Christophc Z Guilmoto

íämil migration abroad was the largest regional component of Indian emigration during the colonial era. More
than 1.5 million ethnic Tamilsfrom south India were enumerated in 1931 in other (mainly British) colonies where
they had poured in during the previous one hundred years. A typicaifeafure of Tamil emigration was the ‘kangani’
system in which labour recruitment from India and supervision on the plantations were in the hands of Tamil
headmen.
Tamil workers were sent mainly to the new:y developed plahtations, but they were also active in the urban
economy. Ceylon, Malaya and Burma were tire main recipient countries of Tamil labour. Other colonies (including
Fknch ones) received only several thousands of workers. Afier independence former colonies with strong local
pressure groups tried and got rid of what fhey saw as disturbing legacy of the British period.
In this paper an attempt is made to interpret migration processes in terms of migratory cycle. The cycle of
migration streams is divided into three phases: perfect regulation, growing independence, government-controlled
termination. These stages of the cycle correspond to the progmssive constitution of a permanenf migrant com-
munity in receiving countries. Such a pattern can help anahse oílrer examples of interncriioriaflabour migration
in the contemporary situation.

INTRODUCTION MIGRATIONS AND COLONIAL ERA decades of the 19th century, while Great
Britain was establishing its supremacy in
INTERNATIONAL labour transfers are In statistical terms, little is known about international exchanges, slavery was being
often considered a recent phenomenon, migration in pre-colonial India; but the progressively limited in the empire, until
typical of modern capitalist economies, geographical distribution of various com- finally in 1843 all slaves were freed. The
distinct from earlier waves of population munities such as linguistic groups o r sub- lack of the slave labour which the British
movement converging particularly on the castes gives a g o d indication of the scale had installed on the tropical plantations
Americas. Yet there has been a long of ‘jxrmanent niig,ra:ion within the Indian @reducing sugar, coffee, toba- bananas,
history of labour migrations in Asia and sub-continent. As far as the Thmil area is tea, . . .) quickly made itself felt, and in.
numerous examples occurred involving concerned, the sociological composition ternational migrations of free labourers
Chinese or Indian populations from the of the population from the last century replaced the recruitment of slaves. Coun-
19th century onwards.,The aim of this onward gives a picture of a strong influx tries whose economy had depended on the
paper is in fact to retrace the history of of immigrants, with a significant implan- cotinuous importation of slaves found
the migrations which affected an area of tation of Telugu populations from Andhrd other sources of labour supply within a
south India whose inhabitants scattered Pradesh, as well as smaller communities few decades.J South India, because of its
all around the Indian Oce& This region, originating in Kerala, Maharashtra and favourable geographic position and the
Tamil Nadu,’ did not wait for the even distant Gujarat. Inversely, dispersion importance of its colonial ports, was to
population exchanges of recent develop- o f the Tamil population outside its historic take on a very special significance within
ment to enlarge its migration field: under region was very insignificant, except in this new system.
the aegis of the British colonial rule, border areas such as Kerala. The sole ex-
overseas emigration became very wide- ception to this rule was the F a i l colonisa- In Sri Lanka, the first immigrants ar-
spread from the middle of the last cen- tion of the north and east of the island rived towards the end of the 182Os, and
tury onwards; and the international ex- of Sri Lanka, which took place long their numbers increased in the course of
odus from this area was probably both before the first European incursions into the following decade. Considered as ‘in-
more intensive and more long-lasting than the Indian Ocean (see table). Tamil com- dentured labour’ (labourers bound by a
from any other part of the lndian sub- munities elsewhere, such as the merchants contract which it was almost impossible
continent. Although the political linking from the Coromandel coast whom the for them to withdraw from), these immi-
of a disparate collection of countries Portuguese encountered in Malacca in the grants were subject to a quasi-military
under the colonial system did not coni- 16th century, or slaves exported to south- regimentation, which was later replaced
pletely abolish the historical a n d east Asia, hardly constitute significant ex- by the ‘kangani’ system, a more flexible
geographical distances which separated amples of Tamil emigration.’ arrangement. Recruitment for Malaya
the various colonies, it did reduce them The establishment of British control began at almost rhe same time, dating
considerably and thus created favourable over the Indian sub-continen: by the from the 1830s. Migrations to Mauritius
conditions for large-scale redistributions beginning of the 19th century gave an es- started equally early and very quickly
of population. Among the available traordinary stimulation and mlirecti?..s to drained off several ihousand X ” l s (as
resources. Tamil labour was the first to be the exchange networks, and cheap labour weil as imniigrants from Bombay). During
exported, and it is worth emphasising that was one of the first raw materials to be the two subsequent decades the streams
the internationalisation of this aspect of exported from india by the British. The of migraiion spread to the French Mas-
the demographic regime started even British colonia! area provided the privileg- careignes (after the aboiition of slavery in
shortly before complete integration of the ed framework for t h s e movement. linking. the French colonies in 1848). and to the
regional economy into the world-system, India to other colonies in the lndian colony of Natal in South Africa, where
which dates rather from the introduction Ocean, but also to other more distant however most Indians originated from the
of export-oriented agriculture and the end lands (Melanesia,.the Caribbcan) and to Bombay presidency. There was less Tamil
of the last century.: other European colonics. During the early pariicipation in emigration to the Antilles

