Bondage in freedom : colonial plantations in southern India, c. 1797-1947

Opposing views persist with regard to the emergence of plantations in southern India and the transfer of slave labour to these plantations: the abolition of slavery as an end in itself and, second, as a means to an end. In spite of the fact that slavery had been abolished by the mid-nineteenth century, workers on plantations found themselves no better off than slaves and bondsmen - so intensive and painful was the ill treatment meted out to them. The workers with their newly realised freedom from the feudal relations spared no means to revolt against the new Masters. Yet, a truly systemic transformation failed to materialise. The present paper attempts to unravel the constituents of changing forms of bondage and the coercive/disciplinary strategies adopted by the planters which in effect gave rise to a new labour regime. It also attempts to unravel the way in which the reborn ‘slaves’ unleashed their resistance at the capitalist work sites. JEL Classification: B25, N30, N50, N55 Key Words: slavery, plantations, colonial state, punishment, labour, outbursts.