Kala pani revisited: Indian labour migrants and the sea crossing

Autor: Crispin Bates, Marina Carter
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Indentureship and its Legacies, Vol 1, Iss 1, Pp 36-62 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2634-2006
2634-1999
DOI: 10.13169/jofstudindentleg.1.1.0036
Popis: This article examines the reconstruction and deconstruction of the concept of काला पानी or kālā pānā, meaning the ‘black waters’, which all Indians must cross when migrating overseas. From its origin as a Brahmanic text warning about the dangers of oceanic voyages, through its dissemination as a more generalised stricture against emigration and its use and abuse as a British colonial construction, to its recasting as a historical trope and a literary device, the ever-changing influence and meaning of kala pani is interrogated and assessed. Contextualising the kala pani trope against the setting of sepoy, convict and indentureship voyages, this study also evaluates its historical validity and importance in colonial and nationalist realities. Finally, the symbolic value of the kala pani and its reworking as a literary device are explored.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals