Indentured Indian Immigration to Natal, 1860-1870 with special reference to the Hindu Caste

System and its implications

By

Pathmaloshini Moodley

1981

INDENTURED INDIAN IMMIGRATION TO N&Tt+L . 1860 - 1870 WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE HINDU CASTE SYSTEM AND

ITS IMPLICATIONS

PATHMALOSHINI MOODLEY

Submit ted i n p a r t f u l f i l m e n t o f the requirements f o r the degree o f

BACHELOR OF ARTS (HnNnURS)

i n t h e D e p a r t ~ ~ ~ e n t o f H i s t o r y i n the Facul ty. o f A r t s

a t the U n i v e r s i t y o f Durban-Westvi- le

SUPERVISORS : Professor S. Bhana D r . J B Bra in

DATE SUBMITTED: NOVEMBER 1981

SUMMARY

To t h e people o f t h e West, t h e i n h a b i t a n t s o f I n d i a a r e t h e l e a s t

understood and t h e most e a s i l y misunderstood o f a l l men. T h i s p r o j e c t has two themes : f i r s t l y , t o probe t h e reasons as t o why many I n d i a n s

l e f t I n d i a f o r South A f r i c a and secondly, t o e x p l o r e t h e Hindu c a s t e

system, a Pan-Indian phenomenon.

A l though I n d i a n i n d e n t u r e i n t o South A f r i c a has been s t u d i e d and w r i t t e n

about, i t i s remarkable j u s t how much more t h e r e i s t h a t i s undiscovered.

Whi le much i s w r i t t e n about t h e I n d i a n s f rom t h e t i m e they came t o South

A f r i c a i n 1860 t o t h e present day, research l e a d i n g t o t h e c o n d i t i o n s i n

I n d i a p r i o r t o 1860 and t h e p o s s i b l e reasons as t o why t h e y l e f t

has been neg lec ted. T h i s s tudy t h e r e f o r e i s designed t o g i v e some L i n s i g h t i n t o t h e geographic, h i s t o r i c a l and a g r i c u l t u r a l background

o f I n d i a , i n p a r t i c u l a r t h e Presidency o f Madras i n t h e South o f I n d i a

and t o show how c a s t e operated i n a t y p i c a l South I n d i a n v i l l a g e . I

have at tempted t o g i v e an e x p l a n a t i o n of t h e r u l e s , r e g u l a t i o n s and r e s t r i c -

t i o n s o f t h e Hindu c a s t e system.

From t h e sh ipp ing l i s t s o f t h e Lord George Bent inck and Tyburnia, I

have t r i e d t o ana lyse t h e cas te , sex, age and r e g i o n a l d i s t r i b u t i o n s

o f t h e I n d i a n s on board these sh ips . ,

I f i n these pages, I can h e l p o t h e r s o f t h e West t o come f a c e t o face

w i t h t h e immense and i n t r i c a t e problems which c o n f r o n t a l l who d e s i r e t o

know, and s h a l l enable them t o understand b e t t e r t h e c o n d i t i o n s and

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f 1 i f e i n t h e Land o f Vedas, I w i l l f e e l amply r e p a i d

f o r my l a b o u r s .

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish t o express my s incere thanks t o Professor S. Bhana, Head o f t h e

Department o f His tory , and D r J .B. Brain, Department o f H i s to r y f o r

t h e i r very ab le superv is ion o f t h i s study. I am p a r t i c u l a r l y g r a t e f u l

f o r t h e i r percept ive c r i t i c i s m s and t h e i n t e r e s t which they have shown.

I am a l s o g r a t e f u l f o r the ass is tance g iven by :

Andhra Maha Sabha o f South A f r i ca ;

The Tamil Assoc ia t ion o f South A f r i c a ;

M r Bala Naidu, U n i v e r s i t y o f Durban-Westvi l le;

Joan Mckenzie, L i b r a r i a n a t t h e Un i ve rs i t y o f Nata l ;

Miss P. Naidu and Miss F. D. Kajee who typed t h i s d i sse r t a t i on ;

and my f r i e n d s from the U n i v e r s i t y o f Durban-Westvi l le who ass is ted

i n var ious ways.

F i n a l l y , the complet ion o f t h i s H i s to r y assignment i s i n no small

measure due t o the understanding and s a c r i f i c e o f my f am i l y .

P. MOODLEY

NOVEMBER 1981

( i i i )

SUMMARY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

L I S T OF TABLES, MAPS AND I L L U S T R A T I O N S

INTRODUCTION

CONTENTS

PAGE -

( i ) ( i i ) ( i v ) 1

CHAPTER :

ONE : CONDIT IONS I N SOU'TH AFRICA AND I N D I A

TWO : SURVEY OF CASTE I N I N D I A

CONCLUSION

MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

ABBREVIATIONS I N APPENDICES

APPENDICES :

A : . S H I P P I N G L I S T S OF LORD GEORGE BENTINCK

B : S H I P P I N G L I S T S OF TYBURNIA

SOURCES

L I S T OF TABLES, MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

TABLES :

1 : AREA, POPULATION OF MADRAS PRESIDENCY I N 1871

2 : REGIONAL D ISTRIBUT ION OF EMIGRANTS

3 : SEX D ISTRIBUT ION OF EMIGRANTS

4 : CASTE D ISTRIBUT ION OF EMIGRANTS

5 : AGE D ISTRIBUT ION OF EMIGRANTS

MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

MAP OF I N D I A

MAP SHOWING AREAS OF RECRUITMENT OF I N D I A N LABOURERS

PLAN OF MADRAS

PLAN OF A TYPICAL SOUTH I N D I A N VILLAGE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND TO INDIA

The sub-cont inent o f I n d i a i s i n the shape o f a t r i a n g l e s tanding upon

i t s po in t . I t s s t re tches over two thousand m i l e s f rom t h e Himalayas i n

t h e Nor th down t o the southern t i p j u t t i r i g out i n t o the I nd ian Ocean. This g rea t t r i a n g l e f a l l s i n t o t h ree c l e a r d i v i s i o n s . There i s the

nor thern mountain w a l l and i n t he south t he Peninsular Plateau. Between

them l i e s t h e great p l a i n formed by t h e v a l l e y s cf t he Indus and t h e

Ganges where t he mass o f t h e i nhab i t an t s have always l i v e d .

Nine o u t o f t e n Ind ians 1 i v e i n v i l l a g e s and most a re farrr~ers. I n the

towns, the slum q u a r t e r s o f the i n d u s t r i a l workers a r e i n marked c o n t r a s t

t o the e l egan t splendour o f t h e f i n e s t bu i l d i ngs . Such v i o l e n t con t ras ts ,

many kept going by the t r a d i t i o n a l cas te system, a r e accepted w i t h amazing ?

equanimity by the I nd ian people.

The c l imate i n I n d i a i s ve ry va r i ed and almost everytype o f d i s a s t e r

can descend upon t h e land. The g rea tes t problem i s water. R a i n f a l l

comes i n summer w i t h t he south west monsoon. "Everything depends upon

t h e amount o f the prolonged deluge."

The p la teau i n the south i s t he most backward area where famine always

h i t s hardest. Apart frorn t h e c o t t o n grown on t h e b lack s o i l o f t h e Deccan,

t he re i s l i t t l e beyond p r i m i t i v e a g r i c u l t u r e . The peasants a re susp ic ious

o f ou ts ide i n f l uence and progress i s necessar i l y slow.

1 . India 1965. Annua 2 Review, p . 6 .

Madras i s t h e premier p o r t and c i t y i n t h e south and i s a modern B r i t i s h

product, d i s t i n c t i v e i n i t s western appearance and no t n e a r l y as t r u l y

I n d i a n as t h e o l d telnple c i t i e s w i t h i n t h e presidency, namely Tanjore, Coonjeeveram, TPich i nopoly and Madural . The 1 and o f Madras i s p ie rced by th ree g r e a t r i v e r s , the Godbwari, K is tna and the ~ a v e ( r i . The f i r s t census conducted i n r e g u l a r form i n t h e Madras Presidency 1871 showed

t h a t t h e Hindus numbered 28, 863, 968; Moslems 1, 857, 857; C h r i s t i a n s

t h a t i s Roman C a t h o l i c s 397, 071; and Pro tes tan ts 93,228; Ja ins 21,254 and o thers 4328. However, C h r i s t i a n s a r e more numerous i n Madras than i n

any o t h e r p a r t o f 1 n d i a S 2 The Hindus, 92,3% o f thewhole, a r e sub-div ided

i n t o 16, 159, 610 S iva i tes , t h a t i s worshippers o f Siva, God o f

D e s t r u c t i o n i n t h e Hindu t r i a d , 11, 657, 311 V ishnuv i tes who worship

t h e God Vishnu, t h e preserver , 154, 989 L ingava ts who a r e a l s o a sec t o f

S i v a i tes b u t who d e r i v e t h e i r name from t h e p r a c t i c e o f c a r r y i n g about

on t h e i r persons t h e 'L inga ' o r emblem o f Siva; and 892, 068 a r e o f

o t h e r sects i n c l u d i n g H i l l t r i b e s .

Most o f t h e people i n the south and i n p a r t i c u l a r t h e presidency o f

Madras, speak one o r o t h e r o f t h e D r a v i d i a n languages namely Tamil,

Telegu, Kannada o r Malayalam. And t h e most dominant element o f t h e

popu la t ion i s t h e proto-Medi t teranean type which i s noted f o r i t s

medium s ta tu re , l o n g and narrow head, medium nose, e i t h e r s t r a i g h t

o r acqu i l i ne .

Over t h e g r e a t e r p a r t o f t h e area o f Madras a r t i f i c i a l i r r i g a t i o n i s

2 . Encyclopaedia Britannica, 9 t h ed i t i on , VoZ XV, p. 185.

imposs ib le because t h e r e a r e no dams and c u l t i v a t i o n i s dependent upon

t h e 1 ocal r a i n f a l l which r a r e l y exceeds f o r t y inches a year and i s 1 i a b l e

t o f a l l i r r e g u l a r l y . The Malabar Coast i s t h e o n l y p a r t where t h e

r a i n f a l l brought by t h e South West Monsoon may be t r u s t e d both f o r i t s

amount and i t s r e g u l a r i t y . Over t h e g r e a t e r p a r t o f t h e Presidency

t h e r a i n y season i s caused by t h e South East Monsoon which breaks about

t h e end o f September. The d e l t a s o f t h e Goddvari, K is tnd and ~ a v e ' r i

r i v e r s a r e the on ly areas on the East Coast where a r t i f i c i a l i r r i g a t i o n

i s a b l e t o save t h e people from r i s k o f occasional s c a r c i t y .

O f t h e t o t a l c u l t i v a t e d area about 8m i s re tu rned as ' d r y ' l and o r

t h a t which i s s o l e l y dependent on l o c a l r a i n f a l l . 15% as 'wet ' l a n d

i r r i g a t e d f rom r i v e r channels and about 3% f a l l o w and pasture and 2%

as garden land i r r i g a t e d f rom w e l l s .

The p r i n c i p a l food s tap les a r e r i c e , 'cholam', 'kambu', ' r a g i ' and

'varagu ' . The most common o i l seed i s g inge l ly . Garden crops comprise

tobacco, sugar-cane, ch i1 1 i e s , b e t e l - l e a f and p l a n t a i n s . The f r u i t

t rees a r e cocoa-nut, areca-nut, date, palmyra palm, jack , tamarind and mango. Special crops i n c l u d e cot ton, i nd igo , cof fee, tea, cinchona.

