Indentured Labour: The Girmitiya Story

How British colonial rule sent over a million Indians as indentured labourers to plantations in Mauritius, Fiji, the Caribbean and Africa after slavery ended.

After Britain abolished slavery in 1833-34, plantation owners needed new workers.

Indenture

From 1834 to 1917, over one million Indians were sent as indentured labourers.
They signed contracts (girmit, from “agreement”) for usually five years of work.
Destinations: Mauritius, Fiji, British Guiana, Trinidad, Suriname, Natal (South Africa) and others.

Conditions

Harsh work on sugar plantations.
Low wages and penalties.
Many were deceived about conditions.
Critics called it “a new system of slavery”.

End of indenture

Mahatma Gandhi, who lived in South Africa, and Indian nationalists campaigned against it.
Indenture ended in 1917.

Legacy

Indian-origin people form large shares of populations in Mauritius, Fiji, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname.
Leaders of Indian origin have headed governments in several of these countries.

Economic view

Indenture was a response to labour shortages after slavery, with workers bearing high costs and risks.

The Mauritius sugar estate

In 1850, a young man from Bihar signed a girmit contract and sailed to Mauritius to cut sugarcane. His descendants now make up much of the island's population.

Thinking Indian emigration began recently

Over a million Indians migrated as indentured labourers in the 19th century.

Key takeaways

After slavery ended, Britain sent Indians as indentured labourers.
Over one million went between 1834 and 1917.
Conditions were harsh; indenture ended in 1917.
Indian-origin communities thrive in Mauritius, Fiji and the Caribbean.