Economic and
..
Political Weekly
_ I I.
January 16-23, 1993 III
O. R.S.T.O.M. Fonds Documentaire
 and Fiji; but the French, who controlled the course of the last century, the size of effects of these factors are the departures
trading ports in the Tamil area (Pon- the overseas Tamil population fluctuated precipitated by demographic crises in
dicherry and Karaikal) consequently im- as a direct function of migratory move- South India (1847, 1919 and especially
ported a number of Tamils to Martinique, ments; the immigrant populations were 1876-77), and the returns or repatriations
Guadeloupe and Reunion.! Almost all of not settled, wifh many individuals retur- of 1930-32, as a consequence of changing
these migrations were controlled by ning regularly to their own country to be circumstances (see Figure). Yet it is dif-
numerous limiting regulations, but the replaced by new arrivals, and the sex ficult to separate these factors: we cannot
Indian government gradually yielded to distribution was very imbalanced. Eut the cynically isolate the poor conditions in
the pressure of demand from planters in Tamil population did gradually settle Tamil Nadu, or the narrow interests of the
~
other colonies and liberalised the process overseas and a true diaspora developed. planters, and make them the sole deter-
of migration. From the time of the first Families formed, and there was an ever- minants of migration. Rather, changes in
census in 1871. most of these migratory increasing proportion of women among the economic system from the 19th century
flows became of marginal importance to the migrants. The internal growth of the onwards form a framework within which
'the Tamil population, apart from those to emigrant population then became signifi- the migratory mechanisms operate. Apart
Sri Lanka and to the Malacca Straits col- cant, and the percentage of individuals from the coastal regions of south India,
onies (the Malaysian peninsula and Singa- born in the Madras Presidency decreased the economic systcm had previously been
pore). Later movements to Burma (Myan- rapidly in favour of a 'second generation' segmented and enclosed at a regional
mar) followed the progress of colonial made of locally-born Tamils; after the se- level, and the labour force was relatively
conquest into the Burmese hinterland and cond world war, immigrants as such con- immobile, often statutorily assigned a par-
the consequent penetration of capitalism. stituted less than half of the ethnically ticular position at the local level (by
The latest target of emigration was doubt- Tamil population, the remainder having professional specialisation according to
less Fiji in the period before the first world been born locally. From this time on, caste). As a result of colonial unification,
war.6 The table summarises estimates of migratory exchanges diminished greatly, the system of exchanges intensified and
the Tamil population at the different cen- with the exception of movements of became more diverse; in addition the
sus dates from i871 to 1981 in these three populations expelled from Sri Lanka and internationalisation of the colonial econo-
former crown colonies, which garnered Burma. In 1981 the population of the my had the effect of globalising the labour
the immense majority of Tamil immi- Tamil diaspora could be estimated at 4.3 market, allowing new transfers of labour.
grants. Also included are more recent per cent of the population of Tamil Nadu, At the same time the capitalist system in
figures, from 1981, in order to give an idea a proportion which has become slightly the colonies experienced a rapid leap for-
o f how the communities,whichdeveloped lower since independence because of ex- ward in certain peripheral regions, parti-
as a result of immigration went on evolv- pulsions to India. In the absence of cularly in those zones suitable for plan-
ing tong after the mass migrations had regular and reliable statisitcal series, we tations; this development /was obviously
come to an end. have not mentioned the figures for peo- linked to the existence of reverses of cheap
The Table brings together various census ple of Tümil origin recorded elsewhere, and mobile labour.
statistics pertaining to Tamil expatriates; even though they may number more than Tamil Nadu was already densely popu-
indigenous communities, such as the 1 , 0 0 , individuals,
~ as in Reunion (1987 lated in the 19th century, in some irrigated
Tamils of northern Ceylon, are naturally est imate]. coastal regions reaching almost 200 in-
not included in them. The last line of the The size and direction of migration habitants per sq k h (1871 figure). While
table summarises the development of the flows at different periods are the complex the population underwent a noticeable in-
emigrant population during the second outcome of the action of three factors: the crease, in spite of recurrent spurts of crisis
half of the colonial period. Its demo- availability and the demand for labour on mortality (epidemics and famines), possi-
graphic weight was already significant in one hand, and the other, the institutional bilities for emigration within India were
1871, the date of the first censuses taken conditions (political or social) which per- limited: urban industrial development had
in the colonies; at that time the emigrant mit such migrations. Analysis in terms of hardly begun in Tamil Nadu, and even
population represented 1.5 per cent of that attracting and repelling factors (pull and Madras, the capital of the presidency, was
of the Tamil territory in India-about two push) makes it possible to distinguish dif- growing but slowly. Only a few small
years of regional demographic growth in ferent periods in the history of migratory mountainous.areas in the southern ghats,
the average conditions of the period. In exchanges. The classic illustrations of the such as the Nilgiris, were able to attract
the migratory currents. Economic develop
TAULE : T A ~ I POPUt
II 4 l l O N IN SRI L A N K A , BURMA A N D MALAYA1871-1981
(Figures in thousands) ment was. on the other hand, more rapid
and concentrated in other parts of the
1871 1x81 1891 1901 1911 1921 1931 1946 British empire. This structural imbalance
between concentration of population and
Sri Lanka 203.3 320,2 313.3 497.9 563.8 635.7 854.8 816,2 concentration ohcapital could not fail to
Malaya 27,s 36.3 62.7 98.0 220,4 387.5 514.8 461.0. lead rapidly to significant demographic
Burma 35.1 71.4 99,6 125,7 152.3 184,l 90.0
Total 230.X 391.6 447.4 695.5 909.9 1175.5 ' 1553.7 1367.2
transfers. At the individual level, overseas
As proportions of
employment often represented an in-
Tamil Nadu's surance against the risks involved in the
wwlation (Der ceni) 1.5 2.5 2.5 3.6 4.4 5.4 6.6 4.9 irregularity of farming seasons, as well as
a substantial increase in earnings. Since
Noles: Sri Lanka: Population of Tamils and Indian Moors according to censuses from 1911 work opportunities for labourers were
onwards; figures for 1981 [Guilnioto, 19871;indirect estimates before 1911 based on the very limited in south India, and the job
toial Tamil population. market unstable and stagnant, a new
Malaya and Singapore: Tamil-speaking population, estimates before 1931 based on the possibility of employment at a regular
population of Indian origin.
Burma: Tamil-speaking population according to censuses; free estimates for 1946 and cash salary o n overseas plantations
1981 due to lack of statistical information. represented for many Tamils a n unheard-
Soure: Censuses of countries concerned and my own estimates. of hope The wages offered by the planters

Il2 Economic and Political Weekly January 16-23. 1993

 FIGURE : NET MIGRATIONS
IN MALAYAAND SRI LANKAYEARLY FIGURES, debted peasants to accompany him to
ia4o-wss work on the plantations for varying
7"---- lengths o f time. The kanganis travelled
with the groups of Ilunils all the way from
the place of recruitment to Sri Lanka, ad-
vancing them the money required on their
journey to the plantations. Once there,
they continued to act as supervisors and
were responsible to the plantation ownen
or managers for the workers they had
brought, who were usually also indebted
to them for the advances given. The
system was soon complicated by the in-
troduction of a very Indian stratification
of power distribution, with different types
of kanganis ranged one above the other.
T h e role o f the kanganis was very impor-
tant because of the social and financial
powers they exercised within the limited
geography of the plantations. The advan-
tages of the system were naturally
were far higher than those current in India the development of the migratory cur- distributed: the migrants were taken care
[Kumar, 1965: I W I ] . Migration was thus rents.BThey broke off in the early 195Os, o f from beginning to end without having
shaped by inequalities in the colonial when significant flows finally dried up to risk anything in the process of trans-
economyi. We should note in addition (the area was hardly affected by partition). plantation except their freedom and
that once the international migratory The most m e n t international migrations
health; and the kanganis and planters
streams had been established, they tend- affecting Ximil Nadu have remained on
shared the profits from a labour force that
ed to reinforce themselves by a cumulative a relatively small scale. These have been
could be recruited in the most flexible
effect, growing more independent of the the temporary recruitment of semi-skilled manner.
economic conditions which had original- workers for the countries of the Persian
The hill-country o f the island experi-
ly given rise to them [cf Massey, 1988: Gulf, abd the 'brain drain' towards
enced cycles of prosperity, depending on
396-991. The existence of migratory net- western countries, particularly the United
productivity and the world market for the
works between Zuni1 Nadu and other col- state^.^ Today demographic exchanges
produce grown there. Coffee, which was
onies accelerated migration by reducing between different regions within India are
the original crop, collapsed during the
obstacles which had hindered free move- on a much larger scale than departures for
1880s under the pressure of competition
ment between the two countries (trans- foreign countries.
coupled with a parasitic disease affecting
port, uprooting, job-hunting. . .): this Because of its geographic and cultural coffee. It was replaced principally by tea,
above all was the role of the 'kangani' closeness, the island of Ceylon enjoyed which remains to this day one of the ma-
system of recruitment which supplanted ideal conditions for the massive transfer jor exports of the island, but also by rub-
contract-recruitment (indentured labour), of labour from south 1ndia.l' It takes ber, which underwent a rapid development
and which we shall examine below. only a few hours from the Tamil port of at the turn of the century because of a n
Rameshwaram to Talaimannar on the exponentially increasing demand on the
DESTINATIONSOF TAMIL
IMMIGRATION western coast of the island-at least as world market. Tea cultivation brought
Economic development in Malaya long as the currents are not too strong, as about a qualitative change in the
(including Singapore), Burina and Sri they sometimes are during the north-east workforce of the plantations, because it
Lanka was sufficiently different to cause -monsoon. From there, until the opening requires constant care which can be divid-
noticeable variations in the orientation of of the railway in 1917, the migrants had ed into several precisely-defined tasks. So
the migration streams at different times to travel o n foot to the hills in the centre the migrations became less seasonal and
and in the different target countries, even of the country, or follow the coast to the more stable, and started to involve
I when the overall world situation also port of Colombo. At the end of the last families: unpredictable changes in the
sometimes exerciscd a parallel effect o n centuiy new sea connections were opened workforce would endanger the schedule
the demand for labour. We shall present up between Colombo and various ports of cultivation. and the settlement of en-
a summary of the dwelopment of immi- o n the Tamil coast such as Tuticorin tire families o n the plantations, besides
gration in these three countries, emphasis- '[1891]. The journey up to the plantations stabilising the labour force, made it possi-
ing particularly Malaya and Sri Lanka, in the hill-country was no picnic, for it ble to employ women and children for the
which received the greatest number of passed through some particularly unheal- regular plucking of the leaves. However.
Tamils. These descriptions are comple- thy areas where malaria was a tremendous the nature of the exchanges (gross totals
mented by the Figure, which shows the an- scourge right up to Independence. Mor- of migration far higher than net totals)
nual statistics for net migrations of tality along the way, from cholera. shows that the Thmils returned frequently
Indians in Malaya and Sri Lanka; the malaria, etc, was high. to India, and the proportion of new-
series for Sri Lanka is not entïrely homo- The migrants were organised by an comers ('puthal') was practically always
geneous because before 1911 it includes overseer, the kangani, who was responsi- lowerathan that of workers who had been
only figures for plantation workers (and ble for them at every stage of their journey o n the island before ('palaiyal').
their families) (hence the irregularity in to the plantations. Originally he was also Fluctuations in the overall volume of
the series). These data are not without the recruiting-officer in Tamil Nadu, who new migrants depended principally on
defects, b2t here they are used only to il- visited the villages of his native region to economic imbaiances. The p n t M i l s left
lustrate-& more general hypothesis about persuade agricultural labourers and in- for Ceylon at the beginning o f the 19th