The f i r s t c o f f e e p l a n t a t i o n was opened i n t h e Wainad i n Madras i n 1840.

Today c o f f e e covers 131, 348 acres o f Madras. Tea covered 4000 acres i n

1880 - 1881. Tobacco i s grown e x t e n s i v e l y i n Godivar i and K is tna d i s t r i c t s .

Because i r r i g a t i o n i s f a i r l y s t a b l e i n the d e l t a s i t was ve ry populous

b u t d e s p i t e t h i s my sample3 shows t h a t t h e g r e a t e s t number o f people

3 . See Table 2

came from t h e i n l and d i s t r i c t s , and very few f rom t h e De l t a and cos ta l

reg ions.

The g rea te r p a r t of Madras i s he ld by t he c u l t i v a t o r s d i r e c t f rom t h e

government under t h e tenure known as Ryotwari . The peasant i n e f f e c t

became t h e p r o p r i e t o r o f t h e l and w i t h a r i g h t t o mortgage, lease o r s e l l

h i s land. Th is system was in t roduced by S i r Thomas Munro i n Madras

when he was i t s governor from 1820 - 1827.

Ryotwari i s a mode o f set t lement w i t h small farmet >, so small, indeed

t h a t t h e i r average ho ld ing i s on recen t f i g u r e s on ly about 63 acres.

The system possesses t he f o l lowing p roper t ies : The reg i s t e red occupier

i s , so f a r as concerns governments, f r e e t o a l i e n a t e encumber and 4 dev ise h i s land a t d i s c r e t i o n , sub jec t t o unimportant q u a l i f i c a t i o n s ,

he may a t any t ime re1 inqu ish any p o r t i o n o f h i s holding, he can never

be ousted unless ,he f a i l s t o pay r e g u l a r l y t h e assessment f i x e d on t h e

land o r any o ther charge by law recoverab le as land revenue i n which

case h i s land may be at tached and so ld t o t h e ex ten t necessary t o d i s -

charge t he debt; no a d d i t i o n a l charge may be imposed on account o f r

improvements e f f ec ted a t t h e r y o t s cost , b u t a separate charge may be

made f o r minera ls ex t rac ted and t h e r a t e o f assessment i s l i a b l e t o

a l t e r a t i o n on t h e exp i r y o f t h e s p e c i f i e d per iod f o r which i t has been

f i x e d and then on ly .

Prev ious ly a share i n t he produce o f t h e i r l and cou ld be claimed by a

sovereign, o r by a grantee o f t h e land revenue d e r i v i n g h i s r i g h t f rom

4 . H . H . D o d w e l l : The Cambridge H i s t o r y of India, VoL 6, p . 1 5 4 .

the sovereign or by a 'Zamindar'(1andlord)who claimed t h i s among other

r ights of the sovereign. In the absence of any court of law, the nature

of the sovereign's r igh t s and the cu l t iva to r s tenure was determined not

by law b u t by the interplay of three forces - the power of the sovereign,

the custom of the v i l l age and the economic condition of the d i ~ t r i c t . ~

The Hindu j o i n t family system, where a l l land i s held in common by mem- bers of the household, and the lack of stock tended t o divide u p the land

in to smaller holdings. In many vi l lages , especial ly in the i r r iga ted t r a c t s

there was a t r ad i t ion of a jo in t settlement and a cornmod ancestry and the whole v i l lage was held in shares, the lands in some of them being

periodical ly redis t r ibuted .

Madras however in the course of time had discovered new potential

fo r raw materials 1 ike iron-ore, magnesite and 1 igni te . The u t i l i sa t ion

of natural resources l i k e waterfal ls t o generate e l e c t r i c i t y and t o

establ ish industr ies was a modern phenomenon which he1 ped agr icul ture

and industr ies . Two railway companies and the continuous seaboard of

the Madras Presidency had created a widely diffused t rade in Madras.

The geography of Madras has had another, no l e s s important e f fec t

on the cul ture of the south. The s i tua t ion of idadras in the south of

the Peninsula has saved i t from the exotic cul tural and pol i t ica l inf lu-

ences brought in by the Kushans, Afghans, Turks and Mughals in the North,

even as the Madras Presidency i t s e l f i s broken u i in to a number of sub- regions by the hi1 1 s and r ivers and these have developed t h e i r own sub-

regional d ia l ec t s as well as cul tural variat ions largely due t o poor

5. H . H . Dodwell : The Cambridge History of ~ n d i a , VoZ 6 , p . 54 .

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CHAPTER ONE

CONDITIONS I N SOUTH AFRICA AND INDIA

Ind ians m ig ra ted f rom I n d i a t o many p a r t s o f the globe b u t no I n d i a n c o l -

ony was the r e s u l t o f a s i n g l e mass m i g r a t i o n t o re1 i e v e congest ion o r t o

expand dominions, r a t h e r I n d i a n c o l o n i z a t i o n was always a means t o

" c u l t u r a l expansion and cnmmercial e n t e r p r i s e . " 7 But t h e r e was a spec ia l

c l a s s o f I n d i a n emig ra t ion under the inden tu re system between 1835 - 1917

which was unique i n some respects .

The a g r i c u l t u r a l r e v o l u t i o n and the expansion o f European i n f l u e n c e i n

d i f f e r e n t p a r t s o f t h e wor ld necess i ta ted adequate manpower t o exp l o i t

t h e vas t resources a t hand. The a b o l i t i o n o f s l a v e r y i n 1833 and t h e

general r e l u c t a n c e o f b lacks t o work aggravated t h i s s i t u a t i o n and a

system o f indentured labour was devised i n 1835. It was r e a l i z e d t h a t

I n d i a cou ld be an i d e a l c o u n t r y f o r t h e r e c r u i t m e n t o f l aboure rs u r g e n t l y

needed f o r t h e sugar p l a n t a t i o n s o f t h e co lon ies and t h e Government o f

I n d i a was approached by t h e p l a n t e r s through the imper ia l government.

The inden tu re system was a h i g h l y organised and p e c u l i a r system o f re -

c r u i t i n g cheap labour on c o n t r a c t . The m i g r a n t undertook t o work as

a labourer f o r f i v e years i n t h e co lony f o r a wage and t h e c o s t o f h i s

passage. On the e x p i r y o f t h e indentured per iod t h e I n d i a n l a b o u r e r cou ld

e i t h e r renew t h e c o n t r a c t o r s e t t l e i n t h e co lony t o work as a f r e e

laboure r o r r e t u r n t o I n d i a a t t h e expense o f t h e impqr t ing co lony.

7 , J.C. Jha : Indentured Indian Migration, Journal o f Indian History, 1970, VOZ 4 8 , p . 335.

HQW d i d Na ta l come t o a v a i l i t s e l f o f t h e p r o v i s i o n o f I n d i a n l a b o u r under t h e system o f i n d e n t u r e a l r e a d y worked o u t f o r M a u r i t i u s and t h e

West I n d i a n c o l o n i e s ? I n o r d e r t o answer t h i s , i t i s necessary t o l d o k

a t t h e c o n d i t i o n s i n Nata l d u r i n g t h e m id -n ine teen th c e n t u r y .

Dur ing t h e yea rs 1838 - 1843 Nata l was a V o o r t r e k k e r Repub l ic b u t

once t h e Voor t rekke rs had reached t h e sea and seemed l i k e l y t o t a k e poss-

e s s i o n o f t h e o n l y good harbour o n t h e Natal coas t l i n e , t h e "sens i t i ve- . -

ness o f B r i t i s h sea-power awokeu81nd i t was dec ided i n 1843 t o annex

Na ta l . With Nata l under B r i t i s h r u l e , many e m i g r a t i o n schemes were

dev ised i n B r i t a i n t o b r i n g s e t t l e r s o u t t o N a t a l . However many o f t h e

Boers who had p r e v i o u s l y s e t t l e d i n Na ta l , now t r e k k e d ove r t h e Dra-

kensberg, l e a v i n g t h e s e t t l e r s t o fend f o r themselves. T h i s e x e r c i s e

1 ed them i n t o exper imen ta t i on w i t h a v a r i e t y o f s u b - t r o p i c a l p roducts ,

i n c l u d i n g tea , co f fee , a r r o w r o o t sugar and i n d i g o . 0;t i n t h e end i t

was proved t h a t sugar was t h e main c r o p f o r t h e hot , humid c o n d i t i o n s

of Natal . Sugar however depends upon a s teady supp ly o f l a b o u r and

i t was t h i s f a c t o r t h a t was l a c k i n g .

It was d i f f i c u l t t o understand how a shor tage o f l a b o u r c o u l d a r i s e i n

a co lony s e t t l e d b y some 20 000 b lacks . F i r s t o f a l l t h i s was due t o

t h e t y p e o f economy o f t h e b l a c k s . They were a p a s t o r a l people,

p r a c t i s i n g a smal l amount o f e x t e n s i v e a g r i c u l t u r e and even t h e l a t t e r

was l e f t m a i n l y t o t h e women. The second f a c t o f was a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e

system o f t r i b a l reserves i n t r o d u c e d b y S i r Theoph i lus Shepstone. T h i s

system a l lowed t h e b l a c k s i n Nata l t o c o n t i n u e t h e i r t r a d i t i o n a l methods

8 . M. Palmer : The His tory o f t h e Indians i n Natal , p. 9

o f subsistence a g r i c u l t u r e and c a t t l e he rd ing . Furthermore Shepstone

s t e a d i l y b locked any proposa ls f o r compuls ion o f l a b o u r on t h e b l a c k

popu la t i on .

I n these c i rcumstances, i t i s c l e a r t h a t t h e p l i g h t o f t h e European

p l a n t e r was a s e r i o u s one and i t i s n o t s u r p r i s i n g t h e r e f o r e t h a t t hey

exp lored every p o s s i b l e means o f secu r ing an adequate supp ly o f l a b o u r .

However i t soon became apparent t h a t t h e o n l y p r a c t i c a l source o f l a b o u r

f o r t h e sugar p l a n t a t i o n s was a supp ly o f I n d i a n i nden tu red immig ra t i on .

Under t h e con t inued pressure o f t h e p l a n t e r s , t h e Government o f Nata l

was u l t i m a t e l y compel 1 ed t o open n e g o t i a t i o n s and t h e governments o f

B r i t a i n and I n d i a r e l u c t a n t l y consented t o t h e p lan . It was a r e l u c t a n t

move because t h e government o f I n d i a f e l t t h a t e m i g r a t i o n t o M a u r i t i u s

and t h e Caribbean was s u f f i c i e n t . Never the less e m i g r a t i o n t o Nata l

was f i n a l l y sanct ioned by A c t X X X I I I o f 1860 on 7 August. The Emigra-

t i o n Agency was w a i t i n g , W.M. C o l l i n s t h e Postmaster General o f Natal

was sen t t o Madras as Emig ra t i on Agent i n March 1860, and t h e f i r s t

sh ip , the T ru ro , f rom Madras a r r i v e d a t Durban on 16 November 1860.

