Coolie Migrants, Indian Diplomacy

Uncovers the remarkable role of emigration, particularly of indentured labourers, in forging independent Indiaâs foreign relations.

Over the centuries, millions of migrant labourers sailed from the Indian subcontinent, across the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean, to shape what is now the worldâs largest diaspora. This book recovers the histories and legacies of those âcoolieâ migrants, and presents a new paradigm for the diplomatic history of independent India, going beyond high politics to explore how indenture, emigration and international relations became entangled.

Before and after independence, Indian notions of the international realm as a sanctified space were shaped by migrant journeys; this was a space of anxiety in which to negotiate the âcoolie stainâ on the countryâs reputation. Discourse was defined by intersections of caste, class, race and genderâ"and framed the migrant worker as the quintessential âotherâ of Indian diplomacy.

Drawing on rich, multi-archival analysis spanning the vast geographies of labour migration, Kalathmika Natarajan pieces together the stories of quarantine camps en route to Ceylon; cultural and educational missions in the Caribbean; discretionary passport policies in India; and the mediation of immigrant life in Britain. The result is a nuanced history from the interwar period to the decades after independence, and a critical analysis centring both caste and the negotiation of âundesirableâ mobility as foundational to Indian diplomacy.