Abolition Of Indentured Labour System And Indian Population In Fiji
But the newly established indentured labour
system did not last long. The system was abolished within 75 years of its
establishment due to huge protests from the labourers and national leaders.
National leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Gopala Krishna Gokhale condemned the
idea of indentured labour. Gandhiji's first interaction with Indian indentured
labour was in South Africa when he was a barrister in South Africa. It was from
there he realised the difficulties and challenges faced by the Indian indentured
labour in British colonies and started fighting against it. During the home
rule movement, Annie Besant and Lokamanya Thilak demanded the abolition of
indentured labour. Also, the newspapers and journals in the madras presidency
expressed their disagreement towards indentured labour. When we look at the
colonial government initiatives that led to the abolition of indentured labour,
we can see two important committees which examined the conditions of indentured
labour. The first committee was the Sanderson committee which studied the
conditions of indentured labours and suggested the continuation of the system.
But it is contradictory that none of the members of the committee ever visited
the colonies in which indentured labours were working. The second committee
appointed in 1914 by the British was the McNeill-Chiman Lal committee which
reviewed the suggestion of Sanderson's committee. Even though the committee
suggested favourable changes for indentured labours It also stuck with the
continuation of the indentured labour system. After the the reports of the
committees, british government invite opinions from the local governments
regarding the abolition of the indentured labour system. Later the government
of India reached in a conclusion that indentured labour should be abolished. At
the same time, During the first world
war, the colonial government failed to recruit Indian indentured labourers in
their colonies like Fiji due to the war circumstances. And after the huge
pressure from the nationalist movement, decrease in profitability and existed
political circumstance as i mentioned above, the British government officially
abolished the indentured labour system in 1917. But it continued until almost
1921. Based on the agreement made between the labours and agents before the
migration, the colonial government made arrangements for the return of the
indentured labour in Fiji and other colonies. But most of the labours stayed
back in the distant lands and have descendants now.
There are several reasons for not returning to their homeland after the
end of the agreement despite having travelling offers from the British
government. The reason for not coming back for the women who avoid their
parents for migration will be fear and thoughts of not accepting. And the other
reason for not coming back of the labours was, they did not generate the
savings they expected. And the main reason for the stay back in Fiji was the
favourable conditions for survival as labours.
The Indian population in Fiji
In the case of Fiji, during the late 19th century 90 % of the Fijian
population was natives. But this period also witnessed a huge arrival of the
Indian population as Indentured labourers. But as most of the labourers were
male, it did not lead to the high growth in the Indian population in Fiji.
After the official abolition of indentured labour, only 40 % of the Indian
population in Fiji took advantage of going back to India at no expense. The
other 60 % of the Indian population in Fiji stayed back in Fiji. And the later
balance in the sex ratio also led to the growing Indian population in Fiji
during the early and middle 20th century. In 1946 there was almost 1 lakh 20
thousand Indian population in Fiji, which means more than the Fijian natives. This
was the result of the stay back of Indian indentured labour in Fiji as
self-employers, Because of the conditions and opportunities in Fiji after the
abolition of the indentured labour system.
Most of the Indian population in Fiji is from Bihar, Kolkata and Tamil
Nadu. Among the population of Fiji, 25 % are Hindus and among the Indian
population, almost 75% are Hindus. So, the Ramayana is an integral part of
their syllables in schools where Indians study. The most common languages used
by the Indo-Fijians are Fiji Hindi and Fijian Hindustani. There are also
similarities in the food habits of Indo-Fijians in Fiji to India. The most
common food among the Indo Fijians is roti, rice and curries in India. As the
population of Indo-Fijians overshadowed any other populations in the Fijian
islands Indian have deep-rooted in the Fijian islands.
* * * *
Written by Yaseen
* * * *
Sources
●
MANI, M. M. (1996). ABOLITION OF INDENTURED
LABOUR EMIGRATION TO THE BRITISH AND FRENCE COLONIES : ROLE OF THE PEOPLE, THE
PRESS AND THE PLANTERS OF TAMILNADU. Proceedings
of the Indian History Congress, 57,
696–711. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44133375
●
Ward, R. G. (1959). The
Population of Fiji. Geographical Review,
49(3), 322–341.
https://doi.org/10.2307/211910
● D’Souza, E. J. (2000). INDIAN INDENTURED LABOUR IN FIJI. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 61, 1071–1080. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44144422
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