So I n d i a n e m i g r a t i o n on a l a r g e sca le and over l ong d i s t a n c e s was a

phenomenon novel t o t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y and had t o w a i t upon p rev ious

s e t t l e m e n t o f European c o l o n i e s and investment o f c a p i t a l i n p l a n t a t i o n

a g r i c u l t u r e . I n d i a n ' c o o l ies19 had o n l y u n s k i l l e d l a b o u r t o s e l l and

were thus f o r c e d t o move i n t o areas where t h e r e was a s k i l l e d w h i t e manage-

r i a l group t o d i r e c t them and where t h e i r " d o c i l i t y and c a p a c i t y f o r

l a b o u r i n g were welcome". 10

9. Coolie, i s a Portuguese term for 'load-bearers, dockers 'Cu l i ' , See H-Tinker, p . 41 - 42.

10. I . M . Cmpston. A Survey o f Indian Immigration t o B r i t i s h Tro i c a l C o l o n i e s t o 1910, Population Studies Journal, Vol 9 & 10, 5. 1 5 8 -

1 The success o f t h e t r a f f i c from an economic p o i n t o f view may be measurid i n t h e almost meteor ic r i s e i n expor t f i g u r e s from p l a n t a t i o n products

and t he establ ishment o f new i n d u s t r i e s . Th is cou ld be seen i n Natal

where Natal sugar exported a t t h e end o f 1860 was 32,005 almost f o u r

t imes g rea te r than t h a t o f t h e preceding year which was 8,368. 11

While t h e inden tu re system was a success from t h e economic p o i n t o f

view, i t should be remembered however t h a t the re was a l ow p ropens i t y

among t h e people o f I n d i a t o m ig ra te due ma in ly t o i n e r t i a , ' t o t he

r e s t r a i n t s imposed and s e c u r i t i e s o f f e r e d by t he v i l l age community

and j o i n t f a m i l y and t o r e l i g i o u s o b j e c t i o n s ' . 12

Furthermore t h e peasant was f a r from being t h e business man. He

seldom l e f t h i s v i l l a g e which f o r generat ions has been a s e l f - s u f f i c i e n t

u n i t i n which men l i v e d i n c l ose r e l a t i o n t o God and man and t h e s o i l .

Trave l a1 so invo lved t h e r i s k o f breaking cas te r u l e s . I 3 To emigrate

meant t o c ross t h e "Kala Pani", t h e t e r r i b l e b lack waters w i t h t h e

consequent l o s s o f caste . Th is was a g rea t d e t e r r e n t t o emigrat ion.

There was a l so t he dread o f f o r c i b l e conversion t o C h r i s t i a n i t y coupled

w i t h a dread o f t h e unknown, common t o a1 1 ' ignorant , u n t r a v e l l e d peop1.e' . 14

There was a l so a s t rong suspic ion t h a t t h e whole system was no t working

11. R.F. Osborne : Val ian t Harvest, p. 66.

12. K.L. G i l l i o n : The Sources o f Indian Emigration t o F i j i , Population S tud ies Journal, 1956, Vol 9 & 10, p. 14

3 . See Chapter 3 .

14. K.L. G i l l i o n : The Sources o f Indian Ehigrat ion t o F i j i , Population S tud ies Journal, 1956, Vol 9 & 10, p. 141.

t o t h e i r disadvantage a susp ic ion very n a t u r a l l y a r i s i n g from the pauc i t y

o f news.. To t h i s l i s t cou ld be added t h e f a c t t h a t i t was an a l i e n system,

d i s l i k e d by the upper castes o f I nd i a .

I f Ind ians i n general r e s i s t e d emigrat ion, what then accounts f o r t h e

vas t numbers t h a t l e f t I nd i a i n the l a t e n ineteenth and e a r l y twen t i e t h

cen tu r ies? I n t r y i n g t o f i n d a reasonable answer i t i s necessary t o

cons ider t h e per iod of B r i t i s h r u l e i n I n d i a 1850 - 1857, which I be l i eve

could have played a major r o l e i n causing t h e people o f I n d i a t o e n l i s t f o r indenture.

When i t came t o t he i n t r o d u c t i o n o f t h e i r laws, the B r i t i s h found i t

d i f f i c u l t t o adapt because l a r g e sect ions o f t h e popu la t ion were exempted

from the operat ion o f c e r t a i n acts, on r e l i g i o u s grounds. Furthermore

the laws in t roduced by t h e B r i t i s h d i d no t always prove e f f e c t i v e

because t he va lue o f execut ive dec is ions was destroyed by t ime and by

t he d is tance between London and Ca lcu t ta .

When i t came t o education, t h e B r i t i s h r u l e r s were n o t i n t e res ted i n

promoting techn ica l knowledge o r techn ica l change i n Ind ia , except t o I

t he ex ten t t o which i t was necessary f o r t he "smooth f unc t i on i ng o f

i t s r u l e and the economic expl o i t a t i o n o f t h e count ry" !5 Education under

the B r i t i s h was a1 ways charac te r i sed as being excess ive ly 1 i t e r a r y ,

which produced " q u i l l d r i v e r s r a t h e r than t e c h n i c i a i s " . 16

15. N.'V. Sovani : B r i t i s h Impact on India a f t e r 1850 - 1857, Journal o f World History, 1954, Vol 1 & 2, p . 103.

16. N . V . Sovani : B r i t i s h Impact on India a f t e r 1850 - 1857, Journal o f World His tory , 1954, VoZ 1 & 2, p . 103.

The o l d leadersh ip o f I nd i a under t h e Kushans, Afghans, Turks and Mughals

was complete ly wiped o u t and t h e new leadersh ip t h a t arose came main ly

from t h e educated Brahmans. As a r e s u l t t h e new leadersh ip was more

t heo re t i ca l than p r a c t i c a l . Though i n t e l l ec tua l specu la t ion was f ree ,

t h e people o f I n d i a were prevented from t r a n s l a t i n g any new ideas i n t o

p rac t i ce . The Brahmans saw t h i s as an i n s u l t t o t h e p r e v a i l i n g e th i cs

and modes o f behaviour and condemned any oppos i t i on from t h e people i f

i t were n o t i n tune w i t h t h e p r e v a i l i n g t r a d i t i o n a l behaviour p a t t e r n and

aga ins t popular f o l k ways.

It i s t he re fo re ev iden t t h a t B r i t i s h r u l e i n I n d i a 1850 - 1857 could

have caused g rea t d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n among t h e I nd ian people.

From my sample17i t has been estab l ished t h a t 74,21% o f t h e people came from

t h e Madras Presidency. The reason f o r t h i s cou ld be t h a t the s t a tes t h a t

make up t h e Presidency were complete ly under f o r e i g n domination, It

would be on l y na tu ra l t he re fo re t h a t t h e g rea tes t d i scon ten t would be

i n these s ta tes . Furthermore these s ta tes under B r i t i s h r u l e had t o

ma in ta i n t h e i r own army. Th is prevented f inance from being used i n areas

most needed and i t was these people who needed t he government f inance .

t h a t became staunch enemies o f t he B r i t i s h .

It has been suggested t h a t t he re was concern t h a t B r i t i s h r u l e would

b r i n g w i t h i t forced conversion t o C h r i s t i a n i t y s ince emig ra t ion was

g rea tes t from Madras where t he number o f Ch r i s t i ans i s sa i d t o be

greatest,18 i t i s poss ib le t h a t t h i s cou ld have been a reason f o r a

17. See Tab Ze 2 .

18. ~ncyc lopaedia Britannica, 9th ed i t ion , VoZ XV, p . 1 8 5 .

l a r g e number o f Hindus f rom Madras want ing t o emigrate.

O f my sample '%7,49% o f t h e m i g r a n t s were Hindus. What cou ld p o s s i b l y

be t h e cause f o r such a h i g h number o f Hindus emigrat ing? I am i n c l i n e d

t o b e l i e v e t h a t c e r t a i n s o c i a l reforms brought about by B r i t i s h r u l e

cou ld have been t h e cause o f t h i s . Hindu re1 i g i o u s customs were a1 so

d r a s t i c a l l y a l t e r e d d u r i n g t h e per iod o f B r i t i s h r u l e . Th is cou ld be seen

d u r i n g t h e governersh ip o f Lo rd W i l l i a m Bent inck 1828 - 1835 when Hindu

Law had been modi f ied t o t h e e f f e c t t h a t a Hindu becoming a conver t i n

C h r i s t i a n i t y would be e n t i t l e d t o h i s share o f t h e f a m i l y p roper ty .

P rev ious ly a Hindu conver t t o C h r i s t i a n i t y was considered as being an

ou tcas t who had t o r e l i n q u i s h a l l f a m i l y t i e s . Al though Ben t inck ' s

i n t e n t i o n s were good, t h e Hindus considered him an i n t e r f e r e n c e i n t h e

Hindu r e l i g i o n and c rea ted g r e a t d i s c o n t e n t among them. A lso Ben t inck ' s

a b o l i t i o n o f 'Sati", t h a t i s t h e s e l f - i m m o l a t i o n o f wives on t h e funera l

pyres o f t h e i r husbands was considered a d i s r e s p e c t t o t h e Hindu way o f

l i f e . Furthermore, t h e l e g a l i s a t i o n o f Hindu remarr iage was regarded

by t h e Hindus as an unwarrantable i n t e r f e r e n c e w i t h t h e i r s o c i a l and

re1 i g i o u s p r a c t i c e s .

Furthermore t h e cas te system, which I w i l l d iscuss a t a l a t e r chapter,

was t h e most impor tant aspect o f Hindu 1 i f e , so t h a t any law passed i n

o p p o s i t i o n t o t h i s system was regarded by t h e Hindu as an a t tempt t o

conver t them t o C h r i s t i a n i t y . T h i s was t h e general f e e l i n g d u r i n g

Governor Da lhous ie ' s term o f o f f i c e 1848 - 1856, when a r u l e had been

19. See Table 4.

made whereby t h e pr isoners had been p r o h i b i t e d f rom preserv ing t h e i r own

exc lus ive pots. Th is was a v i o l a t i o n o f t h e caste r u l e s which forbade

persons o f a p a r t i c u l a r caste from d r i n k i n g o f a vessel o f a lower

caste .

Yet again the Hindus and even the Musl ims f e l t an i n t e r f e rence w i t h

t h e i r way o f 1 i f e when the B r i t i s h in t roduced a new type o f c a r t r i d g e

which was sa id t o be .s tee l b u l l e t s of cow and p i g . Th i s a g i t a t e d t h e

minds o f Hindus as we l l as Moslems who saw i t as an a f f r o n t on t h e i r

respec t i ve r e l i g i o n s , t h e cow being sacred t o t he Hindus and t h e p i g

being taboo t 0 Musl ims.

These a re j u s t a few poss ib le exp lanat ions which m igh t have accounted f o r t he ve ry h igh percentage o f Hindus t h a t came t o South A f r i c a i n

my p a r t i c u l a r samples. These a re by no means t he so le reasons bu t

cou ld be regarded as the cause o f a general d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n among t h e

H i ndus .

Even i n the economic sphere, a d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n w i t h B r i t i s h a g r i c u l t u r a l

p o l i c i e s seemed t o have p reva i l ed i n I nd i a . The r yo twa r i system in t roduced

i n Madras, d is rup ted t h e o l d ag ra r i an system and gave r i s e t o a new

soc ia l order. The land revenue was so h i gh t h a t t h e peasant was fo rced

t o take loans from 'moneylenders' whose i n t e r e s t charges were a lso h igh

so e x p l o i t a t i o n o f t h e peasants was a common f ea tu re o f t h i s system.

