Identity, Social Roots and Empowerment:

A Study of the Low Castes Diaspora in the West Indies

Dr. Ghan Shyam

Migration during the colonial period, which was designed, motivated, directed
and driven in a particular fashion to achieve certain goals to fulfill the economic greed
and religious zeal of certain dominant individuals, groups and countries of its time, has
affected human civilizations both in positive and negative ways. As far as Indian
migration during the colonial period is concerned, it was started by British colonial
government to replace ex-slaves of its various colonies with Indian indentured labourers.
It is estimated that during the colonial period, starting from 1834 to 1917, approximately
over one million Indians migrated to various destinations as indentured labourers. In the
case of each foreign colony, the migration of Indian labourers was governed by similar
modes of contract and recruitment policies set up by the British colonial Government in
India.1
One often wonders under what circumstances such a large scale migration took
place in a country where there was a religious taboo on crossing the ocean; especially
among the upper castes, crossing the Kala Pani (black water/sea) meant caste defilement
and severe social ostracism.2 Indian migration as indentured labourers started in the year
1834 with recruitment of Hill coolies of Chota Nagpur, and gradually shifted towards
other parts of India. In the subsequent period, the majority of the labourers were recruited
mainly from what is today known as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The migrants were
recruited from all the religions as well as all the major castes residing in the areas
mentioned above. Therefore it becomes essential to give a brief survey of the causes
which must have affected the people from all walks of life and led to mass migration.
During the 19th and early 20th centuries a combination of factors created a
favourable situation for mass migration. Out of these, famines are considered to be the
most crucial ones which affected millions of people all over India.3 The pressure of the
population on the land increased, especially in the Gangetic plains and Bengal where
many more people opted for agriculture after losing their traditional occupation, which
was destroyed due to penetration of European manufactured goods into Indian villages.
The hand-made products simply could not compete with factory-made manufactured
goods. Consequently, patterns of trade and commerce were greatly transformed and
relocated.

1
Steven Vertovec, Hindu Trinidad: Religion, Ethnicity and Socio-Economic Change, (London, 1992), p.3
2
Basdeo Mangru, Benevolent Neutrality: Indian Government Policy and Labour Migration to British
Guiana 1854-1884, (London, 1987), p.57
3
Dale Bisnauth, Settlement of Indians in Guyana 1890-1930, ( Leeds ,2000), pp.37-38

1
 The factor which affected the rural economy directly and transformed the
landlord-tenant relationship was imposition of British policies for the collection of land
revenue.4 Earlier, peasants paid a share from their yearly yield as land revenue to the
local landlords who were regarded as representatives of local nobility. Introduction of the
new law, which ensured a fixed income to the government, had hit the peasants very
hard. Now, they were forced to pay a fixed amount in cash as land revenue irrespective of
the land’s production in any year. Many had to change their crop patterns of cultivation
to grow cash crops and often they were forced to sell their crops at low prices simply to
obtain rent money. Over the year land revenue rates kept going up as revenue collection
was auctioned for a year to the highest bidder and those who could not pay their rent
were evicted.5 In addition to the above mentioned factors, there were certain non-
economic reasons for migration, such as frustration with oppressive policies of the
government in the aftermath of the Mutiny of 1857, criminal proceedings, social rigidity,
caste prejudice, domestic violence and simply ’the desire for adventure’.6
As it is mentioned above, Indians labourers were recruited to serve in the
plantations where earlier African slaves used to work. Out of over one million Indians
who migrated as indentured labourers, more than half a million of them went to work in
sugar plantations of various colonies in the West Indies.7 The statistical data shows that
among English speaking colonies of the West Indies, British Guyana received the
maximum indentured labourers and their total number was 239,909; Trinidad 143,939;
Jamaica 36,412; St. Lucia 4,354; Grenada 3,003; St. Vincent 2,472 and St. Kitts 337.
Among non-English speaking colonies, the French colonies of Martinique received
25,509; Guadeloupe 45,844 and French Guiana 19,276. Surinam, which was under Dutch
colonial rule, imported 35,501 immigrants from India. While emigrants came from
practically every province of India, the bulk of them (approx. 80%) were drawn from the
Gangetic plains of North India; especially from two provinces of British India, namely
United Province and Bihar. Of these, again the majority came from eastern districts of
Uttar Pradesh (modern name of United Provinces) and western districts of Bihar which
are culturally and linguistically known as Bhojpuri and Awadh regions. A small but
significant number of emigrants came from Madras (modern day Tamilnadu).
As far as religion and caste composition of the immigrants in West Indian
colonies is concerned, the majority of them were Hindus. However, almost every
religion, caste and community had its representation in the West Indian diaspora.8 Among
Hindus, who consisted 85 per cent of the total immigrant population, about 12-13 percent
were upper castes (Brahmans, Kshtriya etc.); 35 percent agricultural castes (Koiri, Kurmi,
etc); 6 percent artisans and 32 percent low castes (Dalits and other menial castes). The
followers of Islam and other minority religions such as Christians and Sikhs constituted
approximately 15 percent of the total immigrant population. Interestingly, the above
mentioned religious, castes and community composition just reflects the perfect cross
section of North Indian society from which they emigrated.9 Despite all these similarities
4
Steven Vertovec, Op.Cit., p.8
5
G.S.Arora, Indian Emigration (New Delhi, 1991), pp.33-35
6
Steven Vertovec, Op.Cit.,p.9
7
Tora C. Mangar, “The Arrival of Indians in Guyana”, Horizons 2006/2007, p.9
8
G.S.Arora, , Op.Cit.,p.48
9
Prabhu P. Mahapatra, “The Politics of Representation in the Indian Labour Diaspora :West Indies, 1880-
1920”, V.V. Giri National Labour Institute Research Series Study #48 (Noida, U.P., 2003), p.3

