Beyond the kala pani

This paper questions whether the kala pani notion was a reason for
Girmitiyas not to return to their homes in India. First, it delves into the
history of the kala pani concept and outlines how the argument has been
used in recent scholarly discourses about Girmitiyas. Second, the paper
suggests a few counterarguments, including that the kala pani argument
is inconsistent with the emergence of a migration culture, and that Mus-
lims and some women ‘on the run’ had no intention of returning. Third,
the paper suggests that the settlement of labourers can be more credibly
explained by other conditions surrounding the Girmitiya labourers and
peasants, such as having new partners and locally born children, loss of
savings, and feelings of alienation from the home society. The paper
concludes that there has been no empirical evidence to support the kala
pani argument accounting for the settlement of Girmitiyas in remote
plantation colonies