I n d i r e c t l y t h i s system provided a prosperous business f o r t he emerging

c l ass o f money1 enders. The new r e n t r ece i v i ng land lords, money-lenders

and businessmen came t o form t h e nucl eus o f t h e new mfddle-class and

were t he f i r s t t o a v a i l o f t h e bene f i t s o f B r i t i s h educat ion w h i l e t he

v i 1 lage c u l t i v a t o r s , a r t i s a n s and o ther "menials c o n s t i t u t e d t h e

p r o l e t a r i a t " . 20

A l l t h e systems of c o l l e c t i o n o f l a n d revenue destroyed t h e powers o f t h e

o l d c l a s s o f i n t e r m e d i a r i e s 1 i k e t h e l a n d l o r d s (zamindars) and v i l l a g e counc i l s (panchayats), w h i l e these bodies have been c o r r u p t , they never the less he ld together r u r a l s o c i e t y s ince a n c i e n t t imes. "Co-operation

was rep laced by compet i t i on . The c o l l e c t i v e l i f e o f the v i l l a g e gave

way t o i n d i v i d u a l ism". 2 1

Pr ices, r e n t s and wages a l l came t o be determined by c o n t r a c t between

t h e buyers and s e l l e r s . Furthermore the opening o f t h e v i l l a g e t o

f o r e i g n imports gave a death blow t o t h e v i l l a g e c r a f t s and i n d u s t r i e s .

The v i l l a g e a r t i s a n l o s t h i s custom and the market f o r h i s wares. From

an i n d u s t r i a l worker, he was t ransformed i n t o a land less laboure r seek-

i n g work i n a g r i c u l t u r e , sometimes as a tenan t and o t h e r t imes as a wage

laboure r . The inc reas ing compet i t i on f o r l a b o u r f rom indus t ry , e s p e c i a l l y

cot ton, and p u b l i c works was t h e main cause o f d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n and t h e

o v e r a l l t r e n d away from I n d i a .

The d e s t r u c t i o n o f co t tage i n d u s t r i e s and t h e i n s u f f i c i e n t growth

o f i n d u s t r i e s which fo l l owed it, s t e a d i l y increased t h e pressure on land.

As a r e s u l t t h e r e were densely populated d i s t r i c t s where t h e l a n d was

unable t o support an ever- increas ing number o f people dependent on

a g r i c u l t u r e . Emigrat ion frorr~ rny sample was g r e a t e s t i n areas where

the pressure o f popu la t ion r e l a t i v e t o resources was g r e a t e s t and t h e

' l a n d l o r d s ' zamindars most power fu l . An increase i n the numbers depen-

20. V.C. Pandey, L.N. Muckerjee and U.S. Kuat t r i : Modern ~ n d i a , p. 553. 21- V.C. Pandey, L.N. Muckerjee and U.S. Kuat t r i : Mcdern India , p . 5 5 4 .

den t on t h e l a n d was accompanied b y f ragmentat ion o f h o l d i n g s u n t i l these

reached uneconomic l e v e l s, indebtedness grew and c u l t i v a t o r s 1 o s t t h e i r

land. Once they were reduced t o t h e p o s i t i o n of l aboure rs they became

a l i e n a t e d t o some e x t e n t from t h e s o i l . Most emigrants yere i n f a c t

l aboure rs and n o t c u l t i v a t o r s .

Many o f the landholders i n t h e Madras Presidency worked p a r t o f t h e t ime

f o r wages, as ho ld ings were smal l and t h e h i g h e r wages t o be earned

overseas were made more a t t r a c t i v e by t h e f a c t t h a t " p r i c e s had been r i s i n g

f o r some t ime w h i l e wages had n o t kep t pace'22 o t h e r s who l e f t t h e

v i l l a g e s o f t e n d i d so t o avo id the pressure f rom r e l a t i v e s .

To t h e t y p i c a l I n d i a n u n s k i l l e d l a b o u r e r w i t h o n l y t h e c l o t h e s on h i s

back and famine round t h e corner , t h e symbolic f i g u r e o f t h e new cond i -

t i o n s was the peasant p r o p r i e t o r o r prosperous shopkeeper. The emigrants

were u s u a l l y " u n s k i l l e d laboure rs o f t h e c l a s s accustomed t o wander f o r t h

i n search o f serv ice , accustomed t o r e c u r r e n t unemployment, famine and

deb t " . 23

While a general d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n w i t h B r i t i s h r u l e p r e v a i l e d , i t would be

i n c o r r e c t t o see t h i s as a s o l e reason f o r emig ra t ion . As seen f rom t h e

ou ts ide , B r i t a i n was hoping t o cu re what she though t were s o c i a l and

economic i l l s , and was t h e r e f o r e no t consc ious ly 'aware o f t h e resentment

i t brought .

22. K.L. G i l l i o n : The Sources of Indian m i g r a t i o n t o Fiji, Population s tudies Journal, p . 144.

23. K.L. CiZZion : The Sources o f Indian Emigration t o F i j i , Population stucztuczies Journal, p . 144.

Certainly the group most affected were the Hindus and they constituted

the greatest number of emigrants. S t i l l others l e f t India for very

d i f fe ren t reasons. If the closely woven fabr ic of jo in t family and vil lage community l i f e was an obstacle to spontaneous emigration i t a l so

imposed pressures which some peopl e found into1 erabl e . And those with

a s p i r i t of adventure, those who had been outcastes and those who had

quarrelled with re la t ives were among those who l e f t t h e i r v i l lages and

were picked u p by recrui ters .

Then there were a l so the females who though small in number comparison

to the males. My sample shows 71,56% males and 28,44% females l e f t to

give the i r men a family l i f e i n South Africa b u t a greater number of

them l e f t fo r non-economic reasons. Besides the wives and females children

of the emigrants, there were for instance widows or women who had been

deserted, or were escaping from bad husbands or tyrannical mothers-in-law.

Emigration must have seemed " t o some of them an honourable a l ternat ive

t o a l i f e of pros t i tu t ion ." 24

Surprisingly from my sample there were among the emigrants those of the

higher castes who could have come under a great deal of f a l s i f i ca t ion by

saying t h a t they were agr icu l tu ra l i s t s and labourers, men accustomed t o

working hard. Castes l ike the Rajputs, 63% and Musselman, 7,34% and Maratta, 16% had owing t o extravagance, l o s t more land than other cas tes . 2 5

These people could also have come for reasons of health - cholera, small pox

were, widespread in India.

24. K.L. G i l l i o n : The Sources of Indian m i g r a t i o n t o F i j i , Population Studies JournuZ, p. 1 5 1 .

25. See Table 4 .

Since the south was always prone t o droughts and famine, i t would be only

natural to assume tha t the one who l e f t would be the victim of famine or

drought. B u t such a person was not wanted by the colonies due to under-

nourishment and ine r t i a , so i f people l e f t because of the constant threat

of famine o r droughts, they did so because of the fear t h a t hung over

t h e m . I t i s important t o note tha t the Government of India never saw

emigration as a means of relieving famine.

Then there was the th rea t of unemployment who faced many unskilled workers.

With the growth of industries and railways, a1 1 jobs were taken up and even i f jobs were available, they were not ski1 led enough t o do i t . For those who depended on the land, the f a i l u r e of the harvests; which in

the south happened frequently coul d have pushed people out of

India.

I t was a t t h i s psychological moment tha t the colonial planter held out

earnest ent rea t ies and rosy promise t o these depressed and oppressed

people. B u t i t should a lso be remembered that s t i l l others from my

sample especially the Christians 4,38% and Musselmans (Muslims) 7,34% came fo r prof i t or personal venture. 26

I t should a l s o be noted tha t the recruit ing agents were se lec t ive when

i t came t o the emigrants. Those who did come were selected on the basis

of physical f i tness and were predominantly young men in the age group 2 7

20 - 3 0 years.

26: See TabZe 4. 27. See TabZe 5 .

CHAPTER TWO

SURVEY OF CASTE IN INDIA

The word ' cas te ' i s der ived from the L a t i n term ' cas tus ' which

s i g n i f i e d p u r i t y o f breed. It was the term used by Vasco Da Gama and

h i s f e l l o w Portuguese adventurers, cen tu r ies ago, as they landed upon

the south-west coast o f I n d i a and began t o s tudy t he soc ia l and r e l i g i o u s

cond i t i ons o f the people. I

Other coun t r ies have o r have had t r i b a l connections, c lass d i s t i n c t i o n s ,

t rade unions, r e l i g i o u s sects, p h i l a n t h r o p i c f r a t e r n i t i e s , soc i a l gu i l ds

and var ious o t h e r organisat ions. But " I n d i a i s t he o n l y l and where a l l

these a re p r a c t i c a l l y welded toge ther i n t o one cons is ten t and mighty

whole which d i c t a t e s t he every d e t a i l o f human r e l a t i o n s h i p and con t ro l s

the whole des t iny o f man f o r t ime and e t e r n i t y " . 28

The t r a d i t i o n a l l y accepted theory of the o r i g i n o f caste t o the Hindus

i s t h a t Brahma the f i r s t God o f the Hindu t r i a d t h e Creator, was

the immediate source and founder o f t he caste order. "For he caused

the august Brahman t o proceed out o f h i s m o ~ t h " , ~ ~ h e n c e h i s supe r i o r

s t a tus , f o l lowed by the roya l and war1 i ke Ksha t t r i ya who emanated from

h i s shoulders, then the t r a d i n g caste, Vaishya from h i s t h i ghs and the

menial Sudra from h i s f e e t . So t h a t an essen t i a l fea tu re o f t h e caste

system i s the system o f h ie ra rchy from the p r i e s i l y down t o t he menial

castes .

28. J.P. Jones : India : I t s Life- -gad T h p ~ g h t p. 9 2 2 9 . J.P. Jones : ~ n d i a : I t s Life and ~ h o u ~ g , p. 9 4

Various d e f i n i t i o n s o f caste have been p u t forward. Kroeber, an

an th ropo log is t defines caste as "an endogamous and he red i t a r y

subd iv is ion o f an e t h n i c u n i t occupying a p o s i t i o n o f super io r o r

i n f e r i o r rank o r s o c i a l esteem i n comparison w i t h o the r subdiv is ions" . 30

Hutton def ines caste as "a c o l l e c t i o n o f f am i l i es o r groups o f f am i l i es ,

bear ing a common name, c la im ing a comnon descent from a myth ica l ancestor,

human o r devine, p ro fess ing t o f o l l ow the same pro fess iona l c a l l i n g and

regarded as a homogenous commlrni t y N . 3 1 G.S. Ghurye def ines caste "as

groups w i t h a we l l - de f i ned l i f e o f t h e i r own, the membership whereof,

u n l i k e t h a t o f vo luntary associat ions and o f classes was determined no t

by s e l e c t i o n b u t by b i r t h " . 3 2

The f i r s t and foremost feature of the Hindu caste sys tem i s t h a t o f

in termarr iage between the castes. "None except members o f totemi s t i c

clans, can w i t h impunity, look beyond t he sacred borders o f t h e i r own 33

caste f o r conjugal b l i s s " so l ong as castes remain endogamous they w i l l preserve t h e i r i n t e g r i t y and t h e i r foundations w i l l never be removed.