2
with the mother country, there was a severe discrepancy in the age and gender
composition of the immigrants. The majority of the immigrants were single, male and in
the prime age group of 20-35. The women constituted little less than 30 percent of the
total immigrant population; about 70 percent of them were listed as single. It appears that
family migration was not the norm, as only 15 percent married couples and a very small
number of children were listed in the records.10
Out of slightly more than half a million Indian indentured labourers who migrated
to various colonies in the West Indies, more than 2/3 of them went to work in the sugar
plantations of British Guyana and Trinidad, as mentioned above. Thus, this paper will
focus mainly on these two territories, where the Indian origin population has been
substantial and has played an important role in all aspects of life.
The divergent theories of “cultural persistence” and “creolisation” have been
mostly used to study the identities of all the diasporic communities that settled in the
West Indies, including the Indian one.11 The theorists of cultural persistence stress that
cultural identity is central to the process of distinctive community and ethnic formation in
the diaspora, and it is this cultural identity that is transmitted largely through deeply
embedded cultural symbols and value systems. In the case of the Indian diaspora in the
West Indies, it is argued that wherever an Indian community was found in large numbers,
like British Guyana and Trinidad, deeply embedded institutional patterns such as caste,
religion and family values, which are often defined as cultural baggage, were carried by
the migrants to their new home land. These cultural values were transplanted in new
surroundings to create a similar identity away from the mother land; at the same time,
they also worked as a resistance against the modernizing forces of the host society. It is
further argued that persistence of cultural values of the home land in the diaspora shaped
the distinct ethnic identity of the diasporic community and prevented their assimilation
into the prevailing cultural norms of the new societies.
In contrast, the proponents of “creolisation” theory argue that instead of cultural
persistence, the migrant communities become more adaptive towards the local culture
and thus their original cultural values go through a process of transformation. In the case
of the Indian diaspora, socio-cultural Institutions such as caste and family traditions
gradually got diluted through the experiences of migration and adaptation to new working
and social conditions. In this new environment, caste was no longer the determining
factor for one’s occupation and position in the society.
Nonetheless, neither of these theories could fully explain the identity formation of
Indian immigrants in the West Indies, as the Indian community has not shown any set
pattern. Starting from the early days until now, the Indian diaspora does not represent a
single unified identity. Indian diasporic identity is multi-faceted and it can be understood
only by analyzing the historical processes through which it has passed. Here, an attempt
is being made to historically examine the identity of the Indian diaspora in the West
Indies, mostly in British Guyana and Trinidad, through its social roots.
The massive Indian population which emigrated as indentured labourers to
various West Indian colonies reflects a perfect cross-section of North Indian society, as
mentioned above. The new identity formation of the emigrants would begin at the depot
itself, where they had to wait at least seven days to several weeks due to various

