Indentured Labour Migration from India
The two-sided nature of the nineteenth-century world — growth for some, misery for others — is well shown by indentured labour migration from India. An indentured labourer was a bonded labourer under contract to work for an employer for a fixed period, to pay off the cost of passage. Indian indentured workers were hired on contracts promising return travel to India after five years on the employer's plantation.
Most came from eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, central India and the dry districts of Tamil Nadu — regions where cottage industries declined, land rents rose, and lands were cleared for mines and plantations, forcing the poor to migrate. The main destinations were the Caribbean islands (Trinidad, Guyana and Surinam), Mauritius and Fiji; closer home, Tamil migrants went to Ceylon and Malaya, and workers were recruited for the tea plantations of Assam.
A 'New System of Slavery' and Cultural Fusion
Recruitment was done by agents who often gave false information about the destination, work and conditions, and sometimes even abducted unwilling migrants. Nineteenth-century indenture has been described as a 'new system of slavery' — living and working conditions were harsh and there were few legal rights.
But workers found ways of surviving and self-expression, blending old and new cultural forms. In Trinidad, the Muharram procession became a riotous carnival called 'Hosay'; the protest religion of Rastafarianism (made famous by Bob Marley) reflects links with Indian migrants; and 'Chutney music' in Trinidad and Guyana is another creative expression. Most workers stayed on after their contracts, so large communities of Indian descent live in these countries (the Nobel laureate V.S. Naipaul is one such descendant). From the 1900s, India's nationalist leaders opposed indenture as abusive and cruel, and it was abolished in 1921.
Indian Entrepreneurs Abroad
Growing crops for the world market required capital. While large plantations could borrow from banks, the humble peasant relied on the Indian banker. Groups like the Shikaripuri Shroffs and Nattukottai Chettiars were among the many bankers and traders who financed export agriculture in Central and Southeast Asia, using their own funds or those borrowed from European banks, with a sophisticated system to transfer money over large distances.
Indian traders and moneylenders also followed European colonisers into Africa. Hyderabadi Sindhi traders, however, ventured beyond European colonies: from the 1860s they set up flourishing emporia at busy ports worldwide, selling curios to the growing numbers of tourists.
Questions and Answers
Q1. Who was an indentured labourer, and why did Indians migrate as indentured labour? Ans. An indentured labourer was a bonded labourer under contract to work for a fixed period to pay off the cost of passage. Indians migrated because in their home regions cottage industries declined, rents rose, and lands were cleared, leaving them indebted and forced to seek work abroad.
Q2. Why was indenture called a 'new system of slavery'? Ans. Because living and working conditions on the plantations were harsh, there were few legal rights, agents often deceived or even abducted migrants, and workers who escaped faced severe punishment — conditions so oppressive that indenture was likened to slavery.
Questions and Answers (continued)
Q3. Give examples of the cultural fusion produced by indentured migration. Ans. In Trinidad, the Muharram procession became the carnival 'Hosay'; Rastafarianism (linked to Bob Marley) reflects ties with Indian migrants; and 'Chutney music' of Trinidad and Guyana is a creative post-indenture expression — examples of how forms from different places mixed to become something new.
Q4. What role did Indian bankers and traders play abroad? Ans. Bankers like the Shikaripuri Shroffs and Nattukottai Chettiars financed export agriculture in Central and Southeast Asia; Indian moneylenders followed colonisers into Africa; and Hyderabadi Sindhi traders set up emporia at ports worldwide, selling to tourists.