Economic and Political Wcekly 'January 16-23. 1993 '113

cen;ury, but emigration became sizeable agreement between lndia and Sri Lanka, and noticeably less rigid employment
only from 1830 onwards, and especially signed in 1964, which provided for the situation, within a society of a markedly
after 1850. After a period of prosperity. repatriation to lndia of almost two-thirds polyethnic character which, to quote Sten-
the disappearance of coffee was reflected of the population of Indian ancestry.” son [1980], functioned more like a com-
for a short time by a lessening of migra- mercial undertaking than a state. Another
tory exchanges between the presidency MALAYA difference from Sri Lanka at this time is
and Sri Lanka, with even some depopula- the predominantly masculine character of
tion of the plantations during the early English settlement of Malaya took the migrations throughout the period,
1880s. The success of new crops such as place at a later date, but the lack of suf- mainly because of less opportunities for
tea stimulated fresh recruitments for the ficient labour was felt almost immediate- female employment o n the Malayan
estates. and the following decade regis- ly.I2 The peninsula was relatively sparse- estates, and of independent immigration.
tered a record number of net migrants ly populated, especially in the interior, It may however be noted that Muslims
(2,71,000 in 1891-1901), with the propor- covered with malaria-infested jungles. amongst t h e Tamil migrants were
tion of women nearing 45 per cent. At ihe Like the Sinhalese, the Malays showed lit- sometimes able to marry Malay women.
beginning of the 20th century the demo- tle inclination to work for the planters, Wherever Tamil Muslims immigrated (Sri ’
graphic growth of the ‘Indian Tamils’ (the and the Chinese, who were already settl- Lanka, Burma. . .), their community was
official label for the Tamil immigrants) ed there in numbers, were felt to be less able to forge very solid links with their
was maintained, although immigration manageable than south Indians. The lat- local co-religionists, often through
slackened slightly, while new methods us- ter, already present in Penang by 1786, ar- matrimonial alliances.
ed on the plantations tended to increase rived in their thousands from the second In spite of the distance between south
productivity. During the first world war, half of the last century onwards, to work India and Malaya, permanent settlement
the moves reversed direction as a conse- on the coffee and sugar estates; this was by the migrants remained insignificant; yet
quence of the disturbed economic context the time of ‘indentured labour’, under it was to prove h o r e long-lasting than
and of new legislation aimed at protecting which the labourers were bound to their elsewhere, for the Indian community
the lndian workers. The vitality of the employer by three-year contracts whose found a favourable niche in the develop-
resurgence which followed is exceptional: implications they rarely grasped. In addi- ing Malayan society. The prosperity of
between 1921 and 1931 plantations and tion, the distance which separated them Malaya during the years after the first
other sectors of the economy of the island from their native prqidency discouraged world war led to major influxes of mig-
absorbed more than 3,00,000Tamils, not them from leaving at will. immigration to rants, with more than 3,50,000 arrivals
only plantation workers but also both Malaya increased towards the end of the recorded in 1926-27; in 1931 Indians, of
labourers going to work in the, towns (in last century. In the first place, the cost of whom 83 per cent were Tamils, repre-
the ports, o n construction sites.. .), and a passage (from Madras, Nagapattinam sented almost I5 per cent of the total
merchants (and moneylenders). In 1927 o r Karaikal) to Penang or Singapore population, and an even greater propor-
alone, the official statistics recorded the became much cheaper. Secondly, the tion of the labour force, especially.in rural
arrival of 2,85,000 Indians in Sri Lanka. planters introduced rubber in 1897 and areas (Penang, Selangor, Perak. . .).
And yet at the end of the 1920s there was this very soon took the place of coffee. Toge:her with the strong Chinese presence
again a rever& in the economic situation, From this time on, more than 10,OOO net which was concentrated more in the
and when salaries drop a great many entries of Indians to Malaya are counted towns, this led to’ the ethnically Malay
Indian migrants departed. The worldwide annually (according to Malayan official population becoming a minority in
depression, Nhich hit the island with full statistics), but male migrants are still three Malaya after 1911.
force mainly because of the drop in inter- times more numerous than women. There In 1930, there was a brutal reversal. The
national trade, led to a reduction in the is a spectacular developirieilr of rubber p!anters, who could not dispose of their
e m p l o y m h of foreign labour, and for the growing and of processing industri,-s con- produce because of the world economic
first time in 60 years, the inter-censal nected with it from the beginning of the crisis, rapidly reduced production, cut
migration balance o n the island was century, accompanying an unprecedented wages and demanded that the coolies
negative. During the same period, im- world demand as a result of the growth from their estates b e repatriated.
migration regulations were changed to of the automobile industry in the rich Economic stagnation spread to many
enable the governments to check mass countries. other activities in a colony that was based
migration into a region impoverished by At this same period, the ‘indentured entirely on economic links with the
recession, and these culminated in an labour’ system, which was connected industrialised world. Between 1930 and
almost total halt to new migrations on the mainly with sugar production, was finally 1932 more than 1,SO,OOO Indians were
eve of war, after the prohibition of entry dismantled and the kanganis become repatriated, and assisted migrations
to unskilled migrants. This trend con- predominant. Travelling money was ad- (kangani recruitments)‘were totally stop-
tinued until the end o f the second world vanced to the aspiring migrants, who then ped. A brief-renewal of migration is .
war, and the brief acceleration which worked o n the plantations under a con- recorded after 1934. but when the price
followed was quickly limited by the tract from which they could withdraw. Ar- o f rubber dropped again in 1938 the
policies of the newly-independent govern- riving in Malaya later than in Ceylon, the Indian government prohibited the depar-
ments, especially that in Colombo, which kangani system never took on the same ture of unskilled labourérs. In December
wanted to get rid of a community of importance there, and the workers were 1841 the Japanese invasion put a full stop
foreign origin which in 1946 represented less in the grip of the recruiters. The to all migration from India for the dura-
more than 11.6 per cent of the resident number of migrants arriving indepen- tion of the war. The early years o f relative
population of the island. Immigration was dently-among which there were less independence in Malaya were troubled by
broken off completely in the 19SOs, Tamils (but more north lndians and numerous industrial disputes, and even
and official hostility towards the Indian Keralites, etc) and less going to work on more, by the communist insurrection-
Tamils, who remained stateless after plantations (but often merchants and in which other ‘migrants’ from the sub-
Independence. went o n increasing. The labourers hired by the government)-went continent (the Gurkhas of the British
crisis finally led to a n inter-governmental o n increasing. and created a more fluid army) became involved. Migrations

