On Tamil indentured labour in Sri Lanka – An under-discussed facet of colonial history

Source: This post on Tamil indentured labour in Sri Lanka has been created based on the article “An under-discussed facet of colonial history” published in The Hindu on 9^th November 2023.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 1 Indian History – Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues.

News: This article discusses the history of indentured labour under British rule. It also highlights the challenges faced by them, especially that faced by the Tamil indentured labour in Sri Lanka.

2023 marks the 200^th year of the arrival of Tamil indentured labour in Sri Lanka (in November 1823).

How did the concept of indentured labour begin?

A wave of liberal humanism swept through Europe in the 18^th century. As a result, the British banned slavery in their colonies, only to replace it with another kind of bondage, termed “indentured labour”.

Labour crisis following the abolition of slavery in British colonies led to a soaring demand for workers from India to work on plantations and infrastructure projects in the Caribbean, Fiji, Réunion, Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka.

What were the challenges faced by indentured labour?

1. Misleading promises: They were misled about the work they would undertake, the wages they would receive, the quarters where they would live, and even the countries they were sailing to.
2. Debt burden: Most laborers reached their destination deep in debt, as they had to pay for their extremely high fare.
3. Lack of access to basic facilities: They were to reside in squalor, with no access to sanitation, running water, medical facilities or schools for their children.

What led to an increase in the requirement of indentured labour in Sri Lanka?

In the 1870s, the rapid spread of a fungal disease led to a blight that caused the disappearance of coffee from Sri Lankan plantations, paving the way for tea, whose estates increased manifold.

While coffee requires only 3 workers for every 10 hectares of cultivation, tea requires at least 8, and as such, demands more field labour. This led to an increase in the requirement of workers.

Along with the shortfall caused by the abolition of slavery, and led to a massive, organized transfer of Indian Tamils to Sri Lanka.

What were the challenges faced by Tamils in Sri Lanka?

Along with the usual challenges of indentured labour, Tamils faced the following as well:

1. Colonial practices and policies deemed them “foreigners”, thus rendering them stateless (under Sri Lanka’s Citizenship Act of 1948) and prevented assimilation.
2. Women tea-pluckers worked all day in the plantations without any toilet facilities.
3. System of sub-contractors called kanganies, labour recruiters and overseers played a dominant role in the exploitation of Indian labourers on plantations. The vague contracts led to greater abuse.
4. The Plantation Tamils could not buy land and build houses, for colonial laws restricted landholding to those “domiciled” in Ceylon only.

What should be the way forward for Sri Lanka?

It is important that post-colonial countries like Sri Lanka take effective steps to decolonise themselves from the practices, laws and attitudes of imperial masters, to forge a post-colonial, inclusive identity for all its people.

Question for practice:

The British policy of “indebtured labour” led to the exploitation of Indian labourers. Explain with reference to the Tamil plantation workers in Sri Lanka.