Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture

A must read for all of us affected by the import of indentured workers to replace slaves. The historical approach is well laid out. The author points to the long term consequences of populating areas with a disproportionate men to women ratio. Consequences of encouraging rum over ganja. Controlling behaviors resulting from ED and the short supply of women. Should be read by all upper form of entry level university students.

This is an important part of history that we much look at more closely. Many people don't know about numerous attacks on India and Indians, the abuse and suffering of many generations of Indians or the multi-millennial genocide of Indians in Asia and elsewhere. ------ AND ------------- "In addition, the term "mulatto" was also used to refer to the children of whites who intermarried with South Asian indentured servant brought over to the British American colonies by the East Indian Company. For example, a daughter born to [a] South Asian father and [an] Irish mother in Maryland in 1680 was classified as a "mulatto" and sold into slavery. The more usual case was the use of the principle of partus sequitur ventrem, adopted by Virginia in 1662, which made the status of a child dependent on the status of the mother. Children born of slave mothers were born into slavery, regardless of who their fathers were; children born to white mothers were free, even if mixed race. Although still in use by some, the term mulatto has fallen out of favor, and is considered offensive by some in the United States. Today, more popular terms include biracial, multiracial, mixed-race, and multi-ethnic." ----------------------------------------- Many people don't learn in American History or World History about the important contributions of Indians and Indian-Americans. "WWI The war began with an unprecedented outpouring of loyalty and goodwill towards the United Kingdom from within the mainstream political leadership, contrary to initial British fears of an Indian revolt. The Indian Army in fact outnumbered the British Army at the beginning of the war. India under British rule contributed greatly to the British war effort by providing men and resources. This was done by the Indian Congress in hope of achieving self-government as India was very much under the control of the British. The United Kingdom disappointed the Indians by not providing self-governance, leading to the Gandhian Era in Indian history. About 1.3 million Indian soldiers and laborers served in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, while both the Indian government and the princes sent large supplies of food, money, and ammunition. In all 140,000 men served on the Western Front and nearly 700,000 in the Middle East. Casualties of Indian soldiers totaled 47,746 killed and 65,126 wounded during World War I. "In WWI the commanders did not see that the tools available for fighting on the defense had far surpassed those available for offense. The machine gun and modern artillery way overmatched the Tommy and the French Polliu in their wool tunics. The British Tommy was not even equipped with a helmet in the first months of the war but went into combat wearing only a wool garrison cap. It seemed that the presiding commanders were devoid of imagination and continued to send battalion after battalion of men up against dug in machine guns, hoping that shear numbers would win the day. At the Battle of the Somme, whole brigades of new volunteer provincial troops were fielded. They were sent on the offensive against the German trenches only to be shot down in windrows...57, 470 were casualties the first day. That meant 5747 casualties per hour, for the first 10 hour day of combat, including 1924 men killed per hour. Compare that to the 2000-3000 killed in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last NINE YEARS! The Brits lost almost that many in one hour." WWII " India, officially the Indian Empire, declared war on Germany in September 1939. The Provinces of India (which included most of modern-day India and the present day Bangladesh, Pakistan and Myanmar), being imperial colonies of the United Kingdom, were by default a part of the Allies of World War II. Several Indian princely states provided large donations to the Allies to combat the threat of Nazism and Fascism. The financial, industrial and military support of India formed a crucial component of the British campaign against the Axis powers. India's strategic location at the tip of the Indian Ocean, its massive production of armaments, and its huge armed forces contributed decisively in halting the progress of Imperial Japan in the South-East Asian theatre. The Indian Army during World War II was one of the largest Allied forces contingents which took part in the North and East African Campaign, Western Desert Campaign and the Italian Campaign. At the height of the World War, more than 2.5 million Indian troops were fighting Axis forces around the globe."

A well written and well researched book. I awaited its delivery with anticipation and could not put this book down after I started to read it. I enjoyed reading every chapter. Ms Bahadur has done an excellent job of presenting the evil of the indentured system that took place in then British Guiana during colonial times and its consequences. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys deep and thoughtful reading.

