyage and continues to remain their connection on the plantations.

References Ali, A. (2004). Girmit: Indian Indenture Experience in Fiji. Suva, Fiji: Fiji Museum. Asaolu, R. O. (2011). Slavery: Abolition. New York: PediaPress. Bahadur, G. (2013). Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture. Gurgaon: Hatchette India. Bhabha, H. (1997). The Location of Culture. London: Routledge. Brah, A. (2018). Cartographies of Diaspora. In Kalus Stierstorfer and Janet Wilson (Eds.), The Routledge Diaspora Studies Reader (pp. 235–238). Oxon: Routledge. Carter, M. (1997). Voices from Indenture: Experiences of Indian Migrants in the British Empire. Leuven: Leuven University Press. Clarke, C. G., Peach, C., & Vertovec, S. (2010). South Asians Overseas: Migration and Ethnicity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Foucault, M. (1984). Of Other Spaces, Heterotopias. In Architecture, Mouvement (pp. 46–49). Gillion, K. L. (1973). Fiji’s Indian Migrants: A History to the End of Indenture in 1920. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

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Khan, M. R. (2005). Autobiography of an Indian Indentured Labourer: Munshi Rahman Khan 1874–1972. Trans. Kathinka Sinha-Kerkhoff. Delhi: Shipra Publications. Klass, M. (1988). East Indians in Trinidad: A Study of Cultural Persistence. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press. Kumar, A. (2017). Coolies of the Empire Indentured Indians in the Sugar Colonies, 1830–1920. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Lal, B. V. (2012). Chalo Jahaji: On a Journey through Indenture in Fiji. Canberra: ANU Press. Lal, B. V., & Seecharan, C. (2004). Girmitiyas: The Origins of the Fiji Indians. Lautoka, Fiji: Fiji Institute of Applied Studies. Mishra, S. (2002). Diaspora and the Difficult Art of Dying. Dunedin: University of Otago Press. Mishra, S. (2005). Time and Girmit. In Social Text, 82.2, pp. 15–36. Mishra, S. (2006). Diaspora Criticism. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Mohan, P. (2007). Jahajin. New Delhi: HarperCollins. Northrup, D. (1995). Indentured Labor in the Age of Imperialism, 1834–1922. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Peirce, P. (2017). Transparency: Seeing Through to Our Expanded Human Capacity. Oregon: Beyond Words Publishing. Pirbhai, M. (2009). Mythologies of Migration, Vocabularies of Indenture: Novels of the South Asian Diaspora in Africa, the Caribbean, and Asia-Pacific. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Prasad, R. (2010). Tears in Paradise: Suffering and Struggles of Indians in Fiji, 1879–2004. Auckland, N.Z.: Pindar. Sanadhya, T. (1991). My Twenty-one Years in the Fiji Islands. Trans. Kelly, J. D. & Singh, U. K. Suva, Fiji: Fiji Museum. Tinker, H. (1993). A New System of Slavery: the Export of Indian Labour Overseas 1830–1920. London: Hansib. Torabully, K., & Carter, M. (2002). Coolitude: An Anthology of the Indian Labour Diaspora. London: Anthem Press.

CHAPTER 4

Unutterable Sufferings of Girmitiyas in Amitav Ghosh’s Sea of Poppies Pulkita Anand

Amitav Ghosh is an acclaimed novelist who has won many accolades. Ghosh being a scholar of anthropology weaves in his novel’s history, imagination, politics and art to take readers to the untrodden terrains. He unfolds in the novel the sense of loss and displacement of Girmitiyas in alien spaces. The characters undergo the development of self which remains in a constant state of flux and mobility. Ghosh explicates the life of Girmitiyas who were displaced from their homeland to work for the British colonies during the 1830s. Ghosh’s Sea of Poppies (2008) won many accolades including the Vodafone Crossword Book Award for Fiction and British Book Design and Production Award that very year. It was shortlisted for the ‘Man Booker Prize’ in 2008. It dealt with the cultivation of opium in Bengal and Bihar for the Chinese market and in turn, it resulted in the transportation of Girmityas for the British to Mauritius, Fiji and Trinidad to cut sugarcanes.

P. Anand (B) Shahid Chandrashekar Govt. PG College, Jhabua, India e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 N. Singh and S. Chapparban (eds.), Literature of Girmitiya, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4621-9_4

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Sea of Poppies has three parts sections, “Land”, “river” and “sea”. It is a vibrant sweep of dazzling characters from different strata. It dismantles Euro-centric discourses and interprets sexual harassment by own family members and upper caste people. It is a critical rendering of the colonial past and its aftermath. It is a historical novel as it is set against the background of the first opium war. It depicts how the Britishers were engaged in drug trafficking, turned the bank of Ganga into the sea of poppies cultivation and earn huge amounts by exporting it illegally to China. Ghosh gives a vivid and graphic account of the unheard, unsung tales of Girmitiyas forced migration. Ghosh gives us an account of the course of their journey and the motives behind that in the text “…, Ghosh records the political and socio-economic conditions that led to the mass migration of impoverished Indian peasants as indentured labourers to the Mauritius islands. Indentured immigration created a Diaspora of Indians that is spread all over the world” (Mathur, 2013, pp. 5–6). From the inception of the novel, Ghosh depicts the woman’s experience (Deeti, the protagonist of the novel) then he turns our attention to the portrayal of Girmitiyas who try to negotiate with the changing socio-cultural transformations in the course of their migration. The novel states their saga: “……. right there on the shore, the men had their names on paper girmits; after these agreements were sealed, they had each been given a blanket, several articles of clothing and a round-bottomed brass lota to celebrate their new found status as girmitiyas” (Ghosh, 2009, p. 168). Sea of Poppies draws the trajectory of indentured labourers, Girmitiyas, and catalogues their experience during the 1830s. The paper examines Girmitiyas struggle to come to terms with new socio-cultural changes. Ghosh’s keen observation, eyes for detail and literary acumen, make the description picturesque. Sea of Poppies, “…..deals with the theme of indenture, migration and the transformation of self, submerging girmitiyas cultural identity from the Ganga’s plains into the unprecedented and incessant turmoil and turbulences of/in colonial ‘black waters’” (Mathur, 2013, p. 1). Ghosh is deconstructing the concept of identity, nation and culture. As is evident in the character of Paulette, despite her French origin she easily mixes with Bengalis. He consolidates the idea of survival in the worst situation with the hope of a better future. People overcome challenges, hardships, fear and complexities of life, out of hope. The crew contains Tamils, Arabs, Bengalis, Goans, East Africans, Chinese, Malays and Arakanese. The ship arrived near Gangasagar. The

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story begins on a river bank of a village in eastern Bihar where we are introduced to Deeti, a Girmitya, the first character, the protagonist who is the victim of enforced opium cultivation in the text. After the death of Deeti’s husband, Hukam Singh, she had to perform sati. Sati is an old custom which is associated with the live burning of a widow on her husband’s pyres. Kalua saved her from burning into the pyres. To save themselves from the villagers, they left the village to escape from the horrendous rage and trials of Hukam Singh’s family. Kalua managed to earn and met Ramasaran-ji, who offered him to join his crew in Mauritius. He cajoled him “All kinds of men are eager to sign up- Brahmins, Ahirs, Chamars, Telis. What matters is that they be young and able-bodied and willing to work” (Ghosh, 2009, p. 169). Many Girmityas were transported over time. After making Africans slaves, they moved to Asia for looting, hoarding and on their so-called civilization mission. They treated these innocent people barbarously and savagely and succumbed to them to live horrendous lives. Crossing the water was ostracized and considered taboo. They were not accepted in their community, resulting in the defilement of caste and ex-communication. Ghosh presents a large number of women Girmityas, the conditions at the home front were heart rendering that forced these women to take such drastic action. On the home front, the farmers were forced to grow opium, making their land and life vulnerable to devastation and destruction only. Forced to take a loan from money-lenders, first debt and then indentured. Due to heavy debt and failure of the crop, the farmers are left with no option but to survive by working as indentured labourers for the colonist Britishers. It was a lucrative business for the colonizers. Girmitiyas were from the plains of Bihar, “Many of these people were from the Gangetic plains of Bihar…. How had it happened that when choosing the men and women who were to be torn from this subjugated plain” (Ghosh, 2009, p. 319). It is unfortunate that “…. the hand of destiny had strayed so far inland, away from the busy coastlines, to alight on the people who were, of all, the most stubbornly rooted in the silt of the Ganga, in a soil that had to be sown with suffering to yield its crop of story and song?” (Ghosh, 2009, p. 319). A question pops up in our mind, why do these labourers accept and embrace such fate. It might be perhaps because of the threat of the likelihood of famine or any such calamities that forced them to accept this. However, it was more due to colonial invasion and encroachment

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of the land for the cultivation of opium and indigo that caused food scarcity. Due to hunger, farmers were left with no option but to migrate. Ghosh has fantastically represented this in Sea of Poppies, “The town was thronged with hundreds of…impoverished transients…willing to sweat themselves half to death for a few handfuls of rice” (p. 167). He further states, “… Many of these people had been driven from their villages by the flood of flowers that had washed over the countryside: lands that had once provided sustenance were now swamped by the rising tide of poppies; food was so hard to come by that people were glad to lick the leaves in which offerings were made at temples or sip the starchy water from a pot in which rice had been boiled” (p. 167). They were connected strongly to their roots. But the hostile conditions on the home front force them to give up their home and family too. Deeti left Kabutri, her daughter to save herself and her husband (Kalua). The conditions on the home front were more hostile and inhospitable for the natives, which forced them to migrate and displace themselves in a remote part of the world away from their home, family, culture, nation, values and tradition. David Northrup observes one of the reasons to become indentured labourers is “the growing demand for plantation labour coincided with a growing willingness-often bordering on desperation-by individuals in many parts of the world to accept longdistance migration as a way to improve their lives. In the language of migration studies, the push of undesirable circumstances at home was joined to the pull of opportunities overseas” (Northrup, 1995, p. 43). Not only poverty and hunger but social inequalities of class, caste and gender-motivated people to join as indentured labourers. Deeti, Paulette and Munia and other female labourers migrated. “… women, as for men, emigration provided a means to escape oppressive circumstances and held out hope of a better life, even if domestic cultural norms and social institutions made it much harder for women to join the emigrant flow” (Northrup, 1995, p. 78). There were many myths associated with the unknown land, but they risked their life for food. When the ship crosses Gangasagar, a pull to return was stronger but there was scope. On reaching the land, they toil hard for five years as per Girmityas contract. However, their return was not easy, some perished, some were trapped, and a lucky few even escape from it too. The British colonizers, for their business and desire to make more money, exploited the colonized people with their unjust demands. Ghosh

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engages with the capitalist expansion of the British empire that resulted in the displacement, dispersion and destruction of identities. He reveals the façade and sham of the Britishers and their idea of superiority over other races. In the conversation between Mr. Burnham and Zachary Reids, “As I see it, Reid, the Africa trade was the greatest exercise in freedom since God led the children of Israel out of Egypt. Consider, Reid, the situation of a so-called slave in the Carolinas––is he not more freely than his brethren in Africa, groaning under the rule of any dark tyrant? (Ghosh, 2009, p. 73)”. In their conversation they regard themselves to be high, on a civilization mission and consider others as an inferior race. They brought their heinous idea and force the migration of people as indentured labourers. Monsieur d’Epinay, tells, “…..tell Mr Burnham that I need men. Now that we may no longer have slaves in Mauritius, I must have coolies, or I am doomed” (p. 29). These indentured labourers were forced to work on low wages. The greed of the Britishers for opium and the profit associated with it is reflected, “But those toothsome winter crops were steadily shrinking in acreage: now the factory’s appetite for opium seemed never be sated” (Ghosh, 2009, p. 35). Ghosh debunks the myth of China’s hunger for opium, it was rather the greed of the British and American businessmen. He exposes their illegal business, shameless policy of colonial expansion, and spreading of Christianity. The farmers were deprived to grow wheat, rice and other crops. Earlier they grew opium for small purposes but were forced to grow opium the agent go home to home and offer cash and made them sign a contract. Every farmer had been served with the contract and hence oppressed to grow opium. It disrupted the traditional feudal structure with the capitalist culture of the East India company. It led to the loss of land and the Raskhali estate was forced to cultivate poppies. “Poppies might well become a plantation crop, like indigo or sugar-cane: with the demand rising annually in China, merchants who controlled their own production, rather than depending on small farmers, would stand to multiply their already astronomical profits” (Ghosh, 2009, p. 177). This mono-crop culture had a debilitating effect on the farmers, they transformed from the owner to peasant labourers to indentured labourers. The colonial rulers exploited the natives, the downtrodden and also the well-off people such as the landlord of Rashkhali, Neel Rattan Halder by Burnham. Neel Rattan was financially exploited and accused of forgery and sent to black waters for capital punishment. The new habitat becomes

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a new survival ground, it imparts new hope and imagination. The ship becomes a site for resistance, recreation and resilience. The new habitat becomes a new survival ground, it imparts new hope and imagination. The ship becomes a site for resistance, recreation and resilience. Ghosh states that the Ibis “had been built to serve as a ‘blackbirder’, for transporting slaves” (Ghosh, 2009, p. 21). Benjamin Brightwell Burnham intended to export opium to make them addicted and buy tea. To flourish the trade with China, Indian farmers were forced to grow opium which resulted in a devastating impact on their land. The opium trade weakened the Chinese regime. The British colonizer advocated their project as a humanitarian project. They projected it to bring opportunity for modern medical treatment. The colonizers asserted their vile mission as a welfare mission for the colonized. Ghosh’s writing is a reinvention, revisitation and recreation of the past imbued with the dastardly act of the Britishers. Kuldeep Mathur opines, “Amitav Ghosh aptly presents enormous historical accounts of‚ forgotten history of pangs and humiliation of girmitiyas mutilated themselves while crossing the ‘black water’… ” (2013, p. 5). Mathur further states, “…. SOP charts the utter vulnerability and haplessness of Indian girmitiyas and peasants as the unfathomable appetite of the British for revenue left them with monetarily deprived, stranded in adversities, exploited physically and brutally fragmented girmitiyas’ indigenous identity” (Mathur, 2013, p. 5). The bank of Ganga instead of swaying with other crops was luxuriantly burgeoning with the poppies. Due to the abolition of slavery and change in Chinese policies regarding the opium trade, transportation of indentured labourers became another business for the East India Company. British officials engaged in recruiting labourers signed a bond—which is known as “girmit” and afterwards called “girmitiyas” (Mishra, 2006, p. 122). These Girmitiyas were then transported to British colonies such as Jamaica, Fiji, Mauritius and other countries. Girmitiyas were sons of the soil and had a filial bond to their homeland, they didn’t want to lose the cord of their homeland. Approximately lakhs of Girmitiyas were “exported” as indentured labourers (Lal, 2006, p. 46). Opium is the central theme in the novel, in the beginning of the novel, we come to know about opium and its addiction from Deeti’s husband, Hukam Singh, a high-caste Rajput who works at the British Opium factory at Ghazipur. He was impotent and affimkhor. He had a caste feeling towards Dalits and he didn’t want to touch the belonging

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of his ox driver, Kalua. Deeti was mothered by her leering brother-inlaw, Chandan Singh. Opium not only had its impact on Deeti’s life since its inception but also later in the story opium came as a spectre of the oppressor. We are reminded of the scene in the novel where Deeti goes to look for her husband in the opium factory, “a hundred strong or more; hemmed in by a ring of stick-bearing guards…trudging wearily in the direction of the river” (Ghosh, 2009, p. 66) from there they were sent to Calcutta. There is a moving account of the inhuman treatment meted out to Girmitiyas in the opium factory, bare-bodied men, working waistdeep in tanks of opium, treading, moving round and round to soften the sludge of opium. They worked in a pathetic condition, it seems their eyes were vacant with darkness and exhaustion. They somehow move like insects crawling in the dim. It is a dehumanized condition of the colonized. They were devoid to live and breathe rather than work incessantly in dark. Not only the adults but the children were treated similarly in the opium factory, “suddenly one of them indeed dropped their ball [of opium] sending it crashing to the floor, where it burst open, splattering its gummy contents everywhere. Instantly, the offender was set upon by cane-wielding overseers and his howls and shrieks went echoing through the vast, chilly chamber” (Ghosh, 2009, p. 86). In Sea of Poppies, the indentured labourers are hired for plantation by Burnham. “their names were entered ‘girmits’ –agreements written on pieces of paper. The silver that was paid for them went to their families, and they were taken away, never to be seen again” (Ghosh, 2009, p. 137). Despite the abolition of slavery, it took a new turn in the form of indentured labour. Indentured labour is a new project of slavery by the Britishers. This new system was the extension and expansion of slavery under the guise of indentured labourers. Ghosh aptly and diligently presents the problems faced by Girmitiyas in Sea of Poppies their experience of detachment, displacement, and transportation as indentured labourers. In this process, they lose their self, identities and perception of attachment. With his hindsight of history and anthropology, Ghosh weaves his story with elements from all walks of life. Ghosh in his sly ironic tone questions the change and attempts made to bring these marginalized voices to the centre. Through the course of the journey these Girmityas gain independence, knowledge, strength and pride. The ship is used for the transportation of indentured labourers.

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Colonizers always carried their idea of exploitation as a noble mission for the betterment of the colonized. Ghosh insinuates the craft and heinous act of the Britishers by putting forth an analogy of the exodus of the Israelites. They portray their mission as holy which is wholly unholy. The displacement and dislocation from the homeland weave with the trauma of the strange world that awaits them. They want to cling to and hold their identity amidst the danger of migration. They remain in a constant state of fear and anxiety as to what would come next in their lives. A state of dilemma develops as they are not able to continue in the homeland and they don’t know anything about the uncharted land. It becomes a nightmarish experience for them and a demon seems to be hovering over their head. Ghosh graphically pictures the horror of the indentured labourers before their deportation to the Ibis, “…every new day sent a fresh storm of rumours blowing through the camp…there were many who began to say…that the depot was just a kind of jail where they had been sent to die; that their corpses would be turned into skulls and skeletons, so that they could be cut up and fed to the sahib’s dogs, or used as bait for fish” (Ghosh, 2009, p. 274). In this transportation of indentured labourers, the Ibis becomes a conduit to bring people from Zachary Reid to a Chinese opium addict, Ah Fatt. On the ship, Girmitiyas heard stories of the conversion of religion and forced consumption of food. They come to know that there was a different law on the ship and they were threatened to be obedient and submissive. Colonizers exploited the natives through formidable social, cultural, religious, political and physical activities. The writing of Ghosh gives them space to be heard. A devastating account of the state of trauma of Girmitiyas when the captain’s words shook them, “…..many of the girmitiyas were in a trance of fear: it was as if they had just woken to the realization that they were not only leaving home and braving the Black Water-they were entering a state of existence in which their waking hours would be ruled by the noose and whip” (Ghosh, 2009, p. 324). Some of them tried to escape from their plight by jumping into the sea but died. The rest of the Girmitiyas underwent unutterable suffering. They long for their homeland, “even when removed from view, the island could not be put out of mind” (p. 397). They try to maintain a significant part of their tradition, culture and values which in a way help them to sustain a sense of belonging and establish national identities. The sea and the ship form the background of the novel. The ship, Ibis was originally built in America for transporting slaves from Africa

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and was sold to Benjamin Burnham, who used it for shipping opium to China and transporting indentured labourers to the British colonies. The ship presents a journey across time and space of the displaced diasporic identities. Little light and the constant noise of the tugboat made Girmityas tremble. They wanted to run away from the heat and stinking stench of the dabusa. They fought for space and at times struggle for it. Their shouting and yelling were annoying. As the ship sailed, they slipped and slid and tumbled upon each other. Neel got infuriated, “Neel shouted through the air duct: Be quiet you fools! There’s no escape; no turning back” (Ghosh, p. 317). They started feeling his movement in the pit of their stomach. The empirical hierarchy is maintained on the ship too, though the brown Sahibs control Girmitiyas, the final say is of the white man who controls and runs the ship. The white man looks down upon the coolies in a derogatory manner, but to get their work done, they recognize the position of the brown sahib, Bhyron Singh, “While you are on her [Ibis], you must obey Subedar Bhyro Singh as you would your own zemindars, and as he obeys me. It is he who knows your ways and traditions, and while we are at the sea, he will be your mai-baap, just as I am his” (Ghosh, 2009, p. 323). Not only, does he force his authority on his people, but other members of his group treat Girmityas in the same way. They treated Girmityas as animals. British officers basked in luxury and relish food and comfort but the indentured labourers were provided meagre food and bounded to the ship. They were ill-treated and penalized. Ah Fatt and Neel also boarded along with Girmitya as convicts to work in Mauritius. Though slavery ended, indentured labourers are a new form of slavery. Migrants had to stay in the depot camps for many days. “They would stand around for hours, watching, pointing, staring, as if at animals in a cage” (Ghosh, 2009, p. 274). Deeti and Kalua stayed on the hold of the ship, it was a long shed with a low ceiling without a separate compartment. A little light penetrates as windows remained shut for the fear of pirates and dacoits. The women’s section was not crowded, Deeti and others became friends and shared their sad plight. Women were given a task like washing the clothes and sewing buttons, for the officers, guards and overseers. Some looked after the animals on the ship. “Paulette elected to share the washing with Heeru and Ratna, while Deeti, Champa and Sarju opted to do the

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sewing” (Ghosh, 2009, p. 304). They also suffered from illness. Sarju, the midwife could not cope with seasickness. The convicts spent their large time picking and rolling Oakum, a material consisting of tarred fibres, used to pack joints in plumbing, masonry and wooden shipbuilding. Their food was sent down to them in taporis. They were treated mercilessly. Bhyro Singh considered Neel and Ah Fatt as befouled creatures, “once each day they would be released from the chokey and given time to empty their share toilet bucket and to wash their bodies with a few mugsful of water” (p. 307). This depicts their harrowing condition. Though few in number women also form part of the indentured emigrants. Ghosh’s central character Deeti represents this, her arrival is portrayed as a new bride, “…they moved up to make room for her; she lowered herself to her haunches, taking care to keep her face covered, there followed a sizing-up that was as awkward and inconclusive as the examination of a new bride by her husband’s neighbours” (Ghosh, 2009, p. 191). The situation for women is different from men. The psychological trauma of displacement is aptly expressed by Deeti, “there is nothing worse than to sit here and feel the land pulling us back” (p. 320). Women in a way are alienated from their natal place, this separation from the homeland is displayed through biraha song, sung, “when the bride was torn from her parents’ embrace—it was as if… [the men] were acknowledging, through their silence, that they, …had no words to describe the pain of the child who is exiled from home” (p. 319). As in most novels of Ghosh, the past affects the present and shapes the future. There is always a desire, a pang, a void, a vacuum, a longing for the lost homeland. These Girmityas too grieve over their lost homeland. The typical tinge of “Indianness” that is nostalgia at the time of departure is evident among women folk, they were busy talking about the past and things they would miss there, the landscape, the festivals, food, family and other things associated with the land. “…No matter how hard the times at home may have been, in the ashes of every past there were a few cinders of memory that glowed with warmth—and now, those embers of recollection took on a new life, in the light of which their presence here, in the belly of a ship that was about to be cast in the abyss…” (Ghosh, 2009, p. 318). We learn about the plight of other women Girmitiyas: of Ratna and Champa, who “decided to indenture themselves…rather than starve” (Ghosh, 2009, p. 198); of Dookhanee, “travelling with her husband: having long endured the oppressions of a violently abusive mother-inlaw” (p. 198); of Munia, whose parents and illegitimate infant are burnt

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at the behest of an opium factory agent who fathered her child (pp. 198– 9); of Heeru abandoned by her husband at a fair who, after months of trying to find her way back to her village, discovers that her husband has remarried (p. 198); and others too. Deeti powerfully states the harrowing situation of Girmitiyas who had no control, no power over their transportation, “…she felt as though she were about to tumble into a well: all she could see, through the veil of her ghungta [end portion of the sari], were the whites of a great many eyes, shining in the darkness as they looked up and blinked into the light” (p. 214). Deeti and other Girmitiyas have caught up in a state, as Karl Marx states it, in the “transformation of feudal exploitation into capitalist exploitation” (2007, p. 787). Deeti felt a pang that she would not be able to see her daughter growing, marrying and sharing her secrets. The condition of women at once brings joy and sadness together. They yearn for the past and they hope for a bright future too. To survive and keep their tradition, they retained their ritual, rites and practices alive. Memory held them united with their homeland. The memory of the past lives of their land held them. The ship, Ibis became their home. This change states the fluid aspect of one’s identity, a concept that is a social construct. Postcolonial critics talk about the reconstruction of identity with the change of place and time. Homi Bhabha opines, “‘in between’ spaces provide the terrain for elaborating strategies of selfhoodsingular or communal-that initiate new signs of identity, and innovative sites of collaboration, and contestation, in the act of defining the idea of society itself” (1994, p. 2). The displacement created the recreation, replacement and hybridization of identities. The indentured labourers tried to establish their identity and gain insight into their new surroundings. Ghosh traces the Girmitiyas journey from Eastern UP and Northen Bihar where people speak Bhojpuri. The change in the surrounding forced Girmityas to look for a means of survival and hope for the future. On the Ibis, Girmitiyas struggled to negotiate with social conventions. Despite the challenge of kindling a fire for the betrothed couple to circumambulate “…candles would have to serve the purpose…as many as could be safely stuck on a single thali” (Ghosh, 2009, p. 372). Through this compromise, new social norms and modes developed to retain themselves amidst overpowering challenges and hardships. For Girmitiyas it is the only source of comfort and solace. It also suggests their desire to live despite all the odds in their lives. Ghosh

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also depicts the blurring of caste and mingling of people out of compulsion “…the close proximity, the dimness of the light, and the pounding drumbeat of the rain…created an atmosphere of urgent intimacy among the women…” (p. 197). In the novel, it is Paulette who states Deeti that as they are bound together with the same plight on this ship, they were, “ship-siblings- jahazbhais and jahazbahens- to each other” (p. 285). There formed a new identity “…from now on, and forever afterwards, we will all be ship-siblings—jaházbhais and jaházbahens—to each other. There’ll be no differences between us” (Ghosh, 2009, p. 285). Ghosh has given both an extensive and intensive account of Girmitiyas life and their journey. They learn to negotiate with new things and evolve new mechanisms to cope with the situation. It is the plight and atrocities of the British colonizers that unified the people despite their differences. Ghosh highlights the oppression and subjugation of Girmitiyas by a colonial power as well as indigenous power. He tries to show us the lackadaisical attitude of our people and fissures in history. In the present time, we see how the dispersed communities try to form their identity by making their home globally and learning to survive. This suggests the concept of home as a fluid construction and creation of the space in new surroundings. By naming anything, we give put it under the category of noun, this noun then becomes a source of attachment. In a way, it shapes their identity. Their identity keeps on changing, it remains in a state of flux, and they in turn create a space which is different from their earlier space. This new space transforms them to forge a new identity, new names, new norms and a new lease of life. They learn to cope and face the fact by taking cudgel to brace themselves in their new diasporic setting. They emerged triumphant with their newfound strength to fight. Deeti becomes Aditi, Aditi, in Indian mythical history, Aditi was a woman granted a boon of living her life again. Kalua transforms into Maddow Colver, Heeru remarried Ecka Nack, had she lived in India, the marriage would not have been possible, “Now they were all cut off from home, there was nothing to prevent men and women from pairing off in secret, as beasts, demons and pishaches were said to do: there was no pressing reason for them to seek the sanction of anything other than their own desires. With no parents or elders to decide on these matters, who know what the right way to make a marriage was?” (Ghosh, 2009, p. 345). The Ibis turned into a cauldron where caste, race, religion, nation and region dissolve. The caste and religion are so rigid and strict in India, but it seems to blur on the ship. Here, they are mixing, polluting, eating and

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cooperating. A humane attitude emerges when they are forced to live in such a condition. They rise from their parochial communities and see the world and life in totality. In the words of Stuart Hall, “Diaspora identities are those which are constantly producing and reproducing themselves anew, through transformation and difference” (2013, p. 235). The people on the Ibis created an egalitarian society free from the dismal class, and caste consciousness and aspiring for freedom and betterment. Ghosh has excavated the unheard voices and atrocities of the indentured labourers. The novel is meticulous research of their plight and harrowing tales. He beautifully recreates the British colonial expansion in the early decade of the nineteenth century and the migration of Girmityas due to socio-political, cultural and economical changes. He has successfully delineated the lives of ordinary people and their destinies. It is an encyclopedic account of early nineteenth-century life, time, rites, rituals, food, religion, crime, sexual practice, flora and fauna, trade, and seafaring. The text provides an insightful study of their plight, struggle and transformation. Ghosh strikes on the purity of rituals and tradition and their dissolution under changing times. He reflects and lays bare the shallowness of religious formalism. Ghosh delineates how Indians suffered under the colonial regime. He has meticulously researched and worked diligently to bring forth the trauma of indentured labourers. He has recreated the plight of indentured labourers. He insinuates that identity is formed, transformed and reformed in the course of life and its trials and tribulations shape and reshape the identity. We have come to know some of the hidden crevices of history. We learn the positive aspects of the journey and people coming together and rising above their differences. Ghosh underscores the idea that hope springs eternal in the human heart. And as long as there is hope, there is life.

References Bhabha, H. K. (1994). The location of culture. Routledge. Ghosh, A. (2009). Sea of poppies. Penguin. Hall, S. (2013). Cultural identity and diaspora. In The postcolonial studies reader, B. Ashcroft, G. Griffiths and H. Tiffin (Eds.), (pp. 435–438). Routledge. Lal, B. (2006). The indenture system. In The encyclopedia of the Indian diaspora. B. V. Lal, P. Reeves and R. Rai (Eds.), (pp. 46–53). University of Hawaii Press.

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Marx, K. (2007). Capital: A critique of political economy Vol. 1, Part 1, The process of capitalist production. F. Engels (Ed.). Cosimo Classics. Mathur, K. (2013). ‘Girmitiyas’ journey in the silence history of the black waters in Amitav Ghosh’s Sea of poppies. Journal of Higher Education and Research Society: A Refereed International, 1 (1), 2–11. Mishra, V. (2006). Voices from the diaspora. In The encyclopaedia of the Indian diaspora. B. V. Lal, P Reeves and R Rai (Eds.), (pp. 120–139). University of Hawaii Press. Northrup, D. (1995). Indentured labour in the age of imperialism, 1834–1922. Cambridge University Press.

CHAPTER 5

A Critical Reflection on Imperialism, Nostalgia and Traumatic Experiences in Totaram Sanadhya’s My Twenty-One Years in the Fiji Islands Rabindra Kumar Verma

Introduction This study uses analytical, and critical methods to articulate imperialism, nostalgia, and traumatic experiences narrated by Totaram Sanandhya in his My Twenty-One Years in the Fiji Islands. In this study, the reflection on the term “imperialism” refers to the economic and territorial expansion by the British and European colonizers. Here, the term imperialism denotes the European phenomenon whereas colonialism refers to the oppressive systems prevalent in the different colonies in Fiji. Since imperialism refers to the economic and territorial expansion, it can be

R. K. Verma (B) Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies, Manipal University Jaipur, Jaipur, India e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 N. Singh and S. Chapparban (eds.), Literature of Girmitiya, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4621-9_5

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associated with capitalism. Therefore, Lennin argues that imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism appears to be true in case of the economic and commercial proliferation in Fiji Islands. This inclination and determination of the colonizers to establish colonies in Fiji Islands brought opportunities for trade, and commerce. It also created space for the huge labour force, consequently it invited cheap labourer from the eastern countries like India and China. By making laws and indentured labour system, it imposed its biassed policies to take undue advantages of the Indian indentured labourers. Totaram Sanadhya is one of those labourers who was recruited as an indentured labourers, and then he was taken to Fiji under imperial powers that mistreated the emigrants. Sanadhya shares the reality when he narrates, “The girmitiyas are treated like prisoners and dogs. On the ship they get dog biscuits to eat, and prisoners’ clothes. Upon their arrival at Nukulau Island, police surround them even when they haven’t done anything” (1991, p. 18). These indentured labourers were known as Girmitiyas and treated as slaves. They were forced to render their duties from morning till evening and complete the tasks on the plantation fields under the vigilant eyes of the sardars and overseers. Such treatment of bonded labourers attracted the attention of the intellectuals towards the imperial powers and the colonial rules. Vijay Naidu states, “Imperialism begat colonialism; colonialism begat plantation agriculture; plantation agriculture begat forms of slavery. In the tropical and semitropical colonies, slave crops such as cotton and sugar, produced by the sweat, blood and tears of the “harlots” of the empire, created the wealth of the planters and millers and oiled the machinery of colonialism” (2004, pp. 373–74). It is undoubtedly clear that the Indian bonded labourers were a rich source of workers who were used to grow crops, especially cotton and sugar with their own sweat and blood and multiply the wealth of the colonizers. Although Europeans spotted Fiji Island in the mid-seventeenth century, they established their colonies in the nineteenth century. James Calvert states, “The Fiji Islands were first sighted by Europeans in 1643, and settlement began in the early nineteenth century with the development of trade in sandalwood and bêche-de-mer. The first missionaries arrived in Fiji in 1835 by way of the Wesleyan mission to Tongan and settled first in the east, where they were able to use their Tongan contacts to establish a foothold. The traders were also drawn to the east, and so this region became a focal area for ‘white’ ‘activity’” (1858, p. 6). However,

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the Indian indentured emigration which is said to have begun in 1879 to Fiji (Brij Lal, 1986, p. 123), came from the different regions of the Indian states. It started from South India to supply the labour force and overcome the problems and shortage of labourers on the different sugar estates and cotton mills functioning under the control of the imperial powers in Fiji. These bonded labourers came from the different sections of the Indian society including upper-class society irrespective of their caste, class, religion, and social status. Brij Lal and Doug Munro argue, “Over 300 different castes of varying status, from the lowly Chamars to Brahmins, were represented in the emigrating population, originating in over 250 districts in Northern India alone” (2014, p. 126). In the last decade of the nineteenth century, the number of the bonded labourers from north India upsurged gradually. Gillion argues, “Emigration from North India depended more on the threat of starvation than on the attraction of higher wages in the colonies, and potential emigrants showed little disposition to follow any other ‘economic law’” (1956, p. 144). By and large, when the Indian emigrants came to Fiji, they had a new kind of enthusiasm. Their faces were glittering with happiness, hiding the dreams to be fulfilled by earning money. They were crying with ecstasy. Their eyes were filled with tears of mirth and joy. They were ready to embrace and adapt a new kind of mixed culture. The desire for earning money suppressed the consciousness of their own cultural values. They mingled with strangers, who came from the different cultures irrespective of caste, class, race, religion, and ethnic groups. Brij Lal writes, “Indian indentured emigrants came from all parts of India, but there was a tendency for different colonies to obtain a greater portion of their labourers from one region rather than another.... In the case of Fiji, indentured migration was started from south India because of the difficulty of obtaining a sufficient number of recruits in the north” (1983, p. 43). The missionary J. W. Burton (1991) delineates the emotions, desires, dreams, and excitement of the Indian emigrants. He writes, On every face there is the maddest enthusiasm. ‘Ram ! Ram ! Bless us !’ The people shout. ‘Ram ! Ram ! Sitaram ! Hear us !’ They cry. See the face of them there! Can that be the same clear-headed, cool debater we know as Totaram? Yes. It is he. But this is Hinduism in ecstasy—not in argument—which is very different”. (‘Introduction’: 3)

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If the excitement among the Girmitiyas elicited their happiness to arrive to the new land, it also envisioned sorrow among them for departing from their homeland and leaving their family and relatives. It brought Indian indentured labourers not only in a different but difficult mental state, as if they were not leaving their homeland for the betterment of their livelihood, social and economic status quo but they would be confronted with painful, difficult, unbearable, and unreasonable situations. Such apprehensions of the Indian indentured migrants resulted in traumatic experiences. This reality is explicitly narrated to the readers by one of the prominent indentured labourers Totaram Sanadhya. He says, “In the four directions there was nothing to be seen but blue sky. At that time many emotions were born in our hearts. In just the way a free bird is imprisoned in a cage, we were all locked in” (1991, p. 40). Brij Lal rightly holds that the innocence, overexcitement, cultural, social, racial and ethnic diversity of the bonded workers confronted them with new kinds of problems and pushed them into darkness. Further, he asserts “The disruption of the institutions of religion, caste, and community, which accompanied emigration and indenture, further exacerbated their problems” (1986, p. 191). However, the arrival of the Indian indentured labourers to the Fiji Islands resulted in a nostalgic phenomenon which they did not apprehend before leaving their homelands. In the text, Totaram Sanadhya convincingly narrates this nostalgic experience to the readers, “As soon as our ship arrived there, the police came and surrounded us, so that we couldn’t run away from there. We were treated worse than their servants there. People say that slavery has been ended in all civilized countries” (1991, p. 42). Thus, it can easily be understood that the unpleasant feelings, traumatic emotions, and nostalgic experiences were subsumed in imperial powers. The Indian indentured migrants, specifically a large mass of poor people struggling for their livelihood and confronted with caste, class and social discrimination was identified as girmit, and it was an optimistic labour force for the largest employer of Fiji known as the Colonial Sugar Refining Company (CSR). But the situation of the Girmitiyas was worse. Brij Lal describes, “Girmitiyas were on their way out, and those few remaining were often treated as oddities, clad in dhoti and kurta, with a pagri on their close-cropped heads, speaking a variety of dialects incomprehensible to us; they were a people from another place and another time, waiting to die, irrelevant to our needs and times” (2019, p. 12). However, the treatment of the enslaved workers at the plantation fields

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by the European colonizers in Fiji was nostalgic, consequently, the dreams of the indentured labourers shattered very soon, and their expectations turned into painful and traumatic experiences: It had brought a people—caught up in the quagmire of misery and destitution in India, imprisoned in a pernicious social system of inequality and oppression—and given them an opportunity for improvement they could not have ever dreamed of in their homeland. The dislocation had come at a cost, to be sure, but it was worth it in the long run. The narrative of (and for) the indentured labourers emphasised the complete opposite: degradation, violence and brutality in a system with no redeeming features at all, reducing everyone to a simple unit of labour to be exploited for the benefit of others. There was in this view no redemption, only rupture. (Brij Lal, 2019, p. 4)

The traumatic experiences of the Girmitiyas were not left untouched by the scholars of the Girmitiya literature. This domain of painful girmitiya experiences reveals the reality of their sufferings during their bondage in Fiji. Brij Lal articulates the traumatic experiences of the indentured labourers very beautifully when he points out, “The trauma had started much earlier, but the plantation experience etched the reality of the new world on the girmitiyas more sharply. Plantation work did not respect social boundaries or divinely sanctioned hierarchies. It rewarded personal initiative and enterprise. The plantation management saw the girmitiyas as ‘coolies’, little more. The absence of social and spiritual leaders compounded the problem. The girmitiyas seemed, then, to be caught in a barren, disorienting cul-de-sac of cultural fragmentation” (2004, p. 12). Similarly, Ahmed Ali portrays the unpleasant feelings of the girmitiya emigrants and the way they had to adapt to the new values for their survival and identity in the new land during their bondage. Ali writes, “Traumatic as girmit life was, the girmitiyas clung tenaciously to those inherited values they deemed essential for their identity” (2004, p. 73). However, it can be deduced, “The Indo-Fijian experience is full of strange peculiarities and tragic ironies. It is the story of a people brought to work under conditions of extreme servitude to spare the indigenous people the fate of dispossession and violence at the hands of European settlers, but who somehow ended up as their bête noire” (Brij Lal, “Greetings/Namaskar”, 2004). The barbarous, violent and outrageous behaviour of overseers and sardars towards indentured labourers in Rewa and Suva districts of Fiji is

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explicitly narrated in Totaram’s My Twenty-One Years in the Fiji Islands, “When the overseers are angry with any people, they punish them. The ones being punished are made to do very hard work, separate from all the others. Overseers go to where these people are alone, and beat them severely. These poor people do not complain, because they are afraid, thinking, ‘I will have to work for five years under the supremacy of this sahab’” (1991, p. 47). So, it appears that the violence on the indentured labourers was in the blood of the oppressors. They did not like to listen to any complain or voice of the indentured labourers. John Kelly argues that the maltreatment of the indentured labourers occurred in the different types of physical and mental tortures of the emigrants in the hands of the oppressors. He states, “Fiji’s plantations were sites of extraordinary violence: murders, assaults, and suicides, crimes of violence directed not against Europeans primarily but by ‘collies’ against other ‘coolies’ or themselves” (2010, p. 27). The daily life of the Indian indentured labourers including women was filled with internal and external fears. They performed their daily services helplessly and passively to earn their livelihood. Marina Carter argues, “As long as Indian families remained in the estate camps, women were vulnerable to sexual and economic exploitation by sardars, managers and others. Indentured men found it difficult to protect their wives as the many cases of marital breakdown and ensuing violence demonstrate. While sexual overtures from men in the plantation hierarchy continued to be part of the experience of indentured women, their capacity to resist, and, more importantly, the understanding of those in authority that such overtures would be resisted, strengthened, despite the best efforts of Indian nationalists to stigmatize women in the sugar colonies” (2014, p. 288). Furthermore, everyone worker including women, was forced to work hard in the plantation fields from early morning till evening. Each worker was paid according to the ratio or amount of the task completed by them. Sanadhya says, “Everyone is made to get up at four o’clock, at early dawn, every day” (1991, p. 46). Here, it is significant to note that women with babies were retained to perform the full task on the fields. Sanadhya depicts, “Women with children bring their children to the fields” (1991, p. 46). Besides this, violence, and sexual oppression of indentured Indian women cannot be overlooked. Women were confronted with twofold responsibilities in comparison to men. They had to work on the plantation fields and look after their children as well. Maurits Hassankhan and

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Brij Lal write, “Both men and women experienced violence and oppression on the plantations, but women bore the dual burden of both racism and sexism” (2014, p. 10). The historians have also recorded the cases of violence, rape, sexual exploitation of women during plantation on the fields. Further, Brij Lal writes, “The widespread view that Indian women on the plantations were sexually exploited indiscriminately by the overseers and other men in positions of authority was portrayed as a blot on the name of India” (2011, p. 28). The daily life problems of the women workers were not limited because they were enslaved for different purposes including field work, domestic work, bearing and rearing of children, and other male expectations in which satisfying sexual needs of colonizers was one of the major expectations. The white men especially colonizers, overseers, and sardars were always looking for the opportunities for satisfying their sexual pleasure from the indentured women. Therefore, they used to assign planation task or other field work responsibilities to women workers in isolation with men, and fields which were far from the eyes of men or their husbands. Sometimes they treated women workers as prostitutes, at others they coerced them for sex. If women denied having sexual intercourse with them, the incidents of rape, and murder were reported. But the voice of the women was unheard, and no action was taken against the rapists. However, the colonizers could not become successful in suppressing the voices of women workers for a longtime. According to Hugh Tinker, “The slave women also practised a form of protest against the white man: they could refuse to bear children to be brought up as slaves. Females, imported at the ratio of one to every four or five men, were bought for field work, for domestic labour and other purposes. In these conditions, slave men and women could not expect to live as married couples. The women were available for sexual exploitation by all—manager and overseer first, and slaves afterwards. Only after they had passed through a phase of virtual prostitution, or at best a series of temporary, unstable unions, did the women begin to settle down with semi-permanent companions” (1974, p. 11).

