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A Gripping Saga of Indian Indentured Labour

A Gripping Saga of Indian Indentured Labour

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 When the British Empire abolished slavery in 1833, it found that African slaves would much rather not work on its colonial plantations -- even for a salary. It had to find a new source of labourers and hired workers from India, Java, China and elsewhere. India, especially, was a major source of indentured labour as it was a British colony.

In this episode, we recount the tale of Mangre Lal, a man in his 20's from Bahraich, who goes to Fiji. We hear his story through his grandson Brij Lal, a world-renowned Indo-Fijian historian. After two-three generations, Indo-Fijians found themselves in the ruling party in Fiji in the '80s. But ethnic divisions have resulted in multiple coups as native Islanders have struggled to assert their dominance. Indo-Fijian Australian comedian Umit Bali recounts what it was like to live in Fiji in the '90s.

Lal, who has been a vocal critic of the government, was exiled from Fiji. But he refuses to recant his criticism, even if it means he can never again visit the land of his birth.
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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.