Multi-dimensional perspectives of South Indian coolie life in selected memoirs by the European plantocracy of colonial Malaya

ABSTRACT

This paper traces the multi-dimensional aspects to South Indian coolie life in nineteenth and early twentieth century Malaya to interject into decades of scholarship that has trained on a homogenous focus on plantation fieldwork. In search of the nuances of diasporic diversity, I located three memoirs written by European planters of the Malayan plantocracy, set in rubber plantations and selected primarily for their reflections of South Indian coolie life from various socio-cultural angles. My reading of the three memoirs uncovered a host of various micro-narratives surrounding South Indians in the plantation, including references to cattle rearing, legacies of ancient ayurveda practices as well as the participatory communal network between coolie women as wage earners, wives, midwives and mothers. I conclude by arguing that such a host of eclectic tones can effectively bring other stories, to the surface and dismantle monotonous perceptions of South Indian coolie life in Malaya.

KEYWORDS:

• Malaya
• South Indian coolie
• coolie women
• South Indian diaspora
• diversity
• plantation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This paper was partially funded by a National University of Malaysia research grant, code GUP-2019-056.

Notes on contributors

Shanthini Pillai

Shanthini Pillai (PhD) is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. Her research interests are anchored primarily in cultural studies with particular reference to diaspora and transnationalism, ethnic diversity, and religious mobilities, especially in the context of global South Asian communities. She has held Research Fellowships at the University of Queensland, Australia and the Asia Research Institute, Singapore and has published widely in her area of expertise, with recent work included in The Australian Journal of Anthropology, Social Sciences and Missions, The International Journal of the Sociology of Language and SOJOURN, among others. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7555-5698.