Kala pani revisited

Indian labour migrants and the sea crossing

Bibliographic Data

ID7315618
AuthorsCrispin Bates (0000-0002-1978-5106, University of Edinburgh), Marina Carter (University of Edinburgh)
Year2021
Volume1
Issue1
Publication date2021-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Indentureship and its Legacies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2634-1999 • E-ISSN: 2634-2006
PublisherPluto Journals (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.13169/jofstudindentleg.1.1.0036
OpenAlexW3206095186
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited28

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

Aesthetics · Archaeology · Art · Colonialism · Convict · Deconstruction (building · Epistemology · Literature · Meaning (existential · Nationalism · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Trope (literature · Caribbean and African Literature and Culture · Caribbean history, culture, and politics · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Engineering · History · Law · Philosophy

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Open DOIOpen Access