Next i n importance t o the connubial i s the convival l e g i s l a t i o n o f

caste. It i s the business of every member of a caste t o conserve the

p u r i t y o f h i s 'gens' by ea t i ng on ly w i t h h i s f e l l ow castemembers.

Under no circumstance can he i n t e r d i n e w i t h those o f a caste below h i s

own. Not on ly must he no t e a t w i t h those o f h i s own connection b u t he

must be very scrupulous as t o t he source o f the a r t i c l e s which he i s

about t o eat, he must know who handled them and &spec ia l l y who cooked

them.

Some a r t i c l e s o f food, such as f r u i t are n o t sub jec t t o p o l l u t i o n wh i l e

E.R. Leach : Aspects o f Caste i n South Ind

others ; p reeminen t l y water , a r e t o be v e r y c a r e f u l l y guarded a g a i n s t

t h e po l 1 u t i n g touch o f t h e 1 ower castes. "F i r e p u r i f i e s , w a t e r p o l 1 utes .

It would f a l l o w t h a t t h e y c o u l d e a t sweetmeats and choco la tes t o g e t h e r

w i t h l ower castes b u t c o u l d n o t d r i n k t e a o r coffee o r accept any th ing

on a p o r c e l a i n vessel r a t h e r than

The r a t i o n a l e o f t h i s i n t e r d i c t i o n i s doubt less the d e s i r e t o preserve

the p u r i t y o f cas te b lood. "As food becomes p a r t o f t he body, t h e

Hindu b e l i e v e s i t shou ld n o t be sub jec ted t o t h e p o l l u t i n g touch o f o u t s i d e r s " . 35

Th is urgency i s i nc reased b y t h e f a c t t h a t d i f f e r e n t castes p r e s c r i b e

d i f f e r e n t a r t i c l e s o f d i e t . The " S i v a r ' , f o l l o w e r s o f L o r d Shiva, a r e

s t r i c t vegetar ians and w i 11 have absol u t e l y no communion w i t h meat-

e a t e r s , even though t h e l a t t e r may be o f a h i g h e r cas te than themselves.

Other respec tab le castes w i l l touch o n l y ch icken meat, some meat, ve ry

few pork w h i l e no cas te w i l l p e r m i t t h e k i l l i n g o r e a t i n g o f beef ;

t h e cow be ing the most sacred and commonly worshipped animal o f I n d i a .

Another f a c t o r cas te i s r e l a t e d t o i s occupat ion . Trade castes n o t

o n l y p r e s c r i b e t h e one a n c e s t r a l occupat ion t o t h e i r members, t h e y a l s o

w i t h equal d i s t i n c t n e s s and s e v e r i t y p r o h i b i t t o a1 1 w i t h i n t h e i r ranks

any o t h e r work o r t rade . So i n a l l these l e g i o n s castes n o t o n l y has a

man h i s s o c i a l sphere and s t a t u s ass igned t o h im b u t he i s a l s o t i e d t o

t h e t r a d e o f h i s ancestors . Furtherniore he i s exp$cted t o conf ine h i m s e l f t o ances t ra l t o o l s and methods o f work i n t h a t way o f 1 i fe .

These f o u r , t h e connubial , t h e c o n v i v a l , are t h e cons tan t f a c t o r s o f t h e

3 4 . J.P. Joms : India : I t s Life and Thought) p . 105 35. J.P. Jones : India : I t s ~ i f e and Thought, p. 107

c a s t e e x i s t e n c e and a c t i v i t y i n I n d i a . There a r e however o t h e r f u n c t i o n s

t h a t cas te assumes i n c e r t a i n l o c a l i t i e s and under c e r t a i n c i rcumstances.

D e f i n i t e forms o f r e l i g i o u s observance a r e o f t e n en jo ined , c e r t a i n p laces o f p i 1 grimage a r e sanct ioned, mar r i age forms p r e s c r i b e d ,

mar r i age o b l i g a t i o n s def ined, d i v o r c e made p o s s i b l e o r imposs ib le and

t h e 1 i m i t o f mar r iage expenses s e t .

So t h e cas te system permeates p r a c t i c a l l y eve ry department o f I n d i a n

l i f e - s o c i a l , economic, r e l i g i o u s , even p o l i t i c a l . To add t o t h i s

t h e p e n a l t i e s i n f l i c t e d b y c a s t e f o r v i o l a t i o n o f i t s r u l e s a r e many and

severe. I t i s h a r d l y t o o much t o say t h a t " t h e r e i s no o t h e r o r g a n i s a t i o n

t h a t i s more a b s o l u t e i n i t s power, more w idereach ing i n t h e sweep o f

i n t e r e s t s and more c r u s h i n g i n i t s punishment, t h a n i s cas te" . 3 6

It would seem a t t h i s p o i n t a p p r o p r i a t e t o show how cas te opera tes i n

a t y p i c a l South I n d i a n v i l l a g e .

The v i l l a g e s o f t h e south, and e s p e c i a l l y those of t h e Madras

Pres idency a r e d i v i d e d i n t o a number o f m u n i c i p a l i t i e s and a l s o has a

number o f s ~ n a l l market towns and p o r t s b u t t h e b u l k o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n

was suppor ted by a g r i c u l t u r e , p e t t y t r a d e and h a n d i c r a f t s . There was

v e r y 1 i t t l e mechanised i n d u s t r y . Rai lways and bus s e r v i c e s 1 i n k e d t h e

l a r g e r towns and roads 1 i n k e d t h e l a r g e r v i l l a g e s .

3 6 . J . P . Jones : India : I t s L i f e and Thought, p . 11 5

I n South I n d i a t h e v i . l l a g e i t s e l f appears t o have been t h e bas ic " u n i t ' ) o f r e g u l a r economic, soc i a l , r i t u a l and l e g a l co-operat ion between

caste communities; a l though t h e endogamous group o f each caste

extended over a number o f v i l lagesU3! It was s e l f - s u f f i c i e n t , f requent1 y

a u n i t o f l and ownership and i t was an a d m i n i s t r a t i v e u n j t w i t h i n which most o f t h e day t o day d isputes w i t h i n cas te communities were s e t t l e d .

"Although B r i t i s h p a c i f i c a t i o n o f t h e coun t ry removed b a r r i e r s t o

soc i a l in tercourse, and a l though a cen t ra l government was created, castes

d i d no t become organised on a a l l - I n d i a bas is . For t he B r i t i s h made no

cons i s t en t use o f cas te i n the i n s t i t u t i o n s t h a t they c r e a t e d ~ ~ ~ a n d i n

r u r a l areas where t h e p a t t e r n o f subsistence s t i l l p reva i led cas te

cont inued t o func t ion , so t h a t the v i l l a g e i s t he re fo re a f r u i t f u l u n i t

f o r t h e study o f cas te i n s t i t u t i o n s whereas t h i s i s changing as one

approaches t h e towns.

I have a l ready discussed d i v i s i o n s , h ie ra rchy and r u l e s . F i r s t l y t h e

Brahman cornmuni t y o f Madras c m p r i ses f o u r dominant exogamous p a t r i 1 i-

neal 1 i neages. They a re a1 1 r e 1 ated t o each other by p a t r i n e a l ,

a f f i n a l o r cogna t i c t i e s . They show a h i gh degree o f i n t e r n a l i n t e r a c t i o n

and ex te rna l exclusiveness. They have common residence, a common

cremat ion ground and common soc ia l and c u l t u r a l a c t i v i t i e s t o

t he exc lus ion o f o thers . Ch i l d ren a re soc i a l i zed w i t h i n t h e i r

s t r e e t and u n t i l t he age o f f i v e do n o t ming le w i t h those o f o t he r

castes. The i r women on l y know t h e rpads o f v i l l a g e ou t s i de t h e i r own

3 7 . E.R. Leach ( e d ) : Aspects of cas te i n South India, Ceylon and North-West Pakistan. v . 13

38. E.R. Leach l ed ) : Aspects of cas te i L ~ L u t h India, Ceylon and North-West ~ a k i s t a n , p . 13

s t r e e t and never v i s i t t h e s t r e e t s of non-Brahmans and lower castes.

S o c i a l d i s t a n c e between Brahmans and o t h e r castes i s phrased i n terms of

r u l e s of r i t u a l po l 1 u t i o n " . T h e i r k i n s h i p system and t e r m i n o l o g i c a l

s t r u c t u r e i s d i f f e r e n t , t h e i r c u l t u r e d i f f e r e n t and t h e y h o l d t h e

monopoly o f r i t u a l s and know1 edge o f s a n s k r i t re1 i g i on and c u l tureu3'

The heads o f t h e f o u r Brahman l i n e a g e s form a group r e s p o n s i b l e t o t h e

government f o r t h e v i l l a g e ' s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n and revenue c o l l e c t i o n .

T h e i r d u t i e s i n v o l v e t h e a l l o c a t i o n o f l a n d and se rvan ts t o separa te

households, a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f j u s t i c e w i t h i n t h e v i l l a g e as a whole and they a l s o a d m i n i s t e r t h e temple ded ica ted t o t h e D r a v i d i a n goddess.

The temple i s t h e nerve c e n t r e o f t h e v i l l a g e where a1 1 castes owe t h e i r

a1 leg iance t o the d i e t y .

Under t h e broad category o f non-Brahman t h a t a re found i n t h e v i l l a g e s ,

i s i n c l u d e d t h e a r i s t o c r a t i c castes o f l a n d managers and v i l l age

a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , who a r e a c t u a l l y descendants o f r o y a l s and former

s o l d i e r s . They a re f o l l o w e d by t e n a n t farmers and s p e c i a l i s e d v i l l a g e

1 abourers who serve t h e dominant Brahman and non-Brahman a r i s t o c r a t i c

castes. Spec ia l i s t v i ? l age workers 1 i ke a r t i s a n s , carpenters ,

f ishermen, washermen, o i 1-mongers , barbers , music ians, p o t t e r s and low

caste temple p r i e s t s come i n t o t h i s ca tegory . The t h i r d non-Brahman

c l a s s i s t h a t o f c ra f tsman and t r a d e r s i n town, they i n c l h d e s k i l l e d

wood-carvers , s tone-carvers , and go1 d-smi ths .