10
G.S.Arora, Op.Cit.,
11
Prabhu P.Mahapatra,, Op.Ct.pp.1-2

3
reasons.12 During this period, the only segregation that took place was between single
men and single women. There was no other separation on account of caste and
community for those, especially Brahmins and upper castes, who might have wished to
observe caste rules which forbid them to live and dine with lower castes. In fact it was a
sort of conditioning camp before they embarked on the ship for a long voyage. Peggy
Mohan in her book “Jahajin” gives a detailed description of the activities of such people
at Calcutta depot, who were recruited from different religions and castes of North India.13
The depot played a great level playing field on Indian soil. Before embarking the
ship, each emigrant was dressed up in a particular fashion which suited a months long
voyage to an unknown land; men were given woolen trousers, woolen jackets, red
woolen caps, and shoes, whereas women were given two flanked jackets, a woolen
petticoat, worsted stockings, shoes and a sari. The dilution of religious, caste and family
identities also started at the depot itself. A few depot marriages were held without
ceremonies and contrary to the dictates of caste requirements. Sometimes, these depot
marriages were held even across religious lines.14However, it is wrong to presume that
religious and caste identities were no longer relevant to the emigrants once they boarded
the ship. In fact, the social baggage which emigrants carried with them remained visible
in the West Indian diaspora in the form of rituals, prejudices and community life,
although in a much more diluted and modified form. I will discuss this aspect later in this
paper.
Once they boarded the ship there was a mixed feeling among emigrants as far as
their identity is concerned. For some of them, crossing the Kala Pani (black water), was
supposed to have changed them forever, as the sea had turned them into an outcaste15;
some of them thought they would never come back. On the other hand, for lower caste
emigrants, probably it was the first time in their life when they were treated at par with
upper castes and others who were superior to them in the caste social hierarchy. One such
example is cited by Dale Bisnauth in his book where in response to a Brahmin’s chiding,
a lower caste Pariah said”I have taken off my caste and left it with the port officer. I
won’t put it on again till I come back”.16 Life on the crowded ship was the same for
everyone, irrespective of their caste and religious identity. The upper castes such as
Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Rajputs ate and mingled with the lower castes such as
Chamars, Dhobis and Doms. In some cases, they even had to obey a lower caste Sirdar
who was appointed by the Surgeon Superintendent for maintaining discipline among
fellow emigrants. Under ordinary circumstances in India, these upper castes would not
have come into physical contact with lower castes, who were considered untouchable in
the contemporary social hierarchy17.
A long sea journey did create a sense of belonging among fellow voyagers. Some
of them became life long friends as they use to call each other jehaji-bhai (ship-brother)
and jehaji-behan (ship-sister) and many of them maintained this relationship throughout
their life for all practical purposes. Thus, new experiences on a long voyage did help

12
Dale Bisnauth, Op. Cit., p.51
13
Peggy Mohan, Jahajin, (New Delhi, 2007), pp.23-32
14
Dale Bisnauth, Op. Cit., p.52
15
Peggy Mohan, Op.Cit.p.33
16
Quoted by Dale Bisnauth, Op. Cit., p.53
17
Dale Bisnauth, Op. Cit., p53

4
them to prepare for the conditions under which they would work and live in the
plantations of the colonies.
The Indian diaspora under indentureship created a complex mix of multiple
identities. For the planters, Indian immigrants were simply the coolies who came to work
in the sugar plantations as a replacement for the ex-slaves. The condition of Indian
indentured labourers in the sugar estates was not much better than that of the ex-slaves
whom they replaced. They were forced to adopt almost similar conditions under which
former slaves worked and lived, as many features of plantation slavery still existed.18 In
principle, the indenture contract was agreed upon for five years, but it often prolonged as
immigrants were entitled for free passage to return to India only after completion of ten
years of the essential residential period in the sugar estates. Since very few immigrants
returned to India, small settlements or villages of ex-indentured labourers grew around
the estates; these immigrants worked in the sugar plantations, as well as taking up several
other occupations.
In the initial phases of Indian settlements, the identity formation of the
immigrants can be understood in the context of their nature of work and new social setup,
which was totally different from the experiences of the mother land. They presented a
unified Indian labour identity against the plantation regimes and this identity was asserted
by groups as well as individuals. One of such occasions was the public display of
Moharram festival, when a large number of Indians, Hindus and Muslims participated in
the processions in Trinidad and British Guyana. Through collective performances, the
Indian community showed its solidarity and sense of belonging.19 Another example of
unified identity was shown by individuals like Bechu from Guyana who became the
champion of indentured labourers’ rights. He wrote letters to the editors of several news
papers, brilliantly dissecting and exposing the facade of legality and claims to public
good by planters and the colonial state.20
Although with regard to plantation regimes, the Indian immigrant community
often appeared united around a common identity, at the same time differences in
individual social roots created several identities within the indentured community itself.
For instance, the gender imbalance led to inter-caste and inter-community marriages, and
caste was no longer relevant for all practical purposes. Nonetheless, certain high caste
individuals were unwilling to work under lower caste Sirdars21 and they also felt a loss in
their social status.22At the same time, despite all hardship, many emigrants, especially
lower castes, did feel some improvement over their condition in India, given their
experiences back home where they were permanently consigned to the fringes of rural
Indian society as untouchable, tenants-at-will, and landless labourers with little hope of
betterment in life.23
Indian identities became sharper in the later phase of their settlement, as now they
started living as a community in the villages. The Indian settlements were largely based
in isolated areas, often a few miles away from the nearest town. Fictive kin ties based on