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Story of Kunti: Physical, Mental, and Sexual Assaults In Sanadhya’s My Twenty-One Years in the Fiji Islands, the Kunti episode in Fiji is considered as the most brutal example of the physical exploitation and sexual harassment of women by the planters and their agents. When Indian indentured labourers came to know about the incident of rape of Kunti, it shook their innermost and forced them to rethink their bondage, homelessness, and lack of security on the plantation fields. Sanadhya depicts this heinous crime of rape of Kunti realistically, “The sardar and the overseer went there to rape her. On the threat of the overseer, the sardar tried to grab Kunti’s arm. Kunti freed her arm, ran and jumped into the nearby river. By god’s will, the dinghy of a boy named Jaidev, was nearby. Kunti was saved from drowning. Jaidev pulled her into his dinghy and took her across the river” (1991, p. 48). This incident of attempted rape resonated in Fiji Islands as well as in the other European and Asian countries. It attracted the attention of people towards economic, physical, and sexual exploitation of women as well as violence on them. Goolam Vahed rightly argues, ‘Kunti’s Cry’, for example, uses the attempted rape of an indentured woman by an overseer to examine issues of power, gender, violence and abuse on plantations (2017, p. 74). However, the painful story of the attempt of Kunti’s rape becomes a vehicle to protest the physical and sexual assault on women. As Karen A. Ray states, “... the story of Kunti of Gorakhpur, an indentured woman who, after many misadventures, both sexual and otherwise, was to return to India and become a celebrated cause” (1996, p. 146). Kunti’s efforts to defend her chastity from the overseers were not unnoticed by the scholars, readers and the critics. She gained a wide popularity among the people and became an icon for those who were fighting for the liberation of women and their emancipation for equal rights with men in every walk of life. Shubha Singh argues, “Kunti’s story stirred the conscious of Indians and was a major factor in spurring the Indian campaign to bring an end to the indenture recruitment in India. Kunti was hailed for her courage in relating her story and complaining about the assault to the estate authorities” (2020). It is obvious that women were coerced for the work on the plantation fields for which they were paid low wages. They were treated as sexual objects by the white oppressors. They were expected to satisfy the sexual desires of the overseers and sardars. Andrews and Pearson observe, “The Hindu woman in this country is like

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a rudderless vessel with its mast broken onto the rocks; or like a canoe being whirled down the rapids of a great river without a controlling hand. She passes from one man to another, and has lost even the sense of shame in doing so” (1918, p. 26). If a comparison is made between the British rule in India and the oppression of Indians in Fiji Islands, it can easily be deduced that Indians under the British rule in India had more freedom than Indians in Fiji under the control of the European parochial powers. Hence, it multiplied the suicide rate among all overseas Indians. Brij Lal states, “Fiji Indians had the highest suicide rate among all overseas Indians at the turn of the twentieth century” (2011, p. 28). However, the literary writers and the historians of the girmitiya experience have well recorded arbitrary nature of Girmitiyas. For instance, on the one hand, Girmitiyas lived a very painful and challenging life on the plantations in Fiji, and they were exploited during their five years’ bondage in Fiji. On the other, there was not only internal competition, but the arising conflicts among the Girmitiyas were also reported. Particularly, Gujaratis and the North Indians who found Fiji a rich source of commercial growth of their business and trade. Consequently, the Indian indentured emigration that is said to have begun in direct response to the shortage of labour caused in the “King Sugar” colonies by the abolition of slavery in 1833, presents an apparent paradox. It is, therefore, explicit that indentured labour became not merely the source of livelihood, but it also opened opportunities of business, and trade, irrespective of painstaking situations for the labourers on the plantation fields. Here, it is noteworthy that “The high tide of Gujarati migration to Fiji was from 1920s onwards, its population increasing from 324 in 1921, to 1200 in 1930, to 2500 in 1935.... Of the 600 Indian business registrations between 1924 to 1945, Gujaratis held 300 trading licenses while North Indian Hindus held 192, Muslims 34, South Indian 19, Punjabis 24, and others nine” (Prasad, 1978, p. 263). A sudden proliferation of Gujaratis to migrate Fiji between 1920 to 1940s showcases a double-edge girmitiya consciousness towards their migration to the different islands in Fiji, and their attraction towards the scope for trade and business. The scholars of Girmitiya emigration opine that the introduction of Indian labourers into Fiji began in 1879, almost 45 years after the system of indentured emigration came into existence in 1834 and five years after Fiji became a British Crown Colony in 1874. Simultaneously, it is noteworthy that Girmitiya migrants’ social and economic status quo was very

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pitiable at that time. Totaram Sanadhya was one who witnessed his own poor economic status, and economic disparity among people. Brij Lal writes, “Totaram’s account provides a valuable introduction to the evolution of a distinctive Fiji Indian society. He was present at its creation. For better or for worse, his is the only Indian indentured voice that is extant” (2000, p. 243). Perhaps, the indentured workers were either backward or marginalized or both the reasons led to them to the lower strata of human spheres. Even they had no awareness and opportunity to receive education due to their poor economic conditions. Brij Lal states, “Furthermore, the laborers had little or no formal education, certainly not in English, and this placed them at a great disadvantage in articulating their grievances to the colonial officialdom in Fiji” (1986, p. 191). So, the lack of education, and awareness was one of the major drawbacks of their poor economic and social status. The Fijian agents under the colonial rule, overseers and sardar played tricks with the Indian emigrants to reduce their wages by finding out illogical reasons and imposing their own wills and policies. They also took advantage of every weakness, and problem of the workers. Brij Lal writes, “The greed of the planters also played a part. Some of them devised their own tactics to retain a portion of the laborers wages as punishment for absence without their approval. In some places the planters used the practice of ‘double cut’ by which they docked two days pay for each day the laborer was away from work. Others disregarded the rules for the time when the wages had to be paid” (1986, p. 204). However, when Girmitiyas left their homeland, they not only embraced unknown and long-term slavery to the colonizers in Fiji for the betterment of their economic status, but they had to adapt to a new and alien culture, and lifestyle to conform to the expectations of the oppressors especially sardars and overseers who were vigilant to them and controlled their lives on the sugar plantations. Brij Lal rightly holds, “Emigration across the seas was a traumatic experience for a primarily inland people and fragmented the values of the ‘old world’, especially those that emphasized adhering to tradition and maintaining group solidarity. New values, forged in the crucible of indenture, stressed new goals: individual achievement and personal survival” (1986, p. 190). But this isolation from their indigenous culture was not easy for them. Shubha Singh opines, “Girmit as indenture was known by the workers who brought great changes in their lives. Plantations were like a prison; the overseers and sirdars had total power over the workers. Coercion and violence were often used to maintain order;

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over-tasking, sexual abuse and violence were common” (2020). However, it is very difficult to depict the real intentions of the indentured labourers for their slavery to the Fijians because they wanted to fulfil their dreams and for this, they also offered their wives to other men to satisfy their sexual needs. One of the early Girmitiyas, Brij Lal writes, “Sometimes, out of duress or greed, some men even forced their wives to have sexual relations with other men, especially the sirdar” (1985a, p. 143).

Story of Narayani: Physical, Mental, and Sexual Assaults Like Kunti, Narayani is another indentured woman labourer whose chastity was at stake. She was confronted with the painful and unpleasant situations of sexual assaults on women on the sugarcane sites by the sardars and overseers. She worked in Nadi district at Navo Plantation. She was beaten very badly because she refused to go to the sugar cane fields three days after giving birth to a child. Unfortunately, her sufferings and painful experiences were accelerated overnight when she lost her son. Yet, “This poor woman was beaten so much that her mind went bad, and until now she has stayed crazy” (Sanadhya, 1991, p. 49). Narayani’s sufferings were ignored in such a way as if it was common against women, and they were destined for bearing violence, and sexual abuse. Brij Lal holds, “Assault and battery were the major complaints of the labourers, accounting for 61 per cent of all the charges. To some extent, this is not really surprising since violence, coercion, and control are an integral part of the plantation system” (1986, p. 201). The story of Narayani resonated among the people a gruesome portrayal of the physical assault on women. It projected her physical sufferings on the sugarcane plantations in Fiji. However, painful experiences, and sufferings of the Indian indentured women resulted in a fruitful future and freedom from the colonial authority. According to John Dunham Kelly, “The protests about sexual mistreatment of Indian women in Fiji were central to the agitation against the indenture system in India in the 1910s, and the agitation against indenture was central in the emergence of Gandhi’s satyagraha, a new form of political action that eventually destroyed colonial authority in India” (2010, p. 20). The Indian Indentured labourers were also confronted with the racial discrimination right from the beginning of their migration to Fiji. They faced discriminations based on the caste, class, colour and race in the

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colonies in Fiji. This discrimination began from the moment they boarded the steamers. As Totaram writes: Because of our black colour, we have to endure many hardships on steamers. First of all, we are given very bad places to sit. We are not allowed to go towards the rooms of the Europeans. … The treatment I received is not given only to uneducated or less- educated Indians. It is also given to important well-educated Indians. In many ports, third class whites 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 these receipts 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’m afraid of getting sick from the receipts which you have touched with your hands. Therefore we keep the germs on the receipts far away’. (1991, p. 51)

It is also noteworthy that no help was extended to the workers for convictions against the overseers, sardars, and planters. Furthermore, the workers were not permitted to complain against the overseers, and sardars, even if they were quite innocent. Brij Lal holds, “Laying a complaint against an employer was a serious ‘offence’ and entailed great risks for the indentured laborer. It involved absence from work and therefore loss of pay, the extension of indenture by the days the immigrant was absent, and the wrath of the overseers” (1986, p. 201). So, the labourers had to face unnecessary loss of pay, and wrath of the overseers. Moreover, “The indentured laborers found it extremely difficult to obtain convictions for assault and battery despite clear evidence of physical injury inflicted by overseers” (Brij Lal, 1986, p. 202). Thus, the subversive system projected against the bondage deteriorated physical and mental health of the workers.

Conclusion The deep and thorough study of indentured migration from India to Fiji reveals that the indentured labour system can be divided into three major phases. One of the major Girmitiyas, Brij Lal describes his experience very thoughtfully. He writes, “The story of girmit (indenture) has gone through several ‘reincarnations’, running the whole gamut from shame

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in its earliest phase through embarrassment in its middle passage to celebration in the latest, but the underlying narrative is essentially the same, a sad tale stressing suffering and sacrifice on the part of the indentured workers in the most inhospitable of conditions and in the face of impossible odds” (2019, p. 4). However, Totaram Sanadhya’s comprehensive depiction of the mixed experiences of mirth and sufferings gained in Fiji as an early indentured labourer projects the reality about the painful, and traumatic life of the labourers in Fiji at the turn of the twentieth century. He is one of those early Girmitiyas who witnessed violence, sexual assaults on women, economic exploitation, and the physical and mental torture of indentured labourers. Another scholar of the Girmitiya literature, Frederik Schröer analyzes Sanadhya’s painful experience as, “Sanadhya’s testimonios include a number of emotional concepts that are at the core of the feeling community’s constitution. They range from ‘suffering’ (duhkh), ‘mutual aid’ (madad, sahayta) and ‘friendship’ (mitr, bhai) to feelings of ‘religiosity’ (dharm) and ‘morality’ (sil, sadacar). Especially in the complex of ‘suffering’, but also that of ‘morality’, the expression of emotions does not only connect the author with the community, but also the reader” (2016, pp. 164–65). To sum up, it can be argued that Sanadhya not only narrated his unpleasant indentured experience among the people, but his experience also became a voice for freedom of people especially indentured labourers in Fiji.

References Ali, A. (2004). ‘Remembering’, In Brij V. Lal (Ed.), Bittersweet: The Indo-Fijian Experience (pp. 71–87). Canberra: Pandanus Books. Andrews, C. F., & Pearson, W. W. (1918). Indian Indentured Labour in Fiji. Perth: Colortype Press. Burton, J. W. (1991). ‘Introduction’, In John Dunham Kelly and Uttra Kumari Singh (Eds & Trans), My Twenty-One Years in the Fiji Islands and the Story of the Haunted Line. Suva: Fiji Museum. Calvert, J. (1858). Fiji and the Fijians (Vol. 2 of Mission History). G. S. Rowe (Ed.). London: Alexander Heylin. Carter, M. (2014). ‘Resistance and Women Migrants to Mauritius under the Indenture System’, In Maurits S. Hassankhan et al. (Eds), Resistance and Indian Indenture Experience: Comparative Perspectives (pp. 271–92). New Delhi: Manohar.

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Gillion, K. L. (1956). ‘The Sources of Indian Emigration to Fiji’, Population Studies: A Journal of Demography, 10:2, 139–157. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 00324728.1956.10404536 Hassankhan, M. S., & Lal, B. V. (2014). ‘Introduction’, In M. S. Hassankhan et al. (Eds), Resistance and Indian Indenture Experience: Comparative Perspectives (pp. 9–18). New Delhi: Manohar. Kelly, J D. (2010). ‘Discourse about Sexuality and the End of Indenture in Fiji: The Making of Counter-Hegemonic Discourse’, History and Anthropology, 5:1, 19–61. https://doi.org/10.1080/02757206.1990.9960807 Lal, B. V. (1983). Girmitiyas: The Origins of the Fiji Indians. Canberra: The Journal of Pacific History. ———. (1985a). ‘Kunti’s Cry: Indentured Women on Fiji Plantations’, Indian Economic and Social History Review, 22:1, 55-71. ———. (1985b). ‘Veil of Dishonour: Sexual Jealousy and Suicide on Fiji Plantations’, The Journal of Pacific History, 20:3, 135–155. https://doi.org/10. 1080/00223348508572516 ———. (1986). ‘Murmurs of Dissent: Non-Resistance on Fiji Plantations’, Hawaiian Journal of History, 20, 188–214. ———. (1991). A Politics of Virtue: Hinduism, Sexuality, and Countercolonial Discourse in Fiji. London: The University of Chicago Press. ———. (2000). ‘Hinduism Under Indenture’, In Chalo Jahaji: On a Journey through Indenture in Fiji (pp. 239–60). Canberra: ANU Press. https://www. jstor.org/stable/j.ctt24h3ss.17 ———. (2004). ‘Greetings Namaskar’, In Brij V. Lal (Ed), Bittersweet: The Indo-Fijian Experience. Canberra: Pandanus Books. https://pacificinstitute. anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/resources-links/Pandanus/Bittersweet_An_ Indo-Fijian_Experience.pdf ———. (2011). A Vision for Change: AD Patel and the Politics of Fiji. Canberra: ANU Press. –––. (2019). ‘Memories of Indenture’, In Brij V Lal (Ed), Levelling Wind: Remembering Fiji (pp. 3–19). Canberra: ANU Press. Lal, B. V., & Munro, D. (2014). ‘Non-Resistance in Fiji’, In M. S. Hassankhan et al. (Eds), Resistance and Indian Indenture Experience: Comparative Perspectives (pp. 121–56. New Delhi: Manohar. Naidu, V. (2004). ‘Searching’, In Brij V. Lal (Ed), Bittersweet: The Indo-Fijian Experience (pp. 373–386). Pandanus Books. Prasad, K. K. (1978). The Gujaratis of Fiji 1900–1945: A Study of an Indian Immigrant Trader Community. Diss. The University of British Columbia. Ray, K. A. (1996, April/November). ‘Kunti, Lakshmibhai and the ‘Ladies’: Women’s Labour and the Abolition of Indentured Emigration from India’, Labour, Capital and Society, 29:1/2, 126–152. https://www.jstor.org/sta ble/43158085

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Sanadhya, T. (1991). My Twenty-One Years in the Fiji Islands and the Story of the Haunted Line. Translated and Ed by John Dunham Kelly and Uttra Kumari Singh. Suva: Fiji Museum. Schröer, F. (2016). ‘Of Testimonios and Feeling Communities: Totaram Sanadhya’s Account of Indenture’, South Asia Chronicle: 6, 149–174. https://dnb.info/1185813187/34 Singh, S. (2020). ‘Indentured Women and Resistance in the Plantations’, In Amba Pande (Ed), Indentured and Post-Indentured Experiences of Women in the Indian Diaspora (pp. 81–91). Singapore: Springer. https://doi.org/10. 1007/978-981-15-1177-6_6 Tinker, H. (1974). A New System of Slavery: The Export of Indian Labour Overseas 1830-1920. New York: Oxford University Press. Vahed, G. (2017). ‘Brij V. Lal: Rooting for History’, In Doug Munro and Jack Corbett (Eds), Wearing Witness: Essays in Honour of Brij V. Lal (pp. 67–85). Canberra: ANU Press.

PART II

Culture, Music, and Songs

CHAPTER 6

Tracing the Girmitiya Consciousness in Bhojpuri Folkloric Songs: A Study of Three Bhojpuri Video Songs Anisha Badal-Caussy and Jay Ganesh Dawosing

Introduction Insight on girmitiya (the word girmitiya, in this chapter, has the purpose of denoting plurality of the girmitiya) migration (or Indentured labourers migration) has been largely communicated in oral Bhojpuri folksongs traditions. These oral traditions were and are still perpetrated by women who produce and disseminate folksongs on issues like male migration in diaspora countries (Jassal, 2012, p. 5; Singh, 2017, p. 51) during the early and late nineteenth-century indenture period. Offset to the grand narratives of women folk singers, this chapter focuses on the Bhojpuri male

A. Badal-Caussy (B) · J. G. Dawosing Department of Mauritian Studies, Department of Bhojpuri, Folklore and Oral Traditions, Mahatma Gandhi Institute, Moka, Mauritius e-mail: [email protected] J. G. Dawosing e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 N. Singh and S. Chapparban (eds.), Literature of Girmitiya, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4621-9_6

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singers who have recounted cultural narratives that are directly linked to the history of the girmitiya since the beginning of the twenty-first century till date. The choice of analysing the cultural productions of these male singers rests upon the idea of tracing the girmitiya Diasporas experienced by the girmitiya during indenture period. Notwithstanding the idea that Bhojpuri oral traditional folksongs are only carried and sustained by women, this chapter presents the girmitiya migration as also a theme explored in oral folksongs sung by males. This study deals with an alternate presentation of the girmitiya Diasporas, from the perspectives of two cultural investigators, generating substance from digitalized Bhojpuri songs sung by male singers about the indenture period in the twenty-first century with attempts to discover and rediscover the girmitiya consciousness. Nearly two centuries later, male singers of the twenty-first century have sought to excavate the ruins of the Bhojpuri oral traditions folksongs in different Diasporas around the world. The extent to which the spread of Bhojpuri folksongs has reached a global platform is a questionable topic as Bollywood songs have been outreaching people of various origins outside the boundaries of India while creating a marginal status for folk songs appeal worldwide. Despite this limitation of being engulfed by Bollywood songs, the globalisation of the Bhojpuri folksongs as “a genre of the global,” is an established concept elaborated by Biswas (2006, p. 18). This chapter is premised upon this logic to trace the cultural folkloric songs in different geographical areas in a “post-indenture period” (Lal, 2019, p. 17). This chapter reckons the word post in post- indenture period as the time after the indenture period. Taking male Bhojpuri singers from Mauritius, Suriname, and Fiji after the indenture period, a frame of reference of indenture in terms of conceptualising the commonalities and differences among the histories of these three countries, geographically remote from India, is sought in the twenty-first century. However, this frame of reference in this study focuses on a subset of the Bhojpuri folk songs, which Mishra in the handbook of Routledge (Mishra, 2017, p. 42) refers as the girmit/indenture lore. Associating the girmitiya with the girmit lore is, in itself, a determiner for developing the ideas received by the singers about the girmitiyas. In this respect, identifying Calcutta Se Chootal Jahaaj rewritten by Suchita Ramdin in Mauritius, Girmitiya Kantraki by Raj Mohan in Suriname, and Fiji Bidesia by Late Master Santa Prasad Bahadur as Bhojpuri girmit lore songs provide the necessary conditions to be considered as part of the girmit lore, reconstructing the narratives of

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the girmitiyas as the songs present musical styles that are commensurable to the Birha genre, defined in English terms as the pain of being away (Manuel, 2012, p. 117), much prevalent in the selected songs. The melody genre of the birha songs takes an innovative stance when the songs cross the borders of the Diasporas through narratives of the girmitiya. Drawing from a border crossing perspective mingled with the medium of globalised form of digital video songs available on the Internet (Youtube) extends the opportunity of considering the cultural influences these three Bhojpuri songs inhere. The concern of this study is not to translate one country’s context to another country’s context but the central concern is to relate the similarities and differences of the girmit lore songs across the borders of the girmitiya Diasporas. Border studies from “a politics of location and strangeness,” to quote Anzaldúa (1987) have extensively interrogated the influences of the world on the diasporas. Similar to Anzaldúa’s perception of border crossing that deconstructs and locates border crossings through transnational linkages, this chapter analyses the transnational linkages produced by the girmit lore songs across the borders of the diaspora of the girmitiya. Writing under the rubric of border crossing (Saldívar, 1997) makes plausible the common process of disseminating the girmit lore in the presentation format of the video songs, spanning across borders to reach far geographical locations. Taking this suggestion as springboard in this research entails the idea of transgressing the borders of the girmitiya Diasporas to establish links with India in the selected songs. A pertinent question on how do border crossings of the girmit lore songs become a reality in these countries arises as the historical aspects of the girmitiya unfolds in the songs. More explicitly is the question on how do the birha songs help in making the border crossings of the Diasporas a reality? The border crossing of the Diasporas becomes a matter of concern as the mode of communicating the traditional oral Bhojpuri girmit lore songs have changed to communicate what were once traditionally limited to folk for an extension across borders in a networking of video songs where connectivity to the Internet relies on hosting communication (Waltari, 2013, p. 2). The spread of the selected video songs across the borders of their countries is identified in this chapter as the impact of tracing the origins of the Indian diaspora in the countries of the selected songs. To trace the origins of the Indian diaspora, these songs under study focus on the girmitiya consciousness in history. The girmitiya history is a vast terrain of enquiry and this chapter seeks to analyse the girmitiya from a particular aspect of

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history which is to understand the past through the knowledge of some contents (Rusen, 2007, p. 169). Drawing from Rusen’s (2007) opinion of historical contents, some of the girmitiya historical contents are enmeshed in the selected songs for this chapter. Focusing on these girmitiya historical contents allows a trace to the “backward reference […] built into the very language we make sense of our world” (Lee, 2004, p. 5) in the songs. The possibility of tracing the backward references of the girmitiya in the songs allows a potential question to arise as how is the historical consciousness of the girmitiya relatable to the girmitiya consciousness present in the three songs. This question gives rise to another question on how are the similar as well as different sorts of girmitiya consciousness presented in the songs? The girmitiya consciousness emerge as a site of exchange of what was in store in history to explore the latter’s consciousness as revealed in the selected songs. Girmitiya consciousness, in this chapter, is studied as much as historical contents are exposed from the imagination of girmitiya songs under study. Tapping on historical imaginary representations in the songs mingled with the “cross-cultural exchanges” (Bhabha, 1994) of these very imaginative representations develops the girmitiya consciousness as an unstable girmit lore genre, corroborated by the influences of the “cultural imaginary of the internet” (Yar, 2014, p. 12) embedded in the songs. Imagining the girmitiya consciousness across borders facilitated by the Internet fabricates the intentional outcome of the songs as significant to be an unstable girmit lore genre. This perspective is further mediated when the spread of the songs across borders also informs an engagement with the content visual semantics along with the language use in these very songs. The languages used, that are, different dialects of the Bihari Bhojpuri with reference to the visual content of the songs arises a potential question on; how do the languages use mediate the girmitiya consciousness in the visual content of the songs? The girmitiya consciousness, not only, becomes a site of exchange of history, but also, an exchange of the cultures and languages spread across borders in the songs.

Sampling Calcutta Se Chootal Jahaaj See Table 6.1.

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Table 6.1 Traditional Girmitiya song Calcutta Se Chootal Jahaaj rewritten by Suchita Ramdin (1989), performed by Roots Foundation and translated by Prof. Ramesh Ramdoyal depicts their agony during the unending voyage to an unknown world which fate had chosen as their new home, leaving behind their beloved ones, and their country, their hope of seeing their motherland gone forever Original

Translation

Dhire-dhire chala Calcutta se chootal jahaaj, bhanwarwa dheere chale Khoye niklal naya sansaar Bhanwarwa dheere chalo Chalala Bhawanipur deepo se Saath mein leke girmitiya

From Calcutta the ship is speeding away From Calcutta the ship is speeding away O waves, flow slowly Slowly slowly, o waves flow slowly From the depot of Bhawanipur The ship is speeding away to a new world In her holds A human cargo Not a ship! Alas! But a floating dungeon, And we, its wretched victims, o brother! Night and day we toss and pray; A father lies here, a son lies there None knowing what has befallen the other Fate has played a cruel trick on us; Where we are going no one can tell What land awaits us no one can guess For aught we know, our nightmare has just begun Only God can now save us Slowly slowly, o waves flow slowly One week has passed One month has passed Every moment is like a year We have left our country, We have left our homes We roll and pitch Between sea and sky Our mind full of torment Our soul filled with terror, Our life hanging by a thread In the immensity of sky and sea Hunger and disease are our constant companions, Death dogs our steps every inch of the way

Bhail jahaaj ek kaal kotri Dang bhaye sab Girmitiya Baap kahin ta bhai kahin ba Vidna chaal chalal bhaiya Kawan nagariya jaike rokihe Ab maalik rakhihei hamar laaj Bhanwarwa dheere chala Hafta bital mahina bital Ik-ik ghari laage ik-ik saal

Deswa chootal gharwa chootal Jeeyawa derail man hoil behaal Beech samandar dagmag dole Kare paranwa hahakaar

Sanghatiya ba bhook bemary Pag-pag mawt hanse bhaiya

(continued)

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Table 6.1 (continued) Original

Translation

Ab chutal re deshwa kea as Bhanwarwa dheere chala Calcutta chootal bari door Bhanwarwa dheere chala

Now that the hope of seeing our motherland again Is forever gone, O waves flow slowly Slowly, slowly… Calcutta has been left very far behind… O waves flow slowly Calcutta has been left very far behind… o waves flow slowly

The song deals with the state of mind of the indentured labourers travelling most probably for the first time in their life to such a long distance in Mauritius

Girmitiya Kantraki See Table 6.2.

Fiji Bidesia See Table 6.3.

Methodology This research is premised upon analysing the Bhojpuri folkloric songs from a study of three Bhojpuri songs in connection to the girmitiya consciousness. The choice of these three songs was done based on a purposeful sampling, used in a qualitative research of the girmitiya in the songs. Choosing to work with the various depictions of the girmitiya consciousness, this chapter has identified a common girmitiya link among the selected samples. The challenge of this purposeful sampling was in choosing the sample songs based on the criteria of a common girmitiya history as well as the far-reached girmitiya host lands in comparison to their motherland India, one video song from Mauritius, Suriname and, Fiji were selected. The chapter engages in a comparative study of the three girmitiya songs while firmly rooting itself in delineating the dual theoretical framework; that is the border theory and the cultural imaginary theory to articulate the girmitiya consciousness in an expressive and reflective manner.

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Table 6.2 Girmitiya song Girmitiya Kantraki (2017), a Champaran Talkies Production, produced by Neetu Chandra and sung by Raj Mohan in the attire of an Indentured Labourer and the video has a cartoon story of the girmitiya in Suriname Original

Translation

Saat samundar paar karaayke Ek naya desh ke sapna dekhaayke Le gail door Surnaam bataai ke

Crossing the seven seas In search of a new world They took us far away to ‘Suriname’ as they called it Clothes, money, jewellery, some medicinal herbs-all tied up together with our hopes We trust only the strength of Lord Ram Now on the floating boat! At times, we were sad and repented our decision of leaving the motherland May the sun also shine on our fate May it rain abundantly!

Kaparaa lata kharcha gahina gathari mei baan ke sab aasaa Kirpa shri ram ke mutthi mei dusar ke sahaara paani pe Kabhi dil ghabraay, thora pachtaay Saay tab jay ke din bariya aai Aanch surooj ke kuch humke bhi bhaagya mei mili, Barsan tarsaay ke Saat samundar paar karaayke Duyi-teen mahina jahaj pe, Rishta -nata ta ban hi jay Contract jaayke theiyli mein

Ek-ek bichaar dimaag mei aay, oo desh mein kaisan log bhetaay Kheti-bari bariya sairaay, panch baris kas ke kamaai ke Lawtam gaon apan paisaa jamaai ke Saat samundar paar karaaike Kuch din Surnam mein rahi ked hire-dhire aadat par jay Ab itna din mehnat karke sab cchor-cchaar vaapas ke jay

Jeelu(dil)bole ab hihe rahi jay, sarkaar ke bal par khet mil jay Man ke kona mein ee sapna aaveke rahige ek din gaon aapan jaaike

To cross the seven seas More than two–three months spent on the ship We have now developed strong bond of friendship with one another The contract paper still kept safe in the bag Different thoughts kept coming to the mind, ‘How will the people over there behave with us?’ ‘I will toil in the field for 5 years And then I will return to my village!’ Crossing the Seven Seas… ‘I will stay for a few days in Suriname And then gradually, I will get used to it! After so many days of hardship and work, How will I leave here and go back to India! My heart now wants to stay here in Suriname ‘The Government is going to give us land’ With this thought in mind, that one day I will be the owner in a village

(continued)

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Table 6.2 (continued) Original

Translation

Saat samundar paar karaayke…kaise humke oo bharmaayke, le gail door Surnam bataayke Saat samundar par karaayke…

Let’s cross the seven seas How they fooled us, and took us to Suriname Crossing the Seven Seas…

The song languishingly narrates the story of the girmitiya who travelled from India to Suriname, tracing the ordeal faced in the ship transporting them, along with the girmitiya life they led in Suriname

Table 6.3 Girmitiya song Fiji Bidesia sung by Ranpoo Singh in 2010, written by late Master Santa Prasad Bahadur Korokade India School, Lekutu, Bua, Fiji Islands, 1961 Original

Translation

Kawn nagariya mein tohra baserwa ho Hamri gayal kab aawe re badariya ho Fujiya ke tapuwa rupiya hi rupiya Baithle jahajwa mei kismet bidesiya ho Din mahina paniya hi paniya

Which place do you stay? When will you come to my house? There is a lot of money in Fiji Island You have crossed the sea sitting in the boat For days and months, you have been travelling in the boat The ship has finally arrived its destination It will be only after the five years of ‘contract’ That your lover will come back to you Rains and hard work You cleaned the forest and carried stones The Master would call you ‘Cooliya’ They planted sugarcanes in the field Finally smoke came out of the chimney Sugar was produced Because of this ‘Contract’(girmit), you have suffered a lot The British even whipped you in the field

Pahounch gailan bhaiya jahajiya ho Panch baras girmit kaath le hei Tohra balam tab mili hei badariya Baaris aur garmi khoon pasinnwa Junglaa aur patharaa oraille ‘cooliya’ kehke bulaiyre Colom raa ho Khetwa mein ganna bohaawe re phiraniyaa Chaaron millam mein dhounwan jo dekhaile Chini chiniya banaawe siryasari ho Girmit khatir bahut dukh jhele

Khetwa mei chaabukwa chalaa re phirangiya ho

(continued)

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Table 6.3 (continued) Original

Translation

Hari bhari khetiya banaike bidesia Fuji to ban gail humni ke desiya ho Bas gaili fujiya mein banke girmitiyya ho Tohra balam ab na awe re badariya ho Likh gail Kaka Bahadur Santa Baithee sunawe purvaz ke bidesia Tohra balan ab na awe ho badariya

Yet, your effort brought greenery to the field Now Fiji has become my country I stay here in Fiji as an Indentured Your lover will not come back now Uncle Bahadur Santa has written Sit and listen to the saga of our ancestors Your lover will not come back dear!

The song depicts the saga of an Indian villager who left his country in search of a better living condition in Fiji Island. It is about a lover who has left his beloved to go to Fiji Island where it is believed to be a rich place. Like other Indians, he has been fooled and embarked in the ship to work

This chapter analyses the girmitiya consciousness from the point of view of two cultural investigators to produce a write- up that is more of a reader- response analysis of the songs. As supporting reading strategies, scholars from the fields of border crossing, cultural imaginary, and the girmitiya have been used in this chapter.

Delimiting the Borders of Girmitiya Consciousness in the Songs Oral traditions have been seeking to transmit cultures and traditions from generations to generations by word of mouth. This particular feature of oral traditions transmission has the agenda of continuing the politics of remembering from generations to generations within the country the oral tellers are. Remembering oral traditions has the main concern of tapping into symbols and past references for the folk community to receive the transmitted cultures and traditions at the reception end. However, this reception of oral traditions in the context of generations of former diaspora communities becomes a focus for analysing the oral traditions as dispersed in the then diaspora countries. Remembering oral traditions in the twenty-first century discloses the transnational links of former diaspora communities of India dispersed in Mauritius, Suriname, and, Fiji in the form of the girmit lore. The transnational links to India is mediated from the girmit lore remembrance of the girmitiya consciousness by a

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generation that is forgetting about the girmitiya. To remember the girmitiya consciousness in this century engenders implications on the border crossings of the girmit lore in a novel format of oral traditions that is true to the Internet hype which is the video dissemination of the orality of the girmitiya across borders of the countries of girmit lore productions. The format of video dissemination of the girmit lore entails producing a new outlook on the traditional transmission of oral girmit traditions. Choosing the word dissemination rather than transmission of orality in this chapter provides broader scope for reckoning the “aesthetic artistic value” (Stecker, 2012, p. 3) of these girmit lore in the videos selected. The aesthetic artistic value of these videos is not only due to the saliency of the traditional aspect of orality in the songs but also due to the fact that the girmit contents of the videos are not topic of everyday discussions among the twenty-first-century population. Similarly, whenever this chapter employs the word girmitiya consciousness, it becomes important to understand the connotation of these two words as the aspect of narrating the girmitiya while accentuating on “the cultural situatedness of the storied selves” (Smith, 2003, p. 92) in the twenty-first century. This cultural situatedness can be interpreted in the common symbols for explaining the girmitiya consciousness that have been similar in these three countries. Symbols, being an integral part of orality is showcased in common symbols of the white men and the sugarcane fields associated to the girmitiya consciousness. These two symbols have been differently dealt in the three songs with the metaphor of the sea route as announcing the would be pain inflicted by the white men and the toiling of the sugarcane fields in Calcutta Se Chootal Jahaaj, while the symbols of the white men is one of treachery and the sugarcane fields become the girmitiya source of living in Girmitiya Kantraki. However, the symbols of white men and sugarcane fields become closely linked as symbols of turmoil for the girmitiya in Fiji Bidesia. Despite these differences, the girmitiya consciousness becomes very much situated in stories they narrate when common symbols of white men and sugarcane fields are employed in the songs. The common symbols of the girmitiya consciousness have crossed the borders of the former diaspora communities when perspectives of the orality in the selected songs are perceived transcending the countries where the songs are produced. Adopting a border perspective in this chapter informs the welcoming of multiplicity through the songs that was otherwise denied when oral traditions were taken as isolated

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within the borders of their countries of production. A border perspective allows the new culture of disseminating orality in the songs to “[adopt, modify, and, enrich]” (Aigner-Varoz, 2000, p. 48) while retaining the original meanings of the girmitiya consciousness to permeate across borders of the songs’ production countries. Taking the musical quality of the birha in these three songs reproduces the relations with both “the matrabhumi (motherland-India) and the karmabhumi (hostlandMauritius/Suriname/Fiji),” to quote Kaur and Prasad (2017, p. 146) in terms of elegiac couplets in the songs. The Birha in the three songs describe differences in denouncing the elegy of the girmitiya consciousness. These differences lies in the narratives of first the girmitiya crossing the Indian Ocean sea from Bhowanipore Calcutta to Apravasi Ghat in reminiscence of the motherland in Calcutta Se Chootal Jahaaj, second the thoughts of the motherland and acceptance of the host land by the girmitya in Girmitiya Kantraki, and third the willed separation of the girmitiya lover wanting to stay in the host land rather than going back to his beloved in his motherland in Fiji Bidesia. The lyrical contents are different as each birha narrative in these songs have been adopted in the country of production, modified, and, enriched to suit both the girmitiya as different individuals as well as the girmitiya as collective, bearing similar girmitiya consciousness of being separated from the Motherland and attempting to adapt in the host land. Transcending the borders of the countries’ songs productions provide a reconstruction and appropriation of the girmitiya countries as sites of identity displacement in the girmitiya consciousness. A border approach entails dealing with exile in the host land and return to the motherland in the songs but when taken altogether, the songs entail a communication of common exile and return analogy to produce a mis-en-oeuvre of girmitiya consciousness. This mis-en-oeuvre of the girmitiya consciousness is arguably due to the blending of the indigenous language popular music, which is the Bhojpuri language in Bihar, India, known as Calcutta in Mauritius, Sarnami in Suriname, and Koine in Fiji, with the musical birha styles to vest the songs as vehicles of cultural influences for the articulation of a “space of regional belonging” (Fiol, 2012, p. 447) to be crisscrossed across the songs regional belonging. The idea of disseminating the songs across borders also engages the girmitiya consciousness to be disseminated in ways that their consciousness can be viewed as displacement from their host lands to connect with their similar fates of being far from their same motherland. The girmitiya consciousness, thence, become topical to the

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melodic resources of the birha, allowing the rhythm to flow as the setting of the girmitiya unfolds in the songs. Similar patterns of free rhythm in the songs’ elegiac couplets can be perceived whenever verses in the three songs end with regular rhyming patterns. Regularity in the songs’ rhyming patterns in the first and last stanzas of the three songs informs a common connection about exile and return of the girmitiya consciousness in all the three songs to connect their identity displacement from host land to host land.

The Passage In-Between of the Girmitiya: Tropes of Cultural Imagination Delineating the girmitiya consciousness in the host lands is neither to measure the cartographic distance between one hostland with another host land nor is it to prioritise one host land culture over another. Notwithstanding this othering mechanism between host lands, the girmitiya consciousness in each host land do present local culturalspecific tropes that are proper to the host land. The specificity of local cultural specific tropes gain credence when there is interplay of girmitiya consciousness oral repertoire mingled with the global web twenty-firstcentury situation. This interplay arguably informs a cultural imagination iterated through “historical imagination” (Sinha, 2015, p. 822) in the video songs, facilitating what was once restricted to the borders of a country to transcend a country’s border in the same way the girmitiya once transcended the borders of their motherland to go to host lands. The cultural imagination iterated in the video songs is but a reiteration of a historical imagination that has configured the cultural imagination under study. To fill in the caveat of an absence of studies in the cultural imagination concerning the girmitiya consciousness imbued in video songs, this part of the chapter seeks to trace the girmitiya local “peripheral cultural formats” (Roldan-Santiago, 2005, p. 3) as they have their way into a global common girmitiya consciousness in video formats. The cultural imagination present in the video songs is staged when host lands cultural differences becomes a progression of tropes tracing the motherland imagination to host land imagination. The cultural imagination in the songs position the context in which the girmitiya consciousness is triggered. These cultural differences in the different host lands under study posit problematic when girmitiya go to host lands in search of different resources leading cultural differences to occur in orality. The

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cultural imagination is vested upon a social periphery of destitution which the girmitiya carried as their legacy from their motherland to the host lands to encounter a state of being “in-between” (Bhabha, 1996) in the girmitiya consciousness. This in-between state is not only oral through the elegiac couplets but the girmitiya consciousness is metaphorical when tropes become associated to their state of being. Their state of being inbetween two cultures, that is the motherland’s culture and the host land’s culture is mediated in the rites of passage the girmitiya undergo when they leave Calcutta, India to go to the now proclaimed World Heritage sites; Apravasi Ghat, Mauritius, Paramaribo, Suriname, and Levuka, Fiji. In Calcutta se chootal jahaaj, the trope of separation become prevalent in the use of the title of the song that is the reminiscence of “chootal” (separation) through the accentuated pitch when singing “jahaaj” (ship) as an emphasis on leaving Calcutta by ship to go to Apravasi Ghat. The trope of the “kantraki” (contract) in Girmitiya Kantraki (Indentured Labourer Contract) underlines the cause of the separation from India to Paramaribo that is the Indentured Labourer contract of the girmitiya. If one song deals with the separation trope, then the second song showcases another trope of contract as the cause of this separation, and the third song Fiji Bidesia emphasies on the trope of settlement of the girmitiya in Levuka Fiji through the perspective of a “balam ab na awe,” that is the lover will not return to his beloved in the motherland. These three songs furbishes the cultural imaginary of the girmitiya consciousness from the use of the ship, agreement contract, and, settlement tropes to depict the cultural differences in the narratives of the songs, but the idea to retain is that the “narrativization” (Korom, 1994, p. 69) of these songs bear the same mode of birha expression which is the girmitiya consciousness caught in the system of marginality and misery in the host lands. The cultural imagination of the girmitiya consciousness reflects the promises and dreams of the girmitiya when tracing the in-between passage of the girmitiya in the sea journey to the host lands. The sea metaphor building upon navigating and marine tropes create an affiliation with the in-between passage describing the girmitiya consciousness resulting in a vocalisation and visualisation of orality disseminated in the three songs. The in-between passage of the girmitiya consciousness melts into a culturally predictive linguistic feature of the sea metaphor. In ancient Hindu mythology the navigating and marine tropes of the sea was otherwise known as kala pani, (black water) the sea of profane but girmitiya travelling it espouse it as the “kala pani imaginary” (Pirbhai & Mahabir,

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2013, p. 142) to suggest exploration of the girmitiya consciousness of the profane kala pani into something sacred. The subversion of the profane into the sacred is an idea that promises negotiation of legitimising kala pani route as forging new consciousness while juggling with the 5 years Indentured Labourer contract. The vocalisation in Girmitiya Kantraki supports the foolish dream that the kala pani crossing promises in the regular rhyming scale finishing with /ke/ in “karayke” and “dekhayke” found in the song’s first and last two verses in similarity to the paired regular rhyming scale finishing with /æ/ and /O/ in the first four verses of stanza 1 in Fiji Bidesia to denounce the shipping as a new beginning for the destitute girmitiya; “Fujiya ke tapuwa rupiya hi rupiya, Baithle jahajwa mei kismet bidesiya ho.” However, Calcutta se chootal jahaaj presents an alternative outlook to the kala pani imaginary wherein the ship is commensurable to a “Kaal kotri,” that is a floating dungeon metaphorically carrying its prisoners to a host land. The visualisation of the cultural imaginary of the girmitiya consciousness supports the girmitiya as prisoners in Calcutta se chootal jahaaj as the sea bears a hostile whirlpool image before showing the visual of a ship. Similarly, Fiji Bidesia shows the sea journey of the girmitiya as hurdled with sea storms. Offset to these two songs, Girmitiya Kantraki provides a cartoonist characterisation of the girmitiya on their sea journey but the cartoons bear a serious tone as the score of the song elevates in tonality when narrating the ship incident. The oral and visuals are different in the songs but a sense of déjà-vu is produced when the kala pani crossing is portrayed as the profane in each songs’ beginning but as the narration progresses, the girmitiya consciousness begin to associate the mythic profane with a potential means of enriching themselves in Girmitiya Kantraki and Fiji Bidesia, except for Calcutta se Chootal Jahaaj, which remains languishing of India till its end. The girmitiya consciousness is not only limited to the kala pani crossing as the portrayal of their in-betweenness state, but the land in the host lands also provides a comprehensive outlook of the in-between transition between their motherland and the new host land. Proceeding with the cultural imagination of the land as a terrain for developing the inbetweenness state in the girmitiya consciousness reveals the “coercive and deceptive role of the arkatis (recruiters),” to quote Munro (2012, p. 9). The sugarcane plantation site becomes a land metaphor that is explored in the three songs’ cultural imagination. The girmitiya accentuates their in-betweenness state as the songs render the girmitiya consciousness as “vox populi” (voice of people) (Manuel, 2012, p. 124). The formerly

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melted girmitiya consciousness into the kala pani can at this point of the discussion concretise into the cultural imaginary of the land. This view is mediated when the vocalisation of Calcutta se chootal jahaaj, while only limiting itself to the sea, provides visuals of how the arkatis would put them in a poor situation through visual reconstruction of people working in the sugarcane plantations. The cartoon visualisation of the girmitiya in Girmitiya Kantraki provides an extension of the plight of the girmitiya in the host land, Suriname. The imaginative use of cartoon characters as girmitiya provides insight on the adaptability qualities of the girmitiya in Suriname while providing hints at their consciousness through careful use of the score to highlight their emotions in various event sequences in the song. Similarly, Fiji Bidesia reproduces the cultural imaginary of the girmitiya consciousness through artefacts of the girmitiya period that are the snapshots of the girmitiya in hues of black and white toiling in the sugarcane plantations when the arkatis had shown them dreams of rupees. The cultural imaginary of the land becomes reminiscent of the beliefs collision of the girmitiya before encountering the host land and after reaching the host land in the three songs, producing their girmitiya consciousness to suspend in disbelief in the face of the land situation deception when compared to their dreams in the ships.

