‘A Most Callous Indifference’

Sukhdei, five foot something and a loner, was a girmitiya from the district of Mathura, in western Uttar Pradesh. Sukhdei was one of 13,596 Indian women who came to Fiji, all adults, as indentured labourers. She was one of 262 from the district of Mathura, and one of 510 who were Brahmins. The majority came as single migrants though there were about four thousand who came as members of families. On his way back, Totaram reported Sukhdei to Brackman when he inquired about work on the new railway track. When Brackman came on his daily round of inspection around midday and saw Sukhdei resting, he remembered what Totaram had told him and flew into a rage even after Sukhdei had told him about the loss of her child and her weak state. Fellow overseers viewed Brackman with a mixture of horror and muted respect

Anthropological Studies and Insights · Psychology · South Asian Cinema and Culture · South Asian Studies and Diaspora