The lowes t cas tes o f t h e d i s t r i c t a r e t h e "Pa l lans" , a g r i c u l t u r a l s e r f s

of l a n d l o r d s o f t h e dominant castes o r 1 andless l aboure rs and

"ParaiyanS1who a r e a l s o a g r i c u l t u r a l s e r f s b u t who i n a d d i t i o n b e a t

39. E.R. Leach (ed. ) : Aspects of cpste i n South ~ n d i a , Cey Lon and ~or th -wes t Pakistan, p. 22

uap~e6 op uatu asayl *A1 leau! 1 yqed paqpal.lu! s ! qy6y J Lay1 'sabeau !l

no^ ueweJq ayq Aq pal lo~quo3 pue 6uowe paqnqyqs!p aJe s~ap~ay-mo3 ayl

' UI?lUyPJfl-UOU

aqsez~ y6!y pue uetuye~g ayq Kq Klquior JO uetuyevlg ayq Kq K~a~kqua JayqLa

pal lo~quo3 s: y3~y~ pue a6el [!A ayq s 1 ue6~o ahlq3npodd ~orew ayl

*PUP[ a6ell !A a(q jo a3npo~d ayq ~OJJ a3ueuaquletu oq sqy6y LelquaJajj~p yqk~ pue suo~qedn330 pas! ~epads yq~~ paqeposse 'Me1 Kq 'aJe saqse3

qeyq s! houo~a ~euoiq!pe~q ayq jo 3~qsyaq3e~eyz~ Lequatuepunj ayl

'~U~MUJ~AO~ ayq Aq KL ~enuue a3~~q

anuahaJ ~oj passasse Klqu!or st adAq puo3as ayq al!yM quauKed anuaAaJ wo~j paqdwaxa A[ [oy~ JO A~q~ed s! a6e LA jo adKq qs~ ~4 ayl 'saqse:,

46!4 Jayqo pue sueuywq ayq punoJe pa~aqua3 s! quawa6euetu ayq y3 L~M

u$ a6el~y ,aqse3-!q~nw, ayq pue s6u!y s! 3e4q ',e!ea, ayq Kq tuayq oq paque~b aJe y3~y~ spuel ayq jo sJauMo A~queupuopa~d aJe suewyeJg

Y3!qM u! a6el [!A ,aqse3-~un, ayq cuotuwo3 aJe sa6el L!A 40 sadAq OM^

*aqLs a6elllh u!ew ayq u~yq!~

qnq sueuqe~q ayq UJOJJ paqe~edas 'sasnoq pay~qeyq ~a6~el 40 sqaaqs

J!aqq u! uo!q!sod alpppu aqq Kdnmo saqse:, ueiuye~g-uou ayl '~ado~d

a6elly ayq aplsqno spla!j Apped sso~3e sqalwey paqelos! u! sy3eys y33eqq pue pnw 1 [ews u! ah !l sJaJnoqel ssalpuel ',,sue led,, ayq a 1 !YM

sasnoy aL$q pue y3pq a6~el 40 sqaa-iqs J!ayq u! papnlDas ah![ sueu~yeulg ayl 'yue~ [enqy ah!qelaJ pue suo!qes![e!3ads ~euo!qedn3~0 J !ayq oq

aa~6ap qea~6 e oq spuodsaJ~o3 seJpeW u! saqse3 40 uo!qnqlJqs!p ~ekqeds ayl

-sp~olpue 40 sqaaqs ayq uo~j alqqe:, peap ahowaJ pue spuno~6 uo\qewa~:, p~en6 csle~aun~ uewye~g-uou JOJ suoq-woq

husband's masters b u t are forbidden t o en te r the k i t chen because of

t h e i r p o l l u t i n g nature. I n r e t u r n f o r serv ices, each f am i l y o f cow-

herders rece ives mate r ia l f o r b u i l d i n g houses, t he r i g h t t o f i s h i n t he

v i l l a g e pond and c l o th i ng .

The 1 andless labourers , "Pa l l ansHand"ParaiyanS' are s t r i c t l y s e r f by law

and they rece ive d a i l y renumeration i n g r a i n o r g i f t s . Barbers ,, po t t e r s ,

washermen and temple p r i e s t s serve the v i l l a g e as a whole. They too

are p a i d i n g ra i n f o r t h e i r serv ices.

One impor tant p o i n t t o note i s t h a t " the range o f t he v i l l a g e servan t ' s

c l i e n t e l e i s i n p a r t determined by t h e nature and r i t u a l q u a l i t y o f h i s 4 0

task" . Ha i r - cu t t i ng , m idw i fe ry and laundry work having t o do w i t h t h e

body are " p o l l u t i n g " tasks and r i t u a l l y lower, so t h a t a l l groups engaged

i n them are r i t u a l l y lower than a l l those whom they serve.

The economy o f the v i l l a g e t he re fo re func f ions through the medium of he

he red i t a r y caste-determi ned occupations and economi c re1 a t i onshi ps" .

While t h i s system i s very r i g i d i t does a l low f o r f l e x i b i l i t y because

considerable movement o f 1 abour between v i 11 ages i s a1 1 owed. A1 so

members o f a whole caste can change t h e i r occupat ion t o meet l o c a l

demand.41 A non-Brahman s p e c i a l i s t caste can t ake up a g r i c u l t u r e as a

secondary source o f 1 i ve l i hood.

The c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f economic re1 a t i ons i~ i ps of caste i s as fo l l ows :

Each caste group i s homogeneous i n occupat ion an$ welath, the Brahmans are considerably w e a l t h i e r than t h e i r non-Brahman servants and t he

non-Brahmans s l i g h t l y w e a l t h i e r than t h e lowest o f castes. Except f o r

a few castes l i k e making ploughs o r bu l l ock -car ts , except on t he bas is

40. E.R. Leach (ed . ) : Aspects o f c a s t e $n South, Ind ia , Ceylon and North-West Pakistan,, p . 24 .

41. E.Z. Leach ( e d . ) : Aspects o f c a s t e i n South Ind ia , Ceylon and North-West Pakis tun, p. 33.

o f sex and age, i s almost unknown. A l l economic r e l a t i o n s h i p s c o n s i s t

of t he p rov i s i on of goods and serv ices i n d i r e c t exchange f o r paddy.

Wi th in t h e v i l l a g e t he re i s no middleman t rader , no market and very

l i t t l e economic compet i t ion. The v i l l a g e has non-hered i tary economic

t r ansac t i on w i t h f i x e d p r i ces , w i t h castes from ou t s i de t he v i l l a g e , and

a l so a v a r i e t y o f cash t ransact ions, under market ing condi t ions, through

con t rac tna l r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h castes of t r ade rs and town craftsmen.

So i t i s c l e a r t h a t cas te i n t h e v i l l a g e stressed a r i g i d and almost

w a t e r t i g h t s t r u c t u r a l h i e ra r ch i ca l arrangement o f people.

From my sample4'it would f o l l o w t h a t no t a l l t h e areas o f recru i tment

mentioned would f o l l o w t h i s s o r t o f v i l l a g e lay -ou t . Table 2 shows

t h a t t he re were q u i t e a number t h a t came from the c i t i e s where cas te

adherence i s no t as s t r i c t as i n t he r u r a l areas. These urban areas

i nc l ude Madras C i t y , Bangalore, Bombay, Vizagapatam, j u s t t o name a few.

Perhaps i t would be i n t e r e s t i n g a t t h i s p o i n t t o see t he caste break-

down i n t he Madras Presidency.

43 O f t h e Hindu castes i n Madras, t h e "Brahmans number 1,094,455" . They

f o l l o w var ious p u r s u i t s and many o f them were sa id t o be recen t immigrants

who came south t o t r a i n the ~ a h r a t t a armies. A pecu l i a r cas te of

Brahmans, t he Namburi Brahmans o f t h e Malabar area a re sa id t o be

descended from f istiermen.

"The Ksha t t r i yas o r w a r r i o r cas te number 190,415. The t h ree t r a d i n g

42. See Table 2. 43. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Ninth Edition, Vol XV, p . 185.

castes o f C h e t t i s , B e r i C h e t t i s and Komatis number 714,712~~ and except

i n Kanara d i s t r i c t s t i l l r e t a i n i n t h e i r lands n e a r l y a l l t h e commerce

o f t h e country. The a g r i c u l t u r a l castes number 7,826,127; the h ighes t

classes among them do n o t c u l t i v a t e w i t h t h e i r own hands and many o f them

fo rmer l y h e l d t h e i r lands on a m i l i t a r y tenure.

The "pas to ra l castes numbered 1 , 7 3 0 , 6 8 1 " ~ ~ b u t a l a r g e p r o p o r t i o n o f them

had abandoned t h e i r h e r e d i t a r y occupat ion by 1871. A r t i sans numbered

785,085 o f whom n e a r l y one-ha l f are workers i n metal. Weavers nun~ber

1,017,781 b u t t h e i r i n d u s t r y has been decaying due t o compet i t i on from

o t h e r B r i t i s h i n d u s t r i e s .

The l a b o u r i n g castes a re re tu rned a t 3,944,463, f i s h i n g and h u n t i n g

castes 971,873 b u t many have now betaken themselves t o a g r i c u l t u r e . 4 6

The palm c u l t i v a t o r s and toddy makers 1,664,862 and outcastes (pa r iahs ) number 4,761,503. The l a t t e r c o n s t i t u t e s one- th i r d o f t h e t o t a l popu la t ion .

Then l a s t l y we have t h e u n c l a s s i f i e d Hindus, who c o n s i s t main ly o f h i l l

t r i b e s and abor ig ines and who t o t a l 2,666,890.

47 O f t he emigrants t h a t came, on the sh ips , Lo rd George Bent inck and

48 Tyburn ia o n l y f o u r groups fa1 1 under Hindu - Gentoo, Marat ta , Rajputs, and Malabar, o f which the g r e a t e s t number belongs t o t h e l a t t e r . I

say groups and n o t castes because one misconcept ion seems t o have

ar isen. From my s tudy o f t h e t o p i c and t h e sources I have consul ted,

Malabar does n o t e x i s t as a caste and y e t i t i s recorded under the

heading o f ' c a s t e ' i n t h e s h i p p i n g l i s t .

44. Encuclopaedia Britannica, Ninth Edition, Vol XV, p. 285. 45. En~icZopaedia Britannica Ninth Edition, VoZ XV, p . 285. 46. ~ o d d y making comprises de fermenting of palm tree sap i n t o liquor. 47. See Appendix A 48. See Appendix B

My discussions and readings have led me t o believe that Malabar was

simpl) a geographic region in the extreme south and since the l a t t e r i s predominantly tamil -speaking, the term 'Malabar' may have been used

to class Tamil-speaking Indian emigrants i n general. 4 9

Plow i t would be proper and correct t o ta lk of the other four as castes.

Since Gentoo according t o Thurston was a term applied to Telegu-speaking

sudras that i s , menials, in general . The word i s said to be a corruption

of the Portuguese Gentio, a genti le o r , heathen, which they applied to 50

the Hindus in contradiction to the Moros or Moors, tha t isUMahomedans" .

The reason why the term was specif ical ly appl ied t o the Tel egu people

i s probably that the Telegu monarch; of Vijayanagar was dominant over a great part of the peninsular when the Portugeuse f i r s t arrived in India.

The Rajputs a r e t o be found a l l over India and they belong bo the warrior that i s "Kshattriya" caste. They looked upon war and po l i t i c s

as the i r own sphere of influence. Many of the rulers i.n India belonged I

to the Rajput caste.

The "Marattas" a re the mili tary caste of the Maharatta country. Their

position in the Hindu caste system i s not a very high one compared to

a l l warrior castes and not exactly the same as the Rajputs.

From my discussion on caste, i t i s clear that caste i s essent ia l ly a

pan-Hindu phenomenon. Yet we find tha t in the shipping l i s t p l t h e r e

appears under the heading of caste two other groups, "Musselman" (Muslims)

49. Trustees of t h e Andhra Maha Sabha o f South Africa and the Tamil 5G. Association of South Afr ica were consulted on t h i s aspect .