Transformation of Girmitiya Consciousness in the Songs’ Visuals and Languages Working with a dual theoretical framework of border perspective and cultural imaginary perspective entails a transformation in the girmitiya consciousness in the songs. This transformation is closely connected with a similarity in the history of crossing the kala pani by the girmitiya. The similarity in girmitiya history in the host lands engages a cultural imaginary that is not limited to the borders of the host lands. Across host land borders, enriched with a historical similarity between the modus operandi of the passage from the motherland to the host lands informs an idea of “connections and conjunction” (Gokhale & Lal, 2015, p. 246) among Mauritius, Suriname, and, Fiji as host lands. Connecting border crossing perspective of these countries with cultural imagination in the three songs engenders the consciousness of girmitiya to conjunct across their host lands. This is being delineated in this part of the chapter as the girmitiya consciousness connections and conjunctions among host

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lands. The intersection of crossing borders and the cultural imagination present the girmitiya consciousness as transformed into a common cultural connection and conjunction as the girmit lore repertoire in the three songs. Cultural connections among the girmitiya host lands are effected as host lands borders become transcending due to the common cultural imaginary of the girmitiya consciousness orality in the three songs. These three songs open a broadening of the sea route, not limiting the motherland to one host land but to various host lands through the perspective of what Brubaker states as “being lost altogether” (2005, pp. 2–3) in host lands. Brubaker’s statement is extended in this part when the transformation of the girmitiya consciousness in Mauritius, Suriname, and, Fiji as host lands are presented through a network of dispersed girmitiya consciousness, not limited by the borders of a nation. However, there is a duality in what Brubaker suggests as “boundary maintenance” (2005, p. 6) of the motherland culture preservation as the songs provide visual and linguistic depictions of both a cultural assimilation of the girmitiya in the sugarcane fields host lands while reminiscing the motherland. This duality in the girmitiya consciousness reflects the host lands experience of the “doubleness of similarity and difference” (Hall, 1993, p. 227) among host lands. The doubleness which Hall (1993) explains in his work is extrapolated in this part as the girmitiya consciousness in the three songs to be closely linked with the common yet different cultural connections they develop. These cultural connections are transcended through a common narrative of girmitiya crossing the sea with a difference of their experience in the host lands. The difference in terms of cultural connections is perceived in visual aesthetics when the girmitiya adapt differently in the host lands, with Calcutta Se Chootal Jahaaj as lamenting the forsaken Calcutta while Girmitiya Kantraki highlights how the girmitiya were fooled and Fiji Bidesia denotes the girmitiya’s permanent residence in Fiji. However, the similarity in terms of sequencing the girmitya consciousness, tracing their sea route life till their host land life procure a culture of adaptability sameness in the three songs wherein the Bhojpuri linguistic repertoire accentuates the dreams of “saat samundar paar karayke” (Crossing seven seas: Girmitya Kantraki) to face the reality of “khetwa mei chaabukwa chalaa re phirangiya” (the whipping of the girmitiya by the white man in the fields: Fiji Bidesia). Taking these examples from the songs are not isolate of the cultural connections specific to one host land, but these Bhojpuri linguistic repertoire have transcended

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into a commonality of the cultural connections of dreams and reality collision present in the girmitiya consciousness found in these three songs. The assertion of cultural connections thence, in terms of visuality and language, in correspondence to the girmitya consciousness show difference with a sense of similarity in the songs’ sequencing of their life conditions. The cultural connections between host lands corroborate the cultures of the host lands to conjunct in the three songs. This idea is mediated in the echoes of the girmitiya consciousness fraught with struggles of the girmitiya period. With the cultural connections informed in the songs common girmitiya consciousness sequencing, the idea of host land cultures to conjunct is made possible by a process of “assemblage” (Stage & Ingerslev, 2015, p. 122). The suggestion of assemblage is expounded in the transformation of girmitiya consciousness to take into account isolate host land cultural assemblage to be a subset of different host lands common cultural assemblages iterated through the girmitiya consciousness. This transformation in the girmitiya consciousness does not consider cultural assemblages to be isolated but the idea developed is that cultural assemblages crisscross to disseminate across host lands to form a unified single assemblage of girmitiya consciousness. This assemblage unification of the girmitiya consciousness in the three songs is supported during the songs cartoon (Girmitiya Kantraki) or snapshots (Calcutta Se Chootal Jahaaj & Fiji Bidesia) visuals of kala pani crossing wherein common apprehensions about the ocean informs a common cultural assemblage of dreading the sea with faint hopes of dreams about host lands depicted in the songs. Girmitiya consciousness is further made to conjunct among the host lands when the girmitiya stay in the host lands in the three songs. Their stay in the host lands is portrayed through signifiers shown in language differences in Fiji Bidesia as the lover betraying the beloved in the motherland to adapt in Fiji, or in Girmitiya kantraki and Calcutta Se Chootal Jahaaj the language employed is more inclined towards delineating the lost of the motherland. The girmitiya consciousness, thence, despite differences in adaptability in the host lands is shown to adapt from the perspective of a unified cultural assemblage of girmitiya consciousness of not going, whether willingly or unwillingly, to the motherland.

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Conclusion Borders and, cultural imagination are significant elements to depict the girmitiya consciousness in the three songs studied. The richness of girmitiya lives depiction in the three songs is reflected through this chapter’s delineation of the sea route crossing from the motherland to the lives they lead in the host lands. But, this chapter also extends the scope of the girmitiya consciousness by analysing the similarities and differences among the host lands. The girmitiya consciousness, while depicted in different local Bhojpuri songs girmit lore informs a transformation of the already termed unstable girmit lore defined as the passage between motherland to a host land. This instability in girmit lore has been stretched across the limits of local host lands borders to establish cultural connections and conjunctions that transform the girmitiya consciousness of specific host lands into a common borderless connected girmitiya consciousness. In the twenty-first century, when people are crossing oceans for migration purposes, these three songs from Mauritius, Suriname, and Fiji showcase the common past girmitiya period when the sugarcane fields was the reality in contradiction to their dreams they had while crossing oceans. Despite the hardship the girmitiya in the sugarcane fields in these three songs shared, the reception of cultural specific local orality is perceived when differences in terms of presenting variations in the struggles of the girmitiya are described in the fooled girmitiya in Girmitiya Kantraki, in the quest for money in Fiji Bidesia, and in the ship as floating dungeon in Calcutta Se Chootal Jahaaj. The differences in girmitiya struggles in this chapter have been sought to resolve in similarities of the visuals and linguistic repertoire causing a common girmitiya consciousness to stay in the host lands in the three songs. The twofold view of both similarities and differences among girmitiya consciousness in different host lands made cultures of girmitiya to conjunct through an assemblage of a common girmitiya consciousness.

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Youtube Videos Mohan, R. Girmitiya Kantraki (2017), available at https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=GsLVqN0yOxY Ranpoo, S. Fiji Bidesia (2010), available at https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=0qqnGtNEYHA

CHAPTER 7

The Poetics of Unsung Chutney Singer Lakhan Karriah of Trinidad Kumar Mahabir

Introduction The twin island nation of Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean is a multi-ethnic society. Its population consists of the descendants of enslaved Africans and indentured Indians, Chinese and Portuguese, along with other Europeans, Arabs and mixed-race peoples. It is home to a variety of musical genres that embody social commentary, rebellion and celebration. The popular musical genres include calypso, rapso, ex-tempo, soca, parang, pichakaree, chutney and chutney soca. Calypso originated in Trinidad as an improvised song usually sung by slave singers, or chantwells (from French chantuelle). It has its roots in call-and-response song forms of West African origins (Leu 2). It is usually witty and satirical, with its subject generally a local and topical political or social

K. Mahabir (B) University of Guyana (UG), Georgetown, Guyana e-mail: [email protected] Indo-Caribbean Cultural Centre (ICC), San Juan, Trinidad and Tobago

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 N. Singh and S. Chapparban (eds.), Literature of Girmitiya, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4621-9_7

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event (“Calypso”). Soca, rapso and ex-tempo developed from calypso (“Music of Trinidad and Tobago”). Parang is sung mostly at Christmas time and is of Latin-American—chiefly Venezuelan—origin. It utilises the quatro, maracas (“chac-chac”) and guitar, among other instruments, and is traditionally sung from house to house by serenaders (Taylor qtd. in Ingram; Moodie-Kublalsingh qtd. in Ingram). Pichakaree (or Pichkaree) is an Indo-Trinidadian musical genre named after the syringe or watergun (pichkari) used for squirting abeer (coloured powders mixed with water) during the Phagwa (Holi) festivities (Boodan). Pichakaree songs are usually written as a form of social commentary and are sung using a mixture of Hindi, English and Bhojpuri words (Huber; “Pichakaree”). Chutney music is an indigenous art form of Trinidad and Tobago that derives from folk music brought to the Caribbean by Indian indentured immigrants (Manuel, “Chutney” 23). The lyrics are a mixture of English, Creole and Bhojpuri Hindi. According to Manuel (“Ethnic Identity” 11), chutney music was originally “a category of lively, up-tempo Hindilanguage folk songs and accompanying dance”. It was typically performed at Hindu wedding celebrations by women who sang “ribald songs behind closed doors” (“Chutney Music History”), and the dancing that accompanied it was “highly suggestive” (Vertovec 203). By the 1970s, sexual segregation had been set aside and men and women enjoyed chutney singing and dancing at weddings together (Manuel, “Ethnic Identity” 11). Early chutney points to preserving tradition, but gradually it transformed into a musical repertory, staged publicly with a lead singer and a backing band (Ramnarine, “‘Indian’ Music” 142). It was popularised in performance and through recordings by artists such as Sundar Popo and Lakhan Karriah. Chutney performers were traditionally accompanied by a harmonium, a dholak (a large drum shaped like a barrel) and dhantal (a metal rod struck by another piece of metal in the shape of a horseshoe) (Manuel, “Chutney” 27; Popplewell). However, modern instruments such as guitars and synthesisers were incorporated as early as 1969 when Moean Mohammed produced a recording of Sundar Popo singing his first hit song “Nana and Nani” accompanied by Harry Mahabir and the BWIA National Indian Orchestra (“Sundar Popo Biography”). In the mid-eighties, social inhibitions were further discarded when chutney performances began to be staged in large entertainment venues, although not without pushback from conservative and religious IndoTrinidadians (Rampersad). By the 1990s, chutney was an accepted

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medium for articulating topics such as identity, politics, diaspora and postcolonial sensibility (Ramnarine, “Chutney” 195). Chutney soca is a crossover style, a fast-paced blend of chutney, soca and calypso elements. The term was first coined by Trinidadian Drupatee Ramgoonai in 1987. It is cited as a prime example of how Indo-Trinidadians have established roots in the Caribbean and created an original, syncretic artform (Manuel, “Chutney” 37). Chutney and chutney soca rose to even greater popularity on the national airwaves in 1995. In February 1995, an Afro-Trinidadian, Black Stalin, won the Calypso Monarch prize with his song “Sundar Popo”, dedicated to the eponymous chutney singer (Manuel, “Chutney” 38). In May of that year, Trinidad and Tobago celebrated the 150th anniversary of the arrival of Indian indentured labourers with massive parades and a public holiday (“Indian Arrival Day”; Manuel, “Chutney” 38) and, in November, elected Basdeo Panday as the country’s first Indo-Trinidadian Prime Minister (“Trinidad and Tobago” [Brereton]). For the 1995–1996 Carnival season, chutney was prominent in a way that had not been seen before. Scrunter, an Afro-Trinidadian calypso singer, had won the Soca-Parang competition in December with “Chutkaipang” (“Chutney Music History”), a song that combined the Spanish rhythms of parang with a chutney style (“Chutney Parang”). George Singh, supported by other business owners, launched the first Chutney Soca Monarch competition (“The History of the Chutney Soca Monarch Competition” 4:45–6:55). It attracted crowds of 15,000 and offered large prizes to the winners. Timed to coincide with established Carnival competitions, it was soon accepted as part of the Carnival season (“Chutney Music History”). That season saw a number of non-IndoTrinidadians enter self-described chutney socas for the Soca Monarch competition as well as competing to be Chutney Monarch (Manuel, “Chutney” 39). Brother Marvin won second place in the Calypso Monarch competition with his heartfelt song, “Jahaji Bhai”, that called for racial harmony (although first place went to Cro Cro whose entry admonished Blacks for allowing an Indian to be elected Prime Minister). And Sonny Mann’s Lotay La was a popular choice as Road March tune among steel bands, albeit his attempt to perform it at the Soca Monarch competition was not embraced by the audience, who pelted him with bottles and cans. Manuel posits that “With chutney-soca, Indians had finally ‘arrived’ in the mainstream of Trinidadian culture, and on their own terms” (Manuel, “Chutney” 40).

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Sundar Popo was a pioneer of chutney music and is sometimes referred to as the King of Chutney (Bonneville). Another pioneer was Lakhan Karriah, who hailed from the rural village of Felicity in west-central Trinidad. One of his most popular songs was “Doh Doh Sundar Popo”, a spirited polemic directed at his friend and fellow musician, Sundar Popo.

Poetics in Song Lyrics In this paper, the term poetics refers to the application of literary criticism (of poetry) to the study of the lyrics of Lakhan Karriah’s song “Doh Doh Sundar Popo”. The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics defines poetics as follows: Poetics is the branch of [literary criticism] devoted to poetry, esp. to the study of its characteristic techniques, conventions, and strategies…. On the one hand, it can designate the compositional principles to which a particular poet subscribes…. On the other hand, poetics may be used as a label for any formal or informal survey of the structures, devices, and norms that enable a discourse, genre, or cultural system to produce particular effects…. When employed in this expanded sense, poetics is often implicitly opposed to hermeneutics, i.e., the practice of interpretation. In other words, one explains how something works, not what it means. (Reed 1058–1059)

Like all writer-singers, Lakhan composed his songs to suit a particular musical structure and genre, in this case, chutney. His creative pieces were made into, celebrated in and recorded as songs. His lyrics can stand alone as poems, as all good song lyrics can. Although there has been much discussion on whether songs have the same merit as poems (Cowan; Lindgren), it is a fact that the writing of lyrics demands the same skills as the writing of poetry (literature) and is done with the same seriousness. Both forms require the same mastery of literary mannerisms such as imagination, rhyme, metre and “fanciful” language. Zapruder explains it thus: To say that this means song lyrics are less literary than poems, or require less skill or intelligence or training or work to create, is patently absurd (and, in the case of rap music, patronizing).… Lyrics and poetry, while different genres with different forces and imperatives, have both more and less in common than we might think, and are endeavours of equal value.

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As Mohabir writes of the chutney lyrics of Sundar Popo, “These songpoems straddle boundaries of genre, are amalgamative, express Caribbean creativity, are adaptive, enduring and furthermore, living”. Ramnarine asserts that chutney lyrics are diverse and relevant, covering topics that are historical, social and topical, describing “ribald and individual” experiences. They refer to “Indian cultural practices and objects, the experience of migration and kinship systems” (Ramnarine, “Chutney” 197). In this paper, references are made to the intersections between poetry and Lakhan Karriah’s lyrics, and their points of synthesis. It should be noted, however, that not all song lyrics are poems.

Ethnic Literary Theory Ethnic Studies in the USA is an interdisciplinary study that “intensively examines the histories, languages and cultures of America’s racial and ethnic groups in and of themselves, their relationships to each other, and particularly, in structural contexts of power” (“Proposal” qtd. in HuDehart). It began with the works of African-American writers such as W.E.B. Du Bois in the first half of the twentieth century (Mambrol), and Aimé Césaire, Frantz Fanon, Chinua Achebe, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Toni Morrison and Kwame Anthony Appiah (Brewton) during the Civil Rights Movement era of the 1960s and 70s (Hu-Dehart). This academic movement was followed by Chicana/o Studies and Native American Studies which also began to explore the links between native literary and cultural practices and mainstream Anglo-European theory (Castle). Ethnic Studies deals with understanding the world from the perspective of groups that have historically been marginalised (Dawson et al.). In this paper/presentation, Ethnic Studies is applied to the study of the music (chutney) of an ethnic minority (i.e. East Indians) in the mainstream media in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) and the wider Caribbean. It is a genre of music that reflects and represents the ideologies, customs, culture, identity and practices of this ethnic group and yet, for a long time, it was inaudible and invisible to the rest of society. The analysis of this representative, subaltern voice—marginalised mainly by a dominant Afro-Caribbean culture—is framed in literary theory, particularly Ethnic Literary Studies/Theory. The focus centres on the historical and ethnic content and context of Lakhan Karriah’s chutney songs from a literary perspective, with attention given to one song specifically—“Doh Doh Sundar Popo”.

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The intention of this paper is to shift the spotlight from the conventional canons of Euro-American and Afro-Caribbean postcolonial literature and music, and from their respective cultural perspectives. The focus is transferred to the voice of an ethnic minority group whose chutney songs are being resurrected and celebrated by an academic of the same community, drawing upon approaches from the humanities and social sciences. It is a truism that literature and culture are not politically neutral. Therefore, it is the duty of literary critics of a particular society to examine their own literature through the lens of their own cultural identity in order to read beneath the surface meanings of words on the page (Pennington & Cordell).

Lakhan Karriah A Facebook post created in 2011 in Trinidad mentions local chutney singer Lakhan Karriah in this way: “A great son of FELICITY, he was better than Sundar Popo, he wrote songs for Sundar Popo, but was never given due recognition” (www.facebook.com/164303206914 558/). While this is, of course, one person’s opinion, its premise is worthy of further examination. Lakhan Dun Karriah, a pioneer of chutney singing, was one of three children born to an Indo-Trinidadian mother and an Indian immigrant father. Born on 17 September 1930, he did not learn to read or write English, but growing up in a home where Hindi was openly spoken, he could speak it fluently and also read and write it a little (Gosine 152). Rajkumar Lakhan Karriah, the eldest of his three sons (and a singer and composer in his own right), describes his father as having a passion for music. He was an all-rounder in singing and was “so in love with the music” that he eventually started composing his own songs (Rajkumar Lakhan Karriah, pers. comm.). He mostly composed and revised his songs in his head, both in Hindi and the local vernacular (Gosine 152). According to Gosine (152), the material for Lakhan’s compositions came from his observation of the community and the society in which he lived. Apart from chutney, he also sang bhajans (devotional religious songs) and was a founder member of one of the leading Indian musical groups, the popular Nau Jawan Orchestra (Gosine 153) led by Chanderbally (Myers 127). Lakhan recorded a number of songs such as “Come Leh We Go Gyul”, “Forbidden Fruit”, “School Gyul”, “Aja & Ajee”, “Darling, I Would

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Leave You” and “Doh Doh Sundar Popo” on the “Windsor Records” label, with Moean Mohammed as the producer (all of which are accessible on YouTube). He also performed in front of audiences both in his home country and abroad in places like New York, Toronto, the UK, Guyana and Suriname and regularly received standing ovations (Gosine 153). He died of heart failure in 1985 at the age of 56 (Rajkumar Lakhan Karriah, pers comm.). This paper interrogates and amplifies the brief Facebook critique of this pioneering singer. When we interrogate a text, we ask questions of it that draw out a better understanding of its meaning. We can identify its weaknesses—where it falls short in providing the information we require—and we can then strengthen it through the process of amplification. Amplifying a text means that we expand on it, often by researching additional sources. The Facebook post cited above gives us very little to go on. It is not even a factual statement but a subjective opinion. Yet it is enough to have provoked us into asking questions about and learning more of this pioneering figure and the genre of music that he contributed so much to.

Literature Review This paper documents and analyses both Lakhan’s contribution to the genre of chutney music and the poetics of his songs—neither of which have been done before, although Lakhan had been on the stage/scene since the 1970s. Books (e.g. Manuel: East Indian Music in the West Indies; Ramnarine: Creating Their Own Space The Development of an Indian-Caribbean Musical Tradition), book chapters (e.g. Niranjana: “Hindi Cinema and Popular Music in Trinidad”), research papers (e.g. Baksh: “‘Now You Cyah Have Cahnaaval Wit’out Chutney Bacchanal’: Chutney Soca and the Politics of Un/Belonging”), and articles (e.g. Rampersad: “Chutney’s Excesses: Ravana’s Triumph”), have been written on chutney music/singers in Trinidad. Yet not one dedicated/exclusive sentence in them even mentions this unsung hero. There is but one short, three-page chapter entitled “Lakhan Karriah” by Vishnu Gosine, in the book The Contributors: Profiling the Builders of Chaguanas, that mostly focuses on describing the lives of Lakhan and his son Rajkumar and contains very little analysis of the content of his songs (151).

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Methodology Research methods are the strategies, processes or techniques utilised in the collection of data in order to uncover new information or create better understanding of a topic (“Research Methods”). For a better understanding and analysis of the singer and his songs, I used the following techniques: 1. A textual analysis (qualitative), focusing on the imagery, narrative perspective and structure of the song “Doh Doh Sundar Popo”. Chutney music is very much about communicating everyday life and life experiences for Indo-Caribbeans and, increasingly, Indians in the Diaspora. Textual analysis expands our understanding of how this has been accomplished in this instance. 2. Library and internet research (e.g. YouTube). There is a growing body of literature expounding on the history and development of chutney music and musicians. Although my ability to research primary source material in libraries was restricted by the COVID-19 pandemic, I was able to access enough of it through the internet to sufficiently inform my writing of this paper. YouTube has a rich selection of old chutney songs and thus serves as an invaluable resource and archive. 3. In-person and social media conversations. Social media is a valid source for research when used discerningly. The catalyst for this paper was a short post on the Facebook social media platform. Despite the paucity of written information about Lakhan Karriah (even though he had a strong influence on the development of the chutney genre), I was able to utilise social media to find out more about his life from his eldest son, using Whatsapp to communicate. Comments on YouTube videos of his recordings also added further insight into his contribution and how he is valued and compared with his friend and rival, Sundar Popo. 4. Field research interviews (limited by COVID-19). This is a qualitative method of research. By interacting with and interviewing people in their familiar surroundings, one can elicit more natural and spontaneous responses. It is an especially effective tool when researching cultural phenomena.

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Ideally, I would have gone into the field to conduct face-to-face interviews, especially with the people of Lakhan’s home village, Felicity. However, the COVID-19 pandemic stalled the process of completing field and library research. From mid-July 2020 up to the time when the University of the West Indies literature conference at which this paper was presented took place (September 21–24, 2020), there was a marked increase in COVID-19 cases, hospitalisations and deaths in Trinidad and Tobago. After an initially successful response to the pandemic that saw zero new cases recorded between mid-April and mid-July 2020, suddenly case numbers soared and a new lockdown was imposed by the government. Libraries were closed, and going out to do field research was no longer feasible. These restrictions greatly hampered my ability to expand my library and field research on the subject.

Theoretical Framework The New Historicism theory, popularised by Lois Tyson (2006), was used to interpret Lakhan’s work. Tyson argues that the literary text and the historical situation from which it emerged are equally important because text (the literary work) and context (the historical conditions that produced it) are mutually constitutive: they create each other…. The literary text is itself part of the interplay of discourses, a thread in the dynamic web of social meaning (291–292 qtd. in Millikan).

Thus, not only can the historical situation help us to understand a piece of literature that emerges from it, but the literature itself tells us something about the times in which it was written.

“Doh Doh Sundar Popo” It is not known exactly when the song “Doh Doh Sundar Popo” went public on stage, TV and radio, although it is thought to have been sometime in the 1970s. However, a YouTube video of the Lakhan song “School Gyul” (Karrya [sic] 00:00:35–00:01:15) shows a picture of an album cover on which “Doh Doh Sundar Popo” was included. The cover states “Re-recorded 1982”, and this is the closest we can get to dating the song. It was not until September 8, 2009 that it was posted on YouTube on one site only (Kariya [sic]).

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The lyrics were first transcribed by Ramkabharosa in the comments section of the same YouTube site. I made some minor corrections in order to reproduce it here: Doh doh Sundar Popo, you’ mammy gone to town; When mammy come’ back, she go gi’u sugar plum (x 2, Chorus).

Plants die for sunshine; flowers die for dew; It only take’ a blind girl to make love with you. I sweet like honey, boy, you sour like lime; clashing with you, look, I wasting my time.

You kill nani and nana [maternal grandparents], you make your name; I going to take away all your fame. I will put you in a bag, boy, and throw you in the sea; you made a mistake by attacking me.

We passing by the sea-side; we passing by the lake; I stinging like a scorpion with no mistake. You trying you’ best boy, and you making a mess; You make up your bed, you will now get your death.

The title and chorus of the song is an adaptation of a traditional Trinidad patois lullaby. The patois version (“Trinidad Patois Song”) is a somewhat sinister song: “Dodo petit popo/ Piti popo pa vle dodo / Zambi a ke mange li / Sukugnan ke suce san” (“Sleep, little baby/ The little baby doesn’t want to sleep/ The jumbie will eat him/ The soukouyant will suck his blood”) (Yanucci, “Trinidad Patois”). But there are English Creole versions that are more child-friendly such as “Dodo petit popo/ Mama gone to town/ To buy sugar plum/ And give popo some” (Yanucci “Lullaby”), and Lakhan’s song adapts one of these. This version worked well for Lakhan who used it as a weapon to attack his singing rival, Sundar Popo. The song reveals an intense rivalry between Lakhan and Sundar, much like the on-stage lyrical feud between calypsonians Sparrow and Kitchener. It seems that, on this occasion at least, Sundar had provoked it (“you made a mistake by attacking me”). The tiff between the two pioneering chutney singers is not referenced in the canon of any Indo-/Caribbean

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oral, folk or music literature. Lakhan’s son, Rajkumar, said that they were best friends and that “their friendship was never broken”, but he acknowledged that they did have “clashes with their music” (Rajkumar Lakhan Karriah, pers. Comm.). The line: “You kill nani and nana [maternal grandparents], you make your name;” is an obvious reference to Sundar’s ground-breaking title song of 1969 that revolutionised Indian music in Trinidad and the Caribbean, and catapulted him to world prominence. In succeeding years, Sundar came to be known as a troubadour, a don and the King of Chutney Music (Bonneville). In “Doh Doh Sundar Popo”, Lakhan declares that he is superior to Sundar in many ways: his attractiveness, success and the fact that he is “sweet like honey”. On the other hand, Sundar is portrayed as an overgrown baby (“popo”), ugly, an aggressor and a murderer who should be put to death either by drowning or by the fatal sting of a scorpion. Lakhan draws upon the image of the tropical land and swamp in Felicity, and the bordering Gulf of Paria, where he lived and worked (“sugar plum,” “sunshine”, “plants”, “flowers”, “sea-side”, “sea”, “lake” and “scorpion”). With reference to the line: “I will put you in a bag, boy, and throw you in the sea;” Lakhan may well be drawing upon the legendary 1954 murder by Dr. Dalip Singh of his wife, Inge. After strangling her and removing her intestines, Singh placed her corpse in a bag and dumped it in the Godineau River. The corpse floated to the beach and was seen by crab-catchers who made a report to the police. Singh was eventually convicted and hanged. Lakhan’s song is stark in brutality and violence, with the pun “doh doh” literally meaning “sleep”, but figuratively meaning “death”; it is a death-threat in the guise of a lullaby. Sundar’s “Nana and Nani” equally depicted violence and death, with the addition of alcoholism. Chutney lyrics are often deemed frivolous (Mohabir) or “semantically unimportant”, as Manuel characterises them (“Chutney” 29). But Mohabir describes them as poetry that illustrates “the construction of Indo-Caribbean identity” through their linguistic and poetic characteristics. They are a cultural production created by the syncretisms of the Caribbean (Mohabir). Violence, death and alcoholism were all too real a part of the Indian indentured and post-indentured existence, and lyricists such as Lakhan knew how to place their songs squarely in the lived experience of their audiences.

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Conclusion Whether Lakhan Karriah was “better than Sundar Popo” or not, it is a fact that his name and contribution to the rise of chutney music is completely absent from scholarly works on the genre and from almost any other written piece on the subject. However, he left a legacy of original chutney recordings and was in regular demand to perform both at home and on the international circuit. He was a close friend and rival of Sundar Popo and pioneered the art form with him. Analysis of the lyrics of one of his songs shows them to be witty, original, topical and expressive of the time and culture from which they emerged. Having provided the above context and analysis, the following comments from viewers on the YouTube video page with Lakhan’s “Doh Doh Sundar Popo” can be understood better: Six years ago, Anand Balkaran, wrote: “I seen Lakhan and Sundar Popo live at Tyrol Cinema in Barrackpore, Trinidad, and this song was one of the highlights of the evening. LOL”. Mahima Seunarine added that Lakhan Karriah was “one of the greatest master blasters of the past”.

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Lindgren, Matthew. “What Makes Song Lyrics Poetry?” Washington Post, 13 May 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-makes-songlyrics-poetry/2017/05/11/0b63c75c-195c-11e7-bcc2-7d1a0973e7b2_ story.html. Accessed 29 July 2020. Mambrol, Nasrullah. “Ethnic Studies.” Literary Theory and Criticism, Literariness, 3 March 2019, https://literariness.org/2019/03/03/ethnic-studies/. Accessed 27 July 2020. Manuel, Peter. “Chutney and Indo-Trinidadian Cultural Identity.” Popular Music, vol. 17, no. 1, 1998, pp. 21–43, https://doi.org/10.1017/S02611 43000000477. Accessed 16 August 2022. ———. “Ethnic Identity, National Identity, and Music in Indo-Trinidadian Culture.” Music and the Racial Imagination, S. 318–345, 2000, p. 11, https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1090& context=gc_pubs. Accessed 13 August 2020. Millikan, Lauren. Curiouser and Curiouser: The Evolution of Wonderland, 1 March 2011, https://www.carleton.edu/departments/ENGL/Alice/Cri tHist.html. Accessed 12 August 2020. Mohabir, Rajiv. “Chutneyed Poetics: Reading Diaspora and Sundar Popo’s Chutney Lyrics as Indo-Caribbean Postcolonial Literature.” Anthurium: A Caribbean Studies Journal, vol. 15, no. 1, September 2019, https://anthur ium.miami.edu/articles/10.33596/anth.353/. Accessed 23 July 2020. “Music of Trinidad and Tobago.” McGill, 2007, https://www.cs.mcgill.ca/ ~rwest/wikispeedia/wpcd/wp/m/Music_of_Trinidad_and_Tobago.htm. Accessed 10 August 2020. Myers, Helen. Music of Hindu Trinidad: Songs from the India Diaspora (Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology), vol. 10, University of Chicago Press, 15 January 1999, p. 127, https://books.google.tt/books?id=VcLuOy f6mLkC&pg=PA127&lpg=PA127&dq=nau+jawan+orchestra&source=bl& ots=P70Ft_qes4&sig=ACfU3U2Znm3zsUQbmT18gsOcCGCHJGnCnw& hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiEguvIg-_4AhW6TTABHdxIC4cQ6AF6BAg PEAM#v=onepage&q=nau%20jawan%20orchestra&f=false. Accessed 10 July 2022. Pennington, John, and Ryan Cordell. “Postcolonial, Racial, and Ethnic Theory: An Overview.” Creating Literary Analysis. Flatworld, 2012, https://2012bo oks.lardbucket.org/books/creating-literary-analysis/s09-02-postcolonial-rac ial-and-ethnic.html. Accessed 20 July 2020. “Pichakaree.” Wikimili, Wikimili.com, 7 May 2020, https://wikimili.com/en/ Pichakaree#References. Accessed 30 July 2020. Popplewell, Georgia. “The Chutney Phenomenon.” Caribbean Beat, Issue 22, 1996, https://www.caribbean-beat.com/issue-22/chutney-phenomenon#axz z7RPCNj81K. Accessed 18 July 2020.

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Ramnarine, Tina K. “Chutney.” Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, Volume 9: Genres: Caribbean and Latin America, edited by David Horn et al., Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014, pp. 194–198, https://books.goo gle.co.uk/books?id=liV8AwAAQBAJ&lpg=PA111&ots=HwrXFZrlLy&dq= chutney%20music%20indian%20melody%20soca%20beats&pg=PA195#v=one page&q=chutney%20music%20indian%20melody%20soca%20beats&f=false. Accessed 4 August 2020. ———. “‘Indian’ Music in the Diaspora: Case Studies of ‘Chutney’ in Trinidad and in London.” British Journal of Ethnomusicology, vol. 5, 1996, pp. 133– 153, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3060870. Accessed 24 July 2020. Rampersad, Indira. “Chutney’s Excesses: Ravana’s Triumph.” Trinidad Guardian, 11 December 1990. “Research Methods: What Are Research Methods?” Research Guides, University of Newcastle Library Guides, https://libguides.newcastle.edu.au/researchm ethods. Accessed 5 August 2020. Reed, B.M. “Western Poetics.” Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, edited by Roland Greene et al., 4th edition, Princeton University Press, 2021, pp. 1058–1059, https://vdoc.pub/download/the-princeton-encycl opedia-of-poetry-and-poetics-fourth-edition-7n9mu335tqr0. Accessed 31 July 2020. “Sundar Popo Biography.” Chutney Music, ChutneyMusic.com, 2 March 2019, https://chutneymusic.com/sundar-popo-biography-1943-2000/. Accessed 2 August 2020. “Trinidad patois song: dodo piti popo.” YouTube, uploaded by Katvixenchick, 22 June 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDwRYqOanWA. Accessed 12 July 2020. Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. 2nd ed., Routledge, 2006. Vertovec, Steven. Hindu Trinidad: Religion, Ethnicity and Socio-Economic Change. Macmillan, 1992. Yanucci, Lisa. “Dodo Petit Popo: Song and Rhymes from Trinidad, Trinidad Patois.” Mama Lisa’s World: International Music and Culture, 2015, https:// www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=3986&c=134. Accessed 4 August 2020. ———. “Dodo Petit Popo: Song and Rhymes from Trinidad, Lullaby.” Mama Lisa’s World: International Music and Culture, 2015, https://www.mamalisa. com/?t=es&p=1094. Accessed 4 August 2020. Zapruder, Matthew. “The Difference Between Poetry and Song Lyrics.” Boston Review, 6 December 2012, https://bostonreview.net/forum_response/differ ence-between-poetry-and-song-lyrics/. Accessed 10 August 2020.

CHAPTER 8

Preservation of Cultural Heritage: A Case Study of Asians in Mauritius Zareen Beebeejaun-Muslum

Presence of Indians in Mauritius The introduction of people from different parts of India has contributed towards the multi-ethnic and multi-religious nature of Mauritius. Labour immigrants came to Mauritius from different countries such as Africa, Madagascar, India, Java, just to name a few. Asians presence in Mauritius is recorded at different periods and settlements (Dutch settlement, French settlement and British settlement). The primary objective was to fill the labour shortage on the island. During the Dutch settlement, in the seventeenth century, Indians which comprises of slaves, convicts and freemen were brought to the Island from the coasts of Malabar and Bengal (Deerpalsingh et al., 2001). During the French rule, French settlers, Malagasy and Indians both free and enslaved were brought to Mauritius. The Indians who came to

Z. Beebeejaun-Muslum (B) Department of Mauritian Studies, Mahatma Gandhi Institute, Moka, Mauritius e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 N. Singh and S. Chapparban (eds.), Literature of Girmitiya, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4621-9_8

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the island during the French administration hailed from French possessions in South India. Every year until 1731, around 100 Indian slaves were brought into Ile de France. Free Indians were also introduced by Labourdonnais, they worked as jewellers, shoemakers, tailors and pions and were known as ‘Malabards’. Many of them never settled permanently in the island and returned to their families. Those who stayed intermarried with other ethnic groups, adopted Christian names and merged with the Free population. In 1806, there were around 1615 ‘Malabards’ in the Island (Teelock, 2001). The majority of those who settled in Ile de France lived at the ‘Camp des Malabars’ in Port Louis. In 1806, there were 122 families from Bengal, 115 from Pondicherry, 4 from Goa, 4 from Tranquebar, 1 from Bombay and 1 from Madras living in the ‘camp des Malabards’ (Deerpalsingh et al., 2001). Under Mahe de Labourdonnais, Indian slaves and free artisans undertook many construction works in Port Louis such as fortifications, canal, roads, a port, naval shipyards and 10,000 toises of buildings (Teelock, 2001). Governor Labourdonnais also brought Muslim sailors mainly for the repair and maintenance of ships (Deerpalsingh et al., 2001). There were 467 free Indians in Port Louis in 1760. To meet labour needs in the island, Indian convicts were introduced by Governor Farquar in 1814. Between 1814 and 1837, around 1500 convicts were brought from Bengal, Bombay and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). The Indian convicts contributed in the development of the colony, for instance they help in the building of roads, the Colville Bridge in Moka, the Grand River North West Bridge and the Citadelle (Deerpalsingh et al., 2001) (Table 8.1). The nineteenth century marks the arrival more than 50 million of Indian Immigrants to Mauritius (Carter, 1993). Between the 1820s and early 1830s, Indian contractual labourers from Colombo, Cochin, Calcutta, Madras and Pondicherry were introduced in the island by individual planters, to alleviate the shortage of labour. Generally, it is believed that the establishment of the Indentured system which historians have termed the ‘Great Experiment’ in Mauritius started in 1834 (Teelock, 2001). Between 1834 and 1910, Indian immigrants coming to Mauritius hailed from three main presidencies namely Bengal, Bombay and Madras. In the Bengal presidency, Bihar was an important labour supplier. By 1890, 40% of the total Indian emigrants hailed from Bihar. Some Christians also came from North India, mainly from the districts Chaprah and Purolia (Deerpalsingh et al., 2001) (Table 8.2 and Map 8.1).

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Table 8.1 Number of convicts in Mauritius 1815–1848

Source Deerpalsingh, S, Ng. Foong Kwoong, Govinden, V, Teelok, V, 2001. Labour Immigrants in Mauritius: MGI

South Indian and Gujarati traders also came to Mauritius, to meet the needs of the Indian population. In 1870, they numbered around 1430. Most of the South Indian merchants settled in Port Louis with a few moving to the rural areas. Their main occupation were mainly retailers and their products were sold at the central market of Port Louis (the capital of Mauritius). Muslim and Parsi Merchants settled in the island in the 1850’s. They were also engaged in importing foodstuffs and other items required by the Indians.

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Table 8.2 Arrival and departures of Indian immigrants between 1834 and 1912

Source Mauritius Almanach 1913, published in Deerpalsingh et al. (2001)

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Map 8.1 The main regions and districts of recruitment for Indian indentured labourers (1826–1910) (Source Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund Collection, published in Peerthum [2017]. They came to the Mauritian Shore’s: The Life-Stories and the History of Indentured Labourers in Mauritius [1826–1937]: Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund)

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Socio-Economic Development/Evolution of Asians in Mauritius Socio-economic development of a country comprises of socially and economically improving the lifestyle and the well being of its people. These factors influence how particular groups or socio-economic classes behave within society, including their actions as consumers. The contribution of the Asians in the socio-economic development of Mauritius has proved to be a remarkable feature in the overall progress of the island. Once their contracts were terminated, the Indian Immigrants could go back home. While a few immigrants went back to India, most of them chose to stay in Mauritius as they could not repay their passage fares or had created attachment in the island or else had managed to buy some property or animals. The Grand Morcellement (land division) was beneficial to the immigrants and their descendants. As the Hindus moved from the estate camps, they bought small plots of land and built their homes. Even if they were shanties, they raised animals like cows and goats, and cultivated their farms after a hard day’s work. In this way, the stage was set for the Hindus to become small planters (Boodhoo, 1999). The Hindus slowly recreated their cultural environment as they knew back home. Traditional cultural patterns, customs, religious practices were reintroduced from different geographical and cultural origins. By the end of the nineteenth century, there were flourishing shivalas (Hindu temples) and baitkas were set up to teach vernacular languages (Hindu school for learning of Hindi). The mass mobilisation and the participation of the descendants of indentured labourers in the political life came in the twentieth century, when M.K. Gandhi visited the island in 1901 and spent a fortnight. Gandhi sent his barrister friend Manilal Doctor to Mauritius for the upliftment of Indians. Manilal Doctor stayed in Mauritus between 1907–1911 to represent the Indians in the colony’s law courts. He pleaded on several major cases for the Indians. He deponed in the 1909 Royal commission to denounce the injustice endured by Indians. He set up the ‘Hindustani’ newspaper and was an important contributor of the Arya Samaj and the Young Men Hindu association in Mauritius (Ramsurrun & Nunkoo, 2007). Mauritian Indians were influenced by western values and Western-style education had opened up new avenues for their socio-economic progress

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(Hazareesingh, 1966). Today, the Hindus are mostly planters, educators, and civil servants. They are owners of transport companies and some are professionals, entrepreneurs among others.

The Concept of Culture and Heritage Culture is a complex term. Culture refers to the way of life of people more precisely the way of dressing, talking, norms and values prevailing in the society. Some of its components are dynamic and keep changing with time. Heritage, on the other hand, consists of tangible and intangible aspects which are connected to a community or group at large. According to Smith (2006), Heritage is closely linked with the concept of identity; groups, and, communities have different layers of identities that are used when they visit historic sites. The link between Heritage and Identity has also become a concern for UNESCO, an awareness raising video entitled ‘Heritage is Identity, Don’t Steal it ’ has been made by UNESCO to warn tourists to verify where cultural objects come from before effecting purchases. Cultural objects, according to the video, are not only simple merchandise as they embody history and have symbolic value for the local people. Heritage is an expression of identity for any community which is why cultural heritage has been the main target during periods of war. The concept of heritage has also been linked with memory and in particular collective memory. Maurice Halbwachs (1950) a French Philosopher and Sociologist, is linked with the development of the term ‘collective memory’. In his book la ‘Mémoire Collective’ he puts forward the idea that a society can have collective memory, which depends on the ‘cadre’ of that group in society. Accordingly, one’s understanding of the past is dependent on group consciousness and that every group can construct an identity for itself through shared memories. He also added that collective memory is passed on and valued in the present through commemorative events. Heritage has also been linked with performance, whereby it is used by heritage practitioners to revive the past (Haldrup & Bœrenholdt, 2015).

