Republication of ‘Benevolent Neutrality’

By: Dr Basdeo Mangru

Benevolent Neutrality, Indian Government Policy and Labour Migration to British Guiana 1854-1884, written by Dr Basdeo Mangru, Associate Professor at York College, was recently republished by Hansib Publications in London to mark the 175th anniversary of the Indian presence in the Caribbean. It was first published in 1988 as part of a series to commemorate the 150th anniversary

Unlike other works on the Indians in the Caribbean, this book concentrates on the Indian side of emigration. It provides a detailed analysis of the social, economic and cultural factors which forced Indians to leave their homeland to work in sugar colonies overseas. It then examines in considerable detail the system of labor recruitment in Uttar Pradesh and the Bihari states, exposing the fraud and deceit practiced on simple Indian villagers. Depot accommodation in India and physical conditions on the voyage from Calcutta (Kolkata) to the Caribbean are examined, especially the reasons for the large number of deaths and the decline in mortality as the system progressed.
The book then examines thoroughly the system of indenture as it evolved and developed in post-emancipation British Guiana. It describes how indentured Indians were suppressed under the system, how the planters used the Labour and Vagrancy laws and Indian religion to manipulate them and how Indians fought back. The strikes and disturbances which occurred in the sugar plantations from the late 1860s showed that Indians were capable of violent action when exploited. Indentured Indians were knocked down several times but they were never knocked out. Indian resistance was a valuable contribution to Caribbean historiography
This invaluable book also includes a major pioneering study of Indian women migrants, particularly how they were recruited in India and sexual exploitation on the sugar estates. The alarming rate of Indian wife murders and women militancy during periods of industrial unrest are fully discussed.
The book has received favorable reviews from leading scholars in the field.
Dr. Basdeo Mangru is the author of 5 books on Indians in the diaspora and over two dozen articles in refereed journals and in anthologies.
For information contact: (718) 845-7596 email: bmangru@york.cuny.edu