Migration and Agrarian Human Capital

This chapter discusses the features of Girmitiyas that enabled their survival as labourers and peasants and establishing an ethnic community. It starts with a reflection on the historical context of labour migration, which was characterised by British Indian agriculture burdened by the advance of the money economy, limited land tenure and landlessness, and periodic droughts. This led to a high propensity to migrate and the emergence of a migration culture. Sect. 2.3 looks at the agricultural human capital of workers. This is a little-noticed feature of labour demand. Recruitment, especially recruitment practices and procedures, is examined in Sect. 2.4. Section 2.5 discusses the journey to Suriname, the route along which the dipuá and jaháji relations came into being. Section 2.6 zooms in on the demographic characteristics of the immigrants, specifically cast and male-female disparities, which is important to put the experiences on the plantations into perspective.