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

by Ashutosh Kumar

This book studies Indian overseas labour migration in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which involved millions of Indians traversing the globe in the age of empire, subsequent to the abolition of slavery in 1833. This migration led to the presence of Indians and their culture being felt all over the world. This study delves deep into the lives of these indentured workers from India who called themselves girmitiyas; it is a narrative of their experiences in India and in the sugar colonies abroad. It foregrounds the alternative world view of the girmitiyas, and their socio-cultural and religious life in the colonies. In this book, the author has developed highly original insights into the experience of colonial indentured migrant labour, describing the ways in which migrants managed to survive and even flourish within the interstices of the indentured labour system and how considerably the experience of migration changed over time.

338 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 15, 2017

Reviews

[Sukriti Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book which is on Indian diaspora community across the globe. During colonial times, many Indian workers went to various island to cultivate sugarcane for the planters. Few returned back to India and formed an Indian community outside India. They follow Indian culture in a little modified way. In many countries, they are politically, socially and economically rich. A GOOD READ BOOK.