Destined to Leave Hindustan for Suriname? : Explaining the Motivation Behind Repatriation and Settlement of Hindustani Labour Migrants in Suriname, 1873-1940

Matthijs Kraijo

doi:10.52024/tseg.10894

Destined to Leave Hindustan for Suriname?

Explaining the Motivation Behind Repatriation and Settlement of Hindustani Labour Migrants in Suriname, 1873-1940

Author(s)

Matthijs Kraijo Radboud University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52024/tseg.10894

Keywords:

Labour migrants, Suriname, Hindustan, British India, Kantráki

Abstract

This article investigates the post-indenture choice of Hindustani indentured labour migrants in Suriname either to settle in Suriname or repatriate to India between 1873 and 1940. Based on extensive demographic statistical analyses and the autobiography of Rahman Mohammed Khan, this research concludes that familial relations, especially those formed in Suriname, had a strong effect on the relative share of Hindustanis settling themselves in Suriname after their contract period. Additionally, this study convincingly proves that the Surinamese context had an important effect on the development of the individual life courses of Hindustanis.

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Author Biography

Matthijs Kraijo, Radboud University

Matthijs Kraijo (1997) is an affiliated researcher at the Radboud Group
for Demographic and Family History at Radboud University. He specializes
in Hindustani indentureship, late colonial history of Suriname
and Curaçao, anthropometric history, and the history of seventeenthand
eighteenth-century Scottish-Dutch maritime and commercial relations.
In his present capacity, he is involved in the research project Historical
Database Suriname.

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Published

2022-12-13

Issue

Vol. 19 No. 3 (2022)

Section

Research Article

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How to Cite

Kraijo, M. (2022). Destined to Leave Hindustan for Suriname? : Explaining the Motivation Behind Repatriation and Settlement of Hindustani Labour Migrants in Suriname, 1873-1940. TSEG - The Low Countries Journal of Social and Economic History, 19(3), 37-68. https://doi.org/10.52024/tseg.10894