E . T h r s t o n :-Castes and Tribes of South India, p . 280. 5 1. See Appendix AX

and "Ch r i s t i an " . These a re c e r t a i n l y n o t castes, and i t s i n c l u s i o n w i t h

t h e o t h e r groups was probably f o r t he sake of convenience.

But i n t e r e s t i n g l y enough, the Ch r i s t t ans and "Musselman" (Musl ims) a re d i v i d e d amongst themselves. The Muslims f a l l i n t o t h e ca tegor ies o f

Ashraf , t h e nobles, symbol i s e d by the h o n o r i f i c names "Saiyad" and

"Shaikh", then t he w a r r i o r s , "Pathans" and "Mughals", and l a s t l y t h e I

descendants o f Hindu conver ts t o I s l am and "Moplas", t h e descendents o f

Malayalam conver ts t o I s 1 am. The 1 a t t e r group comprises hard-working,

uneducated f r u g a l peopl e.

I n I n d i a though t h e C h r i s t i a n s a re d i v i d e d i n t o Roman C a t h o l i c and

var ious P r o t e s t a n t sec ts t he re does seem t o be, accord ing t o L. Dumont

some d i s t i n c t i o n between " t h e Churches f o r t h e untouchables and those 5 2

f o r C h r i s t i a n conver ts o f the h i ghe r castes".

I t l r~us t however be remembered t h a t w h i l e these d i v i s i o n s do occur amongst

t h e Muslims and C h r i s t i a n s , these a re n o t castes as such and these two

r e l i g i o n s u n l i k e Hinduism are t o a l e s s e r e x t e n t d i s t i n g u i s h e d i n t o

d i f f e r e n t groups and d ispersed through t h e ac tua l s o c i a l l adder . .

Furthermore i t does n o t necessa r i l y e n t a i l t he tens ion t h a t p reva i 1s i n

the Hindu caste system and i n t h i s way i t stands apa r t from caste and

Hinduism. 53

F i n a l l y i t seems app rop r i a t e f o r me t o g i ve an o v e r a l l ana l ys i s o f my 5 4 two sh ipp ing 1 i s t s , Lord George Bent inck and ~ ~ b ' u r n i a ~ ~ .

To beg in w i t h I have devised f o u r t ab l es con ta i n i ng a l l the in fo rmat ion

I was ab le t o e x t r a c t f rom my sh ipp ing 1 i s ts . These i nc l ude t ab les

52 L. Dumont : Homo Hierarchians; The Caske .System and i t s implications, w . 203 . -

53 The ~ o l o n i a f agents Uere therefore wmng i n including the Christians and Muslims under the heading o f 'caste ' i n the shipping l i s t s .

54. See Appendix A 55. See Appendix B

showing r e g i o n a l d i s t r i b u t i o n o f mi grants , sex d i s t r i b u t i o n , age

d i s t r i b u t i o n and caste d i s t r i b u t i o n .

5 6 From Table 2 on r e g i o n a l d i s t r i b u t i o n I found t h a t t h e g r e a t e s t

number o f emigrants came f rom Madras C i t y 74,21%, w h i l e t h e s m a l l e s t

numbers came from t h e s t a t e s each c o n s i s t i n g o f ,16% o f Hindustan,

Cuddapah , J a l nah, Goa, Pal uimetah , Coimbatore, Puchi nopoly ,

K i stnayurum, Bor~ibay and Rajput . Outs ide Madras Presidency t h e s t a t e s o f Mysore 15,31% and Cochin, 47%.

The most numerous castes i n Tab le 4%ere t h e Malabar 54.53 and Gentoo

32,96%. Together these two castes f a l l under t h e Hindu r e l i g i o n which

makes t h e percentage o f Hindus 87,49%. T h i s was f o l l o w e d by Muslims,

7,34%, C h r i s t i a n s 4,38%, Rajputs ,63% and M(arat ta ,16%.

d f t h e sexes, Tab le fahe g r e a t e s t number cons is ted o f males 71.56% and

females 28.44%. The most common age,Table !??for emigrants was between

t h e 20 - 30 age group which had a r e l a t i v e l y h i g h percentage o f 46,56%

T h i s was f o l l o w e d by youngsters who cou ld p o s s i b l y have shown a s p i r i t

f o r adventure and i n t h e i r age group 10 - 20 cons is ted o f 22,66%.

I n f a n t s and c h i l d r e n who would have accompanied t h e i r parents

cons is ted o f 11,09% much more numerous than those i n m idd le age ,16%

and over 50 age group 1.09%.

56 See Tab le 2, p . 11 fa ) 57See Table 4, F . 1 2 fa ) 58See Tab le 3, p. . 1 6 fa) 59.see Table 5, F . 1 7 fa)

CONCLUSION

I n conc lus ion I would l i k e t o say t h a t whatever t h e s i t u a t i o n on Ind ian

s o i l , cas te r e s t r i c t i o n s and r u l e s d i d no t su r v i ve t h e journey from I n d i a t o South A f r i c a . I n the f i r s t p lace those o f t h e h igher castes were

d e f i l e d by c ross ing t h e ocean. Th is a c t pu t them o u t o f t h e i r cas te

groups, t o whose punishments they would have had t o submit were they

t o have re tu rned t o t h e i r v i l l a g e s .

Secondly l i f e on board t h e immigrant ships was i k o n s i s t e n t w i t h caste

r u l es . There cou ld be no r i g i d s p a t i a l segregat ion i n t h e holds o f such

vessels and people who had l o s t caste by coming abroad were l ess i n c l i n e d

t o s t i c k t o t h e i r r u l e s o f d i e t . Furthermore t h e emigrants cou ld no t

reproduce t h e soc ia l system o f caste because they were a m i n o r i t y i n

a l a r g e non-Hindu popu la t ion i n South A f r i c a and a l s o because they

themselves came from w ide ly dispersed d i s t r i c t s i n I nd i a .

On a r r i v a l i n South A f r i c a , a l l t h e indentured labourers worked on the

sugar esta tes. Th is even tua l l y destroyed s ta tus d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n on t h e

bas is o f occupat ion and interdependence o f one caste on another f o r

serv ices. Since cooking and a g r i c u l t u r a l vessels were bought i n South

A f r i c a , t he re was no need f o r p o t t e r s and carpenters. The indentured

labourers g o t used t o t h e idea o f doing t h e i r own jobs.

I

Immigrat ion a l s o changed t h e n o t i o n t h a t a man's caste was g iven t o him

by b i r t h and could t he re fo re no t be changed. It had been mentioned

i n an e a r l i e r chapter t h a t many o f t he h igher castes came under a

g rea t deal o f f a l s i f i c a t i o n and i n t h i s way they had taken on a new

caste s ta tus . Immigrat ion a l s o made i t eas ie r f o r t h e lower castes t o

assume a cas te s ta tus which had n o t been t h e i r s by b i r t h . Th is was

l a r g e l y due t o the ignorance o f t h e r e c r u i t i n g agent ,espec ia l ly o f

cas te and i t s imp l i ca t i ons .

Furthermore t h e r e was no counc i l formed among the emigrants t o pena l i se

people who broke r u l e s o f ea t i ng and smoking. Most o f t he immigrants

were young men and women and there were few e lders on whose shoulders

the operat ion o f caste counc i l s had t r a d i t i o n a l l y f a l l e n and who would

have been qua1 i f i e d enough t o r e s t a r t them.

Even marr iage i n c e r t a i n instances f a i l e d t o be endogamous as t he r u l e s

o f in te r -mar r iage were no t s t r i c t l y adhered t o . Th is was due t o t he i n -

s u f f i c i e n t number o f h igher cas te i n d i v i d u a l s among t h e immigrants so

t h a t marr iage i n South A f r i ca , was l a r g e l y hypergamous, t h a t i s i t

invo lved marriages o f h igher cas te men w i t h lower cas te women. The

l a t t e r were the o n l y women i n South A f r i c a they could have marr ied.

The f a i l u r e o f t he Hindu re1 i g i o n i n South A f r i c a t o develop a cas te

system meant t h a t a l a r g e p a r t o f t h e p u b l i c r e l i g i o n connected w i t h t h e

system f a i l e d t o develop. Nevertheless re1 i g i ous c u l t s and sects were

t ransplanted i n South A f r i c a and a l l i e d w i t h one another i n community

bodies l i k e the Andhra Maha Sabha o f South A f r i c a and Tamil Assoc ia t ion

which were s u f f i c i e n t l y s t rong t o ma in ta in a c t i v i t i e s o f cons iderable

soc ia l and economic value.

REG. NO.:

FATHER'S NE4E AGE SEX CASTE VILLAGE ZILLAH

Lu tch ie Coopen Adeenee Mariaman Marian Painee Vee ras amy Lutchmoo Valen Painee Umco Rangien Painen Mu1 l e e El lapen I r sen Rama Reddy Ramasaumy Lu tchme n o t a1 loca ted Chengel royen Thanamay Madoor?y Veerasaumy Ellamah Moonesaumy Sabapathee Painapen Moonesaymy U in idava l ian Soobryen Moon i en Rungasaun~y Moothoosaumy Lu tchme

A1 1 aghery Moonien Chenchoo Mi niadoo Marian Chinapen Ramasaumy Min ien Cunden Moothoosaumy Valen Vurdapen Sadi en V i l e u Painen D Suryanee Anapa Reddy Ramas aumy

Ni r i s i m l o o Venceataramen Holapen Saumy Vencatachel l um Vee ras aumy D 0 D C h i l l e n 1 Miniapen Marr ien Umavasee Thooloocanum Coomen

20 14 34 18 23 2 2 23 20 32 30 3 20 3 5 28 5 1

32 3 5 29

23 28 17 29 78 9 3

1 mth. 30 19 22 16 19 32 28

Malabar Malabar Malabar Malabar Malabar Ma1 abar Ma! abar Ma1 abar Ma1 abar Malabar Malabar Malabar Malabar Malabar Malabar Ma1 abar Gen too Gentoo Gen too

Gentoo Gentoo Gentoo Gentoo Gen too Gentoo Gentoo Gentoo Gentoo Gentoo Gentoo Gentoo Gentoo Gentoo Gentoo

Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras C h i t t o o r Madras C h i t t o o r Mysore Chi t t o o r Mysore Mysore Mysore Chi t t o o r Chi t t o o r Chi t t o o r

Salem Salem Salem Hydrabad Bangalore Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras

Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras C h i t t o o r Madras C h i t t o o r Mysore Chi t t o o r Mysore Mysore Mysore Chi t t o o r Chi t t o o r C h i t t o o r

Salem Salem Salem Hydrabad Mysore Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras

732 Moorghen Chengelnyen 22 M Gentoo Madras Madras

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D F R.I. Umvoti 11/2/1876

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R.I. Regina 15/3/1865

R.I. Red R id ing Hood 13/2/1872 . ..,

REG. NO. NAME

FATHER'S NAME AGE SEX CASTE VILLAGE ZILLAH REMARKS

Sholapoor Sunee Moonee Moonegadoo Thunadoo Mungathayee Lutchmanah Moon i o i ah Jumnah Bhoyee Moonesaumy Varasaumy E l lamah A l l amaloo Daniel Jacoob n o t a1 loca ted Rungasamny Moothosammy Moonghen Ramanjooloo Neetheayee Samuel Rungasmy Lutchmee Munien Coopoos amny Karramu Veeramah Aurimui tho0 Thooloocanun Vencatasamny

