Coolitude

 

Coolitude, a concept coined by poet and scholar Khal Torabully, represents a cultural and aesthetic framework for understanding the identities of indentured Indians. It emphasizes the unique experiences of these individuals in the Caribbean, highlighting their distinctiveness from the dominant Caribbean culture. Coolitude recognizes the diverse ancestral roots of indentured Indians, spanning the Caribbean Sea, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean, and emphasizes a fluid and non-fixed identity shaped by their history of indentureship.

 

After the abolition of slavery in the British, French, and Dutch colonies in the 19th century, European colonizers sought a new source of labor for their plantation economies. This led to the establishment of the system of Indian indentureship, which spanned regions from the Caribbean to the Pacific. The exact number of indentured Indians sent to various regions has been a topic of historical debate. While early estimates suggest around 500,000 were sent to the Caribbean, more recent research, encompassing places like South Africa and Fiji, indicates a total of approximately 2.2 million Indians subjected to indentureship. Indentured Indians faced harsh conditions, with high mortality rates. Women, in particular, experienced significant gender-based violence, both from the plantation system and their intimate partners, sometimes resulting in tragic outcomes. Recruitment efforts focused mainly on present-day Uttar Pradesh in India. Many Indians were coerced or misled into signing indentureship contracts, which meant they were transported to different colonies under European rule. This period typically lasted five to seven years, after which they were eligible for either land or a return passage to India. However, most Indians did not return. While Trinidad and Guyana are often emphasized in the study of indentured Indians due to their larger populations during the period from 1845 to 1917, Indians were also sent to various other colonies, including Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, St. Kitts, Surinam, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Reunion, Fiji, Australia, Uganda, Kenya, and South Africa. Despite being one of the most significant movements of bonded labor in history, this crucial chapter of Indian history is often overlooked in South Asian history textbooks.

 

 Coolitude, a concept introduced by poet and scholar Khal Torabully, highlights the hybridity of cultures and identities among indentured Indians in their new "adoptive homelands." Torabully emphasizes that this cultural fusion is at the core of Coolitude, which he describes as a form of cultural exploration and adaptation. Coolitude aims to contribute to the history of bonded labor, particularly by bringing attention to the often overlooked narrative of Indian indentureship in the Caribbean, as well as in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Coolitude also challenges established ideas about creolization, which historically excluded the experiences of the Indian diaspora in the Caribbean. Torabully points out this gap in creolization theories and stresses the importance of recognizing the transcultural aspects of Coolitude. The term "Coolie" originates from the Tamil word "kuli," which means wages. However, during the indentureship period, it became a derogatory term for indentured Indians and Chinese. Torabully reclaims this term as part of Coolitude, drawing a parallel to the reclamation of the term "negre" in negritude. The accounts in Coolitude are drawn from historical records and highlight the harsh experiences of indentured Indians, who endured mistreatment and abuse from plantation overseers. These stories underscore the challenges faced by indentured individuals within a system that was often marked by brutality. The history of indentured Indians is characterized by stories of displacement and hardship. The narratives in Coolitude revolve around the struggles of indentured Indians who found themselves in unfamiliar lands, enduring harsh labor conditions on plantations, and often separated from their families.