Product details
- ISBN 9781041122678
- Weight: 1120g
- Dimensions: 156 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 09 Jun 2026
- Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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This book explores ethnogenesis, integration in host societies and bonding in the Indian diaspora of Girmitiyas – a population of over 1.3 million British-Indian indentured labourers recruited in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
to work in plantation colonies across Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. Focusing on Girmitiya communities in Suriname, Guyana, Mauritius and Fiji, it examines both the similarities and divergences in their ethnic formation, integration into host societies, and diasporic bonding. Theoretically, it contributes to the underexplored but vital themes of ethnogenesis, integration and diaspora connections, highlighting variations within and across communities. It traces how ethnic identities emerged in different contexts and how these groups negotiated ties with both their adopted homelands and the wider Indian diaspora. Drawing on comparative insights, it provides a unique framework for analysing community evolution across geographic and cultural boundaries. Empirically, the book offers detailed historical accounts of the Girmitiyas in four societies, marking a significant departure from the largely single-country focus of existing literature. By presenting a comparative and transnational perspective, it moves beyond plantation narratives to situate Girmitiya communities within broader social, cultural and political histories. This volume represents a valuable contribution to the social sciences and humanities, particularly in the fields of ethnic studies, peasant studies,
diaspora studies, and the analysis of plural societies.
Ruben Gowricharn is Professor Emeritus of Indian Diaspora Studies at the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Currently he serves as a research fellow at the same university. He has published numerous scholarly articles in both Dutch and English. His recent books include three edited volumes on the Indian diaspora (all with Routledge): Multiple Homemaking: The Ethnic Condition in Indian Diaspora Societies (2021), De Goudsmid
(2022), Ongezien Ongehoord: Hindostanen in de Nederlandse koloniale geschiedenis (2023, co-authored with Jaswina Elahi, Walburg Pers) and The Girmitiya Peasants in Suriname: Agrarian and Economic Changes in a Plural
Society (2024). Gowricharn has also served as the managing director of a doctoral programme for adult migrant students in the Netherlands.