114 Economic and Political Wcekly January 16-23, 1993

 decreased thrnughout these years, as the all intents and purposes with the Tamil- Burmese independence brought about
new governments attempted to reduce in- speaking population, never represented new legislation that was unfavourable to
terdependences which had been initiated more than 20 per cent. More than half the the Indian presence, and the immigrant
by the colonial presence. Nevertheless, the Indians born in the presidency of Madras population, most of which had refused
Indian communities which had grown up recorded in the Burmese census were not Burmese citizenship and remained state-
from immigration, amongst whom the 'in fact Tamil, but Oriya or Telugu. less, again began ID decline rapidly. Dur-
Tan:ils. were largely predominant (some of One of the characteristics of emigration ing the I W s , after many businesses had
theni originating in'fact from Sri Lanka), to Burma was its temporary and seasonal been nationalised, several tens o f
were not much threatened by regional nature, with a great many lndian workers thousands of inhabitants of Indian origin
politi,cal developments. Both in Malay- making the return trip within one year. I t had to be repatriated: 1,50,000 in 1964-68
dominated Malaya and in Singapore, the is possible too that this kind of circular according to the government of Madras
Tamils were integrated without difficulty migration may have caused a relative over- [Chakravarti, 1971:184]; but unlike the
into a society where ethnic tensions were estimation of the immigrant population repatriations from Sri Lanka, the rehabi-
more pronounced between Chinese and in the censuses. The female population litation of the Burmese immigrants in
Muslim Malays. Many Tamils maintained hardly increased, representing about one- Tamil Nadu was more successful. In the
close economic or family relations with third of,the Tamils recorded in the census absence of precise da!a, it is estimated
their homeland, especially the Muslim of 1931; yet this proportion of women today that the Indian community in
merchants from the Tamil coastal areas, amongthe Tamil immigrants is far higher Burma numbers about 3.50,WO, of which
whose presence in Malaya predates than that recorded among the other a minority are Tamils [Bahadur Singh,
I
colonisation. Indian immigrants. One cannot help link- I 9841.
ing the relatively large scale of female im-
BURMA migration among the Tamils, whether in TAMILS
INVOLVE11 I N MIGRATION
Burma or elsewhere, with the significant
Migration to Burma is f i r from being involvement of Tamil rural economy and The development of immigrant "il
a n exclusively %mil phenomenon; there their better status in society. society in the British colonies was charac-
had been links between Burma and lndia, Since Burma was administered as a part terised for a long time by irregularity of
especially Bengal, for hundreds of years of India until 1936, the movement of the in- and out-flow of migrants. The
before colonisation, and there was a well- Indian labour was not very strictly con- intensity of the migratory exchanges and
established community of Indian Muslims trolled (hence the shortcomings of the their short-term instability constituted
(Rohingyas) in Arakan o n the borders of port statistics). A system similar to the permapent destabilising mechanisms right
present-day Bangladesh.I3 The migra- kangani system was set up, under the up to the second world war. Thus from
tions began almost immediately after leadership 'of overseers called 'maistries' 1925 to 1935 about 4.00,OOO annual
occupation of Rangoon (or Yangon), then who controlled the job market, recruiting displacements (gross migration) are
only a village, by Anglo-Indian forces in either directly from Indian villages, or in recorded between India and Sri Lanka,
1824; the spectacular grgwth of the town Burma itself. The maistry exercised a great which recorded only 6,00,000 Indian
after this is moreover very closely con- sway over his recruits which was usually %mils in 1931; during the same period,
nected with ihe arrival of Indian im- based on indebtedness, and supported by the average for more distant Malaya,
migrants, who after I881 even largely out- the law. Tamil labour supplied particularly where 6,20.000 Indian immigrants were
numbered Burmese in the municipal agricultural labourers for the rice fields domiciled, is close to 1,66),ooO movements
population. In 1852 and then in 1886 the which made Burma one of the largest rice- per year. For several reasons the intensity
British gained control over the rest of exporters of colonial Asia. Another set of of the exchanges leads us to think that the
Burma and particularly the very fertile migrants, who had arrived earlier, contri- numbers of l'¿mils counted outside lndia
lrrawady valley as far as the towns of buted to urban prosperity, particularly in represent a virtual population, constantly
Mandalay and Pengu, and the territory Rangoon, in very diverse occupations: in depleted and renewed by migratory flows,
settled by Indians increased, while the port, in factories (rice mills), small rather than a settled, self-renewing
exploitation of the valley soils led to a businesses, communications (railways, population. We shall now see that this
great increase in rice cultivation. Many of cycle rickshaws) or services (administra- demographic instability, which looks like
many
the Indian migrants came from north tion, the professions). A small number of a case o f severe socioiogical precarious-
based
India, reaching Burma via Calcutta. Tamils belonging to the chettiyar castes of ness for overseas lndian society, is on the
i the
Another section originated along the Ramanathapuram (in the south-east of contrary an outstanding advantage for the
3 and
whole coast of the Bay of Bengal, from Tamil Nadu) established the first founda- colonial economy, where the size of the
were
Orissa (Ganjam) to southern Tamil Nadu tions of a banking system in the country, available labour force reacts instan-
itions
(Ramanathapuram). During the period in which they played a role quite out of taneously to the needs of the productive
stop-
covered by the censuses the proportion of proportion to their numbers. During the sector.
on is
price Indians in the total population increased slump of the early 193Os, which as in other T h e immigrant population, also
8 the more moderately than in the other coun- colonies led to the return of many because of its characteristically temporary
lepar- tries discussed above, reaching a platform migrants, they gained possession of much nature, had for long an unbalanced age
:mber of 5.8 per cent in 1931 (not counting the of the cultivated land, and were to become and sex composition, with a prepon-
I stop Indians in the district of Akyab which the first victims of the nationalist policies derance of young m e n - e v e n though
dura- constitutes the Arakan). As in the other of the Burmese after independence. More among the Tamils, as we have noted,
;lative cases shown in the Figure, the migratory than elsewhere, the Tamil population in women were often reiatively more
movements sometimes reversed direction Burma was very heterogeneous during the numerous. The birth rate remained very
as a result of changing economic cir- colonial era, and included coolies with no low until the 1930s. Unable to reproduce
cumstances (1910-11, 1930-31.. .), and assets apart from the strength of their itself in a normal rhythm, Tamil im-
these reversals were sometimes activated arms as well as some of the wealthiest men migrant society had in addition to face
by the anti-Indian agitation which started in the country. living conditions that were much more
in. the 1930s. Amongst the Indians, After the trauma of the Japanese oc- difficult than the attractive wages offered
migrants from Tamil Nadu, identified for cupation, immigration began again, but o n the plantations would suggest. Not

