Slavery is one of the worst forms of human exploitation, but no less dreadful is indentured labour, or bonded labour, when thousands of colonised populations were driven to work overseas on plantations and elsewhere after slavery was banned. Diplomat historian Ambassador Bhaswati Mukherjee unravels the story of ‘Girmitiyas’ in her new book, The Indentured and Their Route, illuminating the dark corners of the journey forced on India’s forgotten people.
The author traces the indentured struggle to the infamous 1793 Permanent Settlement that triggered a ruthless exploitation of farmers in eastern India, forcing them to enter into ‘Girmit’ (temporary contract), not realising that their thumbprints would deprive them of their liberty for a lifetime. This exodus embraced people from all castes, communities, including women, united by economic deprivation and bonded by collective hardship. They set sail to unknown destinations in the belief that their salvation lay across the ‘Kalapani’ (ocean). If they survived the perilous journey on board the ship, battling appalling conditions of hunger, thirst, disease etc., harsh exploitation awaited them on arrival in plantations.
Aapravasi Ghat in Port Louis. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/istock
Corollary of imperialism
Mukherjee elaborates that indentured labour followed slavery in a devious way. These bonded labourers were masked as contractual workers, after slavery was abolished in 1833. Dadabhai Naoroji aptly described indentured labour as a natural corollary of imperialism, implying that both forms of exploitation are two sides of the same coin.
First footprints at Aapravasi Ghat in Port Louis.
The moment of inspiration for Mukherjee came in 2006 when, as India’s ambassador to UNESCO and representative to the World Heritage Committee, she sought the inscription of the Aapravasi Ghat in Port Louis in the UNESCO world heritage list.
Steel engraving from 1881 showing Black slaves being loaded on to a ship. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/istock
This represented a pivotal point in the journey of indentured labour, much like ‘the door of no return’ in Senegal’s Goree Island, a memorial for thousands of Black slaves who were held in transit there on the way to the Americas. The launching of the ‘indentured labour route’ project of UNESCO in 2014 was a culmination of the author’s cherished initiative. Further, she advocates setting up of a UN Truth Commission on indentured labour to help families of survivors get some closure.
Senegal’s Goree Island. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/istock
By the time the British abolished the indentured labour system in 1917, more than 2.2 million indentured labour had moved out of India to about 26 countries, making it one of the greatest mass movements of India’s future diaspora worldwide. As identity is the raison d’etre of human existence, indentured labour clung to their culture and to their motherland, even as they walked a lonely and troubled path. In their adopted land, they continued to contribute to the rainbow culture. Befittingly, India honours its diaspora by recognising January 9 as Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas, the date when Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest pravasi (overseas Indian) of all, returned to India in 1915 to lead the freedom movement.
The subject of indentured labour evokes emotion and anger which Mukherjee handles delicately. These stories of human bondage and suffering need to be known, narrated and inscribed to enhance our understanding of the past. This book pays tribute to all the diaspora worldwide who have reconnected with their motherland.
The Indentured and Their Route: A Relentless Quest for Identity; Bhaswati Mukherjee, Rupa, ₹595.
The reviewer is a serving Indian Foreign Service officer.
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