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Heritage Preservation in Mauritius Many institutions have been set up in Mauritius to play a key role in the spread of the cultural aspects of heritage to the general public. The Ministry of Arts and Cultural Heritage has been set up with the aim to encourage or promote a balanced and harmonious Mauritian Society and to preserve cultural heritage and foster values both at individual and collective levels. The National Heritage Fund, set up in 2003, endeavours to protect national heritage sites in Mauritius and sensitise the public on cultural values. The Mauritius Museum Council which operates under the Ministry of Arts and Culture is responsible for the management of public museums. Le Morne Heritage Trust Fund, established in 2004 also engages in promoting the International heritage site Le Morne as a national, regional and international memorial site. The Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund has been set up in 2001 to manage the Aapravasi Ghat site. Heritage, whether tangible or intangible is our history and has an impact in our society. Therefore, it is important to preserve them. It gives locals the opportunity to learn more about their country. Heritage also contributes to the tourism sector of a country. It helps foreigners know more the country. As pointed out by Timothy (2015), heritage is becoming increasingly connected with modern- day tourism as most of the global travels include elements of cultural past. In a report entitled ‘Report on Mauritius, National Export Strategy, Cultural Heritage Tourism Sector, 2017–2021’, it is stated that the cultural tourism sector in Mauritius is emerging. Some measures have been enumerated on how to further develop the cultural tourism sector in Mauritius. Additionally, preserving heritage sites can help the economy in terms of creation of jobs and generating capital. In an article entitled ‘Heritage as a key contributor to economic development ’, Forest (2017) states that “cultural heritage, cultural and creative industries, sustainable cultural tourism and cultural infrastructure can serve as strategic tools for revenue generation, particularly in developing countries.” As regard to intangible heritage, the Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund, the National Heritage Trust Fund, Le Morne Heritage Trust Fund, the Mahatma Gandhi Institute, and the different speaking Unions and Cultural organisations are safeguarding and promoting Intangible heritage in different ways. Every year the Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund in collaboration with other institutions in Mauritius organises an event known as Varsik Parampara Divas to celebrate intangible cultural heritage.

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The National Heritage Trust Fund has established an inventory of intangible heritage elements and research as well as documentation of Intangible Cultural Heritage is ongoing there. The MGI Folk Museum of Indian Immigration is designing interactive exhibitions on different aspects of intangible cultural heritage associated with indentured labourers in Mauritius.

Preserving the Cultural Heritage of Asians in Mauritius There are different ways whereby the cultural heritage of Asians has been preserved in Mauritius. For instance there are a number rites, rituals and religious festivals which was introduced by Asians in Mauritius and which are still practised and celebrated by the different linguistic groups. Rambhajanam, Ammoru Panduga and Simhadri Appanah are some of the festivals which are celebrated by the Telugu-Speaking community. Cavadee, Kahi Posai, Theemithi are still practised by Tamil-Speaking in Mauritius. Ganesh chaturiti, Gondhal still hold significance among the Marathi-Speaking community in Mauritius. The Hindi-Speaking on the other hand, still venerate Di baba and Sitala and Sitala, the Goddess of measles and small pox. They also believe in the worship of nature as a result of which they worship the pipal tree (Ficus religiosa) as sacred plants and are worshipped in different ways. They also offer worship to the Sun, sea and rivers. They still believe in some of their ancestral practices and as a result of which continue to perform kalimai worship and Baharia Pooja. They also celebrate a number of religious festivals such as Holi, Mahashivratree, Sankrati, Ram nawmi among others. Religious festivals associated with the Muslims on the other hand are as follows: Eid-ul- Fitr, Eid- Al- Adha, Yamun- Nabi and Ghoon. The Chinese community still follows some of their ancestral practices and two main festivals which are celebrated by them in Mauritius are the Spring Festival and the Dragon Boat festival. Mostly all the festivals mentioned above and associated with Asians still have relevance in Mauritius and are supported by the Government of Mauritius and Socio- religious organisations. There are several historical sites and religious places and structure which are associated with Asians and which still hold relevance among the descendants. As regard to historical sites related to Indians, in almost all of them some structures related to indentureship have survived. Some of the main ones are: Aapravasi Ghat, which is a world heritage Site, Vagrant depot, Forbach Sugar Estate ruins, Quarantine Station at Flat

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island, temple of Gokoola built around 1867, Gorge stone (Mauritius Marathi Cultural Trust, 2012), Trianon barracks (Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund, n.d.), centenary celebration monument. Bras D’Eau Sugar Estate, Cascavelle Temple (Mauritius Marathi Cultural Trust, 2012). The different kalimai shrines found in the island are also closely associated with the indentureship period. As regard to the Muslims there are also some sites in Mauritius and monuments associated with them such as the Jummah mosque, ‘dargah which are visited during Yamsey celebrations, the Al- idrissi’ (1100–1165) which was erected in 2010. As regard to the Chinese, the Kwan Tee pagoda (Ly Tio Fane-Pineo, 1985), the China town a region in Port Louis (Ly Tio Fane-Pineo & Lim Fat, 2008) are closely linked to them. There are a number of Chinese shops in the island, though the buildings have become old with the passage of time but it represents an important aspect of Chinese tangible heritage. The performing arts of Asians have also been preserved in Mauritius, for instance there are number of dance forms which are associated with them have been enumerated below: 1. Kummi and Kolattam The kummi is a folk dance associated with the Tamil community in Mauritius. The dance is performed mainly by women and young girls. They form a circle and strike the two palms of the hands against the partners’ palms in rhythmic choreography (Ramdoyal, 1994). Kummi is performed on the occasion of religious festival like Govinden and Cavadee in Mauritius. The Kollatam dance is performed by the Telugu and Tamil communities in Mauritius. Kollatam is derived from the words ‘kol’ meaning small stick and ‘attam’ play. Thus kollatam is the playing of sticks. This dance form is practised by young girls and women on the occasion of religious festivals, cultural events and processions (Ramdoyal, 1994). The dancers are often dressed in long pleated skirts, a close-fitting blouse and a stole. Some dancers also wear traditional sarees. 2. Dragon Dance and Lion Dance The dragon and Lion dances are two important Chinese culture. The Dragon dance marks the end Year. The Dragon is an important component of and is considered to bring luck and prosperity. It

traditional dances in of the Chinese New the Chinese culture is also believed that

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the Dragon wards off evil eye (National Heritage Fund, 2013). The lion Dance is also practised in the Chinese culture and is a traditional dance. The dance comprises of mainly imitating the lion and its movements (Chinese Cultural Centre, n.d.). 3. Chekka Bhajana Chekka bhajana is a dance form associated with the Telugu community in Mauritius. It is performed on the occasion of Rambhajanam, which is a ritual in praise of Lord Rama, whereby men and boys sing and dance around a big decorative lamp (Pentiah-Appadoo, 2016). 4. Jakri Dance The jakri dance is associated with the Marathi community in Mauritius and performed on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturti and at times during wedding ceremonies (Mauritius Marathi Cultural Trust, 2012). This folk dance comprises of both men and women, dressed in traditional outfits, singing, dancing and clapping hands around some people playing traditional musical instruments such as dholak and Jhall. 5. The Sufi Dance The Sufi dance is also known as ‘whirling dervishes ’ started in Turkey. Sufism is a type of dance which is spiritual and helps to connect with the divine. The Sufi dance is a traditional form of Sufi worship. Commonly practised in Mauritius is the Sword Dance also known as Rateeb and Rifai which performed on the occasion of Ghoon during the holy month of Muharrram. There are a number of Songs and Musical instruments associated with Asians in Mauritius and which are still popular. For instance, several forms of religious music are still performed among Muslims during public services or private devotions. Among other types of songs/poetry are: . Na’at/Qaseedah which refers to poetry in praise of the Prophet Muhammad. . Hamd which consists of praises of God. . Manqabats which are praises of spiritual leaders.

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. Salam, Standing homage to the Prophet sung by the assistance to conclude a programme. . Ghazals which are praises both romantic and spiritual connecting to the divine (Howell & Bruinessen, 2007). Zikr is an act of worship in the remembrance of God (Allah). It is generally performed on Thursday evenings after the Esh’a prayer (Night prayer) and often lasts till midnight. It finds great favour with Muslims of the Breilvi tradition (Sedgwick, 2003). Participants in the Zikr usually gather in a circle and chant verses or phrases from the Holy Qu’ran and swing their body in slow rhythmic movements. The Khalifa (leader) of the Zikr chants the verse or phrase and the group repeats after him or answers with a specific formula. The chanting begins in a smooth, soft tone but it is gradually raised in pitch as the participants slowly enter in a trance (Emrith, 1994). The Marathi community also has a repertoire of songs which are performed on religious and festive occasions. They have been transmitted from generations to generations especially to the younger ones. The subhmangal, published by the Mahatma Gandhi Institute in 1984, and the Kanya Dan: The whys of Hindu Marriage Rituals give an overview of some folk songs linked with Marathi weddings in Mauritius. Ramdin (1989) puts forward a traditional singing game common among the Marathi community. Some of the musical instruments associated with Marathis in Mauritius are: Jaal (cymbals), Dholok, sambal or table (a pair of small drums) and the tuntuna which is a stringed musical attached to a wooden resonator (Mauritius Marathi Cultural Trust, 2012, p. 91). Immigrants hailing from the Northern part of India have introduced a variety of songs and musical instruments in Mauritius. The songs comprise of protest songs, work songs, rites of passage songs, religious songs, songs associated with games among others. Ramayana chanting was an important part of the life of Indian Immigrants. Some Indian brought with them a written or published form of Ramayana. In the olden days, immigrants met in baithkas (A place set up on sugar estates and later in villages for the teaching of vernaculars and cultural values) to recite the verses of Ramayana. Ramayana chanting is still an integral part of the life of Hindus in Mauritius, reference to the scriptures of Ramayana is made in wedding songs as well as during funerals, where it is chanted to accompany the departed soul. Ramayana

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chanting is done across all the villages in Mauritius and a Ramayana Centre, whose aim is to promote the Hindu epic Ramayana, has also been set up in Mauritius, through an act of parliament in 2001. Teachings of the vedas have been transmitted from generations to generations among the Indian diasporic countries. Many priests in Mauritius as well as some songs make reference of it. Protest songs which express the living conditions and grief of Immigrants on sugar estate were sung by many of them. Two protest songs in the collective memory of the descendants are as follows: ‘Moussay Maness ke Mulwa’ (Mr Manes sugar factory has been burnt) and ‘pani nai ba’ (There is a dearth of water). Birha is another type of folk song which was sung to express grief of parting (Boodhoo, 1999). A number of songs accompanied the rites of passage of North Indian Immigrants. Songs linked with birth rites known as Lalnas and Sohars are still practised among Hindus. There are a few songs associated with the Janeo (thread giving ceremony among Hindus) (Boodhoo, 1999). Celebrations associated with weddings in Mauritius span over four days and include a number of songs. During the Geet Gawai ceremony, participants sing to honour Hindu gods and goddesses. (UNESCO, n.d.). Sanjha and Jhummar are some of the styles which form part of the Geet Gawai ceremony (Boodhoo, 1999). The different folk songs popular during Hindu wedding rituals have been further elaborated by Boodhoo (1993) in her publication ‘Kanyadan: The whys of Hindu Marriage Rituals’. Singing games from the Bhojpuri region have contributed to children’s leisure activities (Boodhoo, 1999). Many of the singing games have been kept alive by the descendants of North Indian Immigrants. Ramdin (1989) sheds light on some of the singing games introduced by North Indian Immigrants such as: ‘Chana munia Chand’—a singing game whereby children has to imitate animals, ‘oka boka Tin to loka’— a singing game which hailed from Uttar Pradesh, ‘Ghur Ghur Rani’—a singing game which teaches the body parts. Songs in praise of Lord Rama form part of the Rambhajanam (Telugu religious festival). The men play the copper cymbals (jalra) and the women clap their hands while dancing around the lamp. Music also forms part of the Tamil culture, the Mauriamam Tallattu (Songs in praise of Goddess Mariammen) has been passed on from through generations among the Tamil community (Tiroumalechetty, 2019).

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On a conclusive note, the Asians who came to Mauritius have succeeded in clinging to their cultural heritage despite several pressures and challenges they had faced. It was for sure a very difficult task and this was possible mainly due to their deep and strong beliefs in their cultures and traditions. We have seen throughout the chapter how the Asians were brought to Mauritius, their socio-economic evolution and settlement. The concept of Cultural Heritage has also been thoroughly discussed. We have seen that the both the Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Asians in Mauritius have been in some way hybridised but nevertheless, the core of the customs and traditions are still prevalent in the Mauritian society and the country takes pride in its multi-cultural and colourful identity.

References Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund. (n.d.). Quarantine Stations. Available at: http:// www.aapravasighat.org/English/Resources%20Research/Documents/Flat% 20Island.pdf (Accessed: 12 March 2019). Arberry, A. J. (2002). Sufism: An Account of the Mystics of Islam (Vol. 2). Courier Corporation. Boodhoo, S. (1993). Kanyadan: The Whys of Hindu Marriage Rituals. Mauritius Bhojpuri Institute. Boodhoo, S. (1999). Bhojpuri Traditions in Mauritius. Mauritius Bhojpuri Institute. Carter, M. (1993). ‘The Transition from Slave to Indentured Labour in Mauritius’. Slavery and Abolition, 14(1), pp. 114–130. Deerpalsingh, S., et al. (2001). Labour Immigrants in Mauritius. Mauritius: Mahatma Gandhi Institute. Emrith, M. (1994). History of the Muslims in Mauritius. Singapore: Intellectual Publishing. Forest, C. (2017). ‘Heritage as a Key Contributor to Economic Development’. Aapravasi Ghat Newsletter, Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund. Halbwachs, M., & Alexandre, J. (1950). La Mémoire Collective. Presses Universitaires de France. Haldrup, M., & Bœrenholdt, J. O. (2015). ‘Heritage as Performance’. in: Waterton, E., & Watson S. (eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary Heritage Research. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Hazareesingh, K. (1966). ‘The Religion and Culture of Indian Immigrants in Mauritius and the Effect of Social Change’. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 8(2), pp. 241–257.

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Howell, J. D., & Bruinessen, M. V. (2007). ‘Introduction: Sufism and the “Modern” in Islam’. in: Sufism and the ‘Modern’ in Islam, pp. 3–18. Ly Tio Fane-Pineo, H. (1985). Chinese Diaspora in Western Indian Ocean. Mauritius: Editions de l’Ocean Indien, Chinese Catholic Mission. Ly Tio Fane-Pineo, H., & Lim Fat, E. (2008). From Alien to Citizen: The Integration of Chinese in Mauritius. Mauritius: Editions de L’Ocean Indien. Mauritius Marathi Cultural Trust. (2012). A study of Marathi settlement in Mauritius. Mauritius Marathi Cultural Centre Trust. Peerthum, S. (2017). ‘They Came to the Mauritian Shores’: The Life-stories and the History of the Indentured Labourers in Mauritius (1826–1937). Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund. Ramdin, S. (1989). Traditional Singing games of Mauritius. MGI. Ramdoyal, R. (1994). Festivals of Mauritius. Editions de l’Océan Indien. Ramsurrun, P., & Nunkoo. (2007). Manilal Doctor, His Political Activities. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers. Sedgwick, M. J. (2003). Sufism: The Essentials. Oxford University Press. Smith, L. (2006). Uses of Heritage. London: Routledge. Teelock, V. (2001). Mauritian History, From its Beginnings to its Modern Times. Mauritius: Mahatma Gandhi Institute. Timothy, D. (2015). Cultural Heritage and Tourism, An Introduction. Channel View Publications. Tiroumalechetty, N. (2019). The Dynamics of Culture in Mauritius, 50 Years of Independence 1968–2018. Veerus Ltd. Truth and Justice Commission Report, Volume 1. (2011). Available at: https:// www.researchgate.net/publication/278496497_Truth_and_Justice_Commiss ion_report_Volume_I (Accessed: 19 August 2020).

Website Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund. Tangible Heritage. Available at: http://www. aapravasighat.org/English/Our%20Heritage/Pages/Tangible-Heritage.aspx (Accessed: 15 October 2019). Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund. (n.d.). Forbach Sugar Estate. Available at: http://www.aapravasighat.org/English/Resources%20Research/Docume nts/Forbach.pdf (Accessed: 06 August 2020). Aapravasi Ghat Trust Fund. (n.d.). The Outstanding Universal Value of the Aapravasi Ghat World Heritage Property http://www.aapravasighat.org/Eng lish/Aapravasi%20Ghat%20WHS/Pages/default.aspx (Viewed 21 October 2019). Government of Mauritius. (n.d.). Available at: http://www.govmu.org/Eng lish/ExploreMauritius/Culture/Pages/Culture/Folklore-and-Music.aspx (Accessed: 26 July 2020).

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Tuscon Chinese Cultural Centre. (n.d.). Lion Dance. Available at: http://www. tucsonchinese.org/classes/lion-dance/ (Accessed 30 July 2020). UNESCO. (2017). Under Water Cultural Heritage. Available at: http://www. unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/underwater-cultural-heritage/2001convention/official-text/ (Accessed: 26 November 2018). UNESCO. (2019a). Aapravasi Ghat. Available at: https://whc.unesco.org/en/ list/1227 (Accessed: 21 February 2019a). UNESCO. (2019b). What is Meant by Cultural Heritage. Available at: http:// www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/illicit-trafficking-of-cultural-pro perty/unesco-database-of-national-cultural-heritage-laws/frequently-askedquestions/definition-of-the-cultural-heritage/ (Accessed: 22 November 2019b). UNESCO. (2020a). Heritage is Identity, Don’t Steal It. Available at: http:// www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/illicit-trafficking-of-cultural-pro perty/videos/heritage-is-identity-dont-steal-it/ (Accessed 24 February 2020a). UNESCO. (2020b). Tangible and Intangible Heritage. Available at: https://ich. unesco.org/en/tangible-and-intangible-heritage-00097 (Accessed: 05 August 2020b). UNESCO. (2020c). What is Intangible Cultural Heritage. Available at: https:// ich.unesco.org/en/tangible-and-intangible-heritage-00097 (Accessed: 05 August 2020c). UNESCO. (n.d.). Bhojpuri Folk Songs of Mauritius, Geet Gawai. Available at: https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/bhojpuri-folk-songs-in-mauritiusgeet-gawai-01178 (Accessed 30 July 2020). UNESCO. (n.d.). Sega tambour Chagos. Available at: https://ich.unesco.org/ en/USL/sega-tambour-chagos-01490 (Accessed 22 August 2020). UNESCO. (n.d.). Sega Tambour of Rodrigues Island. Available at: https://ich. unesco.org/en/RL/sega-tambour-of-rodrigues-island-01257 (Accessed 22 August 2020). UNESCO. (n.d.). Tradition of Vedic Chanting. Available at: https://ich.unesco. org/en/RL/tradition-of-vedic-chanting-00062 (Accessed 22 August 2020).

Thesis/Reports National Heritage Fund. (2013), National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Pentiah-Appadoo, D. (2016). Retrospects and Prospects of Indian Classical Dance Forms in the Indian Diaspora: The case of Mauritius. PhD thesis. University of Mauritius.

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Ramdin, S. D. (2005). Cultural and Linguistic Aspects of Bhojpuri in Mauritius with Special Reference to Work Songs. Unpublished PhD thesis. University of Mauritius

Conventions UNESCO. (1972). International Convention on the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. (2003). International Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. UNESCO. UNESCO. (2017). Second Protocol (1999) to the 1954 HAGUE Convention for the protection of cultural property in the Event of Armed Conflict. UNESCO.

Reports Report on Mauritius National Export Strategy, Cultural Tourism Sector, 2017– 2021. Available at: http://industry.govmu.org/English/Documents/3_Cult ural%20Tourism_web.pdf (Accessed: 12 February 2020).

CHAPTER 9

Relocating Cultural Identity: Pattern and Conditions of Indian Diaspora in Fiji Sushma Pandey

The Diaspora cannot exist without a history of human migration and social–cultural threads between homeland and host land. That is why it is significant to provide a brief outline of the diasporic history. According to Lisa Anteby-Yemini and William Berthomière (2005), “The ancient diaspora can be traced back to the traditional reference of the term ‘Diaspora’ (with ‘d’ in the upper case) indicating the dispersal of Jews from Israel back in the sixth-seventh century B.C. and later in the second century A.D. from Jerusalem. The Jewish movement is defined as a movement of exile, as it was a forced emigration resulting in the pain of separation from the homeland and relocation as lost communities in the new lands. The establishment of commercial routes between nations led to widespread migrations during the medieval era, which lasted from roughly 200 AD

S. Pandey (B) Jharkhand Anti Trafficking Network, Ranchi, India e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 N. Singh and S. Chapparban (eds.), Literature of Girmitiya, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4621-9_9

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to 900 AD. In order to live better lives, many tribes moved. Later, religion spread was also used to justify seeking additional territories” (Ruchi and Saxena 2012). The modern period was a period of exploration of the world, and many explorers from countries like Britain, France, Portugal, and China attempted this exploration mainly through sea routes. One of the most famous explorers, Vasco da Gama, came to India as a part of this exploration. His arrival in India introduced the Indian subcontinent to Europe. After that, many travelers came to India for different purposes like trade and evangelism, and they settled here. The modern Diaspora begins with the migration from Central Asian people to India. Further down the line, many communities, travelers, and companies immigrated to India for business. In modern diaspora history, Indians migrated to different parts of the world due to slavery and later as indentured laborers. In the contemporary world, migration occurs for business, education, and lifestyle change. The British colonial capital grew worldwide after the Industrial Revolution began. Workers in the British colonies, particularly in the sugar, tea, and rubber plantation colonies, had a huge desire to expand and build plantation economies simultaneously. However, “slavery (a source of cheap labor) was prohibited throughout the British Empire after the British government passed the Act of Abolition (1834). The British government came under intense pressure from the sugar planters to restore the ailing sugar business, which temporarily declined after the abolition of slavery as a source of labor. The British government decided to hire and ship a sizable number of Indian indentured laborers to the world’s sugar-producing colonies (Renu modi 2015).1 India, a “jewel in the crown” colony of the British Empire, was a prime location for low-cost outsourcing labor because it had a large population with low socioeconomic status.

1 Modi Renu, (2015), Reserch get Colonial Period Indenture, Kangani and Maistry Systems. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283497764_Colonial_Period_ Indenture_Kangani_and_Maistry_systems.

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Labor Emigration from India Indians migrated to various regions across the world for various reasons. Indentured laborers from India migrated to the British Empire after abolished slavery in 1833. Business policies, limited exports, and flooding of imported British goods made market conditions unfavorable for local traders engaged in business and trade inside the country. The colonial government acquired land for mining purposes and established the plantation industry in India. The massive land revenue and suppression of artisans, famines, and so forth, increased poverty. Many poor and tribal people lost their land and began migrating from India to escape poverty and oppression in their home villages. Several laborers from different parts of India were left with no option but to go for indentured migration. Simultaneously, freedom movements, British suppressive measures, etc., created widespread panic among the people. Weavers, spinners, smelters, and artists were left with little or no choices for a living due to the loss of the cotton industry and other manufacturing sectors. The repressive caste system in India also rendered the underclasses economically and socially dependent on the upper classes who owned the land. Due to the absence of social and economic mobility among the majority, the poor agriculturalists were forced to look for alternative sources of income, like emigration abroad. The colonial government imposed natural calamities like heavy rains and droughts, periodic famines, crop diseases, and unjust land taxation policies. Increased the economic hardship of the agricultural workers and craftspeople. Therefore, it is no accident that there was a spike in the number of displaced people eager to flee during the famine years (Renu modi 2015).2 There were primarily four kinds of migration people engaged in indentures, Kangani, Maistry, and free migration. Due to both similarities, we will look at Kangani and Maistry migrations as one unit. Comparing migration in the post-colonial era to prior types of migration throughout the ancient, medieval, and colonial periods reveals significant differences. Here, the migrants were from the middle-class, literate, educationally skilled, and proficient in English. India’s postIndependence educational system was modeled after the British and American institutions. The number of professionals produced by the Indian educational system exceeded the number of open positions. Many 2 Ibid.

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potential migrants were drawn to the chances abroad because of underemployment and unemployment. This resulted in skilled professional migration, also known as “brain drain,” which was made possible by the quick changes in global transportation and communication. The industrialized Western nations, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and other European nations, were the main destinations of this migration. Today, in the postmodern age, the movement from one country to another has become the underlying and compelling logic of a multicultural/international world order guided primarily by economic interests. However, in all the phases of its history, diasporic experience has brought complexity both to the individuals and the native and the host countries involved.

Pattern of Migration Five patterns of Indian Emigration, The first phase of international labor migration spanned the latter part of the nineteenth century and the early decades of the twentieth century, when a stream of movement was generated in Indian society, and this migration has had various forms or patterns. (1) “Indentured labor emigration, (2) Kangani/moustry labor emigration, (3) “Free” or “Passage” emigration, (4) “Brain-drain,” or voluntary emigration to the metropolitan countries of Europe, North America, and Oceania, and (5) Labor emigration to West Asia are five distinct patterns of Indian emigration that can be identified historically. In contrast to the first three, the last two forms of emigration a product of the inherent conflicts in India’s post-colonial socioeconomic growth (Jain 1989).” When landowner peasants who couldn’t afford the oppressive taxes were forced to work in factories and plantations around the globe, they finally became landless laborers. The British colonial authority created the indenture, Kangani, and Maistry systems as creative recruitment strategies to fulfill the rising demand for labor (see Kuper 1960). These plans aimed to transfer low-skilled workers from India to other British colonies in South Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. In light of this, Indians started providing their labor to global plantations starting about 1834 until the indenture, Kangani, and Maistry systems were eliminated (Renu modi 2015).3

3 Ibid.

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The Major Trend of International Migration from India, 1830–2011

Source http://hdl.handle.net/

Migration of Indentured Labor Indian indentured labor, commonly referred to as “coolies,” first appeared in British territories when the British Empire outlawed slavery with the passage of the Act of Emancipation in 1834. Due to the freeing of enslaved people, the sugar, coffee, tea, cocoa, rice, and rubber plantations in the colonies experienced a severe labor shortage. The pressure from plantation owners around the world led to the introduction of the indentured immigration system by British colonial authorities. The concept of “indenture” means an individual is bound to work according to a prescribed contract. It refers to the “transfer of labor-power from metropoles to colonies” or as a “system of bonded labor with a resemblance to slavery” (Harris 2007). The indentured workers were referred to as “girmityas” throughout the area (colloquial expression for those who signed the agreement Lal 1997). A laborer could be indentured for up to five years under the contractual terms of indentured servitude. This method ensured a constant supply of workers for the plantations in the British colonies; during colonial times, Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras were all allowed to be the bases of authorized recruiters. The colonial government required that laborer emigration be voluntary, so there used to be a government official—the “Protector of Emigrants”—at each of

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the recruitment agencies to make sure that no coercion was used on the emigrant and that he or she understood the terms and conditions of the five-year contract he or she was making. The majority of indentured immigrants left “voluntarily.” Many indentured emigrants did go “voluntarily.” However, several were also tricked or kidnapped by unlicensed recruiters or agents called “arkatias.” The indentured opportunities overseas were primarily available in public works: roads, harbors, offices, and jails.

Source Leaves of the Banyan tree (Origins and Background of Fiji’s North Indian Indentured Migrants 1879–1916) (Brij Lal 1980) In order to find people and pass them to authorized recruiters, the Arkatias used their “knowledge of local villages, shantytowns, temples, bazaars, and railway stations to recruit the most vulnerable and needy persons” (Doraini 2014). Potential immigrants were driven to depots by licensed recruiters, where they were informed, given medical exams, and had their travel documents produced. Then they were transported under inhumane circumstances, typically on crammed antique sailing boats that were later improved with the invention of steamships. The mortality records confirm that illnesses and fatalities were common during the drawn-out trips from India to South Africa. Both crew members and other emigrants have raped and sexually assaulted women. But because

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“the carrying of human cargo was a successful industry, this exploitative system persisted” (Henning 1993). Under the indentured system, large numbers were recruited from northern India and the Madras Presidency, who went to the tropical colonies and worked on sugar and other plantations. On a plantation estate, an indentured laborer was bound down to the estate manager for five years that s/he could be criminally prosecuted if s/he left the estate. “The indenture system commenced in 1834 to outsource Indian laborers to Mauritius, Uganda, and Nigeria. Later, it was expanded to other countries, including the United Kingdom, Guyana (1838), New Zealand (1840), Hong Kong (1841), Trinidad and Tobago, Malaya (1844), Martinique and Guadeloupe (1854), Grenada (1856), St. Lucia (1858) and St. Vincent and Natal (1860) (Lal et al. 2007). The colonial Government in India passed Act No. XXXVIII of 1860 extended the provision of Act No. 21 of 1855 to include the Colony of Natal (Francis 1983). Immigration agencies were set up at Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta’s port citiesto recruit Indian laborers (Anurekha chari wagh Sociology of the Indian Diaspora)”.

Indentured Labor System Pathway

Demand for sugar

Sugar Plantation

Need for Labour

Request for Labour

Arrival at Colony: immigration depot

Transportation of labourer to Colony

Recruitment of contract labours: immigration depot

Labour requisition to recruitment agents

Medical check administration

Transportation to plantation

Labour camp and work contract period

Completed work contrect

Indo-Fijian

Remain in Fiji

Return to India or

New work contract or

Source The Legacy of Indentured Labor (Harrington-Watt 2019)

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See Table 9.1. The following Table 9.2 provides the list of 25 countries where people from India migrated from 1762 to 1910, including countries like Suriname, Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad, and Tobago Fiji, among others, which experienced the highest number of Indian migrations, that’s why these counties are often called as “Mini India” (Chaudhary 2019). The following data shows the shipment of indenture migration to all countries from 1834 to 1916 (Table 9.3). Table 9.1 Chronology of indentured system S. No.

Year

Descriptions of history of indentureship

1 2

1833 1834

3 4

1874 1879

5

1882

6

1884

7

1908

8

1912

9

1916

10

1920

Britain abolishes slavery The indentured system, an alternate source of labor British Empire, first started with the laborers being sent to work in Mauritius, Uganda, and Nigeria for an initial 5-year period. This system became widely known as “Girmit”—a mispronunciation of the word “Agreement” by non-English speaking Indian laborers Fiji’s Deed of cession to Britain First indentured laborers arrived in Fiji aboard the Leonidas. The ship disembarked in Calcutta on March 03 and arrived in Fiji on May 14 with 373 male and 149 female laborers. 17 of these laborers were infected with diseases such as Cholera, dysentery, and smallpox on board the ship Colonial Sugar Refining (CSR) company of Australia sets up its first sugar mill in Nausori The second emigrant ship arrives in Fiji The fifth emigrant ship to Fiji, Syria, was wrecked on the Nasilai reef, Nausori on May 11, killing fifty-six immigrants and three lascars (Indian Sailors) The first lot of laborers complete their 5-year contract. 60% chose to remain in Fiji The size of “Lines” in which the laborers are housed is charged from 10 ft by 7 to 10 ft by 12 ft Legislation was passed requiring employers of indentured laborers to provide school buildings Britain officially abolished the indentured system. The last shipload of laborers arrives in November aboard the Sutlej V. this is the 87th ship brought to Fiji. Approximately 60,500 laborers came to Fiji between 1879–1916 All indentured in Fiji were canceled

Source Girmit.org (n.d.)

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Table 9.2 Year- and country-wise migration S. No.

Country

Year

S. No.

Country

Year

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Philippines USA Mauritius Ceylon Uganda Nigeria Guyana New Zealand Hong Kong Trinidad and Tobago Martinique and Guadeloupe Grenada Thailand

1762 1790 1834 1834 1834 1834 1838 1840 1841 1845 1854 1856 1856

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

St. Lucia St. Vincent Natal (South Africa) Malay St. Kitts Japan Suriname Jamaica Fiji Burma (Myanmar) Canada Thailand

1856 1856 1860 1860 1861 1872 1872 1873 1879 1885 1994 1910

Source Lal et al. (2006)

Table 9.3 Number of laborers emigrated to colonies

S. No.

Name of colony

Number of laborers

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Mauritius British Guyana Trinidad Jamaica Grenada St Kitts Natal St Kitts St Vincent Reunion Surinam Fiji East Africa Seychelles

453,063 238,909 143,939 36,412 3200 4350 152,184 337 2472 26,507 34,304 60,965 32,00 6315

Source Lal et al. (2006)

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Source civilsdaily.com Table 9.4 shows the percentage of indentured laborers who migrated from the ports of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay between 1835 and 1844. As the data suggest, almost 99% of emigrants emigrated from the port of Calcutta. Tables 9.4 and 9.5 both indicate the percentage and number of indentured migrants through the ports. Table fur shows the migration percentage from Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras from 1835 to 1844. Table 9.6 indicates the migration from Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, and French ports from 1856 to 1916 (Tables 9.6 and 9.7). The above table shows district-wise numbers of migrations from Uttar Pradesh. During 1816–1916, Uttar Pradesh was the largest indentured labor-producing state. However, this large number of migrations can also be attributed to the scarcity and decline in competition from other Table 9.4 Percentage of Port-Wise migration (1835–1844)

Port Calcutta Madras Bombay Total

1835–1839 (%)

1843–1844 (%)

Total (%)

90 10 0 100

99 0 1 100

98 1 1 100

Source Truth and Justice Commission (2011)

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Table 9.5 Numbers of emigrating Indian indentured laborers Year

Calcutta

Madras

Bombay/Karachi

French Port

1856–61 1871–80 1870–79 1880–89 1891–1900 1907–16

14,533 122,241 142,793 97,975 106,700 66,839

6479 56,356 19,104 21,653 28,550 32,369

860 2479 N.A. N.A. 33,343 8016

N.A. N.A. 20,269 9351 N.A. N.A.

Source Lal et al. (2006)

Table 9.6 Districts wise recruitment S. No.

Ship’s departure

Recruitment districts

1

From Calcutta and Mumbai

2

From Calcutta and Mumbai

3

From Calcutta and Mumbai

4

From Calcutta and Mumbai

Allahabad, Azamgarh, Mirzapur, Banaras, Ghazipur, Gorakhpur, Kanpur, Bareilly, Agra, Jhansi, Jaunpur Awadh, Lucknow, Sitapur, Sultanpur, Faizabad, Rae Bareli Indore, Nagpur, Jabalpur, Raipur, Rinwa, Gwalior Calcutta, Habra, Nudia, Burdwan, Murshidabad, Pubuya, Rangpur, Cooch Bihar, Purnia, Chotanagpur, Bankura, Birbhum, Midnapore, Handle, Pargana, Dhaka, Meenings, Bakarganj, etc.

Source Chaturvedi (1985)

colonies (Lal 2006). Shahabad, Gaya, and Patna were the chief recruiting districts, but the highest number of indentured laborers came from the eastern districts of Uttar Pradesh, like Basti, Faizabad, and Allahabad. The table’s data highlights that Basti, Gonda, Faizabad, Azamgarh, and Gorakhpur were the top recruiting districts during the colonial period, while Kanpur, Unnao, Agra, and Mirzapur were at the bottom (Lal 2013) (Table 9.8).

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Table 9.7 District-Wise North Indian migration in Fiji

District

Numbers

Percentage of total migration (%)

6415 3589 2329 1747 1716 1683 1218 1188 1127 1087 894 769 767 750

14.1 7.9 5.1 3.8 3.8 3.7 2.7 2.6 2.5 2.4 2.0 1.7 1.7 1.6

Basti Gonad Faizabad Sultanpur Azamgarh Shahabad Allahabad Jaunpur Ghazipur Rai Bareilly Partapgarh Bara Banki Gaya Bahraich

Source Lal et al. (2006)

Table 9.8 District-wise caste composition of emigrants District of origin castes Allahabad Basti Benares Faizabad Gonda Gorakhpur Jaunpur Lucknow Gazipur

Brahmans

Khattri

Ahir

Kurmi

Chamar

Pasi

82.35 75.81 60.0 38.70 79.71 47.36 85.36 83.33 86.66

69.27 64.34 84.00 70.00 69.13 49.09 96.15 100.00 44.23

49.00 61.17 53.3 33.03 70.91 31.86 80.66 56.25 −50.00

75.75 66.17 75.00 31.68 65.25 32.66 90.9 41.66 100.00

50.45 45.76 47.36 27.09 75.13 26.66 63.17 58.92 35.97

41.46 61.03 50.00 30.55 59.15 16.66 66.66 40.74 100.00

Source Lal (2000)

Emigrants from Uttar Pradesh came from various social backgrounds, representing various castes like Ahir, Kshatriya, Chamar, Thakur, Dhobi, Pasi, Brahman, etc. The table shows that many indentured laborers from the Brahman caste were recruited from Gazipur, Jaunpur, Lucknow, and Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. Most Muslims were recruited from Allahabad and Lucknow, Khattris from Lucknow, Jaunpur, Benares, and Faizabad, followed by Basti, Allahabad, Gonda. The majority of Ahirs were recruited from Jaunpur, Gonda. Kurmi and Pasi were largely recruited from Gazipur,

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followed by Jaunpur and Gonda. Chamars were mostly recruited from Gonda and Lucknow. Therefore, we can conclude that Indentured laborers from Utter Pradesh who migrated belonged to different castes and places. (Lal 2000)

Chaturvedi (1985) describes the decreasing and increasing commission rates of selling prices for men, women, and children. When the Fijian government decided to bring the laborers from India, they opened a center and appointed their agents in Calcutta. In 1902, the Fiji government opened another center in Madras. In 1912, they opened a new branch in Banaras, but it did not work out well because the depot was too far from Banaras, which is why it was not convenient for agents to take the laborers from Banaras to the depot. Table 9.9 shows that agencies used to provide a commission to agents based on their place of work from the main branch in Kolkata. The commission rate given to sub-agents for providing laborers varies according to the laborer’s gender and age. In 1886, the commission rate was Rs. 17 to Rs. 25, Rs. 24 to Rs. 34, and Rs. 10 to Rs. 12 for men, women, and children, respectively. By the year 1904, the rates were increased by 75%. In 1905, a commission of Rs. 40 for men and Rs. 50 for women was used to be given to the sub-agents. In 1908, the rates were lower. It went risen from Rs. 35 to Rs. 40, Rs. 45 to Rs. 50, and Rs. 17 to Rs. 20 in 1910. As is clear, not only were the laborers’ wages and the commission paid to the sub-agents variable in these years, but they also varied in different sections of India. Later years saw increased labor rates in Uttar Pradesh’s western region. In 1915, the commission rate was Rs.45 and Rs.55 for male and female laborers. Sub-agents, who seemed important for the business, rely on Arkatia to get fewer commissions than their subheads. In 1882, when Sub-agents get a commission of Rs. 18 and Rs. 28 for male and female laborers, Arkatias got Rs.6 and Rs.8. This commission rate to Arkatias increased to Rs.9 for males and Rs. 20 for female laborers in the year 1912. The rates were different for male and female laborers. Due to the shortage of female laborers, more money and preference were given to them. The rule was to have at least four women laborers in the group of ten laborers. In case the sub-agent supplies an extra female laborer other than four, he/she would get an extra Rs. 10 as a bonus. (Chaturvedi 1985)

Between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in India, the question of women’s empowerment was raised by the social reformers in India for the

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Table 9.9 Commissions of agents for laborer recruitment

Year

Men rates rupee

Women rates rupee

Children rates rupee

1886 1904 1905 1908 1910 1915

17–25 75% up 40 Down 35–40 45

25–34 – 50 – 45–50 55

10–12 – 10–12 – 17–20 17–20

Source Chaturvedi (1985: 92)

first time or in other words, initiatives for women empowerment in India began. At the same time, a new form of women’s exploitation emerged in the name of indenture migration. Women were forced to migrate on a large scale, and there is the essential data mentioned by Lal et al. (2006) on women’s migration. “A large number of women have also included whatever migration occurred during this period. A fixed percentage of women was necessary for each migratory ship. According to the British government, it was made compulsory for at least 25% of women be in British immigration. It increased to 40% in 1870 but getting these goals was too tricky. It was ironic that on the one hand, people began raising their voices against the women’s repression, but at the same time, many women were exported by many individuals and companies.

Kangani and Maistry Migration At the advent of the twentieth century, in order to meet the demand of expanding merchant capital, another form of labor recruitment came into existence known as “Kangani” and its variable Maistry. Kangani was considered a cost-effective, efficient, alternate, and reliable mechanism to outsource Indian unskilled laborers as a contractual labor recruitment mechanism. It was devised and flourished in Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) and Malaya (present-day Malaysia) under the British Empire’s patronage. Experts suggest that the rise in prominence of Kangani and a change in the cultivation pattern from tea and coffee to rubber coincided, especially in Ceylon and Malaya in the mid-nineteenth century (Sandhu 1969). The terms Kangani and Maistryare engrafted from the Tamil language. Kangani is an anglicized form of a Tamil word, which is the blend of

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two words, “kan” and “kani.” “Kan” means eyes, and “kani” means to keep watch, so “Kangani” means a person who keeps an eye on workers or oversees them. Kangani can be translated as headman. The term was initially used to describe those people who supervised agricultural laborers on temple land in South India. It has been observed that the time Kangani was restricted to men only. Maistry, on the other hand, refers to a supervisor. Though characteristics of Kangani and Maistry systems were expected, there were differences between them as well. Kangani was prevalent in Ceylon and Malaya, while Maistry was popular in Burma (present-day Myanmar). Recruitment of the laborer in both these systems was done by “middlemen,” and the debt–bondage relationship was introduced to facilitate the recruitment for plantations in the British colonies (Renu modi 2015).4

System Under Kangani Under the Kangani system, the recruiter mobilized the laborers from their own extended families, fellow caste members, a network of friends, or men from their villages by advancing money for their passage. Based on the recruiter’s connections at the village, familial, caste, and regional levels, as well as a bondage-debt relationship, the Kangani method of labor recruitment was used (Renu modi 2015).5 Early in the nineteenth century, this technique was first implemented to aid in recruiting labor for Ceylon’s coffee and tea plantations. It became popular in Malaya by the end of the nineteenth century. However, after forbidding Indian immigration to Malaya the previous year, it was discontinued in 1938. However, the Kangani system was adopted in Ceylon in the 1820s, or at the latest, in 1830, and it remained in use until 1940. The Kangani system evolved to mobilize laborers to develop plantation agriculture in Ceylon and Malaya. The Tamil area of southern India is where this system first emerged. For the owner of plantations in the Ceylon and Malaya regions, the Kanganis served as recruiters. For the purpose of finding potential coolie laborers to work on their plantations, the owners sent them along with the payment of an advance sum. Over 1.7 million Indians are thought to have been hired between 1840 and

4 Ibid. 5 Ibid.

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Table 9.10 Labor recruitment for Kangani system Labor recruitment systems

Country

Period

Indian immigrants

Kangani

Ceylon/Sri Lanka Malaya/Malaysia

1852–1937 1852–1937

Maistry

Burma/Myanmar

1852–1937

1,500,000 2,000,000 (includes indenture) 2,500,000

Sources Gangulee (1947), Clarke et al. (1990)

1942 through the systems of Kangani and Maistry to work in Malaya (including Singapore), over 1.6 million in Burma, and roughly 1 million in Ceylon (Brij B. Lal 2007).6 The Madras Presidency provided the majority of the laborers hired through the Kangani and Maistry systems. Tamil Nadu’s hinterlands were used as a source of surplus labor for rice growing in Burma, the Western Ghats, Ceylon, and the rubber plantations of Malaya (Renu modi 2015).7 The next section goes into great length about the nature and traits of Kangani and Maistry systems (Table 9.10).