, 1993 Economic and Political Weekly January 16-23, 1W3 11s

U ”

only was the journey dangerous (epi- specialisation or lack of qualifications), the risk of expulsion. The polyethnic
demics on board ship, marches through combined with the maintenance of their character of Malayan society prevented
the jungle.. .), but once the Indians distinct ethnic identity, gave the overseas such a polarisation between the sons of
reached their destination the sanitary con- Tamils a specific social profile which the soil (the Malays) and Tamils.
ditions there were drastic. Ecological marked them out as scapegoats during Since we have chosen to follow the
transplantation, the extremely unhealthy periods of tension. In Burma, where migration from its point of origin, we
areas where the plantations were situated, resistance to the colonial regime was most shall say a few words about the effects o f
lack of hygiene and health protection, all powerful, riots against them prefigured the phenomenon in Tamil Nadu. The im-
contributed to an extremely high death the vigorous measures of Burmisation pact.of emigration on the home popula-
rate among the immigrants; the oft- (and expulsions) applied after indepen- tion was considerable, frequently respon-
repeated argument that the Tamils had dence and reactivated under the rule of sible for a lowering of more than IO per
everything to gain by leaving a land of Ne Win. Even the best-established Indians cent in the natural growth rate between
poverty and famine has difficulty in stan- in government or business had to make censuses. Some regions, particularly along
ding up in the face of the deplorable situa- way for new native elites. Similarly in Sri the coast, undoubtedly felt the demo-
tion which long prevailed outside India, Lanka the wealthiest Indians gradually graphic effects more than inland districts
and which the colonial governments took withdrew: the Tamils on the tea planta- which were subject to other migratory
note of only very tardily, from the 1920s tions were a kind of forgotten relic of the pressures. In the cases o f Sri Lanka and
0 n ~ a r d s . lThe
~ war in south-east Asia colonial period, and perhaps owe to the Malaya, the location of recruitment of-
brought about a very severe deterioration hostilities between Sinhalese and native fices fixed certain focal points, while the
in conditions. Although this period was h i t s in the Jaffna area the relative peace kanganis too operated for preference in
not long-lasting, it was marked by they were able to enjoy after indepen- their own native areas and thus helped
extremely high mortality amongst the im- dence, until the repatriations of the 196%. establish specific. migratory routes bet-
migrant popu!ations. except, in Sri Lanka. I t would be reasonable to suppose that ween particular villages and plantations.
In Malaya, the Japanese forcibly con- their role in the tea industry made them In some villages, emigration affected all
scripted tens of millions of plantation indispensable, even though socially families of a particular caste, and the
workers for the constructioii of the ‘death undesirable. It was perhaps been only migratory drainage even led to appreciable
railway’ linking Thailrind and Burma.l5 when the internal growth of the Tamil local drops in population.I6 Most of the
In Burma thousands of Indian im- population, with a n attendant risk of Tamils who emigrated belonged to the
migrants died on a forced march, fleeing unemployment on the plantations, started lower castes (harijan, kallar, vanniyar. . .)
towards India via Assam to avoid the to endanger a n equilibrium which was and tcrthe poorest sections of the popula-
J a p a n e s e advance [Tinker, 1976; based on their geographical and political tion. Farmers or pastoralists who owned
C ha k rwart i, 1971 1. inconspicuousness, that expulsion to India a little property-land, cattle, houses-
I n fact, expatriate Tamil communities began to seem an appropriate solution. were more reluctant to leave their villages.
retained their fragile character for almost Malaya provides a very different exam- For those who left, the opportunity to
a century because of their dependence on ple: the presence of Tamils-or Indians in work abroad offered a way out of an often
migratory movements for renewal. The general-did not provoke there the same closed situatioh in their home villages,
real mil diaspora formed only long after outbreaks of violence or administrative where they were almost serfs to the big
the start of departures to the British col- hostility as in the other colonies; but it is landowners, bound not only by economic
onies, when two phenomeka coincided to not certain that the economic position of and financial dependency (often deep in
give this population demographic stabili- the immigrants was the only factor favour- debt), but also by their position in the
ty: o n one side, a lessening in the impor- ing permanent settlement there, in spite rigid structure of caste relations. The
tance of the role of annual labour dis- of their gradual liberation from the plan- introduction of the market economy into
placements in the population, and on the tation economy. In the history and com- rural %.mil Nadu, together with the
other, a rising proportion of women. The position of its population, Malaya emergence o f commercial farming
integration of the Tamils into local socie- resembles the ‘creole’ countries: regions directed towards international markets,
ty varied greatly, ranging from the brutal that were sparsely populated before the weakened the communal socioeconomic
rejection which occurred after in- arrival of the colonisers, who, by engineer- fabric, which had been based o n tradi-
dependence to permanent settlement. The ing large-scale immigration (whether of tional exchanges .of tribute between dif-
geographic isolation of some immigrant slave o r free labour), totally changed the ferent sections of the village society,
groups, who were often sequestered on the ethnic make-up of the population, to the simultaneously creating a reservoir of
plantations, doubtless hindered integra- extent that the supposedly ‘indigenous’ potential labour ?hic$ was codstantly fed
tion, but other factors had more determin- groups became minorities. This was the by a sustained demographic increase.
ing influence. Communal, national or case on many islands in the Indian Ocean, Individual strategies (at the level of the
religious affiliations are very vital in this but also in the Caribbean and the Pacific family or social group) gained importance
region of Asia, and Tamils were never able Several of these countries house a popula- over traditional behaviour patterns bas-
to get assimilated into native groups; wen tion of Tamil origin that is well ed o n the largely autarchic economic
in Sri Lanka, where there are many native entrenched, even when a minority among equilibrium of the rural community, and
Tamils. those of Indian origin remained other Indian groups: Mauritius. Reunion, heralded the appearance of more profit-
cut off from the rest of society. In this lat- Fiji, the state of Natal in South Africa. seeking attitudes while stimulating new
ter country, thirty years after the end of and the Fiench Antilles, for example. In forms of social mobility.
the colonial period, most descendants of more homogeneous countries, indepen- The profitability of migration for those
immigrants still lived in the same region dence heralded the arrival on the political who returned has been described in very
and followed the same occupations as scene of an indigenous group with a diffetmt terms and contexts; but it seems
their forebears. strong nationalist agenda. The descen- that few migrants were able to accumulate
The lack of diversification, geogra- dants of immigrants. like the Tamils in sufficient capital to make any lasting im-
phically (in ghettos and pockets of con- Burma or the Gujaratis in east Africa, provement in their situation once they
centration) and in work (because of then had to bow before the storm or run returned home.” On the other hand, the

