BRICS will help create a ‘multipolar’ world: Modi
Context
- PM Modi’s 2025 diplomatic tour includes a visit to Trinidad and Tobago.
- The visit coincides with the 180th anniversary of the arrival of Indian indentured labourers in Trinidad (1845–2025).
- Emphasizes India’s historical diaspora linkages and the legacy of colonial-era migration.
- Symbolic for India’s soft power projection and multipolar diplomacy through platforms like BRICS.
Background: Abolition of Slavery and Rise of Indentured Labour
- Abolition of Slavery (1833)
- The Slavery Abolition Act, 1833 passed by British Parliament.
- Created a severe labour shortage in colonies dependent on enslaved Africans (e.g., Caribbean, Mauritius, Fiji).
- To replace slave labour, the British developed a new form of contract labour – the Indenture System.
The Indentured Labour System
Definition
Indentured labour was a system of bonded labour migration under a contract (girmit), usually for 5 years, with limited rights and harsh working conditions.
Period
1834 – 1920
- Nearly 2 million Indians were transported across the British Empire.
Key Destinations
- Mauritius (1834) – First site of Indian indenture
- Trinidad (1845)
- Guyana, Fiji, South Africa, Suriname
- Caribbean islands, East Africa, Southeast Asia
Reasons Why Indians Were Sent
- Labour Demand in Colonies
- Needed for sugarcane, tea, coffee, rubber plantations.
- Surplus Labour in India
- Widespread poverty in Bihar, Eastern U.P., Tamil Nadu.
- British saw Indians as “compliant, low-cost workers.”
- Use of Recruiters (“Arkatis”)
- Often deceived workers with false promises of land, pay, and freedom.
- Many signed contracts unknowingly or under duress.
- Legal Mechanism: Indian Emigration Act, 1859
- Provided the colonial framework for controlled recruitment.
- Contracts made workers bound to plantations, with restrictions on movement and punitive penalties.
Criticism: “New System of Slavery”
- Though legal, the indenture system often resembled slavery in its exploitative structure.
- Harsh working conditions, racial discrimination, poor housing, and limited access to justice.
- Activists like Mahatma Gandhi and Gopal Krishna Gokhale later campaigned against it.
Abolition of the Indentured System
- Global condemnation and pressure from Indian nationalists led to the abolition of indenture in 1920.
Legacy and Diaspora
Cultural Continuity
- Indian-origin communities in Caribbean and Pacific still celebrate Indian festivals, preserve Bhojpuri and Tamil dialects, cuisine, and traditions.
Political Impact
- Many descendants have risen to top positions (e.g., Kamla Persad-Bissessar, former PM of Trinidad and Tobago).
India’s Soft Power
- PM Modi’s 2025 visit reinforces historical bonds and is part of India’s global diaspora outreach.
- Useful for India’s diplomatic posture in a multipolar world, aligned with BRICS expansion.
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