Nature and Characteristics of Kangani System The Kanganis worked as intermediaries between plantation owners and laborers, providing an advance payment to the coolies to cover their transportation by ship. On the arrival of the group of laborers at the plantation, the Kanganis started supervising them. “As many as 20–25 people comprise a group of laborers. In the economic structure of the plantation, the Kanganis, who were typically aged and experienced, were positioned above the laborers. Kanganis was the primary link between management and the labor force since they served as middlemen between business owners and workers. A more significant segment of the society could be controlled by the Kanganis, who were primarily from the upper caste and had power over other lower castes in the area (Renu modi

6 Lal, B. V. (2006). The Encyclopedia of the Indian Diaspora. 7 Modi Renu, (2015), Reserch get Colonial Period Indenture,

Kangani and Maistry Systems. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283497764_Colonial_Period_ Indenture_Kangani_and_Maistry_systems.

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2015)8 ” Since they were attracted by the financial rewards that the plantation owners promised for each recruit, it has been observed that, like many recruitment systems, Kangani was also not infallible and notorious for malpractices and the employment of forceful, abusive, and fraudulent methods. “Although laborers belonged to the castes, kinship, or connections of the Kanganis, they did not hesitate to commit atrocities over them for personal gain. Plantation owners gave the Kanganis permission to punish defaulters without bringing charges against them in order to maintain control over them and demonstrate their authority. The means of social control available to Kanganis ranged from paternalism to ruthless arbitrariness (Lal 2006).9 ” However, the Kanganis were not just recruiters-cum-foremen or overseers of the laborers; their relationship was dynamic. The Kanganis worked as patrons, negotiators, entrepreneurs, and financiers of laborers. The Kanganis were involved in all decisions of their group of laborers. They intervened and took decisions on professional matters of the laborers and mediated in their domestic disputes too. Understanding the Kanganis as mediators between labor and management is sometimes construed as mediators between labor and capital. But it wasn’t accurate. A Kangani’s primary responsibility was to force workers to the strict discipline demanded by the plantation production system; he was not a “mediator of conflicts between labor and capital.” In contrast to the Kangani system in Ceylon, the workers in Malaya received their wages directly from the plantation management, which diminished the influence of the Kanganis there. Given the close ties of ascription and subordination of the laborers due to the debt-bondage relationship, the Kangani system became more popular among plantation owners than the indenture system because it guaranteed a consistent, reliable labor supply and the efficient operation of the plantations. (Jain 1993)

The Kangani system was prevalent in both Ceylon and Malaya, but most of the characters mentioned above belonged to Ceylon’s Kangani system. There were several differences between these two types of systems: In contrast to the Kangani system in Ceylon, the Kangani system in 8 Ibid. 9 Lal, B. V. (2006). The Encyclopedia of the Indian Diaspora.

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Malaya was less reliant on the Kanganis because the planters’ recruitment businesses managed or regulated the hiring procedure. The Kanganis were forced to rely on or work with recruitment agencies. In addition, unlike in Ceylon, the plantation managers in Malaya paid wages directly to the workers. Therefore, the Kanganis of Malaya was not at the core of the plantation operations. Besides, due to a plantation bureaucracy, the planters exercised strict control over both the Kanganis and the laborers. Thus, the position of the Kanganis in Ceylon was more dominant compared to their counterparts in Malaya. The Kangani system was different from the indenture system in many ways. In the plantation economic structure, the Kanganis served as a “inevitable link” or “intermediary” between the planters and the workers (Jain 1993). Furthermore, the physical quality of the employees was acceptable compared to hirings made through the indenture system because the Kanganis selected workers from their clan or local villagers. In addition, the Kangani method eliminated the gender gap on the plantations by promoting the family movement.

Maistry System The Maistry system was popular in Burma. However, the characteristics and causes of the Maistry system’s emergence were the same as the Kangani system. In terms of the hiring and subordination of laborers to satisfy the expanding need for unskilled employees in Burma’s colonial economy, the Maistry system was an adaptation of the Kangani system. The Maistry method of labor recruitment in Burma was fostered and created by the Workmen’s Breach of Contract Act of 1869 and the Labour Act of 1876. The British India Steam Navigation handled the transport of workers between Burma and India. Contrary to the Kangani system, when workers were hired from the Tamil region, the majority of employees were pulled from the Andhra region of the Madras Presidency. Burma plant owners frequently used the Maistry system because they thought it was more affordable and practical. The Maistry system, in contrast to the Kangani system, was significantly more organized, had a clearer hierarchy of grades, and had a defined labor relationship where “the hierarchy of middlemen employers was composed of the Labor Contractor, the Head Maistry, the Charge Maistry, and the Gang Maistry.” Enslavement of the laborers to the middleman-employer due to the debt–bondage relationship was the main characteristic of the Maistry

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system. Illegal deduction of wages and disbursement through middlemen employers was a popular way of controlling the Maistry system recruits. The system was extremely forceful and exploitative. Both daytime and nighttime work were compensated with the same salary. Furthermore, under the Maistry system, as opposed to the Kangani system, the workers were obedient to the Maistry rather than the factory or rice field owners. In addition, Maistry held a powerful position because he had the authority to remove the workers at will. Since the Act of 1869 was so repressive and worsened labor relations, it was later overturned. Because of the inadequate protections and working conditions that it provided to its labor recruits, the Maistry system was finally disbanded in 1937. The Kangani, the Maistry, and indenture systems—these three contractual labor systems functioned as “agencies” to hire the unskilled laborers and the “coolies” from India at a mass level. These systems were deftly designed to suit the needs of unskilled laborers in different regions of the British Empire and guarantee their movement between India and the British colonies. The distinguishing characteristic of these labor recruiting methods was the predominance of “middlemen” or “agents” in terms of recruitment and labor transportation. These systems provided an alternative to slavery and provided workers with limited protections regarding their working circumstances (Kuper 1960). The majority of the Indian immigrant workers continued to live in their chosen nations despite all the hardships they had to endure. Their descendants have adjusted to the sociopolitical and economic conditions of their host environments due to their tenacity and perseverance over the years. The descendants of these working-class emigrants today make up sizable ethnic minority communities in the individual countries of adoption where they were born, raised, and now call home.

Free Migration Free/passage migrants traveled and settled using their own money. The colonial rulers did not have to take care of them or be responsible for their travel expenses. This differentiated the free migrants from indentured migrants. The indentured and Kangani labor migration was a form of contractual migration. However, free/passage migration includes laborers and other people who were traveling for various reasons. Many British documents also include the indentured migrants as “free Indians,” who

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had finished their indentured periods and returned as free labor. Other documents refer to the passenger Indians as free Indians. Even after indentured labor was abolished, migration did not stop. Indians kept migrating for business purposes and political and educational activities, among others. Emigrants were not legally sponsored under the system of passage and free movement. Emigrants themselves covered travel expenses. They were liberated in the sense that no agreement could bind them. Members of trading groups migrated steadily under this migration strategy from Gujarat and Punjab to South Africa and East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda). In East Africa, the free emigrant traders, and skilled laborers did not settle down as farmers or laborers. Most of the present Indian population of Kenya and Uganda arrived after the railroad had inspired occasions for trade. This emigration was not completely unorganized. The new arrivals worked originally for their promoters but in time, divided out on their own, often sponsored by the local caste community’s fellows. There is a rudimentary resemblance between free emigration and the Kangani system in that the emigrants were not unrelated individuals, as in the indenture system, but constituted self-regulating groups recruited based on kinship, caste, and the village of origin. The first time the migration stream was mainly based on an individual’s decision, not on the group-based decision. The people who went as free labor migrants comprised petty contractors, merchants, bankers, shopkeepers, and belabors destinations were North America, Europe, Australia, and Eastern parts of Africa, and they established themselves as Indian representative and engaged themselves in every aspect of life. Migration from India continued even after independence in 1947. The majority of immigrants during this time period migrated to the UK, some because of previous ties to colonial countries and others because of their experiences as soldiers and sailors in previous wars. The professional, skilled people and students of higher classes moved toward developed countries and the stream exists today. The migration of skilled and technical workforce has given a new concept as “Brain drain” and also conceptualized as “new mantra of development” and “Ideas of economic reform.” The following table, abstracted from the census report of 1911, shows the occupations taken up by Indians other than indentured laborers. Elaborate or discuss Tables 9.11 and 9.12.

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Table 9.11 Indians employed in Fiji during 1911 Occupation

Males

Agricultural related workers Commercial works like hawkers and storekeepers etc. Bakers and confectioners Barbers Carters Carpenters and painters Dairymen Goldsmiths Tailors Other industrial workers Domestic workers Clerks and interpreters Lighthouse keepers Police and warders Priests Occupations not stated Children under the age of 10 years not employed Total

Females

Total strength

8576 439

1781 97

10,357 530

9 18 34 11 16 21 10 965 314 20 19 49 35 1487 3971 16,000

– – – – – – 2 804 3532 – – – 3 3 3760 9976

9 18 34 11 16 21 12 1769 3846 20 19 49 38 1490 7731 25,976

Source McNeill (1914: 259–260)

Table 9.12 Free Indian population in Fiji, 1908–1912

Year

Free Indians

1908 1909 1910 1911 1912

21,151 23,163 26,557 29,758 32,482

Source McNeill (1914: 250)

Fiji: History and Population Fiji is a group of more than 300 islands in the South Pacific Sea between Australia and South America. Its total area is 274,000 square kilometers. The most populated and largest islands are Viti Leu, where Suva’s capital city is located, and Vanua Leu, and these two islands were my fieldwork area. Melanesian and Polynesian people make up the majority of the

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native Fijian population. “The population of Fiji was projected to be 51% native Fijians, 44% Indians, 5% Europeans, other Pacific Islanders, overseas Chinese, and others in 1998. Although Fijian and Hindi (Indian) are sometimes used in Parliament, English is the official language. The Malayo-Polynesian language family of Fijan dialects includes the Bau dialect, which is spoken across the archipelago with the exception of Rotuma, where Rotuman is spoken. Fiji Indians speak Hindustani, a regional variety of Hindi” (Chaturvedi 1985).10 Christianity is the dominant faith of the majority Fijian population. Of Asian religions, Hinduism is predominant, followed by Islam. The majority of Christians in Fiji (52%) are Roman Catholics (37%) and Methodists (9%). Nearly 38% of Indian Fijians are identify as Hindu, 8% as Muslim (Sunni), and 2% as someone else. The Fijians are also aware of several belief systems. The recently modified Constitution (1998) guarantees religious freedom (Chaturvedi 1985). There are thirteen different names for Fiji in English, according to pronunciations like Biti, Fiji, Vihi, Viti, and so on. Generally, tribes call their islands Viti, and the peoples of this island are known as Kaiviti; because of their phonetics, they pronounce V as F and T as J, Viti becomes Fiji. Fiji has a long history of practicing cannibalism, mainly on Taveuni Island. Because of these practices, many travelers have gone through enormous difficulties. Many travelers have been hunted by natives (Chaturvedi 1985)”.11 The Fiji Islands were initially discovered by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1643, marking the beginning of known European interaction. Captain James Cook of England visited it in 1774, and in 1840, Charles Wilkes led a three-month American expedition there. In his book Fiji ki Khoj, Chaturvedi mentioned that travelers had been recorded visiting Fiji since 1513. However, settlement in Fiji was more complicated. Fiji has a history of practicing cannibalism, mainly on Taveuni Island, and other difficulties inhibiting travelers’ settlement. An American ship, Eliza, attempted to get through but was destroyed in Fiji in 1808. Fifty years later, another American ship, Batalia, reached Levuka

10 Prsad, J. (1985). Fiji Mein Parvasi Bhartiy. New Delhi: Bhartiy Sanskritik sambandh parisad. 11 Ibid.

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Island. The captain of Bataliya asked the island chief for forty-five thousand dollars as compensation for sinking Eliza. This incident is said to be the trigger for Fiji falling into the lap of Queen Victoria. The settlers have also created gullible tribals. A famous proverb in Fiji states that the settlers took many acres of land in exchange for two match boxes. On the seized land, the settlers first planted cotton and coconut trees, and when the cotton plantation incurred huge losses, they planted sugarcane instead. The sugarcane plantation, thus, becomes the main thread for the Indians immigrants. Table 9.13 shows the number of emigrants who went to Fiji from 1891 to 1902 from Calcutta’s port. Table 9.14 shows the data for age-wise indentured labor that emigrated from Calcutta to Fiji. Indentured workers from India started to arrive in Fiji in 1879 to work on the country’s economic mainstay, the sugar cane plantations. A total of 498 persons were on board the Leonidas, the first immigrant ship, when it sailed out of port on March 04, 1879: 273 men, 146 women, 47 boys, and 32 girls. 60,965 Indian men, women, and children emigrated to Fiji between 1879 and 1916 when India outlawed indentured emigration. Of them, 45,439 had boarded ships at Calcutta, with the remaining arriving from Madras. According to Chaturvedi (1985),

Table 9.13 Emigrants from Calcutta to Fiji, 1891–1902

Departure year

No. of emigrants

1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02

1985 781 1082 1432 565 1953 567 N.A. 1490 2553 2319

Source Moral and Material Condition of India, Report for the years 1891–92 to 1901–02

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Table 9.14 Emigration from Calcutta to Fiji by age, 1879–1916

Percentages to the total number of Emigrants Age group

Males

Females

Total

Under 2 2–10 10–20 20–30 30–40 Over 40

1.3 3.3 12.4 48.8 3.7 0.1 69.6

1.3 2.4 5.5 19.9 1.2 0.1 30.4

2.6 5.7 17.9 68.7 4.9 0.2 100.0

Source Lal et al. (2006)

medical examination of all laborers took place two or three days before the departure of the ship. Male doctors examined men and women both, and this process was not comfortable for women. Only those who passed the medical check-up were allowed to travel. They were provided with clothes like “pajama,” “kurta,” and cap like prisoners. They were also given one aluminum lota, a thali, and a small bag for food, water, and other things.

Accommodation and Ration In the colonial period, after the Indian migrants deboarded on the host land, they were sent to shelter houses built on the farming land, known as coolie or lines. The shelter houses were tiny—only 10 feet by 7 feet. Their shed was made of tin sheets. Overall, it was like a box. Four people shared it at a time. Children were supposed to be living with their parents. If it were an entire family, one room would be allotted to them.

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Coolie Lines

Source https://yourstory.com/2017/12/indentured-labourers-india There was another place known as ghostlines, because of the accidental deaths of 6–7 local people, no one wanted to accommodate in Ghostland. While describing the situation in the shelter houses of Indian migrants, Jagdish Prasad wrote, “Each coolie line has 24 rooms. The place was surrounded by forest, smelled a lot, and infested with rats. After the settlement, the emigrants were provided with raw food.” The Indian immigration ordinance that came into force in 1883 prescribed the rations for indentured laborers. It was for each adult laborer: 22 oz of rice or flour, or 11 oz rice and 11 oz flour; 4 oz dal; 1 oz ghi; 1½ oz mustard oil; 1/3 oz curry stuff; 2 oz sugar; and 1 oz salt. Children over five years of age were allotted half of the adult ration of rice, flour, dal, salt, sugar, and one imperial pint of fresh milk. The AgentGeneral or the District Medical Officer had the power to order rations to be given to any emigrant labor or the laborer’s child for a period not exceeding six months (Table 9.15).

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Table 9.15 Cost of rations in Fiji

Food items

Quantity (oz)

Weekly currency

Flour

11

7.21

Rice

11

8.24

Dal

4

3.01

Ghi

1

5.25

Mustard oil

1½

1.26

Curry stuff Sugar Salt

1/3 2 1

1.26 1.40 0.35

Yearly 1 Blanket 2 Dhooties 1 Chintz mirjace 1 Lascars cap 1 Wooden bowl

Source McNeill (1914)

The Working Conditions of Indian Laborers in Fiji Work on sugarcane plantations was labor-intensive, and everyone was expected to work, even women and older children. Sometimes women outnumbered men in the field. The women worked in the areas and cooked, raised their children, and managed their households. At the same time, their male counterparts were expected to do all the heavy fieldwork, such as digging, weeding, cutting, and even loading harvested cane on carts. In this regard, McNeill and Lal (1914) writes, The day of the indentured laborers used to start at 3 or 4 in the morning. They were woken up by the mill whistle and the sirdars [supervisors]. They would then take bathe, cook their breakfast and lunch, and muster their tools before setting off for the field. The maximum distance immigrant laborers would legally be made to walk to work without compensation in the form of the reduced task was two miles. They arrived at the field by 5 or 6 am. In the field, they were be allotted their tasks for the day by the overseers and sirdars. The laborers usually worked in groups under a sirdar, with the women in separate groups, but the tasks were individually assessed. The majority of the laboron a sugar plantation consists of planting, weeding, thrashing, cutting, and loading sugarcane as well as

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digging and cleaning drains. Shovel-plowing jobs existed earlier, but later horses were used in place of them. The kind of the soil and the cane determined the scale of the task. (McNeill and Lal 1914)

Wages The overseer used his long bamboo rod to measure and make notes on the tasks for the coming week. Depending on the season, the work involved planting, cutting, or weeding sugarcane. From 1865 to 1928, the pay of the labor varied from 10 to 25 cents per day. Men and women workers lined up in the play yard on Saturday to get their paychecks, which were given out by the boss from currency sacks. The contract signed by the laborers who came from India to Fiji mentioned that they would get daily shilling wages. Then the price of one shilling in Indian currency was only 12 paise. Unfortunately, they were unaware of the rules and regulations of work, how much work there would be, and what their labor would cost in Fiji. Overseers or plantation owners used to cut laborers’ salaries as punishment for minor mistakes. The Agent-General’s 1887 report gives some data on the income of Indian laborers. This data is averaged over four months—March, June, September, and December 1887. The average income of male laborers in March 1887 was 6.43–6.82 pence, and of the female laborers was 5.21– 6.91 pence. In June 1887, male laborers earned 9.35–9.69 pence and female laborers 5.06–6.25 pence. The average income over the previous four months was 7.66–8.09 pence for male laborers and 4.54–5.96 pence for female laborers. The workers were not given minimum wages; most male workers could earn less than seven pence. There was a large number of women that made only 5 pence or slightly more per day. A far fewer women earned 9 pence per day—the maximum for women. According to the Agent-General of the Department of Immigrants, the daily income figures are as in Table 9.16. According to the 1884 to 1899 data, it is clear that male workers generally earned 8 to 10 pence per day, but women did not get more than 5 to 6 pence per day. After some years, there was some increment in the daily wages, which was also maximum for men’s work, women workers never went beyond 6–7 pence per day. The supervisor measured and noted the chores for the upcoming week using his long bamboo rod. The task involved planting, cutting, or

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Table 9.16 Daily wages of indentured labor in Fiji

1884

Male Female

8.5 or 11.00 pence 4.75 or 8.25 pence

1893

Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female

10.14 or 11.72 pence 50.85 or 7.51 pence 10.38 or 11.66 pence 5.60 or 7.13 pence 10.99 or 12.15 pence 6.15 or 7.62 pence 12.30 pence 7.81 pence 12.57 pence 7.48 pence 12.62 pence 7.71 pence

1895 1896 1897 1898 1899

Source Chaturvedi (1985)

weeding sugarcane, depending on the season. The wage for labor ranged from 10 to 25 cents per day between 1865 and 1928. On Saturday, male and female employees used to lined up in the play yard to receive their paychecks, which were paid out by the boss from money sacks.

Working Conditions of Women Laborers Many questions arise when we read the history of this migration from a woman’s perspective. Who were these women? Did they migrate with family? Did they go alone? Totaram Sanadhya explains these questions in his book Fiji me Mere 21 Varsh, describing many incidents in this regard. Often, Indian women were cheated into becoming indentured or Kangani laborers. Given the widespread and widely shared belief that Indian women were caste/tradition-bound and should stay at home, limited to doing the daily chores, it was surprising to witness a significant number of migrations among Indian women. Overall, there was not much difference between the migration percentage of males and females. 59% of the migrants were males, and 54% were females. The highest female emigration was from Jaunpur, Gonda, Lucknow, Basti, and Allahabad, followed by Gazipur and Gorakhpur. It is apparent from Table 9.17 that, during this period, Faizabad was the leading center for registration.

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Table 9.17 Male and female percentage of emigration during the colonial period

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District of origin castes Allahabad Basti Benares Faizabad Gonda Gorakhpur Jaunpur Lucknow Gazipur Average

173

Percentage of males

% of females

54.4 59.5 60.3 39.8 70.6 45.2 78.4 6.1 64.2 59.28

54.4 59.0 53.3 32.7 66.5 41.8 71.2 63.9 48.4 54.63

Source Lal (2000)

According to Sanadhya (1973: 64), a woman had once fought with her husband and run away to her mother’s home. An unknown person met her on the street, asked her where she was going, and offered to drop her. He took her to the depot and sent her to Fiji as an indentured laborer. Another woman told Sanadhya that her husband had called her to his working place, and as she was making her way there, she met a man on the way who told her that she would take her to where he is. He brought her to the depot, where she saw her husband and called out for him, but she was silenced. Another woman said that she went to watch the fair and an arkatia brought her from there to the depot and then across the seven seas. There had also been incidents of oppression in Fiji, which can be attributed to middlemen, landlords, and even male coworkers. This is illustrated in the following example of Kunti’s case. This horrendous oppression An arkatia took Kunti and her husband from Lakhpura, Gorakhpur district, and sent them to Fiji. At that time, Kunti was only 20 years old and had faced lots of problems and atrocities. She tried to protect herself, but the overseer-master attempted to subdue her sexually. They would send all laborers to “Sabu Kere” banana fields to work in different parts to get her alone. It was a field where everyone was far enough that no one could listen to Kunti. On April 10, 1912, the overseer-master reached the place where Kunti was working, and both attempted to rape her. Kunti ran away and reached a river near her working area. She jumped into the river, but

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fortunately, a boat driver called Jaidev saw her. He started the boat and pulled her out of the river. She complained to the white master against the overseer and the master, but she was told, “I do not want to listen to anything that happened in the field.” After that, Kunti was absent till April 13 and joined work on April 14. The overseer gave her 20 feet of grass to dig up and sent her husband a mile away from her, where officers brutally beat him up. She later retold this incident to a newspaper, Bharat Mitr, through someone. Bharat Mitr published it, and after that, the Indian government turned its attention toward Kunti and started an investigation in Fiji. When the immigration officers knew about this, they threatened her, but Kunti told them that Bharat Mitr was the truth whatever she said. She said the painful reality of the indentured system. (Sanadhya 1973)

Picture-Violence Against Women by the Overseers

We now have some idea of the atrocities faced by Indian women engaged in various kinds of labor overseas. These cases are not outliers but represent Indian female laborers’ general treatment on plantation lands in Fiji and other migratory places.

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Summary This study is based on history, where patterns and conditions of migration have been analyzed. It has addressed migration patterns, routes, features, etc., in ancient, medieval, and modern times. Additionally, it has paid specific attention to the indentured migration pattern, which is the center point of this research. This study has looked at the process, form, impact, reasoning, etc. of Indian indentured migration from India, a migration pattern occurring in other countries, including the Kangani and Maistri systems. This study has also explored Indian labor’s condition after they arrived in Fiji, focusing on the atrocities faced by the Indian Diaspora in Fiji. The study has observed that the Indian Diaspora is a large and distinctive group with its primary origin in the colonial period. It not only rich the cultural and economic structure of the host land as an indentured laborer. The plantation in the British colonies led to large-scale migration from India, the condition of the migrants was/is not good because of their identity as an outsider. The Indian Diaspora in Fiji is still not in good condition because of racial discrimination-based cups. They are forced to migrate from Fiji to other countries like Australia, Newzealand, and other parts of the world.

Bibliography Anteby-Yemini, Lisa and Berthomière, William. 2005. Diaspora: A Look Back on a Concept. Bulletin du Centre de recherche français à jerusalem. Bourne, Jenny. n.d. ‘Slavery in the United States’. EH.net. Available at https:// eh.net/encyclopedia/slavery-in-the-united-states/; accessed on July 26, 2020. Brown, Carolyn Henning. 1989. ‘The Social Background of Fijis in 1987 Coup’. Sociological Bulletin 38 (1): 95–117. Chaturvedi, Jagadish Prasad. 1985. Fiji Mein Pravasi Bharatiya. New Delhi: Bharatiya Sanskratic Sambandh Parishad. Chaudhary, Pramod. 2019. ‘Why Fiji Is the Mini India? A Beautiful Island Nation in the Pacific Ocean’. Being Realist (Blog). Available at https://beingrealistme.blogspot.com/2019/05/why-fiji-is-mini-india-bea utiful-island.html; accessed on July 26, 2020. Doriani, Kara. 2014. Indian Diaspora in the United States: Exploring Attitudes towards Migratory Return. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/ 269710879.

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Sandhu, Kernial Singh. 1969. Some Aspects of Indian Settlement in Singapore, 1819–1969. Cambridge University press. Gillion, K.L. 1956. ‘The Sources of Indian Emigration to Fiji’. Population Studies 10 (2): 139–57. Girmit.org. n.d. ‘History’. Available at http://girmit.org/?page_id=164; accessed on July 26, 2020. Harrington-Watt, K. 2019. ‘The Legacy of Indentured Labor’ Economics. The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity. Harris, M. Keith. 2007. ‘Slavery, Emancipation, and Veterans of the Union Cause: Commemorating Freedom in the Era of Reconciliation, 1885–1915’. Civil War History 53 (3): 264–90. http://socp11.epgpbooks.inflibnet.ac.in/chapter/colonial-period-indenture-kan gani-and-maistry-systems/. Jain, Prakash C. 1989. ‘Emigration and Settlement of Indians Abroad’. Sociological Bulletin 38. Jain, R.K. 1993. Indian Communities Abroad: Themes and Literature. New Delhi: Manohar. Coutler, John Wesley. Op. cit., pp. 92–. Kuper, Hilda. 1960. Indian People in Natal. Pietermaritzburg: Natal University Press. Kurin, Richard. 2002. ‘The Silk Road: Connecting People and Cultures’. Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Available at https://festival.si.edu/2002/the-silkroad/the-silk-road-connecting-peoples-and-cultures/smithsonian; accessed on July 26, 2020. Lal, B.V. 1980. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/10887. Lal, B.V. 2000. Chalo Jahaji: On a Journey through Indenture in Fiji. RSPAS. Lal, B.V. 2006. The Encyclopedia of the Indian Diaspora. Lal, B.V. 2013. Chalo Jahaji: On a Journey through Indenture in Fiji. ANU E Press. Lal, B.V., Reeves, P., and Rai, R. 2006. The Encyclopedia of the Indian Diaspora. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. McNeill, J. 1914. Report on the condition of Indian Immigrants in the Four British Colonies: Trinidad, British Guiana, Jamaica, and Fiji, Part II. Simla: Government Central Press. McNeill, J., and Lal, B.V. 1914. Report on the Condition of Indian Immigrants in the Four British Colonies: Trinidad, British Guiana, Jamaica, and Fiji, Part I. Simla: Government Central Press. Ruchi and Saxena, Sandhya. 2012. ‘Indian Diaspora: Locations, Histories, and Strategies of Negotiation’. International Journal of Research in Social Sciences and Humanities 1 (III). Sanadhya, T. 1973. Fiji Mein Mere 21 Varsh. Agara: Vani Prakashan

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Singh, Upinder. 2009. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th century. New Delhi: Pearson Education India. Truth and Justice Commission. 2011. Truth and Justice Commission Report, Volume I. Government Printing. Tinker, H. 1977. The Banyan Tree: Overseas Emigrants from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

CHAPTER 10

Vivid Girmitiya Sacraments and Ganga Talao Anshuman Rana

Introduction The beautiful island of Mauritius laden with mesmerising coral reefs, palm-fringed beaches and lagoons is indeed a paradise on earth. Not only it attracts the present-day hodophiles but it also attracted the Girmitiyas or Indenture labourers. The history of paradise is soaked with stories of Indian emigrants, the saga of exploitation, slavery and subjugation during their period of indentureship. The struggle of these indentured labourers is even today echoed in the beautiful island of Mauritius which is undoubtedly a story of human perseverance and triumph.

Girmitiyas in Mauritius a Transnational Context With the arrival of the British by 1810 with the fleet of Indian labourers the total slave population on the island reached around 60,000. The

A. Rana (B) Institute of Media Studies, Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University, Lucknow, India e-mail: [email protected]

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British officials were keen to export sugar to England, this led to mushrooming of sugar estates in Mauritius. The demand for cheap labour in Mauritius was imminent. The rise of the multi-ethnic demographic with whites and non-whites gave birth to Creoles. The inhabitants were assured by the act of capitulation so that they could preserve their laws, customs and religion. The great experiment of recruitment of indentured labourers from India to replace slaves worked for the British. It was an experiment that the British extended to other colonies after its success in Mauritius. The first lot of labourers arrived from Calcutta in 1834 after signing a written contract which was known as Girmit and the labourers were known as Girmitiyas or indenture. The signed contract by the labourer mentioned the working conditions, salary, validity and terms of employment. Till now we have discussed briefly the arrival of Girmitiyas to the Island of Mauritius and the great experiment of the British (Rajan and Percot 2011). Moving to the central part of our paper, we are going to discuss the saga of pain and hardships which Girmitiyas. The fellow immigrants were lured and could be addressed as custodians of the cultural heritage of their motherland (Hazareesingh 1966). A large number of Immigrants carried religious books like Gita, Ramayana and Bhagavad Geeta. Mahatma Gandhi visited Mauritius in 1902 called a small India beyond the seas (Hazareesingh 1966). The descendent of Girmitiyas led a massive success story from being a quasi-enslaved to a successful cultural hegemony. Hinduism from the starting of Girmitiyas was deeply rooted in Mauritius. During plantation only they were able to establish small temples of Kalimai and soon bigger temples were also installed. In almost every village with the monetary contribution of Girmitiyas bigger temples were also constructed by the 1880–1920s. Hindus started celebrating their calendar festivals with whatever resources they possessed remembering the ways they celebrated in India (Mathieu 2018).

Literature Review Through the existing literature review, we have tried to understand the model and nature of the Hindu religion. To understand why sacred spaces, religious festivals and pilgrimage are paid attention in the Hindu religion. Religion is an individual and social occurrence (McGuire 2002). It influences a person’s choice of food, site of worship or dressing style

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(Mazumdar and Mazumdar 2004). Hinduism is considered to be the oldest surviving religion dating up to 5000 BC (Singh 2006). According to Rana P. B. Singh, Hinduism is a mixture of religious beliefs, rites and rituals, social norms, customs and interrelated activities (Singh 2014). Religion is always expressed by religious practices. The Hindus carry out prayers through Puja ceremonies either in-home or in a temple. For Hindus worshipping at home is crucial (Whaling 2009). Hindus can have an area for prayers that are embellished with pictures and idols of deities (Smith 2016). This is an important aspect of darshan, that is, to see God and to be seen by God (Whaling 2009). In Mauritius Hindus offer prayers, do daily worship and perform rites of passes under religious observance (Rambachan and Shukla 2016). Talking about myths and legends, In Hinduism, there are four types of Holy books namely Vedas, Ramayana, Bhagavad Geeta and Puranas. They contain the stories of religion which are very sacred and pious to Hindus. It gives insight and meaning of the presence of divine truth for those who believe in it (Davidson and Gitlitz 2002). The mythical journey only leads to the first Hindu pilgrimage to Mauritius.

Spiritual and Symbolic Significance of Ganga Holy Ganga is not merely a river for Indian society and the entire Indian diaspora, but it personifies to be a mother for all. It has its mythological importance and all spiritual faith and religious sacraments start from Ganga itself as it is the holiest of all rivers. The entire Indian community across the globe has developed a diverse relationship with the river and its presence is deeply rooted in the socio-cultural psyche of every Indian since childhood. Ganga is personifying a living being. It is like a mother to all Indians. Our folklores, spiritual books, customs and tradition give special reference to the river Ganga and its water. Apart from socio-cultural relevance, a lot of people are dependent on Ganga for a living as it offers economic opportunities too. Every year a large number of pilgrims come to the bank of river Ganga to offer homage to the Mother Goddess of life. In India, Ganga stretches all the way originating from the Himalayas and empties down in the Bay of Bengal. Ganga is worshipped by Hindus as they believe that bathing in the river washes away sins and helps in the attainment of Moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth and death). The ancient Puranas and Vedas have a reference to Ganga and its importance position in the Hindu pantheon. The iconography of Ganga represents

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a lady with four arms who is surrounded by crocodiles. She holds a pot of Amrita, lotus, Shivalinga, varada mudra and rosary. Crocodile as her vahana or vehicle has meaningful symbolism. It is said that crocodile lay eggs on the banks of the river similarly human destiny is also nested near the banks and we also know that crocodile plucks their prey and takes it deep into the water which represents what the divine does to a person if his efforts are not in rightful direction. Birth may be karma but if we don’t know how to swim across our challenges, we have to face the trials and tribulations which come in form of crocodile to take us away, i.e., uncertainties (Jayaram 2020).

The Legend Is Associated with the River Ganga in India Ganga is considered to be the sister of Goddess Parvathi and a consort to Lord Shiva. In Mahabharata, she has been described as the mother of Bhishma. She is also associated with the birth of Kumaraswami, the son of Shiva, Karna, Satyavathi, Lord Krishna and several other epic characters. In the legend, Ganga emerged in this universe from the extended feet of one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu, i.e., Vaman. To measure the Universe through feet Lord Vishnu pierced a hole at the end of the Universe. From that hole emerged the divine Brahma water which is known as Ganga. The water of river Ganga acquired beautiful pink colour as legend mention that it washed the lotus feet of Lord Vishnu which was covered with reddish Saffron. All the accounts related to the birth of the River Ganga are mentioned in the Bhagavat Purana. Ganga is also known as Vishunupadi or Narayanpadi as it was emancipated from the lotus feet of God (Jayaram 2020). Myths related to the descent of the River Ganga to earth tell us how this holy river emerged and became a source of life to all. Legends tell once Indra stole the ritual horse of Kind Sagara who has sixty thousand sons out of jealousy. So Sagara sent all his sons in search of the horse throughout the entire part of the earth. The son of king Sagara found the Horse next to a sage Kapil who was meditating. Believing that the sage had stolen the horse, the sons of King Sagara attempted to disturb the meditating sage. The Sage in epic was said to be the most powerful of all. The sage opened his eyes and burnt down all the sons of King Sagara due to anger. All sixty thousand sons were burnt to ashes.

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So, the souls of all sixty thousand sons of King Sagara wandered here and there as a ghost as their final rites were not been performed. So, King Sagara sent Anshuman, nephew of his sixty thousand sons to pray to Lord Brahma to bring Ganga to the earth so that his son’s wandering soul could get moksha. But Anshuman also failed in bringing Ganga to earth followed by his son Dilip. Finally, the son of Dilip, Bhagirathi through his hard work was successful in bringing Ganga to earth and was able to cleanse the soul of the sons of King Sagara and release them to heaven. Bhagirath prayed to Brahma to bring Ganga, thus Brahma gave orders to Ganga to go to earth so that his ancestors could get moksha. Ganga felt it insulting and she decided to sweep the whole earth from the Universe. As a result, alarmed Bhagirath prayed Lord Shiva to break the descent of the river Ganga. Ganga arrogantly fell on Shiva’s head whom Shiva calmed down and let her flow in small streams. Ganga eventually helps to purify the unfortunate souls as per the legends. Ganga is considered to be a deity river that follows all three worlds, i.e., Swarga, Prithvi and Patala (Heaven, Earth and Hell).

The Symbolic Interpretation of the Legend The above-mentioned legend about the birth of the river Ganga to earth holds a symbolic significance. The name of King Sagara, Sagara is a Sanskrit word that means ocean, he represents the human mind and consciousness which is as big as the ocean itself. The phenomenal world is represented by the Sagar itself. The sacrificial horse used by King Sagara represents our sense which keeps on moving swiftly like a horse itself. The world is objective, our mind is like an ocean in which the horse representing our sense keeps on claiming ownership and enjoyment. The horse is the cause of suffering; the horse can be the cause of salvation is controlled upon. The earth on which Ganga is to be brought upon represents the objective world which has sense, and which is lost and wondering like ghosts. The earth represents here the worldly life which contains impurities, and impurities can only be washed away with the help of Ganga. The sixty thousand sons of King Sagara are representative of human thoughts, desires and feelings they are the wave formations and modifications of the subtle human mind. Sage Kapila is representative of Karma and fate. Karma punishes the sinful and also it provides the knowledge of selftransformation. Bhagirath represents the real self or the eternal person. A

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dedicated person who is true to himself and through rightful knowledge can not only provide salvation to the wandering souls of his ancestors but also rescue himself from the world of desires, passion, mortality and sinful karma. Shiva is the representative of the divine guru who teaches us when we are devoid of our actions. He puts us on the right track as he put Ganga into various channels. He is the convenor of divine knowledge whom if one follows can get liberation and lastly Ganga represents our pure consciousness which has the power to clean the soul, our mind and body and even transform it into a chariot of delight. When a human being comes in contact with Ganga he/she gets instantly enlightened and purified. Our sins and our Karma is our limitation in the mortal world if we become Bhagirath and bring Ganga into our lives through spiritual practices then we can attain the embodied self. So overall idea behind the legend was to give symbolism to the human mind, sense organs, right thinking, worldly or mortal life, products of the mind, karma, pure consciousness, world teacher, embodied self and divine law. Ganga symbolises the power to purify souls and contains purity and is the mother of all. Thousands of old temples sacred to Hindus are located on the bank of the river Ganga. The mortal world is an illusion itself which is an impure place where a human being performs sinful karma, he is full of fear, delusion, desires and ignorance. Our soul is like a dark cloud and we are bounded by the cycle of birth and death. Our mind is not stable and to attain liberation we need an escape from the mortal world. Liberation is not possible unless and until our souls become purified. Ganga has been cultivating purity, as its water never stagnates, she keeps on purifying all that she touches.

Ganga as a Symbolic Representative of Knowledge of Vedas The spiritual knowledge mentioned in the Vedas is as deep as the ocean. Ganga is the symbolic representation of this spiritual knowledge contained in our Vedas. Knowledge cannot be directly attained or acquired. We need a Bhagirathi or Guru (spiritual teacher) or Brahmin Priest who can intervene and process the knowledge within ourselves. Knowledge of Vedas brings peace and prosperity and helps in the liberation of our souls, just like Ganga in which taking a mere dip cleanses our soul. Like Ganga is for all, our Vedas are also for all, it doesn’t see biasness among rich and poor,

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high caste or low caste. Like Vedas, Ganga also requires rightful actions or karma yoga for the salvation of the body.

Significance of Ganga Jal in Hinduism The water of the river Ganga has a strong emotional dependence on Indian society. Ganga water which is also known as Gangajal is an inseparable facet of Indian society living amidst the basin. The holy water is preserved and can be found in almost every Hindu household and is considered sacred. The holy water infused with Vedic Mantras is considered to contain the power of Lord Shiva. The auspicious water stocked is used for purifying individuals and washing away the evil spirit wherever it is sprinkled. It is used in almost every kind of rites and rituals such as yagna, Durgapuja, Shradh Karma, Rudra Abhisekh, Grah Shanti, Vastu Shanti, Murthi Pratishtha, Bhoomi Pujan, Vivah Samsakara etc. The holy water is the lifeline of Hindus as well as the Indian Diaspora as it is used from the beginning to the end of life. It is mandatory to add a few drops of holy Gangajal into the mouth of a dying person to secure instant salvation. Gangajal is also believed to contain ayurvedic and naturopathic ailments and is used for curing. The water is rich in medicinal properties and is used for spiritual significance as well. Pilgrims carry Gangajal from the spiritual city Varanasi and even from the Ghats of Rishikesh and Haridwar. The shelf life of holy water is indefinite. Millions of Hindus take a dip in the city of Varanasi which comprises beautiful Ghats with an incessant history of 2500 years. Gangajal is an inseparable artery of Hindu civilisation. Hindus have been using the river for the cultivation of their fields for ages. It not only quenches the thirst of animals and cleanses the soul of every living being it helps in the attainment of immortality by washing away our sins. Recognising the religious and spiritual importance, River Ganga has been declared the National River on 4 November 2008 (Report 2013).

Ganga and Varanasi Varanasi is considered the cultural capital of India which is located on the bank of river Ganga. It is the most mystical, venerate and popular Hindu Pilgrim centre which attracts thousands of pilgrims from all over the world. The splendid Ghats with stone line stepped bank is the famous

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seat of learning Sanskrit, religion and philosophy. It is considered to be the eternal seat of Lord Shiva and Hindus aspiring for Moksha or salvation prefer to be cremated near the bank of river Ganga. It has Manikarnika Ghat which is known as the great cremation ground where the famous king like Harishchandra also worked as tedious labour. There is a continuous influx of dead bodies and round the clock, fire is burning near the Ghat.

Sacred Hindu Rituals Performed at the River Ganga There is a wide range of Hindu rituals which are performed, and prayers are offered to various gods, community-level functions, festivals or may it be family congregation each require five basic elements during any kind of ritual, i.e., panch-mahabut (earth, water, air, fire and ether) out of which most auspicious is Gangajal. Every year on specific dates thousands of pilgrims gathers at the bank of the river Ganga. They not only take a holy dip but also perform sacred Vedic rituals in which Gangajal is used. Among the prominent rituals is Mundan Samskara which every Hindu is supposed to undergo in his lifetime and it is among eight of the sixteen samskaras. The very first haircut of the child occurs after the third birth anniversary. It is considered that the first hair of a baby carries traits of a previous life that needs to be severed. The hair is removed and offered to the river Ganga. Antim Samskara is another important ritual of a Hindu which is cremation and it is the last of the sixteen samskaras, under which the soul is supposed to embrace upon death. In this samskara, the dead body disposal takes place, various steps are being followed to make the body hygienic before it is put on fire. It is believed that the body should carry a further journey to heaven peacefully. The cycle of birth and death goes on, we get salvation according to our deeds or karma. Manikarnika Ghat and Harishchandra Ghat of Varanasi are well-known locations where bodies are cremated. After cremation, the ashes are disposed of under Vedic mantras performed by the priest into the holy river, which is also known as asthi-visarjan. The samskaras are a series of sacraments, rituals and sacrifices that are being performed by Hindus and they serve as rites of passage and serve the entry of a Hindu into a particular Varnashram. Snan (Holy Bath) is another important ritual that takes place throughout the year across the holy places situated at the bank of river

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Ganga. Holy bath gives rid of karmic debt aka sins of the previous life. It attracts a large number of pilgrims and special occasions are Makar Sankranti, Mahakumbha and solar eclipse etc. when snan or the holy bath takes place. Aarti is a routine ritual that is offered to the goddess Ganga daily two times a day. The priest with the help of water, flower, incense stick, ring bells and drumbeats and hymn prayers to the river Ganga. Varanasi’s Dashaswamedh Ghat is the most prominent of all where aarti takes place. Thousands of tourists and pilgrims witness this aarti ritual and get mesmerised. Shraadh is another social Hindu custom in which people express their respect to their ancestors so that they can alleviate suffering and their souls can attain peace. On special days of the year, this ritual is performed on the banks of the river Ganga. People come to offer Shraadh to save themselves from Pitra Dosh, Shani Dosh, Mangal Dosh etc.