116 &onorhic and Political N’eckly January 16-23. 1993

 migrants did regularly send their savings formarion of the Tamil diaspora and of working conditions in their original en-
home to India. creating a constant established social classes. These pher.0- vironment were very close to servitude.
transfer of wealth which was fostered by mena, which we shall link to the migratory There too, temporary migrations for work
the political integration of the British col- cycle as a whole, are not exclusively Tamil were organised in teams, and departures
onies (migrations to other countries. experiences. were rarely individual affairs. The many
French colonies or South Africa, lacked Before returning to this wider perspec- levels in t h e a u t h o r i t y s t r u c t u r e
just this advantage). This mechanism tive, we would like to attempt to identify represented by the kangani overseers (who
made possible a significant redistribution different periods, so as lo establish the belonged to higher castes) paradoxically
of revenues, and productive reinvestments various stages of the migratory cycle. By ensured a preservation of the groups once
whose positive effect on Tamil Nadu is this term we mean the entire history of the they were in the colonies, acting as a buf-
difficult to assess. One additional indirect migratory exchanges taking place between fer between traditional attitudes and the
effect of international migration was cer- two periods o f demographic equilibrium more 'modern' labour relationships on the
tainly to lighten the labour market in (before and after migration). I t is certainly plantations. The system certainly worked
Tamil Nadu and lead to an increase in possible to conceive of emigration as an more effectively and completely in Sri
wages intended to retain potential integral, and even permanent, part of a Lanka than in Malaya, as if indicating the
migrants. The social agitation which given demographic regime; however, a complete marginalisation of the im-
began to develop during the 1930s regular migratory deficit over a very long migrant community in the island,
amongst agricultural labourers in period, as in the case of Ireland, is a very The second phase of the migratory cy-
Tanjavur, the district most affected by out- rare phenomehon, since it leads logically cle is characterised by some relaxation of
migration, is an unmistakable indication to a demographic decline which will the economic constraints on labour migra-
of the impact of migration on local tend to stop the human drainage. The tion. Demographic crises in south India
economic relationships; but it is beyond migratory cycle, on the contrary, cor- lessened from the beginning of this cen-
the scope of this article to explore all the responds to a rupture in demographic tury, and distrcss-induced migrations ceas-
implications of emigration for social rela- equilibrium within a n environment that ed. ln the target countries, expansion or
tions. The economic effects within Tamil is often characterised by an enlargement contraction of the productive sector con-
Nadu of the changes brought about by the of recruitment areas and the commer- tinued to influence demographic ex-
departure of a section of the agricultural cialisation of labour. changes up to the beginning of the 193Os,
labour force also remain even more dif- The Tamil migratory cycle passed but from then o n a significant proportion
ficult to assess than the decisive contribu- through three successive phases: Migra- of migrants are no longer dependent o n
tion made by Tamils to the prosperity of tion began with an early period marked these circumstantial phenomena. This is
the colonies where they settled-in many by a strict control of the flows both in the time when an established overseas
cases only to be driven out again in the volume and composition, which were diaspora is in the process of formation,
y a k following the break-up of the British male subject to the production require- which, in spite of its alien ethnic identity,
empire. ments of the host country. These migra- has ifs roots outside "li. Nadu. Many
tions, which are male and temporary, factors contributed to this change. In the
PERSPECTIVES ON A MIGR.4TION CYCLE were apparently under the full control of first place, there was an alteration in
the governments concerned, and served government attitudes towards the Indian
Standing at a certain distance from the the economy of t h e cdonies. The expatriates. Liberalism, which in practice
context of h i 1 Nadu in the 19th century, regulatory role lied with the governments, used to mean indifference, gave way to a n
we may ask what lessons are to be drawn for whom loissez-JÏire was often the sole increasing concern for the lot o f Indian
from the migratory experience we have social philosophy, and the potver of expatriates: the Indian government show-
described here. Indian emigration does negotiation available to the fragmented ed more and more concern for the living
share certain features with the labour immigrants was kept to a minimum. This conditions of their subjects, finally pro-
migrations which characterise the wealthy period represented a sort of golden age for hibiting emigration to several countries.
nations after the last war, in that it involv- colonial entrepreneurs: a labour force that This new order of things was undoubted-
ed large-scale transfers of low-skiiled was plentiful, non-local, and undeman- ly a result o f the increasing participation
workers, transplanted into areas with a ding responded precisely to fluctuations of Indians in public affairs, and o f severe
different culture, who initially had no in- in production, without any risk of becom- criticism from nationalists about the
tention of permanently settling in the ing a n autonomous pressure group. In exploitation their compatriots were
target country. Without this demographic fact, the employers saved the costs of undergoing abroad. In the host countries
supply, the inability of the local popula- labour reproduction in the wider sense, too legislation evolved and the situation
tion t o respond to the increasing availabili- and the only additional expense involved of the immigrants improved: regulations
ty of unskilled work, especially on the in their reliance on immigration was con- were made about their stay, which
plantations, would have hindered the nected with transportation of the workers. facilitated the establishment of families.
economic development of the host coun- We have seen that the 19th century was Recruitment of women in certain areas
"tries. Internationalisation of the area of the time of the most rigorous forms of (on the Sri Lanka plantations, for exam-
recruitment. mainly within the British col- exploitation like indentured labour, which ple) was also doubtless an additional fac-
onies, enabled a nascent capitalism to pro- bore witness to the slave heritage of the tor in making the expatriate populations
fit -from 'economic imbalances between production organisation. But in one way more balanced. But the distinguishing
different regions. and from many advan- the system of individual contracts was less feature relates rather to independent male
tages connected with the importaiion of convenient than the collective framework migrations: independent as opposed to
labour: lower wages, more docility, more of the kanganis. a system which soon assisted migrations (with financial ad-
readiness to accept difficult conditions, came to predominate among the Tamils. vances), led by t h e kangani from
e t c Returns home, high mortality and an The success to which the long life of this India.. .) are the outcome of new at-
absence of young married couples com- system attests is doúbtless due to its af- titudes. They often make use of the
bined to reduce the immigrant groups to finities with agrarian relationships in the established framework, to the extent that
a floating population unable to reproduce Tamil homeland. The migrants were in the migrant may still rely on a kangani for
or establish itself, thus delaying the fact mainly landless labourers whose his placement. BUI the 'spontaneous'

