Basdeo Mangru

Kanpur to Kolkata is a unique publication in that it provides for the first time a comprehensive assessment of labour recruiting operations in a catchment area from where the great majority of Caribbean East Indians originated. Besides its insightful analysis of crucial emigration issues, this book highlights the grief and trauma of emigrants’ families, particularly the wives left behind in India.

What is most interesting are the personal recollections of returnees with regard to the working and living conditions in the colonies and their special attraction, the uncertainties of the voyage and the socio-economic conditions in Indian villages.

Nuggets of information such as rail transportation to Kolkata, the physical and sanitary conditions of sub-depots, the entrepreneurial spirit of emigrants and the obstructionist attitude of both families and Government officials, are conspicuously absent from other published sources ... until now. This study will hopefully engage the general reader and also open up new vistas for scholarly research on unexplored issues within this intriguing field.

“... a vivid tapestry of ... Village India, depot operations, iniquitous police practice, degradation of women and the wrenching trauma of family separation.” Dr Gary Girdhari, Editor and Publisher, Guyana Journal

“Basdeo Mangru is to be congratulated once again in his attempts in making available primary sources on the Indian diaspora ...” Dr Tyran Ramnarine, Educator and Historian

• 216 x 138 mm
• 204 pages
• Paperback