Ganga Talao in Mauritius Ganga Talao lake in Mauritius is the most sacred place for IndoMauritians. It is also known as Grand Bassin in the district of Savanne. It is a crater lake. It consists of Shiva Mandir on the bank of the Ganga Talao. It also includes temples of various gods like Ganga, Hanuman, Ganesh etc. During the auspicious eve of Maha Shivaratri thousands of pilgrims gather here by walking bare feet from their homes carrying Kanwars on their shoulders. It is believed that in 1866, Pandit Sanjibonlal with his earnings decided to make Grand Bassin a pilgrimage place. The Girmitiyas who carried sacred texts like Ramayana and Bhagwat Geeta wanted to take a holy bath in the Ganges before celebrating the festival of Lord Shiva. It was not possible for them to either bring Gangajal from Varanasi or to go back to Varanasi themselves. It is believed that in 1897 Shri Jhummon Giri Gosagne Napal, a Brahmin priest saw in a dream the water of the lake springing from Ganga itself. It is said he saw fairies in his dream who were dancing near the lake (Sewtohul 2014). This news of the dream spread like wildfire among Hindus living in Mauritius and hence Ganga Talao was being established. It is also known as Pari Talao and was declared a sacred lake in 1998. It is said in 1972 water from river Ganga was mixed in the lake to establish a symbolic link with the river Ganga.

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Girmitiyas and Establishment of Ganga Talao Though there is no river confluence or starting point from where the river originates, then also among Indo-Mauritians the devotees take a holy dip in Ganga Talao, presuming it to be as holy as River Ganges. Let’s analyse how this evolution of considering Ganga Talao as holy as River Ganga took place. As per available literature on 2 November 1934, thirty-six dhangers arrived at Mauritius on certain terms and conditions. Before that till 1920 labourers in form of Girmitiyas kept moving. These labourers were into rags, but they were strong beneath their souls because they had a staunch faith in their religion. They bought along with them their religion, languages and culture and kept India alive in their hearts. It was their devotion and dedication they brought the holy river which embodied being a mother. Like a son cannot stay aloof from his mother for a longer period in the same way these Girmitiya labourers cannot forget their mother Ganga. Over time these labourers started constructing small temples. Few people turned themselves into priests or Pandits. Though their knowledge of Hinduism was very limited, they managed to sustain the rituals which they used to hear from their ancestors back in the homeland. They used to teach the Indo-Mauritians about the importance of taking a dip or Holy bath in the Ganges. These priests never got the opportunity to read the Vedas but as they heard the narratives from their ancestors, they attained knowledge about the Vedas from the same. Staunch Hindu devotees started to pay homage near small river, ponds and steep wells, they worshipped Mother Ganga wherever they found the source of natural water. These priests helped them to light up camphor and use basil and betel leaves for worshipping. Amidst the start of the twentieth century, some progressive Hindus brought Maharshi Dayanand Saraswathi’s sacred book ‘Satyayarth Prakash’ which contained the teachings of Vedas. Hence Arya Samaj was established in Mauritius. In 1916, eminent scholar Kashinath Kishto who was a learned scholar and had a good command over Hindi, Sanskrit, English and Philosophy arrived at Mauritius after completing his education in India. He roamed across the whole of Mauritius to spread the teachings of Vedas and strengthen the Arya Samaj as well.

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In Mauritius, apart from the Arya Samaj, Sanatan Dharma and its followers were larger in number. Hindus believed that they could whitewash their sins by taking a dip into the holy river Ganges. But Kashinath Kishto, who believed in Vedas rejected these beliefs and explained in the practical sense that wrong done to another cannot be washed by taking a holy dip. Another great scholar Acharya Dwarika Nath Tiwari a firm Sanatan Dharma follower when arrived at Mauritius narrated the episodes from the holy bath and constructed a Ganga itself in Mauritius. He told that the river, in the end, gets mixed up with the ocean. Then taking a dip into the ocean is equally fruitful as taking a dip into the river Ganga. Acharya Dwarika Nath Tiwari gave pillars to Sanatan Dharma in Mauritius. People with faith in Hinduism believe that 108 feet lord Shiva Statue at Ganga Talao or Grand Basin is the 13th Jyotirlinga. Ganga Talao for Indo-Mauritians is considered to be as sacred as the river Ganga in India for Hindus. Ganga Talao is a natural lake situated over the crater of an extinct volcano which gives it an extremely picturesque view. Devotees can be found round the clock ringing the bells and offering prayers to their Gods and Goddesses. People of Mauritius believe that prayers are counted at Ganga Talao and miracles happen as their wheel of fortune changes here.

Sacred Rituals Performed at Ganga Talao Pilgrims in the number of thousands, dressed in white walk down to Ganga Talao covering a large distance barefooted. These devotees are worshippers of Lord Shiva as they carry ‘Kanwar’s’ on their shoulders. Kanwar is a type of wooden arch covered with flowers, mirrors and hold two pots on both sides. These people are known as Kanwariyas as they fetch holy water from the sacred lake. This hoy water which is earned by hard work and devotion is kept safe in the houses and is offered on the Shiva Lingas in their homes during rituals. Steven Vertovec observes that the Indian diaspora in Mauritius found a connection and homely environment in the religious institution as it helped them to stay connected with their religious practices. Religion pays solace and supports fellow diasporas living in an alien environment (Lahiri 2019). Girmitiyas who left one Ganga back in their homeland found another in the form of Ganga Talao (Tiwari 2017). Likewise, they sustained their Indian culture with other cultures. These Girmitiyas with rigorous hard

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work reconstructed the new India. If we symbolise Ganga Talao, it depicts us as a sacred complex that the Hindu community constructed in Mauritius to remain attached with their Indian roots. Sacred complexes hold utmost importance in the life of Hindus. From a minority position to a dominant collective identity sacred complexes helped Girmitiyas a lot (Singh 2020).

Ganga Talao as Sacred Complex According to Vidyarthi sacred complex is a group of sacred centres where sacred performances are conducted in the presence of sacred specialists or priests. It has a unique cultural structural relationship with Indian society. The construction of Ganga Talao suggests that people here behold sacred beliefs and firm devotion in Hindu civilisation. The belief of Girmitiyas in supernatural powers protect them from evil forces out in distant land. Sacred specialists or priests help these believers by enchanting Vedic mantras and offerings to God. Pilgrimage in India is crucial to Indians as the presence of the Sacred complex does. It is a quintessential part of the Hindu religion that gives shape to the belief system of the Hindu community. During the process of pilgrimage, cultural interaction takes place which promotes hegemony. Every year devotees of Lord Shiva carrying Kanwar undergo social and cultural interaction with each other which helps them stay connected and extend their religious practices to their upcoming generation. It helps in the purification of the soul and mind (Bhardwaj 1975). Girmitiyas, to remain connected with Indian roots, started naming their sacred complex in the name of Indian temples, for example, Ganga Talao, the name itself suggests that it has taken the idea of establishing river Ganga, similarly, other temples of Mauritius were named, the Tamil Temple of Port Louis was named as Madurai, and even Palani Temple of Quatre-Bornes was devoted to Murugan pilgrims of Tamil Nadu. Constructing Ganga Talao symbolises the idea of constructing Banaras or Varanasi itself in Mauritius. Ganga from Varanasi finally resurface in Mauritius and was supposed to give salvation to Indo-Mauritians (Mathieu 2018). Talao is a Bhojpuri word. Mauritian Pilgrimage starts during the annual festival of Shivaratri. Ganga Talao serves to be the substitute of River Ganga as discussed earlier comprises of extraordinary scenic beauty and rightly can be addressed as Pari Talao, i.e., a lake where fairies come. Pari Talao was named Ganga Talao by Acharya Vidya

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Nidhi Pandey, who brought Ganga water from Haridwar and poured it into the sacred lake ceremoniously in 1972. Ramchurn the famous Mauritian historian says the presence of Ganga Talao in Mauritius is symbolic that we are still in the land where the river Ganga flows and we (Indo-Mauritians and our ancestors Girmitiyas) will find solace when cremated. A recently nearby tall stature of 108 feet of Lord Shiva has been constructed the statue of Goddess Durga. The rituals which take place at Ganga Talao are Durgotsav, Mata ka Jagran and distribution of Maha Prasad. People from every nook and corner of Mauritius try to attend this sacred gathering as they believe that Goddess Durga is the magic this world seeks. They bring their friends and relatives to feel the bliss and spread the lovely fragrance of brotherhood. There are various religious associations in Mauritius taking care of the sacred performance such as Mangal Mahadev Shakti Swaroopa Association. Mangal Mahadev Charan Puja is another sacred performance that takes place to mark the beginning of Shivaratri padh yatra. Durga is symbolic of the strength of women, triumph over evil and sinful vibes. Shiva is incomplete without shakti, i.e., Indo-Mauritians gradually constructed a massive statue of Durga beside the statue of Shiva. Descendants of Girmitiyas to illuminate their life with countless blessings and happiness attend the Mata Rani ki aarti, people gather with their aarti platters as it is not merely a festival but it is a gamut of emotions for the Indo-Mauritians. Ganga Talao is thus a holy place for Hindus where they gather and worship, it shapes the culture of Hindus. Expatriates keep on visiting this sacred site whether the festival takes place or not. Ganga Talao links Mauritius to India. People here forget their worries and pray in a cool and well-maintained place with a religious presence. The Ganga Talao water is as pious as Gangajal people get the feeling of carrying Lord Shiva while collecting the holy water from Ganga Talao. The water they store in their houses is supposed to be pure and also fulfil the vows, it gives protection, provides good luck and offers blessings. Religion influences the choices, thoughts, behaviour and attitudes of people directly or indirectly (Majumdar and Majumdar 1993). People involved in religious sites prevail strong symbolic meanings and cultural implications. Festivals and cultural activities at the sacred sites fulfil the religious duties of the people and by doing so they achieve and strengthen their core belief systems. They attain a level of satisfaction and showcase loyalty towards their religion. Hindu religious festivals are the means

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of maintaining and transmitting long-obtainable cultural and religious traditions (Shinde 2015). Pilgrimage for Indo-Mauritians is more like a journey to discover the inner self and seek peace and liberation (Paramananda 2006). People enchant devotional songs and kirtans to consort their Hindu deities.

Conclusion In this research paper, we have tried to analyse the complex nature of rituals performed at the Holy river Ganga and their importance in the lives of Hindus in India as well as in the lives of Girmitiyas and their descendants in Mauritius. We have attempted to do a comparative analysis of River Ganga and Ganga Tala of Mauritius. Though the construct is different, the nature and context of both sacred sites are moreover the same. Both sacred sites offer closeness and connectedness to God, they help in self-purification, self-transformation and self-actualisation. Ganga helps the devotees to get connected with Shiva through prayers. Hindus through deep meditation and religious practices get close to God himself. The practices involve collecting water, listening and singing to sacred songs to heal from sins.

References Bhardwaj, S. (1975). Hindu Places of Pilgrimage in India: A Study in Cultural Geography. Geography Review, 65(3), 417. Davidson, L. K., & Gitlitz, D. M. (2002). Pilgrimage: From the Ganges to Graceland, an Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. Hazareesingh, K. (1966). The Religion and Culture of Indian Immigrants in Mauritius and the Effect of Social Change. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 8(2), 24–257. Retrieved April Saturday, 2020, from www.jstor. org/stable/177707 Jayaram, V. (2020, February 10). Symbolic Significance of the Descent Of Ganga. Retrieved from Hindu website: https://www.hinduwebsite.com/ganges.asp Lahiri, H. (2019). Diaspora Theory and Transnationalism (A. Hibbard, Ed.). Telangana: Orient Blackswan. Majumdar, S., & Majumdar, S. (1993). Sacred Space and Place Attachment. Journal of Environment Psychology, 13(3), 231–242.

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Mathieu, C. (2018). From the Indian Ganges to a Mauritian Lake: Hindu Pilgrimage in a Diasporic Context. In S. Coleman & J. Eade (Eds.), Translating the Sacred: Pilgrimage and Political Economy in Transnational Contexts (pp. 21–39). New York: Berghahn. Mazumdar, S., & Mazumdar, S. (2004). Sacred Space and Place Attachment. Journal of Environment Psychology, 24(3), 385–397. McGuire, M. B. (2002). Religion: The Social Context. Long Grove: Waveland Press. Paramananda, S. (2006). The Spiritual Aspects of Maha Shivaratri. Roche Bois: Regent Press Co. Ltd. Rajan, I. S., & Percot, M. (2011). Dynamics of Migration: Historical and Current Perspectives. New Delhi: Routledge. Rambachan, A., & Shukla, U. (2016). Hinduism in Fiji, Mauritius, South Africa and Trinidad. In B. Hatcher (Ed.), Hinduism in the Modern World (pp. 113– 127). New York and London: Routledge. Report, I. (2013). Cultural-Religious Aspects of Ganga Basin. New Delhi: Indian Institute of Technology. Sewtohul, N. (2014). A Glimpse in the history of Maheshwarnath Temple. In N. Narain, V. Narain, C. Toolsee, R. Nundlall, & A. Toolsee, 125 Years Maheshwarnath Institute: Souvenir Magazine. Shinde, K. (2015). Ganesh Festival: A Ten Day Extravaganza; A Life Full of Meaning. In J. Laing, & W. Frost (Eds.), Rituals and Traditional Events in the Modern World (pp. 23–38). UK: Routledge. Singh, N. (2020). The Sacred Complex of Ganga Talao Mauritius. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Educational Research, 9(3), 151–156. Singh, R. P. (2006). Pilgrimage in Hinduism, Historical Context and Modern Perspectives. In D. J. Timothy, & D. H. Olsen (Eds.), Tourism, Religion, and Spiritual Journeys (pp. 220–236). London: Routledge. Singh, R. P. (2014). Hinduism: A Pilgrimage without destination. In J. Mettepenningen (Ed.), The World Book of Faith (pp. 1–5). Belgium: Lannoo Publishers. Smith, D. (2016). Hindusim. In L. Woodhead, C. Partridge, & H. Kawanami, Religions in the Modern World: Traditions and Transformations (pp. 41–72). London: Routledge. Tiwari, S. (2017). Festivals: Mauritius Mahasivaratri. Retrieved from https:// www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=5794 Whaling, F. (2009). Understanding Hindusim. Edinburgh: Dunedin Academic Press Ltd.

PART III

Migration and History

CHAPTER 11

Girmit as a Global Labour Regime: Essentials, Expansion and Exceptions Amit Kumar Mishra

The expansion of the capitalist world economy under the aegis of imperialism necessitated a colossal demand for labour, especially for labourintensive plantation work, which could not be fulfilled by the locally available labour force in the regions of expansion. The problem of labour scarcity was further augmented by the abolition of slavery throughout the empire. To meet this increased demand for labourers required for the growth of the capitalist production system, a ‘new labour regime was inaugurated’ in which ‘labour began to flow from regions where people were unemployed, or displaced from agriculture or cottage industries, towards regions of heightened industrial or agricultural activity’.1 One of the most important, though not because of its size but because of its spread and perplexing consequences, among such flows of labourers 1 Wolf , Eric, Europe and the People Without History, 1982: pp. 356, 361.

A. K. Mishra (B) School of Global Affairs, Ambedkar University Delhi, New Delhi, India e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 N. Singh and S. Chapparban (eds.), Literature of Girmitiya, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4621-9_11

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was the immigration of Indian labourers to work on plantation settlements like Mauritius, Trinidad, Fiji, Guiana etc. as contract labourers2 is known as indentured labour regime or the Girmit and these labourers were refereed as Girmitiyas. This chapter attempts to delineate the history of the Indian indentured labour regime—the beginnings, functioning and the transformations and evaluate ways in which this agrarian labour regime contributed in expansion and consolidation of the British colonial hegemony and capitalist economic interests across the world by situating the whole process of emigration in the larger context of the changing priorities and contexts of political economy of the empire in post emancipation global capitalist economy. A succinct survey of the girmit labour regime will offer some fresh insights into the commodification of labour and constitution of labour as an analytic category in interconnected histories of global capitalism under the aegis of imperialism.

Need for the New Labourers Genesis of indentured labour regime is typically linked with the emancipation but even before the abolition of slavery, plantation lobby was arguing for the shortage of the labour and post emancipation scenario added the requisite strength to their case. The degree to which the abolition of slavery had an adverse impact on capitalist production varied according to location. In those places where capitalist enterprises had already made significant progress depending upon slave labourers, such as the Caribbean colonies, the brunt of abolition was felt more severely than in newly expanding regions such as Mauritius, Natal, Fiji, which had just started expanding sugar plantation for capitalist needs. The pre-existent labourers in new areas of expansion, without much slave population, were not sufficient or not tapped for certain racial/ideological reasons. This made it a pressing need for the colonial administrators and capitalists to secure labourers from outside in order to explore the enormous potentials 2 There was another stream of immigration of Indian labourers to work on plantations in Malaya, Burma and Ceylon but as a conscious choice, I haven’t discussed them in this paper because the immigrant labourers to these destinations were recruited under a different system which led a debt bondage of labour-master relationship and thus require different analytical treatment. I have also not included the indentured emigration of Indian labourers who were recruited to work in mines or non-agricultural sectors considering the theme of this conference.

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for the capitalist commodity production in these regions. In the regions of slave emancipation, indentured labour filled the void left by the banning of slave trade3 in order to save the capital investments already made in these regions. Post emancipation labour crisis and opportunities for capitalist development was explained by planters and colonial authorities in a highly racial lexicon used for the ex-slaves and Indian population. Freed people were represented as negatively as they could—shiftless, lazy, unreliable, heedless, happy-go-lucky and non-industrious. In a petition to the Colonial Secretary, the West Indian Association argued for an alternative source of labour because the ‘emancipated youth were not being trained up by their parents to industrious habits, and consequently no assistance be expected from them in the cultivation of produce at a future time’.4 Although the abolition of slavery created a case of labour shortage, it was not as acute as it has been articulated in the conservative narrative and certainly not the only motivation for search of alternative labour and introduction of Indian indentured labour regime. In many cases, planters themselves did not want to employ the emancipated populations as labourers because of high wages and uncertainty of availability. By eighteenth century, sugar was the king5 because it had the potential to evolve as a product for mass consumption and did not require very sophisticated mechanisation or crop rotation. This led to kind of a sugar revolution across the empire which got the additional capital investment in form of monetary compensation the planters got for the emancipation of their slave labour. In the process of economic restructuring and rationalisation of sugar plantation in post emancipation period, planters wanted to eliminate the non-productive or less productive segments of the existing labour force: aged and infirm people, children and women and replace them with able bodied, young, docile men from India. The other factor was the abundance of unexplored land in these colonies. Planters wanted to develop such land as sugar plantations with the help of more

3 Hobsbawm, Eric, The Age of Capital: 1848–1875, p. 194. 4 West Indian Association to Russell dt. 17 December 1839 PP HC No. xxiii, 1840. 5 Admason, Alan, Sugar Without Slaves, p. 6.

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capital investments and labour employment and it was presented to colonial authorities as a unique opportunity to expand the spread and volume of the colonial capitalist enterprise.6 Post emancipation, sugar production declined dramatically and market value of estates declined. In the case of British Guiana, 53% of ex-slaves left the plantation and this reduced sugar production by 40%.7 Several experiments were being tried which included bringing ex-slaves from other parts, introduction of labourers from Portugal, China etc. but none of these suited the planters who wanted a complete control over the labour and ensure their long-term availability. After experimenting unsuccessfully with Chinese and African indentured labour schemes, Indian indentured labour was rationalised and preferred on the basis of the natural suitability of Indians to the requirements of plantation labour. The underlying changes in the normative structure of capitalist system towards the end of eighteenth century—from a trading capitalist order interested only in trading profits to an industrial capitalist order with a tenacity for profit maximisation through efficient agricultural commodity production encouraged the ideological deliberations over the search of alternative labour regimes because slavery, with its inherent non-productive obligations towards the slave labourers, was no longer perceived as an efficient and cost-effective labour regime. Under the new political-economic rationalism of empire, influenced by the ideas of Adam Smith, slavery was not considered to be very productive labour regime because it was not providing any incentives to the labourers. Slaves were not allowed to get wages or acquire property that severely curtailed the possibilities of capital formation among them. They had no motivation to perform the tasks assigned to them and this affected the production process in negative manner.

Indentured Labour Regime: Making of the Girmitiya World Planters resisted establishing the ‘free market labour regime’ on the grounds that free labourers lacked regularity and argued for a contract labour regime that could assure the continuity and dependability of the 6 PP HC No. xxiii, 1840. 7 Mandle, Jay R., The Plantation Economy, pp. 20–24.

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agrarian labourers. They had already invested large sums of capital in setting up and developing the plantations and they needed a committed labour supply with their absolute authority over the labourers. Ideological Debates and Dilemmas Beginning of indenture system did not go uncontested and we had two dissimilar opinions on the matter which has generated intense politicalideological debates not only during the time of indentured emigration but continues to influence the historiography till date. Plantation lobbies and the colonial authorities underlined the material/moral benefits it brought to the indentured labourers and help them survive the economic desperation and oppressive social order. Secretary of State found it as ‘among the few resources open to the sufferers for escaping these calamities (poverty and distress), one is emigration to Mauritius’.8 On a much more complex and greater ideological level of legitimisation of the indenture system, it was described ‘as a powerful agent of civilisation’.9 This viewpoint has influenced the revisionist historiography of our times where indenture system has been perceived and analysed as the ‘escape hatch’10 for the desperate populations from India—the only way of survival and ‘an increase in opportunities, incentives to industry, security, and release from the bondage of traditional custom, caste prejudice and social disapproval’.11 The opposing view, presented by the anti-slavery activist in Britain and nationalist leadership in India stress upon the moral degradation and material abuse of the indentured labourers in order to dissent with the continuation of system.

8 Letter from Sec of State for Colonies, Further Papers Respecting East Indian Labourers, 1842. 9 Prinsep 1841. 10 Emmer, P.C., ‘The Meek Hindu: The Recruitment of Indian Indentured Labourers

for Services Overseas. 1870–1916’. In Colonialism and Migration: Indentured Labour Before and After Slavery, edited by P. C. Emmer. Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff, 1984, p. 204. 11 Cumpston, I.M., Indians Overseas in British Territories, 1834–54. London: Dowsons, 1969, p. 162.

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Regulations of the System Absence of any regulatory mechanism was considered to be the root of all the evils associated with slavery and therefore to move away from the shadow of slavery, colonial administrators and propounders of indenture regime were prompt in initiating a well-described regulatory structure for conducting the process. Regulatory framework and offices were created more with an intention to legitimise the system by making a careful dissociation with slavery rather than to effectively control the inaccuracies. It was this regulatory structure and interventions of state that distinguished the indenture labour from the slavery.12 In the process, the basic relations between the capital and labour was recreated, redefined and rearticulated through these regulations. These regulations relating to the indentured labour regime can be understood more effectively by dividing them into two domains, according to their scope. First set of regulations was intended to regulate the system: various functional aspects of it like recruitment, transportation, working hours, plantation process etc. The second set of regulations was decreed to deal with human beings: the indentured labourers and their actions and attitudes. Such elaborate legal structure and detailing of regulations were needed for the smooth functioning of the indentured system and also to ensure the compliance of the labourers, which was moored, as Look Lai asserts in the case of Caribbean, in Marxist assumptions that labour in the colonies had to be compelled through ‘artificial’ (i.e. legal) means.13 This was considered to be influenced by the progressive despotism (James Mill) in which barbaric techniques were seen as legitimate measures of coercion as coolies were inherently incapable of reciprocity. Disciplining the labour was new discourse in the domain of agrarian labour regime which was justified on grounds of maintaining the high mortal order. Regulations, disciplinary measures and retributions were given a veneer of morality, though they were based on similar ideologies of racial supremacy and discrimination as in the case of slavery. Indian labourers were described as habitual idlers, compulsive liars, immoral and defiant who needed to be handled sternly. Royal Commission of Mauritius admitted it in no uncertain terms: 12 Marina Carter. 13 Look Lai, p. 127.

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… as a class, the Indians are regarded with fear and distrust, as dangerous and lawless vagabonds; or at least, with pitying contempt, as ill-regulated children, fit only to be treated accordingly.14

In order to underline the subordinate status of Indian indentured labourers in the plantation hierarchy and therefore to justify their subjugation and segregation, colonial authorities highlighted their belongings from the lower strata of the Indian social order. George Grierson noted in 1883 that ‘only the lowest castes emigrate and that nothing will ever induce men of higher class of life to leave India’.15 Scholars have defied this assertion for Indian emigrants across all the locations. A detailed study of the origins of Indian indentured labourers in Fiji, Brij Lal has shown the domination of intermediary castes among the migrants.16 Articulation and assertion of racial differences between the communities was part of the dual process of creation and segmentation of the labourers under indentured regime—first stigmatise population and then relegate them in the hierarchical order to rationalise their exploitation, use of coercive methods, lower remunerations and denial of certain rights like choice of work and protest. Vagrancy and desertion of estates were considered as a moral threat to the plantation order than merely the material loss of labour but desertion could be caused because of ill-treatment, low wages or other repressions in the labour regime was never admitted by the planters or the colonial authorities. Enactment of regressive labour laws under the indentured system like that of 1867 in Mauritius reflects the ascendency of plantation lobby over the colonial authorities and defining influence of economic concerns over the political and moral concerns of the colonial government. The need to secure a bound and disciplined labour force that was compliant, reliant and consistent was ensured legally by segregating indentured coolies spatially, socially and occupationally.17 According to Rodney, immigrants under indenture were underpaid and were ‘denied the rights to seek out new employers,’ implying that their 14 Report of Royal Commission Mauritius, 1875. 15 Grierson Report. 16 Brahmins and high castes 12%, intermediary castes 43%, lower castes 33% and Muslims 12% for Fiji. 17 Munasinghe Callaloo, p. 76.

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position as ‘free’ labourers was very much conditioned by their contracts and their ‘freedoms’ more restricted than other tiers of ‘free’ labourers.18 In addition to industrial control, a series of legal regulations like vagrancy legislations restricted the mobility of indentured labourers. East Indian indentured labourers experienced a series of abuses, hostilities and brutal ‘punishments’ on the part of planters.19 The fundamental logic of the regulations of indenture labour regime was determined by the capitalist rationale of ‘enforced regularity, punctuality, uniformity and routine’. Such copious deliberations over the regulation and state intervention in the indentured regime were part of the strenuous efforts made by the colonial government, under the compulsions imposed by the liberals, to place it out of the shadow of slavery. But, ‘the great irony, of course, is that so much of the paraphernalia of the new institutional discipline bore such striking resemblance to that of the slave plantation. Centralised surveillance, regimentation, division of labour, strictly controlled work pace, written rules and regulations were all standards pursued by every planter, though not always attained. It was as if part of society would have to be enslaved to preserve the liberties of the rest’.20 Colonial authorities tried to promote indentured labour regime as an egalitarian system which provided the same legal rights to the planters and the labourer. The penal provisions in the laws regulating the indenture system for violating the conditions of indenture were applicable to both—the planters and the labourers. However, the rate of conviction for violation of indentured labour laws reveals the divergences in the role of legal institutions and colonial state: 72% of indentured labourers charged under labour laws were convicted while the conviction rate for the planters or their representative was only about 10% in Suriname.21 For Fiji, 82% of the labourers charged under violation of labour laws between 1885 and 1906 were convicted.22 Colonial state also developed structures and institutions for the protection of labourers in order to articulate its paternalistic attitude and as 18 Walter Rodney, A History of Guyanese Working People, 1881–1905. 19 Ron Ramdin, Arising from Bondage, pp. 54–67. 20 Thomas Halt, The Problem of Freedom, p. 38. 21 P.C. Emmer, Importation of British Indians in Suriname, p. 107. 22 Brij Diaspora, p. 176.

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an assertion of the benevolence towards the subjects—appointment of the Protector of Immigrants, provisions for medical care, standards for housing, minimum wages, protection against physical abuse etc. These provisions were used by the colonial state and pro-indenture officials to initiate and then defend the continuation of indenture system despite all round critic of the system for being exploitative, discriminatory and extension of slavery. As late as in 1909 when the evils associated with indenture system were universally accepted, Governor of British Guiana underlined the good things for the indentured labourers: Indenture means care in sickness, free medical attendance, free hospital accommodation, morning rations in early days, sanitary dwellings, habits of industry gained, a guaranteed minimum daily wage, and general supervision by government officials.23

What this defence fails to underline is that the guaranteed wages remained the same over almost the entire century, and almost 1/3 of the total labourers were subject to prosecution under the labour laws. There were several contrary assumptions regarding the capability and compliance of labourers were adopted and there was a rather uneasy reconciliation of such assumptions in regulations of indenture labour.

Essentials of Indenture For a critical exploration of any agrarian labour regime, three essential questions are most describing: first, how the labourers have been introduced in the regime or labour mobilisation; second how the labourers have been remunerated for their labour or wage payments; and the extent to which they had the freedom to move out of the obligations of labour regime or freedom of movement. I would like to explore these three interspersed domains of indenture labour regime in order to delineate certain specifics and elaborate certain arguments relating to the features and functioning of the indentured regime argued through the rather restrictive binary of virtues/vices (of the system) by the most of the scholars.

23 Report of Sanderson Committee, 1910, p. 27:568.

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Labour Mobilisation Mobilising the labourers for emigration under indenture system was a subject of grave concern for the planters and colonial governments primarily for two reasons: first, an effective labour mobilisation strategy was essential for securing the required supply of labourers, and second, the malpractices associated with mobilisation of labourers such as kidnapping, deception etc. would earn an ill repute for the indenture system and damage the liberal appreciation it had earned for abolition of slavery. Historiography of the indentured labour mobilisation is polarised, as usual, between the two dissimilar opinions—the ‘deception approach’ and the ‘free choice approach’. The deception approach, first promulgated by the anti-indenture groups such as ‘British and Foreign Anti-Slavery and Aborigines Protection Society’ and Indian nationalists and later adopted by Hugh Tinker and many others, lay emphasise on the incidents of fraudulent methods, kidnapping in the recruitment system and question the recruits’ ability to understand the complexities of the contract.24 As an antithesis to the ‘deception approach’ which asserts that the emigrants were forced into indentured emigration, the free choice approach 25 put emphasise on the ‘informed choice of emigrants’ and argue that the labour mobilisation strategy was merely tapping of the stream of migratory workers by the colonial recruiting agencies which already existed26 in the localities. The primary function of recruiting mechanism, according to this approach, was only to facilitate and direct the stream of emigrants towards the specific locations. Both these approaches, however, miss the dynamic elements in the labour mobilisation. The recruitment of indentured labourers was conducted through a ‘mobilisation strategy’ which evolved in a historical process as per the needs of the destinations and the circumstantial necessities to maintain the inflow of emigrants. Since the sourcing of labourers was one of the most critical and controversial parts of the indenture system, almost all the legislations related to the indenture addressed this aspect. The system of indentured emigration began as a private initiative of Mauritian planters. These planters would send their requirements 24 Tinker, Hugh, New System of Slavery; Saha, Panchanan, Emigration of Indian Labour. 25 Emmer, P.C., The Meek Hindu; Lal, Brij. V., Girmitiyas. Lal however admits the

existence of frauds and deception in recruitment. 26 Emmer, Meek Hindu, p. 189.

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of labourers to the various firms located in port towns in India who would then procure labourers through local recruiters, known as arkatis, duffadars (in north India) and27 maistries (in South Western India). These recruiters were paid ‘per head’ or according to the numbers of emigrants recruited by them. With the joining of other destinations, demands rose and the recruitment operation expanded manifold. Large number of firms set up operations28 to procure labourers through native recruiters and the primary motive of both the agencies of indentured recruitment, the recruiting firms and recruiters, were to meet the demand from the colony at any cost and by every possible means. They resorted to unfair means like deception, kidnapping etc. which attracted severe criticism for the system and eventually it was suspended by the colonial Indian government in 1839. However, under severe pressure from the planters and to safeguard the interests of capitalist, indenture was resumed in 1842 with direct control of the Indian government on the entire process of labour mobilisation. In effect, though nothing much changed. Commenting upon the vainness of any regulatory measure in effectively removing the abuses associated with the labour mobilisation, John Scoble, Secretary of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, described the system as ‘incurably vicious’29 in light of the numerous reporting of abuses and instances of kidnapping and forced mobilisation. Such instances of malpractices continued throughout the system, despite a very well-intended but poorly implemented, regulatory mechanism. Planters’ concern was to reduce the costs of introduction of labourers and for that they were willing to manipulate any structure. In 1870s, evidence before Geoghegan, who was preparing a comprehensive report on emigration from India, described the recruitment as ‘a regularly organized system of kidnapping’.30 Similarly in 1880s, two enquiries conducted by Major Pitcher in UP and Grierson in Bengal uncovered

27 Papers Respecting the East Indian Labourers Bill 1838, Report of Mr. JP Woodcock, dt. 19 November 1836. Report of Dickens Committee, p. 2. 28 In Calcutta some of the prominent firms engaged in procuring labourers were— Gillanders, Arbuthnot & Co.; Chapman and Barelay Smith, Ewing and Co.; Honley Dowson and Bestel, Jardine, Lyall Matheson & Co., Scott and Co., etc. Report of Dickens Committee; Prog. No. 46, Gen. (Emi.), dt. 17 March 1841, WBSA. 29 PP, Vol. xxxv, No. 530, 1844, 30 Geoghegan Report, 1873, p. 63.

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the pervasiveness of fraudulent methods in recruitment.31 These instances and evidence for the abuses in the labour mobilisation for indenture are mentioned here not to repudiate the historical fact that many of these labourers entered into indenture system by their own choice but only to put caution for the revisionist scholarship which compares this labour mobilisation with any modern-day system of recruitment. Wage Payments Payment of monetary remuneration or wages was possibly the most discernible feature of indentured labour used by the colonial authorities and capitalists to demarcate the differences with slavery and count the advantages it could provide to the labourers in improving their lot. Indian immigrants who were introduced to work in plantation colonies were to receive a certain amount of cash32 as wages and food and cloth allowances were in addition to that. In addition to these, they were also provided free housing on the estates and free medical attendance. In the colonial perception, this was bliss for the Indian labourers because in India these labourers hardly earned more than two rupees a month and that too without any additional allowance which they received in these locations.33 For some contemporary observers, the rate of wages in India was even less34 and there was a general consensus that the wages offered in Mauritius were enormously high compared to wages in India and therefore the Indian labourers better their condition by emigrating to plantation settlements as indentured labourers. This proviso for remuneration is also used by the revisionist scholarship to argue in favour of the freedom of the indentured labourers as it provided them enough economic resources at their disposal and thus reduced their dependence on the planters. But what were the hard realities of these glorified high wages—did the immigrants actually receive what was claimed to be their remuneration or did it remain an ‘unfulfilled expectation’35 —needs an elaborate and critical

31 Report of Major Pitcher, 1882; Report of George Grierson, 1883. 32 For Mauritius it was 5 Rs a month and in Trinidad it was 1 s per day. 33 Letter of R. Brenan, dt. 24 May 1845, The Labour and Indian Immigration Question

at Mauritius, July 1845. 34 Proposal of Free Labour Association of Mauritius, PP, Vol. xxxx, No. 26, 1842. 35 Carter, Marina, Servants, p. 177.

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examination. In the very beginning of the system in 1834, Indian immigrants were employed for five rupees a month to work on plantations and it was anticipated by the administrators that this would increase with time and rising fortunes of the sugar economy. But unfortunately this increase never took place and the figure of wages paid to the immigrant labourers remained same for more than eighty years with occasional and short-lived increases. It even decreased on several occasions with the sinking fortunes of sugar economy. Such trends of remarkably stable wages were found in other locations such as Trinidad and British Guiana.36 Apart from remarkably stable wages over 70 years, there was a big gap between the stipulated wages and what the labourers actually received in hand. The two main deductions put into practice by the planters were—monthly deduction for return passage and the notorious ‘double cut’ of wages. The planters deducted one rupee or one-fifth of the total monthly wages as a security for good conduct and to meet the passage expenses in case of their repatriation because of any misconduct. This accumulated deduction was to be refunded to the labourers upon the completion of the stipulated contracts. The second but most widely used by the planters and which earned an unsavoury reputation in the narratives of labour control in Mauritius was ‘double cut’ or deduction of two days of wages for an absence of each day, whatever the reasons might be. The planters practiced this as early as 183937 and planters did not need any endorsement from the authorities to double cut. Double cut was misused rampantly by the planters and in some locations like Mauritius it was noted that double cut reduced the wage bills by one-third on good estates and one-half on bad estates to what should have been actually paid to the labourers38 which earned it the notoriety of a ‘monstrous system’.39 Despite this persuasive condemnation, the provision of

36 PP, Vol. xxxvii, No. 280, 1849 (for 1848), Prog. Nos. 31–35, Gen., Emig., February 1874 (for 1873), Annual Report of PI, 1881 (for 1881), Prog. No. 1–8, Rev. & Ag., Emig., December 1893 (for 1892), Prog. No. 1–7, Rev. & Ag., Emig., March 1900 (for 1898), Report of Sanderson Committee (for 1909), Select Documents, Vol. III, p. 9 (for 1915). 37 Report of T. Hugon, dt. 29 July 1839, PP, Vol. xxxvii, No. 331, 1840; DWD Commins, Note on Emigration from India to Trinidad, 1893. 38 Report of R. Mitchell, dt. 21 July 1874, cited in Tinker, Hugh, A New System of Slavery, p. 189. 39 Report of Royal Commission, 1875, Chapter xvii, pp. 284–329.

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double cut remained in effect even in the supposedly pro-labour legislation of 187840 and it was abolished only through Ordinance 13 of 1908 in Mauritius41 ‘when indentured immigration was in its last gasp’.42 Planters used every possible excuse to defer the payment of wages in cash to the labourers. On innumerable occasions, irregular payments and heavy overdue of wages were reported despite the strict legislative provisions for weekly or monthly payments of wages throughout the indenture period.43 This was an effective way for them to ensure the availability of labourers. The non-payment of wages often pushed the labourers into a debt trap of money-lenders who were usually sirdars loyal to planters, and it was expected that it would force the immigrants to extend the contracts. Non-payment of wages was the most insisted upon grievance of indentured labourers and it accounted for the largest proportion in the complaints lodged by the indentured labourers even in times when the system was considered to be revamped and reformed. Between 1878 and 1898, out of the total 10,126 complaints made by the indentured labourers against their employers in Mauritius, 7235 complaints were for non-payment of wages.44 Despite this notoriety of non-payment of wages, the redressal mechanism available for labourers to reclaim their wages often proved ineffective in ensuring the payment of wages and arrears and made the stipulated wages into a longing which indentured labourers could not attain in most of the cases. Freedom of Mobility Plantation lobby demanded not only the import of labourers but also their commitment for longer terms which had obvious implications on the mobility and freedom of change for the indentured labourers. Colonial authorities obliged the plantation lobby, despite the concerns raised by the liberals, by introducing a series of labour laws with punitive measures for 40 Labour laws of 1878 tried to impose some strictures for the judicious use of double cut by making the assent of Stipendiary Magistrates mandatory. 41 Report of Sanderson Committee, 1910, Pt. III. 42 Tinker, A New System of Slavery, p. 189. Tinker mentions 1909 as the end of double

cut. 43 Gomm to Stanley, dt. 27 February 1843, CO/ 167/ 245, PRO; PP, Vol. xxvii, No. 168, 1846; Report of Royal Commission, 1875, p. 297. 44 ARPI for years 1878–1899.

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disobedience and disappearance, most notorious being the anti-vagrancy laws which institutionalised a regime of ‘voluntary servitude’ so the name, ‘new system of slavery’. In Trinidad, the penal provisions to ensure the adherence of contractual obligations were introduced in 1846, in Guiana in 1853 and in Mauritius in 1847.45 Indenture labour regime provides an interesting sight and structure where the labour was mobilised in order to be introduced into the labour regime and then all the emphasis of the order was to curb their mobility and make them immobile. Indenture hinged upon compulsory nature of contract and penal sanctions for attempts made by labourers to escape the contractual obligation or move beyond the confines of the plantations. Indentured labourers were introduced in plantation colonies for a certain period (five years for most of the colonies) and had the freedom to move beyond the confines of plantation, if they desire so, after the completion of contracts. However, planters wanted them be tied under contractual obligations in order to ensure their availability and reduce their bargaining power for increased wages as free labourers. The choice of freedom and movement beyond plantations for the indentured labourers was further curtailed by the monocrop economic nature of these locations where very little vocational opportunities existed beyond the ‘sugar’. In order to ensure the availability of indentured labourers, planters successfully negotiated with the colonial authorities to introduce several penal provisions for the violations of obligations of indenture, and I would like to discuss in little detail, the most notorious among these— the anti-vagrancy laws intended to control the mobility of those indentured labourers who had completed their terms, particularly Ordinance 31 of 1867 in Mauritius. Implying their own racial prejudices, Colonial authorities began to depict the Indian labourers, who had completed their contracts, as ‘donothings’, who had left plantation work because they did not want to work.46 Since they did not have any steady work and spent their time roaming around aimlessly, these ex-indentured immigrants were vagrants in colonial perception who needed to be dealt accordingly. To discipline

45 DWD Commins Note on Emigration from India to Trinidad 1893, p. 4; Gomm to Grey, dt. 3 July 1847, CO 167/184, PRO. 46 Ibid.

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the ex-indentured labourers and ensure that they do not indulge in criminal activities or illegal ways of earning, all of them had to obtain a ticket with photograph where getting the photograph only would cost them 1 Pound, quite an amount considering their income levels. The difficulties in obtaining these passes for an ignorant class of people, the procedural complications and the heavy charges made it difficult for a large number of labourers to obtain them within the stipulated time. They were at times arrested for vagrancy while going to get the pass made because usually the estates were far off from the towns where the magistrates’ offices were located. Employers, who were frustrated by the labourers’ refusal to remain in their service, would often bribe the police to arrest such labourers as vagrants so they could then reclaim them from the court. Another grasp on the pass system to control labourers’ mobility was the restricted territorial validity of these passes. All the passes were issued for a particular district only and if an old immigrant entered into another district on whatever pretext—whether to meet some relative or friends living on other estates or even if, by ignorance, he was liable for arrest as vagrant and on a great many occasions, they were actually arrested. Penal provisions to control vagrancy were used so often and on such a large scale that a vagrant depot was set up in 1864 in Port Louis. This was supposed to work as an English ‘workhouse’, ‘aimed at discouraging idleness and as instilling docility and a sense of duty in the potential labourers confined within its walls’.47 Between 1861 and 1871, an average between 11.5 and 17.2% of the total male Indian population in Mauritius was arrested for the charges of vagrancy.48 Such legal provisions severely limited the geographical and occupational mobility of old immigrants and an immigrant found in a district other than the one for which he possessed a police pass would be a vagrant and was liable for prosecution as per the law. It was virtually impossible for the old immigrants, almost all of whom were illiterate or with little knowledge, to know the precise boundaries of district of their approved habitat and thus get caught. This overzealous persuasion of anti-vagrancy laws by the colonial authorities and the planters sometimes led to bizarre incidents as well. During one of the vagrant hunts, Ramluckan, who was a gardener in the Pamplemousses district, was arrested from his house on the day he was getting married,

47 North-Coombs 47. 48 ARPI 1861–872.

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despite having all his papers in order, because the police thought that his house was in Moka while he had the police pass for Pamplemousses district.49 The severity with which vagrancy was dealt with by the Mauritian planters and administrators attracted a lot of criticism from observers from the late 1870s onwards. These legislations were condemned for being reminiscences of the slave laws.50 The Royal Commission found that vagrancy and labour laws amounted to nothing less than the unbridled harassment of the Indian population.51 The real motives of such severe anti-vagrancy legislations were the planters’ desperation to ensure the availability of labourers at lower rates of wages in post-1860s period when not only the fortunes of the sugar economy began to sink but many labourers also started moving out towards towns in search of alternative vocations and new prospects. Anti-vagrancy measures were manipulated by the planters as a labour mobilisation strategy by forcing them back to plantations and preventing them to choose their desired jobs. As Geoghegan summarises: On the whole then, the tendency of Mauritius legislation has been, I think, towards reducing the Indian labourers to a more complete state of dependence upon the planter and towards driving him into indentures, a free labour market being both directly and indirectly discouraged.52

Planters excessively used these regulations to restrict the mobility of Indian labourers from plantations, curb their natural right to choose their occupation or negotiate for higher wages after the end contractual obligations and force them to re-engage on to plantation after the expiry of their initial engagements on unfavourable terms and conditions. Vagrancy regulations denied the innate and inalienable right of labour to choose the work of their choice, very crucial to define their freedom.