Economic and Political Weekly January 16-23, 1993 117

 . migratory system, on the basis of family to Malaya to enable the Taniils in general communities.
6.i village connections and with parallel there to complete the migratory cycle by The perspective from which we have
circuits for embarcation and employment, complete integration into the host society. chosen to approach this historical exam-
lies outside official control. These migra- Very few expatriate Indian communities ple enables us to cast some light o n con-
tions initiate strategies which become pro- have been able to conclude their migratory temporary labour migrations. in spite of
gressively more independent of the system history in this way, for there still exist profound differences between the socio-
of total care from the village to the countries where the descendants of file historical contexts. The first phase cor-
workplace. This second period is marked immigrants are treated as second class responds to the earliest attempts at an
. by a progressive 'un-linking' of the citizens (as in Fiji), if they have not k e n international recruitment: recourse to
migratory phenomenon from the need for expelled in the end (as in east Africa). foreign labour, through recruitment that
labour expressed by entrepreneurs. is organised in the country of origin,
Paradoxically, this last stage of uiider the control of the government of
Independent migrants such as merchants
migratory history coincidcxI with the more the host country, with strict control of the
and entrepreneurs certainly played a
pioneering role at a very early period, but
or less total halting of migrations, to or movements so as to give the active popula-
from India: the end of independent migra- tion a variable geometry enabling it to res-
these often belogned to particular castes
tions and of direct recruitment in India, pond best to structural variations in
and involved very small numbers. This se-
and the slackening off of return migra- employment. Even the eastern European
cond phase, difficult to date precisely
tions. The closing of frontiers, which countries have made use of this policy (for
because of the heterogeneity of the
began before the second world war and Vietnamese labour). Although this type
migrants (1920-1940?), came in when
these changes applied to the majority of became more complete after decolonisa- of system has disappeared in many coun-
departures. Even those who were setting tion. confronted the immigrant communi- tries, for example, West Germany where
off for the plantations adopted individual ties with a future in the host society;" the principle of rotational migrations
strategies. In case of difficulties, they may this resulted in a lessening of social functioned up to 1970," it still applies in
return for a time to India, or change plan- e.uchanges with India, and the diaspora others (Switzerland, the Persian Gulf
tations. The more dynamic among them therefore had to redefine its identity in countries). The migrations are temporary,
looked for other jobs, leaving the sectors relation to o t h e r local groups.Iv because dependent on the ocerall situation
reserved exclusively for immigrant Although cultural reference to Indian and controlled by restrictive legislation.
civilisation may have remained strong, Any possibility of permanent stay is out
labour to take up urban occupations (in
geographic isolation implied i41obligatory of the question. Most west European
Singapore, Colombo, etc.. .).
adaptation to living conditions in the countries quickly passed on to the second
I t is during this.second stage that the
native population begins to feel the threat country o f immigration. The degree of phase, with an unregulated increase in in-
posed by the foreign presence, because of integration probably varied according to dependent migrations and the first
the increasing competition it presents in social grouping and the possibilities for movements of family reunification; Great
social mobility within the host society. Britain figured ;is a pioneer in this area.=
many different sectors of the economy.
$or this reason social diversification o n The long time-span of the history of This phenomenon was accompanied by a
the part of the immigrants did not in- B m i l intenational mirgations suggested to redefinition o f the retationship between
'variably lead to the third and last phase us this attempt at a division into three the migrations and the economic struc-
of settlement, a return to demographic periods. The dating of these different' tures of the host coontries, moving in the
equilibrium. In several Tlaces, as in phases certainly varied in different social direction of a progressive independence of
Burma, hostility towards the Indian im- groups (skilled o r not, wage-earners o r migratory phenomenon from labour de-
migrants led to their departure once col- self-employed.. .) and different countries. mand. This change was made possible
onial protection was removed. Thus the The sequence of these phases should be mainly by more liberal legislation and the
merchants, bankers and moneylenders seen from the internal point of view, with establishment of migratory networks
from the Tamil chettjyar castes, whose in- reference to the immigrant populations (ethnic- o r family-based. . .) functioning
fluence had b e n considerable all over and their composition, rather than from independently of governmental institu-
south-east Asia o n the eve of the second the standpoint of external determinants. tions. For the western overseas countries
world war, were driven out of Burma and Reconstitding this migratory cycle means policy oscillates between the first phase
then of Sri Lanka. The %mils on the Sri above all following what happened to im- (national quotas, professional preferences)
Lankan plantations were, as noted above, migrants who, after being reduced for and the second (clandestine immigration,
protected from hostility by their impor- many years to an unstable and virtual family groups. . .). The draconian limita-
tance to export-oriented production, and population (the first phase), re-formed tion of immigration in the European
by their relative invisibility. Many of them themselves in the course of the second countries from 1973 onwards has not
did start on the final phase of the phase through diversification, and finally precipitated the final phase, because
migratory cycle after Independence, for became an integral part of the host socie- migratory routes-have often circumvented
example by breaking off ties with their [yin spite of the possible persistence o f more lenient regimes (clandestine entrants,
ancestral homeland. In spite of their distinctive social traits based on origin.M refugees); the mechanism of family
marginalisation on the plantations, their On this point we differ from descriptions reunification, the other aspect of the
participation in trades unions indicate a of immigration based on divisions into second migratory phase, is still function-
new assumption of responsibility for their economic or political periods, which ing. But the serious reduction in the flow
own economic fcture, and they were able predominate in thc literatiire on the topic; of entries observed during the 1980s
io avoid [he worst (general expulsion) in although it is quite suitable for taking ac- characterises the last phase of the cycle,
the course of negotiations over their count particularly of the development of in which the question of integration arises
status. The great difficulty with which the flows, we find the economic perspec- because of the limited numerical threat
those who were repatriated have settled in tive which relies heavily on the develop- posed by future immigration. The various
India over t h e last twenty years testifies ment of geographical imbalances between forms o f integration observed (assimila-
'to the uprooting experienced by these labour and capital inadequate for study- tion, ethnic- recognition., .) involve
l descendants of immigrants. I t remained phenomena which are essentially external
ing the internal development of'expatriate
i
I
IIX Economic and Political Weekly January 16-23, 1993
 to the migratory cycle. flows between India and Sri Lanka from try, Tamil identity was often disguised
T h e main distinguishing feature of the 1920 to 1938. the specific role of economic behind vague local labels such as 'Malbars!
Tamil cycle is certainly the length o f time differentials (measured in terms of salaries (Reunion), 'K(e)lings' (Malaya), 'Sammies'
over which it extended: more than 50 years and living standards), in addition to the (south Africa), 'Z'indiens' (Guadeloupe),
purely climatic factor (Indian agricultural 'Kala' (Burma).
passed between the earliest departures and
the first signs of the formation of a per- seasons). 20 This is clearly the case in Asiatic societies
8 The data are drawn from the tables of where inherited distinctions (caste, ethnic
manent diasbra; in codparison. the
Peebles [1982: 67-70] for Sri Lanka. and origin.. .) are among the main criteria of
European experience has taken place social differentiation. The endogamy of
much more rapidly. Reluctance on the from the appendices of Sandhu [1969:
304-171. These are statistics from the target social groupings guarantees their historic
part o f the Tamils to emigrate permanent- ident i ty.
countries, which usually underestimate
ly for sqcial reasons, and the strictness of departures, thus causing owr-estimation of 21 On immigration in Germany, cf, Rist [I9781
the controls applied, provide the main the total migrant population (this being the and Leitner [1987]. Seealso Hammar.[1985]
