Why Should We be Called 'Coolies'? (The End of Indian Indentured Labour)

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A wide ranging study of the Indian indenture system from its early beginnings to its end in the early twentieth century that shows the complex and contested nature of the Indian indenture experience in all its multifaceted details.

PROFESSOR BRIJ V. LAL The Australian National University

The text represents years of work in India, the United Kingdom, Oceania and the Caribbean, weaving a major chapter in plantation studies.

PROFESSOR BRINSLEY SAMAROO Professor Emeritus, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine

Dr. Radica Mahase's study offers a brilliant and comprehensive account of the abolition of Indentured labour system. Her effort is indeed commendable as she critically explores the whole subject of migration of indentured from India to British colonies in Caribbean and Indian Ocean, and also the final termination of this system in 1920.

PROFESSOR KUNDAN TUTEJA Professor Emeritus, Kurukshetra University

Why was the Indian indentureship system ended? Who were the main players in the final end of the labour scheme? This book examines the end of a labour system which lasted from 1838 until 1920 in various territories throughout the British Empire. It looks at methods of agitations in territories such as South Africa, Mauritius, Fiji and the British West Indies. This book is a comparative study of the abolition of the Indian indentureship system which shows the global interconnectedness of abolition, with a strong subaltern focus.

Radica Mahase is Senior Lecturer, History, at the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago. She has a PhD, History from UWI, St. Augustine and a MA in Indian History from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She was a Commonwealth Visiting Scholar at the University of Manchester.

We came to Dem'ra, With the name 'coolie, Why should we be called coolies, We who were born in the clans and families of seers and saints.

(Protests Songs of East Indians in British Guiana)

The bulk of the research for this book was completed for my doc-toral thesis. I am eternally grateful to my supervisors Prof. Kundan Tuteja and Prof. Brinsley Samaroo who helped me to conceptual-ize my research and guided me throughout the years. They both believed in my academic capabilities and after all these years they have continued to act as my gurus, always encouraging and inspiring me.

My humblest appreciation to Prof. Majid Siddiqi and Prof. Sabyasachi Bhattacharya who supervised my first writings on the Indian indentureship system at the Centre for Historical Stud-ies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. They introduced me to archival research, helped me develop analytical skills, showed me how to navigate my way around the Indian archives and were mentors, friends and the source of my intellectual inspiration.

A special thank you to those friends who constantly encour-aged and motivated me to complete this manuscript - Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh, Dr. Laura Carballido-Coria, Dr. Sharon Pillai, Sofia Papoutsi, Kevin Baldeosingh, Karishma Nanhu and Rishi Ram-charan.