49 Case of Ramluckan, Appended to the Petition of Adolphe de Plevitz, dt. 4 June 1871, CO 167/536. 50 Muir-Mackenzie, J.W.P., Report on the Condition of Indian Immigrants in Mauritius, nd, pp. 34–35. 51 Report of Royal Commission. 52 Geoghegan Report, pp. 67–68.

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Indenture and Capitalist Development Indenture labour regime was crucial in facilitating the expansion of colonial capitalist economies by ensuring the uninterrupted supply of labour, cutting the cost of productions, providing the cash crops need for the industrialisation and consumption needs and the global process of capital accumulation. A succinct survey of the indenture labour regime makes it clear that the spatial and ideological expansion of capitalism under the aegis of imperialism was closely linked and crucially facilitated by the indentured labourers. Indian labourers who arrived to these plantation settlements under indenture system help the survival of the plantation economies and at larger levels facilitated the uninterrupted territorialeconomic expansion of British capitalism. When indentured immigration was suspended for alleged abuses, Gladstone, a British planter in Guiana and father of the future Prime Minister of Britain, was at the forefront of its resumption. His rationale was not of benevolence—saving the Indian population from distress but the very benefit of plantation economy and eventually the empire. He wrote to the Colonial Secretary, ‘We cannot doubt but that Lord Glenelg, as well as the other members of his Majesty’s Government, will see and admit the great importance of these suggestions (resumption of emigration from India) to the future preservation and prosperity of not only British Guiana, but also of most of our other West India colonies’.53 Plantations served as the regional economies of the global capitalist economy of the empire and success of plantation economy was dependent upon critical balance between abundant land and cheap labour and the supply of cheap labour was ensured by the arrival of Indian labourers under indentured system. The whole process of transoceanic emigration of Indian labourers under the indentured labour regime was situated within the broader context of the expanding political economy of the empire. It was not fortuitous but strategic and systematic which can be ascertained through a critical reading of the meticulously crafted system of labour mobilisation and regulation of their lives as labourers. As Herman Merivale writes:

53 Gladstone to Glenelg dt. 28 February 1838.

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they are not voluntary immigrants in the ordinary sense, led by the spontaneous desire of bettering their condition… They have been raised, not without effort, like recruits for the military service.54

The nineteenth-century emigration of Indian labourers to British plantation settlements under the indenture system was part of interconnected capitalist development under the aegis of imperialism in which labour was commodified and circulated from the extant reservoirs of cheap labour to the new settlements or to those regions which were facing labour crisis in the wake of emancipation of slave workforce; in order to facilitate the capitalist development of the metropolis or the empire: indentured labour migration in the 19th century was a part of a larger process of international circulation of capital and commodities, the ultimate aim of which was commodity production, under conditions of uneven and combined capitalist development.55

For Karl Marx, immigrant labourer was ‘the light infantry of industrial capital’ which could be deployed at will to serve the needs of expanding commodity production. Gay Standing, in his study of migration and modes of exploitation, points out that ‘by virtue of commoditisation under capitalist state, labour became invariably mobile and migration was necessary for the national and global extension of capitalism’.56 This process of relocating labour was done in a strategic manner by the concerned colonial governments through well-structured labour mobilisation strategies in which labourers were carefully mobilised according to the specific needs of the labour importing colonies. It was this strategy that was essential for making the indentured labour regime and determined the contours of this regime. Indentured labour regime provided a new basis for economic/territorial expansion of Capitalism and stimulated a phenomenal upswing in the sugar trade from the destinations of Indian indentured labourers. It resurrected the dwindling fortunes of the 54 Merivale, Herman, Lectures on Colonization and Colonies, Frank Cass, London, 1967 (1861), p. 345. 55 Richardson, Peter, Chinese Labour in the Transvaal. London, 1982, p. 3. 56 Standing, Gay, ‘Migration and Modes of Exploitation: Social Origins of Immobility

and Mobility’, JPS, Vol. VIII, No. 2, 1981, p. 201.

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Table 11.1 Production of sugar and arrival of Indian indentured labourers in Mauritius Period

1835–9 1840–4 1845–9 1850–4 1855–9 1860–4

Annual average short tonnes Sugar production

% of total world production

Arrival of Indian emigrants

36,367 37,596 62,466 81,588 133,172 135,503

– 3.8 5.0 5.2 6.8 6.8

25,202 46,815 36,960 68,163 112,636 49,970

Source Mishra, Amit Kumar, Survivors of Servitude, p. 87 (Draft Monograph)

sugar industry across the regions. Between 1845 and 1848 and 1884 sugar export from British Guiana increased from 36,000 tonnes to 120,000 tonnes. For Trinidad, the increase was from 19,000 tonnes to 64,000 tonnes.57 For Fiji which was a late entrant in the entire process (acquired by the British in 1874) exports of sugar doubled between 1893 and 1914. The following table illustrates this crucial linkage between the fortunes of Mauritian sugar economy with the influx of Indian immigrants in no uncertain terms (Table 11.1). The movement of labourers not only laid the basis for large-scale increase in tropical production but also played crucial role in the creation of infrastructure and technical advancement in transportation—shipping and port building, roads, railways and means of communication—all of which were critical prerequisites for accelerating capitalist development. Contributions of Indian labour Diaspora in capitalist development are underlined in an undeniable manner by Beaton Patrick in the following passage: Those swarthy orientals, so thinly clad, are the muscles and sinews of Mauritian body politic. They are the secret source of all the wealth, luxury and splendour with which the island abounds. There is not a carriage that rolls along the well macadamised chaussee, or a robe of silk worn by a fair Mauritian, to the purchase of which the Indian has not, by his labour,

57 K. O. Laurence Question of Labour Appendix I.

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indirectly contributed. It is from the labour of his swarthy body in the cane-fields that gold is extracted more plenteously than from the diggings of Ballarat.58

Consequences of Girmit Regime Influx of Indian labourers into these plantation settlements under indentured labour regime was not remarkably large compared to other global flows of labour but it had far-reaching consequences for those locations. Indentured labour regime altered the racial, ethnic and cultural fabric of those locations. I have tried to evaluate the consequences of the indentured labour regime in two interlinked domains. Creation of Plural Societies Indentured labour regime created self-contained, isolated worlds on plantations without any interaction and this not only limited the ways in which these different racial-ethnic segments interacted, influenced and integrated but also determined the contours of overall social–cultural and political spaces in these regions. Some scholars have explained this specific spatial–social arrangement as ‘plural societies’ where different ethnic, social and cultural segments interact only in the marketplace and thus had no cohesiveness.59 Racial casting and use of diverging imageries to underline the intrinsic differences between the Indian immigrants, the non-white population and the white population was used by the planters and colonial authorities to prevent the mélange of different races as this was perceived as a threat to the plantation hierarchy and moral order of the plantations. Such an attempt made it very difficult for the non-white populations of Indian and African origins to develop a shared sense of belonging, cohabitation of space and resources and mutual respect for each other. There were little common grounds between the African and Indians—cultural prejudices, muted hostility and contempt determined their relations. Indian settlers used pejorative terms such as the black population jungali, kafari (infidel) while the blacks found the Indians as the beasts of burden. 58 Beaton, Patrcik., Creoles and Coolies; or, Five Years in Mauritius. London: James Nisbet, 1858, pp.10–11. 59 Furnival, J.S., Colonial Policy and Practice.

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In such a sequestering arrangement of social–cultural and economic space, these disparate segments seem to be held together by the authority of the colonial rule which was necessary to maintain the order and contain the conflict. Potentials of hostility between the labouring class, which was always endorsed and encouraged by the planters, and the colonial authorities got articulated in worst ethnic/racial riots and clashes among the non-white populations in most of these destinations in 1960s and 70s when the opportunities to acquire the positions of power and authority arose for these competing communities in the impending withdrawal of the colonial order. Celebration of Girmitiyas? Following the logic and assertions of ‘imperial liberalism’, scholars of indenture regime have praised the Indentured labour regime as it provided the indentured labourers not only unsurpassed economic opportunities and incentives to industry in the colonies but also permanent release from irksome and oppressive social customs, caste prejudices and general social degradation which these emigrants were being subjected to in India. Such advantages were not limited to the indentured labourers themselves but also ‘provided greater economic gains…and protection to their descendants’.60 Same appreciation continues in the revisionist scholarship of the regime which argues that ‘indentured labour system provided the space in which Indian, itinerant labourers could seek out alternative opportunities for employment on a global scale’.61 Mauritius is an ideal sight for promulgation of such arguments where a descendant of an indentured labourer could become the premier of postcolonial nation-state. Revisionist scholars like Marina Carter, Crispin Bates etc. emphasise the transformation of indentured labourers into petty traders, small planters and educated government employees to celebrate the subaltern agency in which coolie ceased to be subordinate and created his own world. They argue for celebration of the agency of indentured 60 Cumpston, I.M. Indians Overseas in British Territories, 1834–54. London: Dowsons, 1969. p. 162. 61 Bates, Crispin, ‘Courts, Ship Rolls and Letters: Reflections of the Indian Labour Diaspora’, in Creating an Archive Today, Toshie Awaya, ed. (Tokyo: Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, 21st COE Programme, Centre for Documentation & Area-Transcultural Studies, 2005), p. 21.

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labourers rather than reading them through static mould of victimhood: ‘we must avoid victimising the victims of unequal labour relations, and endeavour to establish instead an “emic” perspective on the choices exercised by the migrants, and to analyse and emphasise the agency and ambitions of the Indian labourers themselves’.62 Indentured labourers are seen as akin to their European equivalents as ‘opportunity maximising’ who negotiated through the regime and eventually created a world of their own. They also try to argue for the universality of the regime across the regions as counterfactual to the emphasis on locational specificities in Asian, African and Caribbean destinations of Indian indentured labourers. They find these differentiations as ‘false distinction’ because the subaltern agency of indentured labourers worked uniformly across the regions through which the labourers, with the help of Indian origin intermediaries, merchants, could turn into ‘educated’ government employees and proprietors and could establish themselves as successful members of the social-economic order of their adopted lands.63 Celebration of human agency and the phenomenal transformation in the profile, prestige and power of the Indian indentured diaspora is no doubt a commendable case of victory of human aspirations and endeavours over all circumstantial odds and disabilities. These scholars tend to ignore the complexities and focussing on linear course without problematising it. Transformation is not an outcome of a linear process that can be evaluated through the binaries of accomplishment or failures. Their argument on uniformity of the course of transformation across regions is highly ahistorical and makes sweeping generalisation with an arrogant ignorance of the intricate details of the trajectories of transformations in Indian labour diaspora and the course of events in different locations during the last couple of decades. Even if we celebrate the Mauritian case of successful transformation without problematising it, how could we equate the experiences of Indian indentured labourers and the course of transformations in their social-economic status and positioning vis-àvis other ethnic/racial groups across the regions—in Fiji, South Africa, 62 Ibid. 63 Bates, Crispin, ‘Courts, Ship Rolls and Letters: Reflections of the Indian Labour

Diaspora’, in Creating an Archive Today, Toshie Awaya, ed. (Tokyo: Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, 21st COE Programme, Centre for Documentation & Area-Transcultural Studies, 2005), p. 16.

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Caribbean and so on. In Fiji, Indians were allowed to acquire land through the lease. In the last two decades, these leases are not renewed and many of these ‘land owners’ have lost all their property, business and means of living, creating a kind of painful full circle. In South Africa, Indian diaspora continues to be deprived of equal rights and access to the positions of prominence. In Caribbean too Indian labourers faced discrimination and alienation on the basis of racial profiling. Colonial governments placed Indian indentured labourers in difference locations in different ways depending upon the local circumstances and specific social–cultural–political order, e.g. Indians were allowed to purchase land in Mauritius while in Fiji they could only lease the land. Such a differential arrangement of Indians in different locations had obvious implications for the course of their transformation and it cannot be generalised so vaguely.

Transformations of Labour Regime and the Labourers There was a strong correlation between the larger changes in the overall imperial economy, kismet of sugar plantations, structures of agrarian labour regime and influx as well as positioning of indentured labourers from India. In this section, I will try to trace certain transitions in the indenture labour regime towards the end of nineteenth century with a simultaneous effort to trace the labourers in the labour regime by delineating certain makeovers in their positioning and economic role in the overall structure of the plantation. The usual response of the plantation economy in times of crisis and sinking fortunes was to curtail the supply of labour and exploit the existing labour force to maximise returns. In 1865, when the sugar industry in Mauritius faced financial crisis, the influx of Indian immigrants declined from 20,383 in 1865 to 313 in 1867. Period of 1880s marked the onset of a crisis in the sugar production in British colonies— fall in sugar prices, challenge by bounty-fed European beetroot sugar and so on. In response to the universal sugar crisis of the sugar economy, the influx of Indian indentured labourers in Mauritius declined to 9299 in the decade 1881–1890 compared to 37,923 in the preceding decade. Planters in Trinidad however defied this obvious response and continued their demands for labour primarily to lower the wage rates and put the

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labourers under pressure. In the decade of 1871–1880 Trinidad received 25,147 indentured labourers from India which declined very nominally to 24,085 in 1881–1890. However, Trinidad also changed the course of its response gradually towards consolidation of sugar production by structural changes. In order to meet the challenges and difficulties in maintaining the large estate plantations, which were base of sugar production till now, planters started to modify land ownership patterns and restructuring sugar production by concentrating on the milling part and passing out the cultivation part to ex-indentured Indians either through lease of land or selling of small parcels to them. This process, known as grand morcellement in the history of Mauritius changed certain basics of agrarian regime like ownership of land and thus the very structure of the plantation economy from being one based on absolute ownership of all the components of the production process to a more technology induced industrial production process aimed at cost efficiency of the production or at broader levels, transformation of these plantation colonies from a semi-capitalist plantation economy to an agrarian capitalist economy.64 This process in Mauritius and similar structural transitions in the labour regime and plantation economy in other destinations like Trinidad and Fiji laid the basis of emergence of diasporic Indian peasantry by allowing them to own/lease land. In 1920, the ex-indentured labourers and their descendants owned 44% of the total cultivated land in Mauritius.65 In Fiji they also emerged as the largest planters of sugarcane but unlike Mauritius, Indian peasants had acquired the land on lease which has serious implications for their settlement and emergence of a diasporic community vis-à-vis the native populations in postcolonial Fiji. It was the restructuring of the sugar economy and production process, in the wake of challenges of global competition and crisis and changing requirements, which opened up the possibilities for the indentured labourers to move beyond the confines of the plantation estates and acquire or lease land for cultivation which has been refereed as one of the most celebrated transitions in the Indian labour diaspora—from labourers

64 Virahsawmy, R., Morcellement and the Emergence of Villages in Mauritius, The Case of Vale and Holyrood, University of Mauritius, Mauritius, 1978. 65 ARPI 1920.

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to land owners and a form of liberation of Indian indentured labourers.66 This newly acquired status of land ownership instilled agency in the labour diaspora which could now articulate their concerns and demand for a role in determining the course of relationship between labour and capital, in whatever covert or naive form it might take. This could be read as the genesis of a long-term process of reordering the labour relations such that Indian labour diaspora could eventually rewrite the relations between labour and capital in its own lexicon. However, it should not be overly romanticised as the absolute independence of the descendants of the Indian indentured labourers. Despite the ownership of land, the new class of petit planters was not completely independent of the capitalist class. Owning to the conditions of the plantation economy and lack of economic rationale for producing any other crop, these petit planters were forced to continue cane cultivation and depend on the mill owners to buy their cane. Using their superior positioning in the hierarchy of production process, these mill owners would often determine the prices as per their profitability rather than the cane growers’ and this made them economically vulnerable and dependent upon the capitalist class even when they could make the transition from labours to land owners. The nature of transition in labour regime and eventually the course of economy of these plantation colonies were wrapped and restarted by the persistence of monocrop (sugar) culture and no diversification of economic activities for centuries limited the opportunities for the mobility of the labour by reducing the options as well as the prospects of the plantation settlements to sustain as a viable economic unit. Royal Commission of West Indies noted that ‘..clear away the plantation … It hinder the development, and though sugar is the most valuable crop these places can produce, … it is rather too dangerous … under present circumstances for one to wish to see it remain in perpetuity’.67 This was particularly aggravated by the fact that in most of these locations, even the public funds were controlled by the plantation lobbies which did not facilitate the capital investments in other sectors of economy which remained under-capitalised. Such an overdependence of economic order

66 Raj Virahsawmy, ‘A Form of Liberation: From the Camp to the Village’, in Uttama Bissoondoyal (ed) Indians Overseas The Mauritian Experience, p. 348. 67 cited in Adamson, p. 256.

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continues to haunt these settlements till date. Mauritius finds it difficult when the preferential trade of sugar agreement, which it secured with Britain immediately after independence, has been abolished leading to serious challenges for development planners. How to diversify from and come out of an overarching economic activity which had been dominating/dictating every part of the economic–social–cultural lives of people and sustain the general development of the country and well-being of the people is the most imminent challenge for the Mauritian nation.

Conclusions In this paper, I have tried to present an overview of the indentured labour regime, under which Indian labourers were mobilised to work on sugar plantations across the Caribbean Indian and Pacific Ocean regions, in order to reflect upon certain essential pointers for the study of agrarian labour regime in terms of formation, functioning and transformations and to draw the big picture by situating these into the overall politicaleconomic order of the times. Such an overall study of the indentured labour regime from larger perspectives of plantation economies is necessary as it provides critical insights into the understanding of imperial control, circulation of goods and labour across territorial limits, commodification of labour and the linkages between the colonies and metropolis, as well as between colonies. In order to understand the intricacies of the indenture system we have to carefully unfold the rationale behind the setting up of the system because this rationale is the most critical determinant of the contours of labour regime. The intrinsic logic of the indenture labour regime was not the ‘civilisation mission’ as argued sometimes by the capitalists and colonisers of that time but to ensure the availability of labour in terms and conditions conducive to the plantation economy and device ways to utilise them in most productive manner. Sourcing of plantation labourers through indenture system in post emancipation era conform to the very idea of dynamic in the agrarian labour. As preceding narrative in this paper shows, there were arrays of dynamic transformations within the indentured labour regime as well in making, managing and makingover of this regime. However, two critical determinants of the labour regime—servitude and subalternity

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of labourers continued in the indentured labour regime albeit certain adaptations to realise the changing requirements of the capitalist production process and mollify the political-moral archetypes of the colonial authorities. A careful reading of the functioning of the indentured labour regime does not confirm to the aspirations of anti-slavery enthusiasts that emancipation would establish a free labour regime. Despite the carefully elaborated labour laws and application of liberal ideas of trusteeship and benevolence to protect the labour from the plantocracy, the practical decision-making remained in their hands, though the mode by which this group applied its sanctions changed during transition from slavery to indenture—mediated, indirect and depersonalised form of administration replace the naked, direct and open force which was characteristic of slavery.68 Concentration of political authority reinforced the concentration of economic power on the sugar estates and reflected in the rigid structures of hierarchy, stratification and control in the labour regime. Indentured labour regime could commodify the labour but it could not establish a free labour market with symmetrical relationship between the labour and capital. It continued to be governed by the imperial-racial hierarchies and unevenness of class relations according to racial prejudices which severely curtailed the labourers’ ability to negotiate for their labour as they could do in a free market (though there could be no ideal free market ever). The discourse of labour regime was determined by the incongruity of economic rationality and noblesse oblige of the system. Labour regime had to be not only economically viable but also fulfil the obligations of benevolent empire towards the improvement of colonised subjects, and this resulted in an inherent contradiction reflected in every domain of the system, making it a historically distinct agrarian labour regime. Nature of labour regime, extent of freedom for labourers and their volition to be masters of their own work and time depended upon and determined by the priorities and penchants of the plantation economy. Indentured labourers were underpaid and denied the rights to seek new employer of employment implying that their position and agency as ‘free labourers’ was restricted and conditioned by the indentures or contracts they had entered into. The language of command continued to be filled with racial prejudices and these imperial allegories and racial dogmas

68 Alan Adamson, Sugar Without Slaves, p. 12.

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continued to determine the discourse of discipline and authority in the indentured labour regime. Despite the claims of increased responsibility and benevolence by the colonial state, the post emancipation indentured labour regime in plantation colonies survived and continued as an entity both in punishment and resistance and as a labour regime it hinged upon compulsory nature of contract and penal sanctions for the violations of contractual obligations. ‘Although it began in the anxiety of the colonial state to distance indenture from slavery and to restrain the planters’ private authority, by the end of 19th C the indenture laws had acquired their own raison d’etre, an over-elaborate machinery that churned out what it was supposed to eradicate’. This leads us to apply the cliché that ‘everything must change so that everything remain the same’ to define the indenture labour regime. Indentured labour regime provided the labourers to escape certain social-economic subjugations at home as it has been often argued, but a comprehensive analysis of the labour regulations under the indentured regime makes it clear that they were simultaneously drawn into a more ruthless structure of moral and physical domination. Madhavi Kale, who situates the entire debate within the larger premises of British liberalism and imperial discourse, puts it with amazing clarity: The imperial labour relocation strategy characteristically and contradictorily made good the promise of imperial liberalism to release people from the fixities of place, custom, and birth into mobility and the opportunity to rise above their ‘traditional’ station—into other orders of imperial hierarchy.69

As a tribute to all those who survived the servitude and suppressions of girmit and a powerful allegory for their lives as girmitiyas, without undermining their struggles and achievements, I would like to end this paper with a few lines from the poem ‘They Came in Ships’ written by Mahadai Das:

69 Kale, Madhavi, Fragments of Empire: Capitalism, Slavery, and Indian Indentured Labor Migration in the British Caribbean. Philadelphia: University of Penn Press, 1998, p. 175. emphasis added.

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They came in ships. From across the seas, they came. Britain, colonising India, transporting her chains from Chota Nagpur and the Ganges plain… Some came with dreams of milk and honey riches, Fleeing famine and death: … Brahmin, Chamar, alike, Hearts brimful of hope… Dreams of a cow and endless calves, And endless reality in chains.70

70 Magadai Das, They Came in Ships in David Dabydeen and Brinsley Samaroo (eds) India in The Caribbean, Hansib, 1987, pp. 288–289.

CHAPTER 12

‘Convicts’ as the Indentured Labour: Contribution of Indians to the Development in Southeast Asia Aparna Tripathi

Introduction Convicts were moved from South Asia to Southeast Asia throughout the latter half of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. As a result, this period has been identified as a component of a widespread pattern of involuntary migration. This flow of international and intercontinental forced migration occurred not only in Southeast Asia but also in Australia, Britain, and Ireland. Besides ‘bonded’ Indian and Melanesian convicts, many Spanish, French, and Russian convicts were transported as contract labourers in different parts of the world. These convicts’ labourers shipped to Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, French Guiana, and Bermuda to meet labour demand. This kind of labour transportation was associated with the recruiting and contracting of slaves and labourers. Thus, in the

A. Tripathi (B) Centre for Diaspora Studies, Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, India e-mail: [email protected]

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nineteenth-century Convictism was a system of labour recruitment in many parts of the world (Yang, 2003). In 1773 when Warren Hastings was the Governor-General of India, suggested sending captives to West Sumatra majorly in Bencoolen. At that time, the topic of forced displacement was brought up in India. The authorities looked for alternative places to take the prisoners due to a lack of prison cells and the unsuccessful trials in Bencoolen that didn’t help the colonists. As a result, a new prison settlement was founded in Malaya, which includes modern-day Singapore and Malaysia. Primarily, the transportation of convicts was developed not only expelled convicts from their country and society but also to discourage them from committing more crimes. Additionally, transportation caused terror among Indians due to their beliefs about spiritual perils across the sea (Kalapani). In the initial days, Indian convicts had hard days in terms of their living conditions in Malaysia. They lived in attap huts but subsequently after some time prisons were made and convicts shifted there. However, the situation was a bit different in Singapore where convicts were held in temporary structures. Although later permanent prison structures were made by the convicts themselves and they shifted there (Augustine, 2021). The transportation of convicts as indentured labourers has two ulterior motives. First, convicts have no longer a hazard to the State which has led to a decrease in the amount of money being spent on imprisonment. Second, indentured convicts could be helpful for the development of host countries in which they were transported by constructing the buildings. Somehow, the transportation of convicts was a successful and effective means of colonial economies for their development. Transportation of convicts indentured labourers was irrelevant today, but it has a strong historical connection with the history of indentured labourers and migration in the colonial past and that needs actual attention (Prasad and Kanakarathnam, 2015). After facing many hardships, punishments, and death situations, Indian convicts have contributed largely to the development of Southeast Asia. Indian convicts used to be a noticeable existence in the region. Their craftsmanship was especially evident in Malaysia and Singapore’s architectural design. Although the fact is that in the present scenario there is hardly any widespread acknowledgement of their accomplishments. Several Indians would prefer not to connect their ancestry to convicts, and imperialist regimes do not want to see their sparkling urban areas

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created by forced labour. Today, most of the construction including buildings, roads, and bridges that were built by Indian convicts as a ‘naukar’ of the East India Company have been demolished so that new structures can be made. Therefore, while experiencing hardships during correctional settlements, this work aims to recognise their contributions as convicts.

Genesis of ‘Convicts’ as Indentured Labour For ages, an indenture has existed as a temporary contract or agreement between an employer and a labourer in many countries. The indentured labour system was introduced to replace slave labour when it was abolished in the British Empire in 1834. Indenture was a complicated experience, one that saw both dispersion and rebuilding, as well as empowerment and disempowerment. Many people died as a result of the tragedy, but the majority of those who survived were able to start a new life. Indentured labour was used on sugar, cotton, and tea plantations, as well as railways infrastructure improvements in the colonies of England throughout Africa, Southeast Asia, and the West Indies. Approximately 2 million enslaved Indian labourers were sent by England to 19 colonies from 1834 to the end of World War I, including Caribbean countries Africa and the Southeast Asian region. The goal was to provide planters with a consistent, reliable, and inexpensive workforce so that they no longer needed to rely on paying market rates for labour compared earlier (Sturman, 2014). The question ‘what is convict labour’ can be studied under some specific historical circumstances but on the other hand ‘why convict labour’ could be asked with the objective of generalising the inference of local studies. In other words, a pragmatic approach could be used to generalise historical facts in which convicts’ labour has been originated and enslaved in the process of labour commodification. The studies entail that convict labour was not an isolated fact of history but was part of an integrated labour market. Convict labour is well-known to exist at the nexus of two distinctive social systems: the commercialisation of labour and the enforced social concept of ‘criminal’ as an individual who has given up his freedom. The first process identifies that convict labour has congenial with different modes of production as well suited for modern social and trade interactions namely the growth of capitalism and increase of wages. The second denotes the significance of shaping the state of

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unfree labour relations as well as individual perspectives and representations of convict labour. Additionally, the term ‘convict’ encompasses social, political, economic, and cultural activities in addition to legal and administrative aspects (De Vito and Lichtenstein, 2013). Anand A. Yang, an eminent professor and scholar of history and South Asia Studies used the term ‘convicts’ workers’. It is considered to recognise their contribution as productive labourers and to de-emphasise their criminal history earlier which has misled their capabilities as workers. However, here the main topic is discussing Indian convicts. As per facts, they were a component of a very large Southeast and South Asian transportation system. They were moved to different countries through this network (Yang, 2003). The greater framework of labour, in all its more compelled and less coerced variants, is also important to this research, varying from enslavement and subjugation, which ‘have largely been stable situations’, to ‘unfree labour’, which is fundamentally ephemeral. Slavery, on the other hand, is frequently defined as the authority and power of the owners to use labour as cheap labour and to enslave not only the slaves but even their generations (Engerman, 1999). Slavery, bondage, and servitude were common forms of labour in Southeast Asia. As per one scholar, for the majority of its recorded human history, Southeast Asia’s workforce system was founded on the obligation to serve masters (Reid, 1983).

Origins and Transportation of ‘Convicts’ from Colonial India Indian prisoners were transported to Southeast Asia and provided labour to the colonial government as well as developing holdings there. It is crucial to comprehend in this greater perspective the occurrences and conditions that led to a compelling requirement for their services. The responsibilities prisoners served practically and obliquely created and maintained the foundations of colonisers. In this way, Indian convicts joined a transnational system of massive immigration and served as a useful labour force for the colonial powers in Southeast Asia. In India, the British used transportation as a policy tool as well. Decades before deportation to the Andaman Islands began, colonial rulers, deported Indian convicts to southeast Asian penal camps. Despite the availability of Indians in Southeast Asia previous to British authority, Indians were brought to these areas as convicts and indentured labour

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in the colonial regime. In order to move serious criminals to Bencoolen, Sumatra, the British government of India started this approach to transfer them overseas. In the rural areas, most of the convicts were seen as a team of robbers, who were the biggest threat to colonial power, tranquillity, and the taxation process. This new transportation concept was quickly regarded as beneficial to the colonial administration and was expanded to other regions of the Indian Ocean region. Numerous convicts from India were brought to the colonies and enforced to perform manual labour in the construction industry (Prasad and Kanakarathnam, 2015). To fulfil convictions, they assist with the scarcity of workers and labour shortage and also assist the infrastructure needs of the recently bought straits settlements. Singapore, which was the Settlement with the fastest growth, soon evolved into a detention facility. For Indian convicts, adjusting to life in a community with a significantly smaller Indian population was challenging. The majority of these Indian convict labourers came from Southern and Northern India, and they belong to different castes (Prasad and Kanakarathnam, 2015). It was intended to achieve the penal aims of eliminating offenders from their local society, preventing people from serious offenses, and rehabilitating the offenders in India, as it had been done in England. It was also thought to have the extra benefit of being a transgressive penalty in India, as it goes contrary traditional and sacred beliefs regarding the dangers associated with passing the ‘kalapani’ or ‘black waters ’ (Meredith, 1988). As a result, British officials regarded the transportation of convicts as a tremendously powerful weapon. To put it another way, transportation was believed to be particularly punishing given the negative cultural and religious consequences. Hence, due to the cultural significance of this punishment being unique to India, it was considered variously in India than in Britain. The imperial regime’s mode of transportation was peculiar in Indian history. Although deportation was used like penance in ancient India limited to particular transgressions (Yang, 2003). The Prince of Wales Island, often referred as Penang, was purchased by the East India Company in 1786, and Governor-General Cornwallis suggested relocating there. The first Indian convicts arrived on Penang soil in 1790. Following that, many convicts were suitable for deportation, and the locations to which they had been transferred changed. Hence, the legislative and administrative considerations altered, as did the geographic position of the British colonial empire in Southeast Asia. Bengkulu, Malacca,

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Penang, the island of Amboyna, and Java were also popular prison destinations in the eighteenth to nineteenth centuries. By 1819, the imperial flag was also flying over Singapore, which Sir Thomas Raffles had gained as commander of Bengkulu. Further opportunities have been created by the British invasion of Burma, especially in Arakan and Tenasserim, where advantages were already granted in the 1820s (Yang, 2003). These convicts eventually constituted themselves as an Indian community that arose from these colonialist settlements as a result of the hybrid groupings. These hybrid groupings included sepoys, transportees, and a number of other groups, such as indentured servants. Because of their shared interests and experiences working as labourers and their interactions with different ethnic groups, convicts developed a cohesive identity. However, this whole transportation of convict system was designed to fit the developing British Empire’s changing labour demands and imperatives.

Strait Settlements of ‘Convicts’ as Indentured Labour The Strait Settlements were situated in different locations in Southeast Asia like Penang and Malacca. When Anglo-Dutch Treaty was signed in 1824 by the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, it partitioned the Malay Peninsula into a region of Britishers in the northern and Dutch dominion in the south. Bencoolen, a British stronghold on Sumatra, was traded for Malacca, a Dutch province, and Singapore was handed unchallenged control as a result. In 1832, they relocated their capital from Penang to Singapore. The East India Company failed to maintain its stronghold in trade relations with China in 1833. Hence, their dispersed character made administration challenging and costly. The places where convicts were residing utilised as punitive areas for detaining Indian civilians and offenders during the East India Company’s administration. Convict uprisings occurred in Singapore and Penang in the years 1852 and 1853 (Prasad and Kanakarathnam, 2015). The European population of the Settlements, dissatisfied with the East India Company administration, issued a plea to the British government in 1857, requesting direct authority however, circumstances of the First World War overtook the concept. However, events during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 overtook the notion. The Settlements has become a British Crown colony on April 1, 1867, and directly reported to the Provincial London office, not the British government of India in Calcutta. Colonial Office in London

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rather than the British India administration in Calcutta, British India. From 1787, the British government of India began transporting criminals to Bencoolen, a penal settlement in Sumatra, where Indian convicts convicted for more than seven years were transferred to serve their sentences for different offenses. In 1790, the first convicts were deported to Penang. Malacca and Singapore became prison sites in 1825 (Prasad and Kanakarathnam, 2015). In the region that is currently referred to as Bengkulu city, there once stood a British prison colony called Bencoolen. In 1685, it was formed like a prison colony. Stamford Raffles was the chief of Bencoolen in 1817, and at that time, he instituted several improvements, including the banning of enslavement and making Singapore a new port city. For numerous little offenses, Indian criminals were sent here. The colony was handed to the Netherlands in 1824 under the Anglo-Dutch Treaty (Prasad and Kanakarathnam, 2015). Penang is presently a Malaysian state on the country’s northwest coast. The British constructed another penal settlement, Penang, as part of the Strait Settlements. That was the initial prison town established by the British in the Southeast Asian region. Pulau Kesatu or Pulo Pinang were the local names for the island (Prasad and Kanakarathnam, 2015). Malaysia and Singapore were joined into the British crown colony in 1826 after Raffles developed Singapore in 1819. Penang’s importance was surpassed by Singapore, which was named the capital of the Strait Settlements in 1832. Indian convicts were brought to the British colonies to complete their sentences as a result they are useful in labour shortfall and infrastructure-related needs of these recent acquisition towns. Singapore, as the fastest growing market of the Settlements, rapidly expanded into a detention centre. In Singapore, most of the workers for the government projects were Indian prisoners (Prasad and Kanakarathnam, 2015). British officials began to view transportation as a well-calculated punishment for purging the expanding territory of political foes and violent felons, respectively. Additionally, they viewed it as a versatile instrument for imperial expansion, employed to reinforce the framework of colonisers by expelling anyone who resisted or attempted to undermine the government’s advancing sense of public order and rule of law (Yang, 2003). Convicts were vital to the Settlements’ economy because they provided a consistent source of low-cost labour. Despite the fact that the European populace had no issues with Indian prisoners but several complained that their labour was inefficient, improperly, and poorly supervised, whereas others complained more about lethargic prisoners who

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napped throughout the day and danced all night. While Chinese inmates from Hong Kong were met with vehement opposition because it was believed that they might easily escape and meld into the general populace with the aid of covert organisations (Cornelius, 2005).

Employment of ‘Convicts’ Indentured Labourers in Southeast Asia ‘Company ke naukar’ is a term used by Indian criminals to describe themselves (servants of the company). Furthermore, Indian convicts chose to portray themselves as employees, as men working for the British, instead of presenting themselves as ‘bandwars’ (convicts). The term ‘naukar’, is derived from the colonial era for ‘honourable duty in the local warband society’ (Yang, 2003). Work and life on the plantations differed between and among sites of work, as well as over time. As minor growers, market gardeners, or hired labourers, agriculture was at the heart of their life. Some moved into small-scale businesses and family-run companies over time, but agriculture remained the cornerstone of their everyday lives for the vast majority. In Penang, the government’s work, the development of the colonial settlements, and network system infrastructure were the major tasks for convicts. They put forth a tremendous hard work for the colonists and reclaiming mudflats and woodland lands, as well as working on several significant government structures. Many convict workers do have not any specific jobs and they worked in different offices. As Anand Yang in his article highlights the number of convicts who were working in different offices and is given below. There were 50 convicts council house, 45 in the warehouse and custom house, 30 in the engineers’ department, paymaster and storekeeper included 16 convicts, the town major and his garrison had 20 convicts, the hospitals of the 20th regiment have 50, courthouse consist 12, accountant’s office had 4, 2 in treasury office, 7 convicts were doing police jobs, 8 were working in Chinese poorhouse, 6 in convict hospital, 8 convicts were working in officer commanding troops, 10 in superintendent of convicts’ office, 2 in free school, 56 convicts were in junior civil servants and military, 10 were in commissariat department, and 1 in government house. There were some specific posts for convicts like 8 convicts were chefs for European soldiers, there were 18 convicts in hospital attendants’ jobs,

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and other convicts were sweepers, church furniture cleaners, gravediggers, and jail water carriers in the secretary’s office. A further 122 were contracted out to various public and commercial entities. As per Yang in the 1820s, the majority of Penang’s 1469 convicts, 351 in total, were allocated to highway construction works (Yang, 2003).

Contribution of Indian Convicts to the Development in the Southeast Asia By constructing public works and structures, Indian prison labourers contributed significantly to Singapore’s early growth. There were enough bricks built for both local usage and export to Malacca. At the 1867 Agra Exhibition, the inmates were rewarded a silver medal for fineness of their brickwork. The work performed by Indian convicts was always praised by the colonial authority. Convict labourers produced so many, substantial routes that converge the peninsula in all directions (Yang, 2003). They were instrumental in the development of Singapore as a significant British trading post after it was created in 1819 (Yang, 2003). Indian Convicts Indenture labourers performed their duties in different fields which are given below: Public Constructions: When Mr. G. D. Coleman was appointed in charge of the prisoners as ‘Surveyor and Executive Officer of Government’ in 1833, a substantial change in the regular and methodical utilisation of these convicts were made. He retrieved enormous pieces of land as intakes from the sea and river marshes, and considerably enlarged the town blocks. As a result, Captain Begbie, who authored a book about the Straits Settlements that year, reported that ‘In eight months, 200 of these convicts had reclaimed 28 acres of marsh and intersected it with roads for a minor expenditure of $500 for sealed drainage. This site was rapidly sold for a good price and quickly filled with nice, large upper-story residences that were quickly rented’ (McNair and Bayliss, 1899). Mr. Coleman laid design and built the public roadways along the seaside, as well as the main street from the city to Campong Glam, known today as North and South Bridge Roads. He examined and mapped out the first country road towards Bukit Timah, and he later built out the Serangoon, New Harbour, Budoo, and Thompson’s Roads, mostly

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with the help of Indian convicts. When the convicts were unable to be taken from their daily job to the jail because of the distance they had to go, Mr. Coleman built temporary dwellings for them, encircled by a barrier, similar to those detailed previously when discussing Province Wellesley and Malacca (McNair and Bayliss, 1899). Penal Settlements: Indian convicts were landed in Southeast Asia, first housed in an open shed, or godown (originated from the Malay word ‘godong’, which means ‘shed’), which was on the site of the current government offices. At a high price of 13,199, temporary buildings housing 1200–2000 prisoners were built next to the Hindu temple and afterwards close to the Brass Basa Canal. Indian convicts were housed in these sheds, with very little prison supervision only once in a while, a police officer would come and call the check to report to the government that everyone was there (McNair and Bayliss, 1899). As far as experts can tell, this was the first trial of the convict prison system in Singapore, and perhaps the first of its sort in any prison facility. As more convicts arrived from India, many from Bencoolen re-established themselves as prison guards over their peers, with one warder for every twenty criminals (McNair and Bayliss, 1899). Construction of Worship Places: Other famous Singapore structures, such as the Mariamman Hindu Temple and St. Andrew’s Church, were constructed by convict labour. The arrival of J. F. A. McNair, as executive engineer, and inspector of inmates from the end of 1857 to the end of 1858, more sophisticated Western tools and methods rapidly replaced the fundamental and native labour methods. The convict labour force became well-organised and competent under McNair’s leadership, and the civic centre took shape with the development of numerous significant structures. To put the final touches on the new tower, child convicts, who were much more lightweight than male adults, were particularly trained to climb it and set imported slates on it. The convicts also made the interior furnishings, such as the pulpit, reading desks, and fittings (Edwards and Keys, 1988). Besides The Town Hall (1861; today’s Victoria Theatre); the battlements of Fort Canning (some of which are still standing); the courts and post office converted from the old courthouse (1864)—which is

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now the Arts House (formerly Old Parliament House); the master attendant’s quarters (previously existing); a new court house (1865), which later became the office for the government secretariat—parts of which are now the Asian Civilisation Museum (McNair and Bayliss, 1899) were construed by Indian convicts labourers. Many convicted land surveyors went on to work for the government as survey assistants. Hammapah, one of these convicts, established a property brokerage and began purchasing enormous amounts of land in the east. Somapah, his son, carried on the trade, submitting plans for what is now known as Somapah Village at Upper Serangoon Road in 1884 and 1897, a testament to his family’s prosperity. Babajee or Bawajee Rajaram, a convict from Bombay, became Singapore’s first native draughtsman, leading a team that worked on the designs and sketches for many important public works projects, including St Andrew’s Church, the General Hospital, and Government House (Pieris, 2009). The effectiveness of Singapore’s correctional system was attributed not only to its organisation but also to the supervisor’s benevolent influence over the inmates (McNair, 1899).

Conclusion During the colonial times Indian convicts were in high demand for their hard work and labour capacity. They recognised as too focussed on their identities as employees and Company ke naukar, or Company servants because of their working obligations and effectiveness rather than their sentencing or imprisonment. The British Empire in Southeast Asia was thought to benefit from the entire convict system. Criminals were crucial to Southeast Asia’s economy in the early years as a regular source of inexpensive labour, and the European nations seemed to have no issues with accepting Indian convicts in the first half of the century. Being a prisoner is frequently a brief judicial and administrative position that leads to the inmate’s rehabilitation into certain labour relations. As a result, the convict’s labour identity and morals were envisioned after reaching the end of their sentences. Many convicts at the end of their sentences settled in the new colonies, some were still linked to the previous occupation and few of them returned home. Many criminals who completed their sentences chose to stay in their host societies, and their progeny have become a prominent minority in Malaysia’s pluralist society. Some developed marriage relations with Malay

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women and became a part of the Indo-Malay community known as JawiPekan. According to one estimate for Singapore, only 60% of prisoners returned to India in 1838, a figure that had dropped significantly by the 1860s, when ‘just a few returned’ (Yang, 2003). As long as criminals appeared malleable and productive as employees, this relationship performed well for both sides. However, after the Indian government prepared to dump its rebel leaders and insurgents in the colonies especially after the 1857 Mutiny/Rebellion, the colonial authorities in their area refused to accept any more convicts’ labourers. Thus, the immigration of convicts from South Asia to Southeast Asia, as a part of the universal structure of forced migration, screeched to a halt. Therefore, from migration to settlement, Indian convicts faced countless difficulties and suffering, but they never denied the fact of fulfilling their punishment. Many convicts lost their families in this hard journey of indenture system. However, they already knew the truth that they will never become free even after completion of their sentences from this hard life. Although after some time convicts have well settled in the host country and they established their own settlement. In fact, in many cases, convicts were satisfied that they came to the host country as convict and emancipated the agony which existed in India. They worked really hard for the development of colonial powers in Southeast Asia. Indian convicts more or less need to be recognised as an important part of history.