explanations for this. Demography sup- case for Ceylon in the early part of the for a comparative perspective.
plies an additional explanation: with the period). No comparable figures are available 22 As is testified by the facilities enjoyed by
exception of Malaya, the Tamils rarely for Burma, which in any case received a ma- the Irish and, up to the I%, by Com-
migrated to under-populated areas, jority of non-Tamils. monwealth immigrants [cf Holmes, 19821..
whereas in Europe the demographic 9 Weiner [1982],and Burki and Subramaniam French migratory history of migration is too
' deficit was not inconsiderable. The dif- [1987]. long established and complex [Noiriel, 19881
ferences observed between the various IO On migration to Sri Lanka see especially to allow of a brief interpretation here.
target countries suggest that the ability to Jayaraman (19671, Meyer (19781, and
absorb a population o f external origin, Peebles [1982]. References
which is linked with the social and I I Several hundred thousand repatriated Indian
demographic flexibility of the host society, Tamils have been received in India since this, Bahadur Singh, 1 J (ed) (19841. Indians in South
is relatively independent of the economic Asia, Sterling, New Delhi.
although for most of themit was not their
mechanisms which originally gave rise t o country of birth. Their reintegration prov- Baker, C J [1984], An Indian Rural Economy
the population transfers. ed to be very difficult, mainly because of 1880-1955: The Tamilnad Countryside,
their lack of education and the absence of Oxford University Press, Delhi.
Notes a receiving network. For more details on this Burki, S J and S Swamy [1987], 'South Asian
ment period, see Guilmoto [I9871and Fries Migration to United States: Demand and
phis paper is drawn from a larger study of the and Bibin [1984]. Supply Factors', Economic and political
demographic history of Tamil Nadu since the 12 The standard work on this question is Weekly, March 21, pp 513-17.
end of the 19th century. My research in lndia Sandhu [1%9]; see also Stenson 119801and Chakravarti, N R [1971]. The Indian Minority
was made possible mainly by the hospitality of Jain [1970]. in Burma: The Rise and Fall of an Im-
the Madras Institute of Development Studies, 13 For migration to Burma, Chakravarti [1971], migrant Community, Oxford University
and the support of Romain Rolland grants and Mahajani (19601 may be consulted. Press, Oxford.
from the French ministry of foreign affairs in 14 In 1885, a semi-official document speaks of Dennery, Etienne (19301, Foules dilsie: Sur-
986-88. A first version of this paper in French good living conditions for coolies in Ceylon, population Japonaise, Exparirion Chinoise,
appeared in Revue Europeenne des Migrations requiring no government intervention Emigration Indienne, Armand Collin.
Internationales I, 1991.1 [McLean, 1885: 1,5031. For a much less op- Paris.
timistic assessment, and statistics which Dutta, A (19721, 'An Econometric Study of
1 This refers to the predominantly Tamil area reflect the terrible mortality affecting Indo-Ceylon Labour Migration, 1920-1938:
at the south-eastern extremity of India, the Indian immigrants, see especially A Critique', Economic Development and
which formed part of the presidency of Marjoribanks and Marakkayar [1917: Cultural Chunge, 21(1), October. pp 142-57.
Madm during the colonial era. The overall 18-21], Sandhu [1969:85, 1711. and Fries, Y and T Bibin [1984], The Undairables
demographic context is described in Chakravarti [1971: 491. Expatriation of Tamil People 's/ Recent
Guilmoto 119921. 15 The Indian population of Malaya, estimated Indian Origin'from the Plantations in Sri
2 The economic context is analysed by Baker at 744,300 in 1941, sinks to 5.99,600 in the Lanka, K P Bagchi, Calcutta. .. .
[1984]; see also Kumar [1%5]. 1946 Census, without any significant migra- Guilmoto. Christophe [1987], 'Demographie el,
3 Tamil dispersal in south-east Asia involved tion in the interval. The description of a Politique: Les Tamouls Entre Sri Lanka Et
mainly Ceylon and Malaya; cf Nilkanta Malayan plantation during the Japanese l'Inde', Population, 2, 283-304.
Shastri (19751 and Sandhu [1%2 21-30]. occupztion [Jain. 1970 297-3071 gives [1992], Un Siecle de Demographie Tamoule,
4 This period is described in detail by Tinker a glimpse of the mechanisms of this La Population du Tamil Nadu de 1871 a
[1974]. For migration in general, see also crisi s. 1981, CEPED, Paris.
Kumar [1%5: 128431, Tinker [1976. 19771. 16 See the examples of Tamil villages describ- Hammar, Thomas (ed) (19851, European Im-'
Waiz [1934], as well as the chapters on ed by Slater [1918], and Thomas and migration pS!icy: A Compamtive Study,
migration in the various Census of Madras Ramakrishnan [1940]; the reports of the Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
(from 1871 to 1931). decennial censuses in the presidency of Holmes, Colin (19821, 'The Promised Land?
5 The recent work of Singaravelou [I9871 Madras supply statistical details, in par- immigration into Britain 1870-1980' in D
deals with Indian immigration to the Carib- ticular of the degree of demographicstagna- A Coleman (ed), Demogmphy of Im-
bean area. See too the Revue Carbet, [I9891 tion affecting districtswith high emigration. migrants and Minority Groups in the
which contains much information on Reu- 17 Cf. Dennery [1930]. Kumar [1%5], Slater United Kingdom. Academic Press, London,
nion in particular. [1918], and Thomas and Ramakrishnan pp 1-20. '
6 Here the Tamils who immigrated between [1940]. Jain, R K [1970], South Indians on the Plan-
1903 and 1915 were only a few thousand 18 Departures for certain destinations had tations Frontier in Malaya. Yale Universi-
amongst a north Indian majority, cf Cillion stopped before this: Reunion (1882). the ty Press, New Haven and London.
[1%2 50-531. French Antilles (1888), Natal (1911). Fiji Jayaraman, R [1%7]. 'Indian Emigration IO
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 ” c
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Lcitner, Helga (19871, ‘Regulating Migrant’s SOCIAL STUDIES
Liws: The Dialectic of Migrant Labour and
the Contradictions of Regulatory and In-
tegration Policies in the Federal Republic of Applications are invited for posts’ in .the
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Fbreign Minorities in Confinental European Fellow/Reader category from scholars in
Ciries, F Steiner, Wiesbaden.
Mahajani, V [IW]. The Role of Indian economics, sociology, geography a n d statistics,
Minorities in Burma and Malaya, Vora,
Bombay.
and with proven research capabilities in the
Marjoribanks, N E and A K G Ahmad Tambi fields of health, nutrition, education, poverty,
Marakkayar (19171. Report of Indian
Emigmting to Ceylon and Malaya, Gòvern- labour markets, agricultural and rural develop-
ment Press, Madras.
Massey, Douglas S [1988], ’Economic Develop-
ment, social change and regional development.
ment and International Migration: Popula- One post is for a person with competence in
tion and Development Reviek: 14(3),
September, pp 383-414. quantitative methods and the ability to manage
Meyer, Eric [1978], ‘Migrations Internes et
Migrations Externes a Sri Lanka (Ceylan): the Centre’s computer facilities.
Une Appmche Historique‘, CEIhnogmphie,
77-78, pp 185-97.
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Soufh Indi& From Prehisforical Times Io with a First Class or high
fhe Fallof V~ayanagar,Oxford University
Press, Madras. Second Class.
Noiriel. Gerard [ISSS]. Le Crewel Francais.
Hktoire de L”immigmrion XIX-XX siedes, 2. Ph,D. or equivalent published
Seuil, Paris.
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Hisforical S!afisfics, G K Hall, Boston.
Rist, Ray C [1978], Guestworkers in Germany:
I3olrppCLsfor Plumlism. Praeger, New York. The selected candidates are expected to teach,
Sandhu, K S [1%9], Indians in Malaya. Some
Aspecfs of their Immigmtion and Seffle- conduct and supervise research o n development
menf 1786-1957, Cambridge University themes, and to participate in the M.Phil/Ph.D
Press, Cambridge.
Slater, Gilbert (ed) [1918], Some Soufh Asian programmes .sf the Centre.
Villages, Oxford University Press, London.
Singaravelou [1987]. Les Indiens de la Camibe.
3 tomes, L‘Harmattan, Paris. The above posts carry the U.G.C. scales of pay
Stenson, M [1980], Clas, Race and Colonialism
in WesfMalaysin: The Indian Case, Univer. in the Reader’s grade. Other allowances will be
sity of Queensland Press, St Lucia.
Thomas, P J and K C Ramakrishnan (eds) in accordance with the regulations of the Cen-
[IW],Some Soufh Indian Villages. A tre. Some of the posts are project-based and for
Resurvey, University of Madras, Madras.
Tinker, Hugh [1974], A New System of Slavery: a fixed duration.
The Exporf of Indian Lobour Overseas
1830-1920, Oxford University Press,
London. Applications, fcrwarded through proper chan-
-[1976], Separateand Unequak India and the
Indians in fhe Brifish Commonwealth nels where necessary, o n plain paper must reach
1920,1950, C Hurst, London.
-[1977], The Banyan kOve= Emigmnfs the Director, Centre for Economic and Social
from India. Pokkfan and Bangladesh, Studies, Nizamiah Observatory Campus,
Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Waiz, S A (ed) [1934], Indians Abmad Direc- Begumpet, Hyderabad-500 016 by February’ 28,
fory 1934, The Imperial India Citizen
Association, Bombay. 1993.
W e r , Myron [1982], ,‘International Migration
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. ._. :, .,, .... . . :.t. .
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120 Economic and Political Weekly January 16-23,,1993