18
Basdeo Mangru, Op. Cit. p.139
19
Prabhu P. Mahapatra, Op. Cit.p.7
20
Ibid, p.13
21
Steven Vertovec, Op.Cit., pp.33-34
22
Prabhu P. Mahapatra, Op. Cit.p.12
23
Brij V. Lal, On the other side of Midnight: A Fijian Journey (New Delhi, 2005), pp. 9-10

5
the Jahaji relationship often played a role in determining post indenture settlements.
Imams and Pandits were the leading figures within the communities, and under rural
farming conditions the social structure of the villages was similar to India.24In these
villages certain types of informal social institutions also existed in order to solemnise
marriages, coordinate religious ceremonies and celebrations.25Similar to Indian villages,
there were Panchayats (village councils) to settle local disputes and their members were
affluent people of the villages who were chosen on the basis of their caste, intelligence,
education and even being a son of a wealthy family.26
In the post indenture period, Indian immigrants in colonies where their population
was very thin, like Jamaica, settled sporadically within African dominated areas, as there
was little land available for them. Other colonies like Trinidad and Guyana, with high
percentages of Indian population, became the major centres of Indian social, political and
economic activities in the years to follow. The bulk of the immigrant population
remained in the villages where they had settled after expiry of their indenture period.
However, in both these countries, quite a few Indians had already made a fortune through
paddy and sugar cultivation in their privately owned lands. Now they were upwardly
mobile; migrating to nearby towns and, some of them, converting themselves and their
families into Christianity, as it gave them access of better education for their children and
a place for themselves among local elites.
Upon their free settlement in the post-indenture period, Indian identity remained
complex. On one hand, in the social hierarchy of the host society, Indian immigrants,
being ex-coolies, were at the bottom of the ladder, and they now wanted equal treatment.
On the other hand, they wished to remain part of the social cultural body of India, as they
still maintained various religious, social and caste practices which they inherited.27
As a result of the Indian National movement in the mother country, Indian
diasporic identity tilted towards Hindu nationalist identity as many prominent Hindu
leaders visited these colonies and preached basic precepts of Hindu religion. The effort of
Hindu revivalism in West Indian colonies was not new. In fact, attempts were made to
establish Hindu orthodoxy in the early days of the settlement and organizations such as
Sanatan Dharm Sabha (Association) preached the principles of Hindu orthodoxy,
especially in Guyana and Trinidad, since the late nineteenth century itself. However, in
those early days, they could not succeed as the Hindu immigrant population was not
homogenous. It was predominantly rural and worshiped many different deities which
they had inherited from their ancestral villages in India. Like their counterparts in India,
they also became the followers of various sects and cults. It is observed that there were
four major sects, namely, Ramanandi, Kabirpanthi, Shivnaraini and Aghori, popular
among immigrants since the early days of their settlement. All these sects were quite
popular among lower caste settlers, as their philosophy promoted egalitarianism, inter-
caste fraternity and social harmony. In addition to this, they also worshiped Kali Mai, Dih
Baba and Parmeshwarie28. These localized deities were worshiped at the village level;
24
Natasha Sabina Ramnarine, “The Panchyat System as an Early Form of Conflict Resolution in Trinidad”,
in Brinsley Samaroo and Ann Marie Bissessar (Ed), The Construction of an Indo-Caribbean Diaspora
(St. Augustine, 2004), pp. 222-223
25
Steven Vertovec, Op.Cit.,p.79
26
Natasha Sabina Ramnarine, Op.Cit. pp224-227
27
Steven Vertovec, Op.Cit.,p.21
28
Brinsley Samaroo, “Reconstructing the Identity: Hindu Organisation in Trinidad During their First