Nun japah Busvanah Ramanjoo Neelee D Moothal oo Ramas aumy 0 Unnueun Chi nyamah Chet t iah Veeramah Moothasaumy Sol eman Soleman

Vencatasammy Moothien Valen Venca tasumaloo Coinel 1 i D Vuraiah Narrainsamny Moothen Soobvyen Muniegadoo ~ o o ~ o o s a m i n ~ Apinachel 1 urn Dunnien Ramdoo

18 F Gentoo 18 Female Gentoo 34 F 9 M Gentoo 6 M Gentoo

26 F Gen too 14 F Gentoo

Gentoo Raj pu t Gen too Gentoo Gentoo Gentoo C h r i s t i a n C h r i s t i a n

Ma1 abar Malabar Ma1 abar Gentoo Malabar Ma1 abar Gen too Gentoo Malabar Malabar Ma1 abar Malabar Ma1 abar Ma1 abar Gen too

Madras Vi zagapatal.: Vizagapatim Hydrabad Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Mysore Mysore Mysore Mysore

Mysore Mysore Mysore Mysore Mysore Mysore Mysore so; Bangal o re Bangalore Bangalore Bangalore Mysore Chingleput Nel l o r e

Madras Vizagapahm ., Vi zagapatam ' ' Hydrabad Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Mysore Chi t t o o r C h i t t o o r C h i t t o o r

Chi t t o o r Chi t t o o r Chi t t o o r Chi t t o o r Chi t t o o r Chi t t o o r C h i t t o o r C h i t t o o r Mysore Mysore Mysore Mysore Mysore Chingleput N e l l o r e

86 3 Thutchanamoothee Patchamootoo 19 M Malabar Cuddal o re Cuddal ore 864 Chengelroyen Goonyapen 30 M Gentoo Chi t t o o r Chi t t o o r

R. I. Umvoti 9/9/1876 R. I. Umvoti 9/9/ 1876 R.I. h v o t i 9/9/1876

R.I. Red R id ing Hood 13/2/1872 P. I. h v o t i 24/4/ 1871 R.I. Umvoti 14/4/1871 R. I. lknvoti 10/1/1883 R.I. Umvoti 23/7/1874 R. I. Red R id ing Hood 13/2/1872

R.I. Umvoti 3/1877 R.I. l h v o t i 3/1877 R.I. h v o t i 3/1877

D.F. R.I. l h v o t i 11/2/1876 R.I. Red R id ing tiood 13/2/1872

LLC VAFP 1873 . ...

REG. NAME FATHER'S !YO.: NAME AGE SEX CASTE VILLAGE ZILLAH REMARKS

Lu tchn~ee Iy landum Vej ianayaven P u r i n a l i y u n ~ K o t i a h Vencatasammy Hoossain Sa io Caroomben An tnonee Cundasammy Vencatache l l um n o t a l l o c a t e d n o t a l l o c a t e d Chooremootoo P h i l i p Munien Mooth ie Cha la thah Putchay Mun i amah C h i n i e n Veeren Moo toocoodee Mooni amah Dajagopaul Varamah Canniah ~Yagnee Lutchmiah E s t e r Moses E l i z a b e t h Joseph Jer ieamah Rachael

Soosiah Vencatasammy Padavat ion Cundasammy Pakeeree Ramen Abuool Rhymen N a r r a i nen Goothee Chinasammy D

Anthonee Joseph Armoogum Kol en Munien D D Vee ras a m y Veeren Chel 1 en Veeren ~Narrainsammy Veeren Gengadoo Sau~ny Rungi ah John Joseph Joshua Joseph Joshua Joseph Joshuan D Joseph Joshuah

Gentoo Gentoo Ma1 aba r Ma1 abar Ma1 abar Malabar ~ l u s s e l laan Ma1 aba r C h r i s t i a n Malabar Malabar

C h r i s t i a n C h r i s t i a n Malabar Malabar Ma1 aba r Ma1 aba r Ma1 aba r Ma1 abar Ma1 aba r Ma1 aba r Malabar Ma1 aba r Malabar Gentoo Gentoo Gentoo C h r i s t i a n C h r i s t i a n C h r i s t i a n C h r i s t i a n C h r i s t i a n C h r i s t i a n

Chi t t o o r C h i t t o o r C h i t t o o r Madras V izagapatar Ch ing l eput Chi t t o o r C h i t t o o r Ganj am Madras Madras

Madras C o i r a t o r e Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Nadras Madras Vi zagapatan~ Chi coco le Madras Salem Bangal o r e Bangal o re Banga lore Bangal o r e Rajamundry Gan jar

Chi t t o o r R. I. Umvoti 9/9 /1876 Chi t t o o r Chi t t o o r LLC VAFP lb74 Madras Vizagapatam Ch ing lepu t Chi t t o o r LLC VAFP C h i t t o o r DF Gan j am Madras Madras

Madras R. I . Umvoti 23/ 7/ 1874 Co ina to re R. I . Regina 15/3 /1d65 Madras R.I. Umvoti 23/7 /1874 Madras Maaras Madras Madras Madras Maaras Maaras Madras Madras Vizagapatan Ch icoco le Madras C n i t t o o r Yysore Mysore Mysore

Mysore Rajamundry

LLC VAFP 1973

LLC 1867

REG. NO.: AGE SEX CASTE ZILLAH

?abekan C31111ia030 .A; : eemee Sencategacoo b10o:hcosinrny

7 . InunSYm Y u n g a t n a t u :.loonusaumrny

3 a r r a i nsaurny Vai oyden V e e r a p u t ~ r e n Mat.: kuq Chi r, 3s auqly ;laucee

M o o t n i e n a y r a d o c 2. Doiapan Veerapen I4oosaoan Bhoyee Vencatacne: l ~ n ':encatapa? Ged?acoo Boyadoo Yenge t e ~ a o - Mar; inian Gooroo~ncothee Somasoonorurn bloonesaniny Cunoasanmy

MoonesaL:cm;/ Murgusayagen Za~nasanlrg Bramasee P a d l e n Soobranan-en Mocsekeen T i r i n a l a y iyasaurr! Veerapen Vyahpooree :parcil ? a s e e r e e I rea:ar i r :w

C h r i s t i a n Gen t o o Gentoo Gentoo M a l a b a r Malabai- Ma1 a b a r M a l a o a r Gentoo Gentoo Gentoo Gentoo Gentoo Gentoo M a l a b a r Ma1 a b a r M a l a b a r M a l a b a r M a l a b a r Ma1 a b a r Gentoo Gentoo Ma1 a o a r M a l a o a r M a l a b a r Ma1 a b a r M a l a b a r M a l a b a r M a l a b a r Gentoo Gentoo

Gan j am Y u s s i l i o a : m Rajanmundrg T r i chino:oiy Madras Madras :4adras Madras Madras Vadras :4adras Madras Nadras Madras Madras l l a d r a s Madras Madras Madras Sa lem Ganj am K i s t n a y u r c m Pa1a~co::an Goa Bangal o r ? Maoras Madura T a n j o r e T a n j o r e :4adras N y s o r e

Ganjam Yuss : i ' pa tum LLC YAFP R a j a m u n c r y T r i c n i n o p o l y Hadras LLC CAFP 187:

i4adras i4adras Madras

I laaras Madras Maoras Madras Madras M a i l r a i Madras S a l e i Ganjam Mysore ?a1 a n c o t t a h Coa

R. I . Red g i a i n g Yooa 13 /2 /1872 R.1. Red R i c i n g d o o d 13 /2 /1972

R.!. U n v o t i 2/1677 DF 1873 LLC 'IAFP 1972 'LLC VAFP 1673 LLC f c r ..IAUR:TIUS R. I . Red g i d i n g Xooc 13/2/1872

Mysore f ladras R . I. Rsd Z i c i n g t iood 13/2/1875 flads.t-a T a n j o r e Tan j o r e I !adras :.ljiso r e

33 1 Paupa,!oo Yaciadco 1 14 Gen t o o ,,lagilra ;

REG. NAi4i FATdER'S AO. : NAME AGE SEX CASTE VILLAGE ZILLAH REMARKS

Danacodee Syed Ebrani Apaooo Ramdoo Yeeradoo Somaooo Cuniah Anoonlen Syed Abdool Yeddapan P o t h i ah Paupee Yoorvee Ramcoo Ye1 l adoo Rarnasaumy Paupee Pentah Geddi yadoo Valanganee Mausel amoney ~qoonesaurny Ramakistna 2eddy Busnen Pe rma l l No t A1 1 oca t e d ~ l o o n i ghan Bhader Dhal apah Sunpiah Sheik Ahneo P a r i an Shan S a l a l l I y 1 andum

N i rs io t l oo 2 4 F She ik Hoossain 30 M Samiah 16 M Soyadoo 32 M Ch in ian 30 ~l D00t-gad00 26 M Veerasoo 30 14 Pakeerah 22 N Syed Abdool A1 l e e 25 M Pedoo 2 7 M Sumath ree 40 M Api an 30 F Po th i ah 14 F U 7 M D 4 Male Sonni an 25 M Nundean 26 F Pa th iah 6 M John 26 F Josepn 3 M Unknown 18 M Veeras aumy 23 M Nunjen 2 8 irl Mundaval ian 2 0- M

32 M Sonnah 32 M Jeemi 30 M Boosaroo 30 Male G i r i a h c h e r r y 14 M Abdool 24 M Pursa l oo 30 Male Sheik Hoossain 22 M Pe runa l l 22 F

Gentoo Musselman Gentoo Gentoo Gentoo Gentoo Gentoo Gentoo Musselman Gentoo Gentoo Gentoo Gentoo Gentoo Gent oo Gen t o o Gentoo Gentoo C h r i s t i a n C h r i s t i a n Ma1 abar Ma1 abar Ma1 abar Malabar Ma1 abar Malabar Ma1 abar Gentoo Gentoo Musselman Gentoo Musselman Malabar

Madura V i zagapatam V i zagapatam Vizagapatam V i zagapatam Vizaqapatarn V i zagapatam V i zagapatam Vizagapatam Vizagapatam Vizagapatam Vizagapatam Vizagapatam Vizagapatarn Vizagapatam Vizagapatam Madras Madras Mysore Bangalore Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Maaras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras Madras

Madura V i zagapatam Vizagapatam Vizagapatam Vizagapatam V i zagapatam V i zagapatam Vizagapatam Vizagapatam Vizagapatam Vizagaparam V i zagapatam Vizagapatam Vizagapatam Vizagapatam Vizagapatam Madras Madras Mysore Mysore Maoras I.ladras Madras ~ l a d r a s Nadras Madras i4adras Madras Madras Madras i-ladras Madras Maaras

DF R. I . Red R i d i n g Hood 13/2/1872

R.i. Red R i d i n g Hood 13/2/1872

R. I . Umvoti 23/7/1374 R . I . Red R i d i n g Hood 13/2/1872

R. I . Cata rqu i R.1 . Ca ta rqu i R. 1. Cata rqu i R.I. Ca ta rqu i R. I. Cata rqu i R. I. Cata rqu i R. I. Cata rqu i R. I. Cata rqu i

D ied 1861 on S t a t e R.I. Urnlazi 28/9/1899

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. ...

TYBUR;:IA - MADRAS - MARCH 20 1861 (1223 - 1599