This accounting of life of Indian women in the last century fills an essential chapter in the history of all women. When I think of Indian women, I see colorful saris, arms and throats dripping with gold. Stories of those who threw themselves on their husbands' funeral pyres were of mad women, I thought, not of decent women doomed to begging and prostitution by their in laws. Guyana, to me, meant sweltering fields of nothingness, where leaders of cults hid from the world. Scottish clans, crofts, and the English throne are part of the history of this dreadful place, as is slavery and indentured servitude. This history is well annotated and well written, with a few instances of awkward language usage. I found this a most enjoyable and informative read.

Thank you Gaiutra Bahadur for taking four precious years of your life to give us Coolie Woman. Being a Guyanese at the age of 48, I too have been on the treadmill of life, neglecting to take time to understand the roots of my people. Your sources are refreshing and the stories are deeply moving. The narratives, the names, the places, the stories, the local language, the description of the Indian culture and all the amazing details, evokes memories of my precious thirteen years in Guyana prior to emigrating to New York. Reading Coolie Woman was an emotional journey. The wonderful gift of Coolie Woman should be required reading for all of our Guyanese brothers and sisters. Great job Gaiutra. I will say selfishly that I am proud to know that you are one of ours. Sujaria would be very proud of you. We look forward to your next book. Best wishes, Sam Apanah

I enjoyed reading this book. It isvery beautifully written. The research was immense; but it was the binding of this research in such clear and thoughtful words that make this book such a great read. I highly recommend this book because it gives you a meticulous look of the thoughts that pervaded the minds of the immigrants and their bosses in the "new world".

Interesting subject but too much into details

This book will go down as a very important historical document and analysis in the annals of Caribbean studies.

I recently read Walk with Me all Ova Guyana by Helena Martin and learnt some things about the Portugese Society and history in Guyana. With Coolie Woman it is the heartbreaking history of the Indian women who came from India as Indentured workers to replace the recntly emancipated slaves in the sugar fields. Bahadur uses her family history as a starting point and coming back to it time and time again it helps to maintain the flow of the writing so it doesn't become too academic. However it is very well researched. It was educational and informative. From the recruiters offices in India to the loogie accommodation on the backdams of the Sugar Cane Fields in Guyana. The abuse and rapes near starvation on the ships passage over, to the abuse and rapes for the rest of the lives in Guyana. The shortage of Indian women was to remain an important issue for many years and to mediate this there is an assignment of a "husband" without any input from either party. The violence in the community is not played down and many women were abused and killed at the hands of same husband with a cutlass as they were blamed for speaking/looking at another man. Plus the use of these women by white Overseers despite the Colonial Offices attempts to eliminate such activity. Shocking information that I really had absolutely no idea about. Yet one or two Coolie women were stubborn & strong, managing to succeed and acquire wealth to survive comfortably without the aggravation of a "husband" foisted upon them. The British Colonialist moved many Indians all over the world as workforce was needed, yet they held on tentatively in some case to the culture they came from over a 100 years ago, pigin Hindi, Bollywood and some regligious cermonies (gold jewellery!!) They lost their names, often simply using pet names and their village names as Indians did not have surnames. They forgot the villages the came from and became "polluted" because they were obliged to marry out of their caste. Found in Guyana, Trinidad, Fiji, Mauritius, South Africa, Uganda they survived. This is a excellent book that really documents their trials and tribulations. A small few returned at the end of their contracts, the last returnee boat as late as the 1950s, but on arrival were unable to cope with a new divided India. About a quarter eventually returned back to Guyana. I was enthralled by this book wish I had read it sooner. It educated me to one of my ancestors who made this journey to Guyana and whose name is lost to history. Could I survive what she went through?

Excelente!!! Muy recomendado!

Fabulous book --EVERYONE should read it.

As a woman of Indo-Caribbean descent I found this to be a very interesting and touching read. I learned so much about a history that my family has never talked about. Read this book learn about your history and just see the connections and struggles women and those promised a greater future shared. I found out about this book in an airplane magazine and I’m very grateful to have found it.

I found the detail in this book very insightful. Not just from being a person of Caribbean heritage, but being born in England and knowing that this is another aspect of British history which is buried in our education system. The focus on the woman's journey helps to personalise and tell the wider story. For people of Caribbean origin, it will help us understand the origin of a derogatory term (just like the term "working as hard a N####r" is as interchangeable as "work like a C###ie". I mention this because the sexual, racial and colonial conditioning, makes uncomfortable reading at points about our treatment even post slavery. It was just another system of exploitation of which the legacy is still being felt.