6
Dih Baba was considered a protector of the village from diseases and calamities and
Pameshwarie was worshiped mainly by lower caste Chamars.
However, in the post indenture period, a new wave of Hindu revivalism, through
various Hindu organizations, tried to create a single Hindu identity. This mechanism can
be understood in colonies such as Guyana and Trinidad, where the large Indian
immigrant population was seen as a viable political force. In this whole process,
Brahmins played a significant role in standardising common beliefs and practices. The
performance of Pujas, Yagnas and holding of Kathas gradually became an integral part of
Hindu domestic life, especially among those who could afford them.29 Thus, in the
diasporic community, along with sanskritisation, a new form of social hierarchy was
established, where Brahmins retained their top position in the society and hegemonic
power, as their role was institutionalized. Other middle castes, such as Kurmis, Ahirs,
etc., felt socially uplifted through the sanskritisation process, but what remained static
was mainly the position of lower castes such as Chamars .
Prejudices and discrimination against lower castes still exist to some extent in the
West Indian diasporic community. As one well-known West Indian scholar, Moses
Seenarine puts it, “growing up in the predominantly caste Hindu Guyanese society during
the 60s and 70s, from an early age I was made to feel inferior, and lower caste, because
of my family’s Christian beliefs, dark skin color, and lower class status.”30 Again, he
mentions in a newsletter that “growing up as a child in Guyana, I was aware of casteism
against Dalit groups such as Chamars, Bhangis and Christian Dalits.”31 Similar examples
can be sought from Trinidad and other Caribbean countries where lower castes still feel
some sort of discrimination in their day to day life.
Max Weber and M.N. Sriniwas both defined caste as the fundamental institution
of Hinduism, hence it is impossible to detach Hinduism from the caste system.32
Nonetheless, the ways in which the caste system operates within Hinduism differ
according to the historical evolution of each society. Thus, in the West Indian diasporic
community, Indian identity has traveled through several stages, beginning with the
dilution of caste identity in the indentured period, and transforming into a singular Hindu
identity in the post-indenture period, where the hierarchically highest and lowest caste
extremes, namely Brahmins and Chamars, continued to bear important status value. The
former retains the highest respect among the diasporic community whereas the latter are
often regarded with some degree of dejection and disdain.33 This new form of Hinduism
is neither based on the principle of purity and pollution, on the basis of which the caste
system was originally practiced, nor is it similar to the current form of social hierarchy in
post-independent India, where lower castes are gradually moving upward through
attaining political power, especially in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Century”, in Brinsley Samaroo and Ann Marie Bissessar (Ed), The Construction of an Indo-Caribbean
Diaspora (St. Augustine, 2004), p.53
29
N.Jairam, “The Politics of ‘cultural renaissance’ among Indo-Trinidadians”, p. 127
30
Moses Seenarine, “Dalit Women: Victims or Beneficiaries of Affirmative Action Policies in India – A
Case Study,” paper presented at a Brown Bag Lecture held by the Southern Asian Institute, Columbia
University, on April 10th, 1996, p. 1.
31
Moses Seenarine, “Dalit Female Education and Empowerment,” Dalit International Newsletter, Vol. 2,
No. 1, February 1997, Waterford, CT, p. 1.
32
Steven Vertovec, Op.Cit.,p.50
33
Ibid,p.36

7
 As far as lower castes are concerned, in the diasporic community as well as in
their original homeland, especially in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, from where the maximum
number of migrants went to various colonies in the West Indies, they remain socially and
economically at the bottom of the ladder. In both places, they still face similar kinds of
dejection, deprivation and social neglect by caste Hindus. However, in North Indian
society, the sanskritisation process was not as successful as it was in the diasporic
community. Thus, middle castes (also known as “backward castes”) still retain a separate
identity from the upper castes, and constitute the majority in North Indian society. The
anti-Brahminical movement created a sense of pride among non-Brahminical
communities, who gained greater social consciousness. This newly gained social
consciousness among lower and middle castes made them politically conscious at the
same time. In the post-independent, democratic society, lower and middle castes have
emerged as important actors in Indian electoral politics, having greater bargaining power
because of their numerical strength. This is very clearly visible in the case of Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar, where members of lower and middle castes have been holding power
for more than one decade.
The Indian diaspora in the West Indies, which consists of a large number of
descendents of lower and middle caste migrants from this region, can now easily
associate with new emerging power centers in India where lower and middle castes are at
the helm. The empowerment of these castes in the home country has direct implications
for the diasporic community, as it has inherited the same social roots. Thus, if caste has
historically determined identity in the diasporic community, the larger question which
emerges today is whether the gradual empowerment of lower and middle castes in North
India will lead to a similar sense of empowerment among the descendents of these
communities in the West Indian diaspora.