References Augustine, M. G. (2021). Convicts constructors-Indian convicts in Southeast Asia. Journal of Modern Tamil Research. Cornelius, V. (2005). Indian convicts’ contributions to early Singapore (1825– 1873). A Singapore Government Agency Website. Indian convicts’ contributions to early Singapore (1825–1873) | Infopedia (nlb.gov.sg). De Vito, C. G., & Lichtenstein, A. (2013). Writing a global history of convict labour. International Review of Social History, 58(2), 285–325. Edwards, N., & Keys, P. (1988). Singapore: A guide to buildings, streets, places. Times Books International. Engerman, S. L. (Ed.). (1999). Terms of labour: Slavery, serfdom, and free labor. Stanford University Press. McNair, J. F. A. (1899). Prisoners their own warders–A record of the convict prison at Singapore in the Straits-Settlements Established 1825.

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McNair, J. F. A., & Bayliss, W. D. (1899). Prisoners their own warders: A record of the convict prison at Singapore in the Straits Settlements, established 1825, discontinued 1873, together with a cursory history of the convict establishments at Bencoolen, Penang and Malacca from the year 1797. A. Constable and Company. Meredith, D. (1988). Full circle? Contemporary views on transportation. In Convict workers: reinterpreting Australia’s past (pp. 14–27). Cambridge University Press. Pieris, A. (2009). Hidden hands and divided landscapes. University of Hawaii Press. Prasad, G. S. V., & Kanakarathnam, N. (2015). Colonial India and transportation: Indian convicts in South East Asia and elsewhere. IJAR, 1(13), 05–08. Reid, A. (1983). Introduction slavery and bondage in Southeast Asian history. St Martin’s Press. Sturman, R. (2014). Indian indentured labor and the history of international rights regimes. The American Historical Review, 119(5), 1439–1465. Yang, A. A. (2003). Indian convict workers in Southeast Asia in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Journal of World History, 14(2), 179–208.

CHAPTER 13

The Girmityas and Power Politics: A Genealogical Analysis of Colonial Fiji Dhanya Joy

Kalapani, black waters, a cross across the seven seas With blood, betrayal, griefs, that never cease A fragment, a shard, lay buried In the heart: a bone, a stone or a mirror? Sharpen your cane knives We, too, have ancestors in our lives —“Lines Across Black Waters,” Satendra Nandan

Islands have always stirred human imagination, be it Caliban’s, Crusoe’s, or the wicked children in Lord of the Flies. Due to geographical isolation from the rest of the landmass, the island countries often possess a cultural and political world of their own. The Republic of Fiji is anarchipelago of 332 islands, out of which only 106 are inhabited and 522 islets located in the South Pacific Ocean about 2000 km away from New Zealand. The Lilliputian Island country has a rich and varied culture

D. Joy (B) St. Joseph’s College for Women, Alappuzha, Kerala, India e-mail: [email protected]

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Fijian -56.8% Indo-Fijians - 37.5% European/part-European 1.7% Rotuman (Polynesian/other) -1.2% Chinese -0.6% Others -2.2% Fig. 13.1 Fiji: Ethnic Composition (2007): Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. www.britannica.com/place/Fiji-republic-Pacific-Ocean/People

thanks to its commercial and colonial contacts with the outside world. The Fijian population primarily comprises the native Fijians (Melanesians) and the Indo-Fijians (descendants of the Indian indentured labourers). There are also people from the Solomon Islands, Rotuman, Europe, China, and other Pacific islands (Fig. 13.1). Like any other nation, Fiji has a history of internal feuds. Ethnic diversity contributes much to the political turmoil of the country. From a Foucauldian perspective, the power relations that come into play at a particular discourse may vary during the course of history. This calls for a genealogical approach to Fijian colonial history. “Genealogy is a development of archaeological analysis that is more concerned with the workings of power and describing the ‘history of the present.’ It is a form of historical analysis which describes events in the past but without explicitly making causal connections” (Mills 2003). The concept of genealogy was introduced by Nietzsche to question the concept of “origin.” Foucault puts down: Why does Nietzsche challenge the pursuit of origins? First, it is the attempt to capture the exact essence of things, their purest possibilities, and their carefully protected identities. This search assumes the existence of immobile forms that precede the external world of accident and succession. This

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search is directed to ‘that which was already there, the image of a primordial truth fully adequate to its nature. It necessitates the removal of every mask to disclose an essential identity. However, if the genealogist refuses to extend his faith in metaphysics if he listens to history, he finds that there is ‘something altogether different’ behind things: not a timeless and essential secret. Still, the secret that they have no essence, or their essence was fabricated in a piecemeal fashion from alien forms. (Nietzsche 142)

During the colonial reign, Fiji was divided into twelve yasanas for administrative purposes. Roko, the Governor’s deputy, was in charge of each yasana. The yasana was divided into tikina with Buli as its head. Buli was answerable to Roko. The Tikina comprised villages headed by Village Headmen. Thus, a hierarchical power structure existed during the colonial period. Unlike the other colonies of Britain, Fiji was ceded to Queen Victoria by Fijian chiefs themselves through a Deed of Cession on 10 October 1874. As the country was not a conquered region, the British did not exploit the Fijians ruthlessly. The colonial officers had a harmonious relationship with the local rulers. They did not disrupt the Fijian administrative system. The natives were not forced to work in the plantations. During the time of the Cession, the cotton industry that had flourished because of the civil war in the United States was on the verge of collapse. The Governor, Sir Arthur Hamilton Gordon, decided to cultivate sugar instead of cotton and invited the Colonial Sugar Refining Company (CSR) to Fiji. As per Gordon’s “native policy,” Fijians were not employed in the plantations. They were left to find out independent means of subsistence. Thus, he tried to preserve indigenous culture from the influence of the plantation system and wage labour. Sir Gordon was the Governor of Mauritius and Trinidad earlier. He had successfully deployed Indian indentured labourers in the plantations. So, he opted for the labour supply from India. In 1879, the first batch of four hundred and seventy-nine immigrant labourers from India arrived in Fiji. The Indian indentured labour system was a direct offshoot of the abolition of slavery in 1833. The term “girmit” is a malapropism of the word “agreement.” Girmityas or Jahajis were Indian labourers who had migrated to European plantations in Mauritius, Trinidad, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Natal, Grenada, Malaya, St. Kitts, St. Vincents, Surinam, Fiji, British Guiana, East Africa, Seychelles, etc. under indentured labour system (1834–1920). The agreement (girmit) stipulated five years of work in the plantations. They were free to return after

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five years at their own expense or the government’s expense after ten years. But “for the later history of Fiji, the most important provision in the scheme was that immigrants could if they wished, remain in Fiji after completing their indentured labour service” (Gillion 1962). Men along with their families were transported to Fiji primarily from Uttar Pradesh and South India. Poor peasants who suffered from floods, droughts, and famine were recruited by aarkathis (middlemen and recruiting agents). They were ignorant of the nature and conditions of the prospective work. Many of them did not know that they had to cross the sea. For Hindus, crossing the sea was a great sin. Andrews and Pearson, in their book, Indentured Labour in Fiji point out the typical procedures of recruitment: An ordinary villager’s cupidity is the lever most frequently used. If he is of the stupid, ignorant type, then Fiji is referred to as the district near Calcutta where high wages are to be paid. On the other hand, if the villager is of the more intelligent type, then the full details of the indenture are revealed. But the work is made out to be very light indeed, and the most glowing prospects are offered. Nothing is said about the penal laws or the hard conditions of compulsory labour. (1916)

The ship journey was a troublesome affair for many. Some labourers suffered from diseases during the journey. Surgeon General Liang, who recruited labourers to the colonial masters, wrote in his logbook, “Many die from nostalgia…with caste prejudices, they are leaving their native land, perhaps never to see it again, and being thrown among people with strange habits, language and even colour” (Prasad 2015). By 1916, around seven thousand Indians were in Fiji. Such a huge displacement of people was by no means a smooth sail. The labourers from India were devoid of “agency” owing to their poor financial situation. Difficulties were waging an aggressive war on them. Agency is often defined as human beings’ freedom to act and speak without subjugating themselves to any power structure. Before the narrative turn, the human agency was considered as an innate ontological a priori. But now, the concept is viewed in relation to various power grids operating in society. The autonomous individual subject is subjected to a plethora of power relations. According to Foucault, the absolute agency is an impossibility. However, his works implicitly second the exercise of a relational agency that varies with each discourse. Towards the fag end

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Fig. 13.2 Sample of emigration pass: www.fijigirmit.org/ph_passes.htm

of his career, Foucault identifies self-fashioning as a possible way for the individuals to revamp themselves. The Indian labourers refashioned themselves as indentured labourers to procure a better job in a foreign land (Fig. 13.2).

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The conditions under which the Indians lived and worked were deplorable. They lived in small cubicles of long sheds. As Burton describes, The coolies are herded together like so many penned cattle amid the most insanitary conditions and indescribable and disgusting filth. A man must hold his nose with a firm grip as he passes through some of these lines, but to live in them! No wonder sickness and disease hold carnival, and such places are a disgrace to civilisation and a stain upon commerce. (Burton 1909)

The everyday routine of the labourers started at 3 a.m. in morning with the wakeup call of drumbeats and the entry of paaniwallah (water carrier). The men and women were forced to toil in the plantations by their colonial masters without any humanitarian concerns. The women folk had no privileges related to maternity. Ill-treatment of women was rampant. Polyandry existed among the labourers, and women suffered a lot due to this evil practice. Pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers underwent a lot of misery. Naraini’s experience is always mentioned in this regard. Her inability to break stone with a hammer after six days of childbirth was rewarded by severe punishment. The overseer Harold Bloomfield hit her head on a stone, and she went mad. Naraini was sent back to India, and Bloomfield escaped punishment. All these little narratives of agony and pain constituted the harsh reality of Indian indentured labourers in Fiji. According to Foucault, the production of knowledge occurs when there is a disparity in power equations between different groups of people. “It is not possible for power to be exercised without knowledge; it is impossible for knowledge not to engender power” (1980). The experiences of “Girmityas” in Fiji were brought to daylight because of this disparity in power relations. But then the perspective from which the events are recorded becomes problematic. Anti-Indian newspapers like Fiji Times published government-controlled news and depicted Indians in a poor light. On the other hand, Indian newspapers like Fagriti, Shanti Dut, The Fiji Samachar, Fai Fiji, Kisan Mitra and Sangam tried to bring out the truth. The educated descendants of Indian indentured labourers also wrote prolifically about their ancestral plight. Various commissions constituted by the government of India gave detailed reports about the predicament of the Girmityas. In the wake of the Second World War, news

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about the Indian freedom struggle was curtailed by Fijian law in view of the possibility of a uprisal by Girmityas. Hindi language presses in Fiji were shut down. Short-wave radio was the prime source of news for the Indians. The British empire was tottering during this period. The unholy nexus between power and knowledge is revealed here. The objectivity of knowledge is lost. Foucault states in Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison: The subject who knows, the objects to be known, and the modalities of knowledge must be regarded as so many effects of the fundamental implications of power-knowledge and their historical transformations. In short, it is not the activity of the subject of knowledge that produces a corpus of knowledge, useful or resistant to power, but power-knowledge, the processes and struggles that traverse it, and of which it is made up, that determines the forms and possible domains of knowledge. (1991)

Foucault says, “social practices may engender domains of knowledge that not only bring new objects, new concepts, and new techniques to light but also give rise to totally new forms of subjects and subjects of knowledge” (2002a). The existing forms of knowledge were inadequate to delineate the experience of indentured labourers in Fiji (Fig. 13.3). The institution of the indentured labour system is often reckoned as a new form of slavery. The colonisers deemed cheap labour and fertile soil above any humanitarian considerations. Labourers were transported in the old slave ships, and slave barracks became their residence. The climate in the tropical plantations took a heavy toll on the Indian labourers. They were forced to work without any legal protection. Words of Colonial Secretary Lord John Russell about the export of Indian labourers are relevant in this regard. He was not “prepared to encounter the responsibility of a measure which may lead to a dreadful loss of life on the one hand, or, on the other, to a new system of slavery” (Tinker 1974). Lord Russell described the indentured labour system as a new system of slavery. The development of industrial agriculture—“from a limited, privileged monopoly to a competitive system of mass production, formed the main reason for the expansion of sugar and coffee growing in the early and middle years of the nineteenth century, which created the demand for coolie labour” (Tinker 1974). The indentured labour system was banned in 1919. The majority of Indians remained in Fiji as they had lost their connections with their

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Fig. 13.3 A group of Girmityas: www.fijigirmit.org/ph_girmitold.htm

homeland. The government of Fiji discouraged interactions between the natives and the Indians. The latter lived on the fringes of sugar mills. Accommodating Indo-Fijians to the native community was punishable for fear of contaminating the natives with alien ideas. The works of missionaries in the field of education enabled the Indo-Fijians to become literate, and many of them tried their hands at various jobs other than agriculture. In 1916, for example, there were 1508 shopkeepers, 974 hawkers, 21 bakers, 80 jewellers and 129 watermen. Some became cane planters themselves, competing with European planters. In Navua, in 1898, Indian planters produced 10519 tonnes of sugar cane valued at £5974, compared to £5586 produced by Europeans. (Lal 2007)

The CSR leased 53,776 hectares of their land to Indo-Fijian tenants. This was a great boost to the community as they clutched roots in Fiji by making a profit from the plantations. The Indians in Fiji established their cultural and social institutions. Hindu–Muslim relationships

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remained cordial, and there were only a few Christian converts despite the presence of missionaries in Fiji. Indian folklore literature and religious writings had already been circulating among the Indians. Thus, they were able to maintain an affinity towards their native culture and literature on alien soil. The Indo-Fijians remained unrepresented in the government till 1916. The agent general of immigration acted as the mouthpiece of this newly emerging community. Manilal Maganlal Doctor was sent to Fiji by Gandhiji to assist the Indians. Manilal’s intervention came to fruition as the government made relaxation in divorce laws and allowed Indian girls aged between twelve and fifteen to marry without parental consent. The latter amendment was made to prevent the trafficking of girl children by their parents. The formation of the Indian Imperial Association of Fiji and the publication of a periodical named The Indian Settler were the other key contributions of Manilal. But the government of Fiji did not appreciate Manilal’s efforts. An illiterate wealthy Indian, Badri Maharaj, was nominated to the Legislative Council in 1916. Manilal was deported. The second generation of Indians in Fiji was superior in intelligence, physique, and morality than their parents. As a community, they accepted Fiji as their land of permanent residence. There arose the need for political involvement also. Along with this, many Indians from Punjab and Gujarat started migrating to Fiji. The Punjabis were agriculturalists, while the Gujaratis were businessmen. Eminent lawyers like S.B. Patel and A.D. Patel also joined the community. Their unparalleled acumen in oratory and mediation revitalised the Indians. A.D. Patel became a prominent figure in Fijian politics after the Second World War. Education played a vital role in the empowerment of Indo-Fijians. They started community schools as the government showed little interest in their education. Parity in the Legislative Council remained a dream for the Indians. The Europeans and the Fijians occupied the majority of the seats. All these stemmed from the natives’ fear of Indo-Fijians gaining superiority over them. Demographically the latter showed exponential growth. Although members of each community are brought into close contact in many situations, relatively few lasting relationships develop. There is very little intermarriage and, because of differences in language, religion, and culture, it seems unlikely to increase in the foreseeable future. The overview, then, is that of two different racial groups living side by side,

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one growing faster numerically and economically than the other, their relations uneasy, and no immediate prospect of any long-term alleviation of the unease. Fijians have very strong demands for leadership that will guide them back to a pre-eminent position and continuously affirm their political demands at the national level. (Nayacakalou 1975)

Through different land laws, the government ensured that the Fijians owned more than eighty per cent of the land. The Indo-Fijians owned only land on lease, leaving them at the mercy of the CSR or the natives. The insecurity about land ownership was solved by the creation of the Native Land Trust Board in 1940. But the issues regarding the price of sugar cane led to a strike in 1943. It had far-reached consequences. The Indo-Fijians were completely alienated from other communities and were portrayed as treacherous and selfish. During the outbreak of the Second World War, they constituted most of the population. But they were not allowed to fight in the war. The government preferred them to stay in the plantations to increase the profit, which would help the country economically. Foucault was eloquent about resistance and rebellion. He says: No one has the right to say, “Revolt for me; the final liberation of men depends on it.” But I am not in agreement with anyone who would say, “It is useless to revolt; it is always going to be the same thing.” People do revolt; that is a fact. And that is how subjectivity (not of great men, but that of anyone) is brought into history, breathing life into it. Moreover, no one is obliged to support them. No one is obliged to find that these voices sing better than the others and speak the truth itself. It is enough that they exist. (2002b)

Resistance to power is viewed on a very positive note. It gives rise to new forms of behaviour and plays a vital role in the formation of subjectivity. The identity of Indian Girmityas in Fiji was cemented by the strike. They became more united as a community. Foucault draws on the concept of agonism to highlight how to struggle/conflict can be utilised positively. In Greek, agon refers to struggle. The conflict between two equal powers always leads to some positive results. The Fijians and the IndoFijians mutually contributed to the development of these communities. A healthy competition that prevails among these sects has accelerated the development of the country.

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The rift between the two communities continued, and they had divided opinions on the question of independence. With most Indo-Fijians’ support, A.D. Patel formed the Federation Party in 1963. The Fijians formed Alliance Party in 1966. The former stood for independence while the latter opposed it. In 1966, the new constitution of Fiji came into existence, and an election was held. Under the leadership of Ratu Mara, the Alliance Party came to power. The foundation of the University of the South Pacific (USP) in Suva in 1968 was another landmark in the history of Fiji. The country became independent on 10 October 1970. The wind of change blew over the economy as well as the social spheres of Fiji. Commercial agriculture expanded, and pine plantations were established. Tourism increased from about 15,000 visitors annually in the 1960s to 186,000 in the 1970s. The GDP per capita increased from F$369 in 1970 to F$1415 in 1980. Urbanisation increased too. In 1966, only 88,979 lived in urban areas. By 1988, the number had increased to 144,533. In the 1980s, Fijians surpassed the Indo-Fijian population, reversing a forty-year trend. Improved communications, airstrips on the outer islands, upgraded roads girdling the two major islands, and better inter-island shipping reduced isolation and enhanced contact among people. The introduction of electrical infrastructure in rural areas brought modern amenities and technology to areas that had long remained untouched by contemporary forces of change (Lal 2007). The power tussle continued even after independence. To combat racial discrimination, a new party named Fiji Labour Party (FLP) was formed in 1985. The NFP-FLP coalition government won the election in 1987 and put an end to the Alliance party’s reign of twenty-one years. There were dissenting voices that upheld the idea of “Fiji for Fijians.” They organised into a group called Taukei Movement. The government was short-lived, as a military coup deposed it after a month in office. Sitiveni Rabuka, the third-ranking officer in the army, led the coup, and by the end of the year, he handed over the power back to Mara and Ganilau. The short span of military rule caused havoc in the country. There were blatant cases of human rights violations. The leaders and the supporters of the coalition were humiliated publicly, and many of them went hiding. The Muslims and the Hindus suffered a lot. So many people preferred to migrate from Fiji. The new government revised the constitution. In the next general election, a government headed by Mahendra Chaudhry came into power. Chaudhry was a trade unionist, and his FLP government was overthrown after a year. The prime minister’s immediate reason

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was to establish a Land Use Commission to open up idle native land to productive agricultural use. But the real cause was the tussle for power among three traditional confederacies. These power politics continues till date. The Indo-Fijians are essentially excluded from power. Over the years, the discourses of colonialism and indentured labour have given way to democracy in Fiji. But it cannot function in its true spirit since many people remain unrepresented in the country. The IndoFijians, the majority of them born in Fiji, face an identity crisis. They are treated as second-rate citizens in the country of their birth. They have not yet given up their struggle for equality. The Fijians still hold essentialist notions about identity. Despite the tremendous contributions made by the Indians for the economic development of the country, they are “othered” in many ways. The Fijians tend to reckon Indo-Fijians as mere labourers who had settled there to work in their plantations. The latter revolted against it. Our identities are not just given. They are constructed discursively. The dominant discourse determines our identities. Tracing the colonial history of Fiji reveals its complex social and political problems. With its varied ethnic groups, the island country remains a pot-pouri of different cultures. Indo-Fijians’ troubled past and the uncertain present constitute one of the vexing problems that the country faces. The indentured labourers from India came to Fiji to eschew the natives from the ordeal of plantation work. The British always favoured the Fijians over the Indians. The hardship and toil of the labourers in odd circumstances and the colonisers’ discrimination are the prices they paid for the better prospects they hoped for in an alien country. The biased Fijian laws oppressed them even after the abolition of the indenture system. Their attempts to thrive and flourish with the aid of education and commerce were viewed as a major threat to the Fijian community. Initially, the Indo-Fijians constituted most of the Fijian population. But their number decreased by the 1980s. From a Foucauldian point of view, power operates everywhere. It operates in the form of a chain. Power is something that is performed. It can hardly be considered as a noun than a verb. Foucault’s bottom-up model of power deems individuals as the vehicles of power rather than its points of application. The power relationship that existed during the colonial period was an intriguing one. The nexus between the British and the native Fijians against the Indians served as the underlying character of the colonial reality. Later the internal strife within the Fijian community as well as within the various political parties came to the surface. The

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current conflict between the Fijians and the Indo-Fijians is the result of a prevalent essentialist view of Fiji for Fijians. The Indo-Fijians were not a part of the dominant discourse in colonial or postcolonial times. Fiji has become a third space for the descendants of the Indian indentured labourers, and now they are dwelling in a trishanku world where they are neither Indians nor Fijians.

References Andrews, C. F., & Pearson, W. A. (1916). Report on Indentured Labour in Fiji: An Independent Enquiry. Star Printing Works. Burton, J. W. (1909). Our Indian Work in Fiji. Methodist Mission Press. Foucault, M. (1977). ‘Nietzsche, Genealogy, History’. In D. F. Bouchard (Ed.), Language, Counter-Memory, Practice: Selected Essays and Interviews (pp. 139– 164). Cornell University Press. ———. (1980). ‘Prison Talk’. In C. Gordon (Ed.), Power-Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings, 1972–1977 (pp. 37–52). Harvester Press. ———. (1991). Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Penguin Books. ———. (2002a). ‘Truth and Juridical Forms’. In J. D. Faubion (Ed.), & R. Hurley (Trans.), Power (Vol. 3). Penguin Books. ———. (2002b). ‘Useless to Revolt?’ In J. D. Faubion (Ed.), & R. Hurley (Trans.), Power (Vol. 3, pp. 449–453). Penguin Books. Gillion, K. L. (1962). Fiji’s Indian Migrants: A History to the End of Indenture in 1920. Oxford University Press. Lal, B. V. (2007). ‘Fiji’. In B. V. Lal, P. Reeves, & R. Rai (Eds.), The Encyclopaedia of the Indian Diaspora (pp. 370–382). Oxford University Press. Mills, S. (2003). Michel Foucault. Routledge. Nayacakalou, R. R. (1975). Leadership in Fiji. Oxford University Press. Prasad, R. (2015, January 2). Banished and Excluded: The Girmit of Fiji. HimalSouthasian. https://www.himalmag.com/girmit-fiji/. Tinker, H. (1974). A New System of Slavery: The Export of Indian Labour Overseas, 1830–1920. Institute of Race Relations and Oxford University Press.

CHAPTER 14

Indentured Labour Migration from Bombay Presidency: A Study of Marathi-Speaking Community in Mauritius Dhanraj Gusinge

Abolition of slavery led to an acute shortage of workers in the plantation colonies. The resultant non-availability of labourers impacted the British economy, and the production of sugar and other commodities met a sudden halt. The British, therefore, introduced a new system called Indentureship to help come to a solution with labour continuity. The Bombay Presidency was under British rule during the early nineteenth century. This was when India faced famine and the decline of handicraft industries. The people of the Bombay Presidency were looking for work for a living, and such was the case with the rest of India. On the other hand, the British were looking for cheap labour for the colonies in Africa and adjacent places. The British took advantage of this. As a result, Indian

D. Gusinge (B) Department of History, Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya (A Central University), Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, India e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 N. Singh and S. Chapparban (eds.), Literature of Girmitiya, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4621-9_14

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people migrated as indentured labourers from Bombay port to other colonies like Mauritius, Fiji etc. A significant number of people migrating from Bombay port are known as Marathi, who bore their cultural and linguistic identity to the plantation island of Mauritius. Presently Marathi people live in Mauritius with their own cultural identity and language as a process of historical identity as Marathi and pass it on to the next generation. Presently the Marathi people are actively participating in politics and trying to mark their presence in Mauritius. Migration and early Indian history have a connection broadly in two aspects. Earlier, people of the Indian subcontinent were migrating for trade purposes and spreading religious values worldwide. The tradition of migration goes back to the era of Emperor Ashoka, the great emperor of India. Ashoka believed in Buddhism. He found Lord Buddha’s message of peace right, so he sent messengers worldwide intending to spread the message of peace of Buddhism. However, there was a more regular flow of migration from ancient India to other parts of the world via the Silk Route. It was a trade route that connected China, India, Iran, Europe and Egypt. However, with the indentureship system in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the systematic migration from India to the world increased. It constituted forming a more significant global scattering of Indian ethnic people, and at the present, the Indian diaspora is the largest diaspora in the world (Sahai and Chand 2004, p. 59). The Bombay Presidency, the locus of the study, was an administrative unit established by the British in 1618. The presidency was divided into four divisions—Sindh, Gujarat or Northern Division, Central or Deccan division and Southern or Carnatic division, with Bombay city as the capital. There were around 24 districts in this presidency. The study focusses on the representatives of people from the Maharashtra state, established in 1960. The beginning of the modern-day out-migration goes back to the colonial period when the British government abolished slavery in the British Empire and started a new labour system called the indentured system. In 1833, the British government abolished slavery in the whole British Empire. It led to a shortage of labourers in the plantation colonies. The British government was looking for an alternative to the slave labourers. The British colonial masters transported Indian labourers to the plantation colonies to fill the workers’ shortage. These migrant workers came to be known as indentured labour. The British government dispatched Indian labourers to other territories as term-oriented labour. Indian labourers were transported to Mauritius, Fiji, West Indian colonies, East

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Africa, Seychelles, South Africa, Suriname, Malay Peninsula, Guyana, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and the Caribbean islands and Malaysia (Sahai and Chand 2004, pp. 59–60). The Indentured labourers were recruited from different regions of India; most of the labourers were recruited from present-day Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The rest were recruited from the Bombay presidency, Odisha, Panjab, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Bengal Presidency. With the coming of time, this system has led to the scattering of Indian ethnic people all over the world. The reason behind this indenture was the urge to renounce their miserable condition and lead a good life that drove many people away from home. The Indentureship means a written contract between the labourers and supervisors or masters. It was a five years’ contract system. This contract was based on the salary system. Therefore, labourers get a salary per month. The wage distribution was five rupees per month for male and four rupees per month for female labourers. There were some Sirdars who got some larger amounts, as much as ten rupees per month and around eight rupees per month for the assistant Sirdar. All labourers received their six months’ salary in advance before boarding their ship to the plantation. One of the representative journeys of the labourers was through the ship called ‘Atlas ’. This agreement has given security, fundamental rights and a fixed time to work and wages. It was one kind of agreement between the supervisor and the proprietor. The terms of free labour and contract labour have been utilised commonly up until this point. However, the idea of the agreement for workers contains all types of work submitted to certain conditions written on paper or consented verbally. This is not the same as slave labour, as it dependably includes a formal written contract signed for an enlarged timeframe. The Indentureship started because the slavery system was abolished in some British colonies, and the economic condition went down. It’s because of the same reason that there was no cheap labour available. The large-scale Indian immigration to Mauritius began with the arrival of ‘Atlas ’ on 2 November 1834. They came mainly from Calcutta and some from Madras. Most of the Indian labour migrated from North India and few from South India. People were primarily from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Calcutta. Moreover, a smaller number came from south India (Truth and Justice Commission 2011, p. 155). During the Indentured period, the living condition of Indian labourers was very harsh. Indian labourers continued to arrive on the island until the beginning of the

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twentieth century. They came with their customs, languages and traditions, which were highly diverse. Eventually, the Indian languages reached Mauritius; examples are Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, Bhojpuri and some North-Indian dialects. The first wave of Indian immigration started from November 1834 to April 1839 when around 25,468 Indian indentured labourers migrated to Mauritius, including 23,281 males, 727 females and 175 children. Around 15,000 came from Bombay and Calcutta and above 9000 from Madras and present-day Andhra Pradesh. Mostly these first Indian labourers belonged to rural tribes known as the Mundas, Oraons, Santals and Bhumijes. More than 450,000 indentured labourers arrived in Mauritius during the period 1834–1907, and around 170,000 indentured labourers returned to India (Truth and Justice Commission 2011, p. 155). During British rule, Marathi people used to leave their homes in search of employment. Upper-class Brahmins and a few Christians joined the clerk and civil branch of government service. A popular current of migration from Ratnagiri areas happened to Bombay with the representatives of Muslims, Marathas and Mahars present in various services. The Ratnagiri labour market used to provide an excellent way for the city of Mumbai. When the people of these tribes used to come to Bombay and establish better communication, an increasing number of them, including Kunbis, went to work in Mauritius. Sometimes the entire family migrates, but as a rule, the larger numbers are the young men. They all leave, and when they make some money (and besides those who die abroad), they come back after serving terms of five years, which sometimes extends to twenty years for a person. In Mauritius, they worked as labourers in various fields such as sugarcane and potato plantations. However, there was no ocean climate effect on labourers’ health. Even then, they never pay a second visit to Mauritius, to the plantations. Mainly, the Marathas and Bhandari went to Mauritius as labourers between 1851 and 1861. Most of them returned after saving near £20–£40 (Rs. 200–Rs. 400). By 1861, there had been different local bodies as well as the Bombay areas where wages and employment increased. Therefore, a sharp decline in the demand for labourers from Mauritius can be seen (Truth and Justice Commission 2011, p. 155). In India, unemployment increased, and there was a frequency of drought and the uncertainty of climate situations. The British colonial market and business distorted the Indian handicraft industry. As a result, many workers remained unemployed, and many others lost their

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jobs/work. In such a situation, Indians were searching for a job to survive. Consequently, they were ready to migrate to Mauritius to find employment opportunities outside India. From 1876 to 1878, India faced famine, and its effects were in the southwestern and southern India areas such as Madras, Hyderabad, Bombay and Mysore for two years. Immigrants also came from Bombay, more precisely from the following regions: Solapur, Thane, Wardha, Satara, Raigarh, Aurangabad, Nashik, North and South Konkan, Ratnagiri, Savantvadi, Pune, Kolhapur and Malvan (Aapravasi Ghat Trust). Marathi is one of the major languages of the Indo-Aryan family. Marathi descended from Maharashtri, a Prakrit language derived from Sanskrit. The first evidence of spoken Marathi is found in Kuvalayamala, written by Udyotansuri in the eighth century. Marathi, a derivative of Maharashtri, is probably first attested in a 739 CE copper-plate inscription found in Satara. Many stone inscriptions are found from Akshi, Patan, Pandharpur and other places, the earliest from 1060 A.D. The earliest Marathi literary text is Viveksindhu by Mukundraja in 1199 C.E. Saint Dnyaneshwar was the first philosopher who wrote in the Marathi language. He wrote Dnyaneshwari (a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita) in 1290. Another famous composition is Leela Charitra, a biography of Chakradhar Swami, the guru of the Mahadev Sect. In modern Marathi, many words are based on Sanskrit. These are divided into two groups, Tatsam and Tadbhav. The words which have direct descendants with Sanskrit are called Tatsam. And the words derived from Tatsam are named Tadbhav (Dhongde and Wali 2009, pp. 2–3). The term ‘Marathi’ in Mauritius generally refers to the Marathispeaking Indo-Mauritian community that believes in Hinduism. The Marathi(s) is also known as ‘Bombay’ because most of them came from Bombay (Mumbai) port. The people of the Marathi community reached Mauritius under the indenture system after 1834. Between 1835 and 1910, more than 40,000 indentured labourers were transported from Bombay port to Mauritius. They belonged to different regions of Maharashtra. Most of them were from the Konkan coast, Ratnagiri and Rajapur. A lesser number of migrants were from Satara, Kolhapur and Pune (Mauritius Marathi Cultural Centre Trust 2012). The statistics show the division of the Marathi-speaking population based on linguistic lineage across India. According to the 2011 census of India, Marathi has primarily spoken in the Maharashtra state of India by 83 million people. Marathi has properly subdivided into three major

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dialects: Kokani, Varhadi and Standard Marathi. There are many subdialects of the Kokani and Varhadi. Due to the geographical areas’ these subdialects have emerged at present. Standard Marathi has spoken around Pune, Mumbai and the surrounding area and its official language of the Maharashtra state (Benedikter 2009, p. 91). Most strikingly, the last decades of the twentieth century witnessed a decline among the Marathispeaking community. The primary reason for this is the preference for communicative languages like Hindi and English among the younger generation of Marathi(s). While the community of preferring Marathi as their first language in the context of India, observing a declining state in Mauritius, some major steps are taken to preserve the Marathi language and cultural edifice around it. In 1960 the Mauritius Marathi Mandali Federation was established to inspire and adapt young people’s Marathi language, culture and religious practices (Anshu 2018, p. 87). The collaboration of the older and the younger generation of the Mahrati community in Mauritius helps persist the cultural linkages. Throughout the time, the community observed varied changes in terms of culture and practice as some among the Marathi-speaking population in Mauritius adopted Catholicism as religious practice; despite the difference in religious and cultural practices, both the community believed in Hinduism and Catholicism shares commonality in terms of language. Marathispeaking populations who opted for farming as their profession are closer to their roots as they preserve their ethnic identity and traditional practices. This community still believes in endogamous marriages. They also believe in intricate intra-community ties among the Marathi community. The population that adopted the catholic belief is fewer in number. They reflect a mixed identity as their cultural purity among them is blended with the Mauritian cultural heritage. Apart from marking their presence in the socio-political sphere of Mauritius, the Marathi-speaking community persist in a minority status within the larger Hindu community. Mauritius Marathi Mandali Federation work to preserve the Marathi language. They promote plays and drama clubs using the Marathi language. The Federation engages in conversation with the younger generation of Marathi-speaking community in conferences such as the Second World Marathi Conference held in Mauritius, or the annual drama festival and participating in the annual festival Ganesh Chaturthi. Through these interactive seasons, the younger generation’s perspective regarding language and culture makes the community sustain its own individualistic identity in Mauritius.

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The history of indentured labour migration played a greater part in the evolving identity of the Marathi in Mauritius. During the indenture period, Indians carried their different identities, such as language, culture and religion. Marathi people also follow their own culture, festival, food etc. Moreover, in Mauritius, the Marathi community celebrates their traditional festivals such as Gudi Padwa, the Marathi New Year, Ganesh Chaturthi, Makar Sankranti, Shivaji Day, Diwali, Dussehra, Mahashivratri, Vasant Panchami, Sharad Purnima/Kojagiri Purn ima, Guru Purnima, Holi, Raksha Bandhan and Shivaji Day. This reflects their community identity. The shared culture and language make the Marathi community in Mauritius preserve their ethnicity in terms of food, dress and festivals. Even the home abroad, the Marathi community enjoyed their traditional cousins like Pauli, Bhaakri, Waria and Kanowla. Further, to preserve cultural identity and tradition, the Marathi(s) in Mauritius formed small organisations. The first Marathi temple was built in 1909 in the small village of Cascavelle (Mauritius Marathi Cultural Centre Trust 2012). Map 14.1 shows some places related to Marathi settlements in Mauritius and reflects upon the Marathi identity. These places have some importance for the Marathi community. The early Marathi settlement occurred in Le Val, La Rosa, Gorges and Alma. Later some Marathi settled in Sept Cascades, Henrietta, Vacoas and Palma. The Mauritius Maratha temple has built a grand statue of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on its premises, establishing Hindavi Swarajya in Maharashtra. Marathis, participate in the festival of Mahashivratri but in a different way than the majority of Mauritian Hindus. Eriksen (1992) states this is not to say that there has been little or no cultural change since the bulk of the indentured labourers arrived four or more generations ago. Marathi people partially assimilate into other ethnic groups and try to adopt their culture. In Mauritius, different Indian communities live together and carry their own social, cultural, linguistic, regional and religious identities. That’s why Mauritius is known as the ‘Little India’. The conditions of many temples, Masjids, churches and Gurudwaras are very similar to those in India. Mauritius has two official languages, Creole and English. Mauritian people speak some other languages also, which are based on the number of ethnic groups settled in Mauritius. They are Tamil, Hindi, Marathi, Urdu, Telugu and some varieties of Chinese, Gujarati and Bhojpuri. Most Mauritians are bilingual, and some of them are trilingual. Through the religious ceremonies, rituals, bhajans and songs, the Marathi language

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Map 14.1 Marathi Settlement in Mauritius (Source Mauritius Marathi Cultural Centre Trust [2012], p. 33)

is practised in Mauritius. Remarkably, the Marathi language has been taught in the primary schools of Mauritius since 1965. Now the Marathi language is incorporated into the secondary school levels. To further the preservation of linguistic identity, the government established MarathiSpeaking Union in 2010. It encourages the practice of language and literature in Marathi (Fig. 14.1). The graph shown above reflects the declining state of the Marathi language. The Marathi language is usually spoken at home, and their numbers are 0.04 per cent. Due to the multilingual encounters and Marathi being a secondary language in the day-to-day curriculum, the younger generation considers Marathi as the marginal linguistic preference. Thus, there are many times only one can speak or understand Marathi rather than being fluent in it with writing and reading abilities. To

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0.71

Percentage

0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.16

0.2 0.1

0.04

0 1990

2000

2011

Year

Fig. 14.1 Marathi language in Mauritius (Source Census of Mauritius, 1990, 2000, 2011)1

improve the condition of Marathi, the Mauritian Government established the Mauritius Marathi Cultural Centre Trust (hereafter MMCCT) under the protection of the Ministry of Art and Culture (Act No. 3 of 2001). Moreover, the MMCCT preserves and promotes Marathi arts and culture. It also works to promote the study of Marathi; it collects, publishes and distributes information relating to Marathi art and culture. The MMCCT organises lectures, seminars, training, workshops, exhibitions and other activities to better understand the history and present state of Marathi arts and culture. In addition, established valuable links with organisations involved in similar activities locally and globally. Another important fact is that Mauritius’s Marathi community actively participates in politics. The Marathi community has been playing an important role in Mauritian politics since its Independence. The first communications minister of independent Mauritius was a Marathi. Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Fisheries was also Marathi. In 1976, the Minister of Employment and Internal Communications belonged to the Marathi community. The first Marathi lawyer in Mauritius was Suresh Moorba, appointed Minister of Information in 1980–1982 (Marathi.mu, n.d.). All this reflects the status of Marathi(s) in Mauritius. The Marathi community in Mauritius is preserving their identity and language. The government of Mauritius is taking initiatives to preserve 1 Compiled by author self. 2018 (Resident population by the Marathi language usually spoken at home).

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the linguistic identity of the community. Mauritius government introduce the Marathi language in schools. There are many organisations which work for the preservation of language and Marathi identity in Mauritius. These organisations actively participate in organising different events to promote the culture and language. The poetry events and competitions also encourage the present generation of Marathi-speaking community to nurture the language. As part of their identity Marathi community celebrate all Marathi festivals in Mauritius. The Marathi community may have migrated to Mauritius as indentured labourers, but still, they are attached to their roots. The festivals, foods, dress and traditional practices reflect the Marathi identity preserved by the community in Mauritius. The present digital era makes their task more accessible as they can maintain transnational bonds across borders. The cultural transmission across generations is also witnessed through governmental initiations. Marathi people saved their language and taught their children even by living away from their native land, which is commendable. In today’s era, the Marathi community is seen actively participating in the politics of Mauritius. Although the Marathi community in Mauritius is small, it retains its cultural values and representation in the political sphere of Mauritius. Today the Marathi language is taught in many schools. This is an excellent achievement for the Marathi community in Mauritius.

References Anshu, A. (2018). The identity issues and political role of Bhojpuri diaspora in Mauritius. Book Bazooka. Benedikter, T. (2009). Language policy and linguistic minorities in India: An appraisal of the linguistic rights of minorities in India. LIT Verlag Münster. Dhongde, R. V., & Wali, K. (2009). Marathi. John Benjamins Publishing. Eriksen, T. H. (1992). Indians in New Worlds: Mauritius and Trinidad. Social and Economic Studies, 41(1), 157–187. Marathi.mu. (n.d.). About us. Welcome to Mauritius Marathi Mandali Federation. https://marathi.mu/pages/about_us.php. Mauritius Marathi Cultural Centre Trust. (2012). A study of Marathi settlements in Mauritius.

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Sahai, P. S., & Chand, K. (2004). India: Migrant workers awaiting recognition and protection. In P. Ahn (Ed.), Migrant workers and human rights: Outmigration from South Asia (pp. 58–99). International Labour Organization. Truth and Justice Commission. (2011). Report of the truth and justice commission: Volume 1. Government Printing.

Index

A Agency, 244 Agonism, 250

B Bhojpuri folksongs, 91, 92

C Calypso, 111–113 Capitalism, 198, 214, 215 Chutney music, 112, 114, 117, 118, 122 Colonialism, 146–149, 155, 162–164, 168, 175, 198–204, 206–208, 210–212, 214, 215, 217, 218, 220, 224, 225, 228, 230, 231, 234, 235, 237, 238 Convicts labourers, 237 Coolies, 47, 49, 50 Cultural identity, 256, 261 Culture, 175

D Development, 228, 234–236, 238 Dislocation, 66

E Ethnic Studies, 115

F Fiji, 152, 153, 156, 157, 165–168, 170–175 Fiji Bidesia, 92, 98, 100, 101, 103–108

G Ganga Talao, 187–191 Genealogy, 242 Girmit, 44, 48 Girmitiya Kantraki, 92, 97, 100, 101, 103–108 Girmitiya migration, 92 Girmitiyas, 59–61, 64–70

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 N. Singh and S. Chapparban (eds.), Literature of Girmitiya, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4621-9

267

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INDEX

H Hinduism, 180, 181, 188, 189 Homeland, 59, 64, 66, 68, 69 I Identity, 60, 64, 66, 69–71, 175 Imperial, 74–76 Indentured/Girmitiya migration, 7 Indentured labour migration, 60, 62, 63, 71 Indentured migration, 147, 175 Indian Diaspora, 151, 175 Intangible Cultural Heritage, 134, 135, 140 J Jahaji bhai and behan, 51–53, 57 K Kala pani, 47, 49, 55 L Labour regime, 197–200, 202–205, 211, 214, 215, 217, 218, 220–225 M Malaysian Tamil diaspora, 24, 25, 31, 37–39

Marathi speaking community, 255, 260, 264 Migration, 256, 258, 261

P Performing arts of Asians, 136 Personal testimonies, 15 Power/knowledge, 246, 247

R Resistance, 250 Rituals, 181, 182, 185–189, 191, 192

S Sacraments, 181, 186 Sacred complex, 190 Ship-brotherhood (Jahajihood), 51–53 Slavery, 74, 76, 81–83 Southeast Asia, 227–233, 236–238 Subaltern, 218, 219

T Tamil culture, 28–31 Tangible heritage, 136 Third space, 253 Transformation, 60, 69, 71 Transnational communities, 24