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Not ‘coolie’, but ‘sahayak’: Railways drop a colonial legacy

  • Rezaul H Laskar, Hindustan Times
  • Updated: Feb 25, 2016 17:29 IST
Railway porters at New Delhi railway station seek to assist a passenger. Porters will now be known as ‘sahayaks’, not coolies. (Raj K Raj/ HT Photo) 

 

 

 

 

For decades the word ‘coolie’ has been used for the men in red at railway stations across India, making a dash for every train halting at a platform to carry the baggage of travelers.

Most Indians probably think little of using the word to hail the porters that are an intrinsic part of rail travel in the country but in some parts of the world, ‘coolie’ is a pejorative that has its roots in the empire built by the British.

Railways minister Suresh Prabhu’s announcement during the railway budget on Thursday about consigning the word to the dustbins of history--the porters will now be known as ‘sahayaks’ (helpers)--has a lot to do with the shameful legacy of indentured labour from countries such as India and China who facilitated the rise of the British Empire.

The coolies were usually unskilled labourers who were taken by Western merchants to South East Asia, the Americas, the Caribbean and parts of Africa to work on plantations and construction sites in British colonies.

According to historical accounts, many of these illiterate men and women were hoodwinked or kidnapped by the merchants, who stepped in after the movement to abolish slavery from Africa created a worldwide labour shortage in the late 1840s.

In most places, the coolies were treated with abject contempt. Many died of diseases such as cholera during the sea voyage to places like British Guiana, others were repeatedly flogged and barred from returning home even after they had completed their contracts and women were often sexually exploited by their supervisors.

In South Africa, the word coolie became a catch-all reference to Asians, including Indians. In the US, it is a derogatory term used for lowly paid immigrant workers that has its origins in the Chinese workers who built the transcontinental railroad.

Author Gaiutra Bahadur--who traced the life of her great-grandmother, a young woman who sailed from India to Guiana as an indentured labourer in 1903, in the book “Coolie Woman”--has described the word as a “highly charged slur”.

In India’s popular culture, the coolie - as portrayed by Bollywood stars such as Amitabh Bachchan - was usually a guy with a heart of gold who triumphed over all odds through hard work and honesty. The reality usually has been that this is a marginalised group of workers who struggled to make ends meet by earning a few hundred rupees a day.

The railways minister has hinted at other changes for the porters--they will get new uniforms and be trained in soft skills. Hopefully, the changes will go beyond the cosmetic to make a real change.

 

Replies sorted oldest to newest

Mitwah posted:

Now I see where the PPP red shirt come from.

Bibi, you are hotsee not a coolee.

You are joking, aren't you? I was told the red shirt signifies that the PPP are communists with hippo teeth.

FM

Truly, I have always worn the name coolie as a badge of honor. My great grandparents were coolies who worked arduously and saved their earnings decidedly and built a new life in a strange land and demonstrated that people can overcome all adversities that block their paths. They were wage slaves just as I became a wage slave all my working life. What nobler way to honor them than to carry their coolie description.

Let's remember that in Guyana and the USA up to the 1960s, Afro-Guyanese and African-Americans were called Blacks in a pejorative way and Negroes in a respectable way. Until one brave person stood up and proclaimed BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL. The rest is history.

So, Gilbakka has proudly proclaimed COOLIE IS COOL. With me. 

FM
Last edited by Former Member
skeldon_man posted:

They can call me coolie too. My coolie forefathers were smart enough then to escape India before the decay of their society. Thank god for this.

And yuh was a smart enough coolie_man to escape Guyana before the decay, not so?

FM
Gilbakka posted:
skeldon_man posted:

They can call me coolie too. My coolie forefathers were smart enough then to escape India before the decay of their society. Thank god for this.

And yuh was a smart enough coolie_man to escape Guyana before the decay, not so?

Looks like I was one among the first smart enough coolie to look into the crystal ball and see the decaying state of affairs in Guyana and the shining money trees on shores of America. Imagine then, 46 years ago I was able to see farther than Sarah Palin.

FM
Prashad posted:

I only use the word to describe what racists are thinking about us East Indians. It robs us of our humanity as a people.

Kerr yuh sahayak rass duh side.  

They can only rob you of your humanity if/when you allow them.

Mitwah

With all due respect to the opinions expressed here. I have always objected to being called a 'c.....' Because it was always used as a form derogatory way, usually followed by the word Crabdag. When I moved to Canada, I was referred to as black and it too was used in a derogatory way. I refer to myself as a black guyanese who is a son, husband, father, grandfather, brother, etc.

Many accept the slurs and labels ascribed to them by others, try to redefine its  meaning and content and revel in it. an example is 'black is beautiful' or 'c..... Bully'. There is still racism in the USA and other countries and no matter how much we shout it out that 'black is beautiful' or 'c..... Is cool', it continues to exist and affects our lives in some form or the other. Such refrains at times become an exercise in self delusion. We need to define for ourselves who and what we are and be proud of those self definitions.

Z
seignet posted:

In Guyana being a coolie had alot of limitations until Dr. Jagdeo demonstrated to the antagonists he is a badass coolie boi. And they took notice. 

He may raise the spirits of the younger Indos,what i know for years Indos on WCD were bad ass.

Django
Zed posted:

With all due respect to the opinions expressed here. I have always objected to being called a 'c.....' Because it was always used as a form derogatory way, usually followed by the word Crabdag. When I moved to Canada, I was referred to as black and it too was used in a derogatory way. I refer to myself as a black guyanese who is a son, husband, father, grandfather, brother, etc.

Many accept the slurs and labels ascribed to them by others, try to redefine its  meaning and content and revel in it. an example is 'black is beautiful' or 'c..... Bully'. There is still racism in the USA and other countries and no matter how much we shout it out that 'black is beautiful' or 'c..... Is cool', it continues to exist and affects our lives in some form or the other. Such refrains at times become an exercise in self delusion. We need to define for ourselves who and what we are and be proud of those self definitions.

I deal with this, in this manner. I believe in God and any body who mess with me. I pray that such person is relieved of their captivity. Demonic spirits is responsible for poor behaviour and ideas.

Lard ah mercy, watch wah happen now. 

 

S
Django posted:
seignet posted:

In Guyana being a coolie had alot of limitations until Dr. Jagdeo demonstrated to the antagonists he is a badass coolie boi. And they took notice. 

He may raise the spirits of the younger Indos,what i know for years Indos on WCD were bad ass.

mainly corentyne people.

S
seignet posted:

In Guyana being a coolie had alot of limitations until Dr. Jagdeo demonstrated to the antagonists he is a badass coolie boi. And they took notice. 

Jagdeo is neither badass nor great, just a petty thief.

A
seignet posted:
Django posted:
seignet posted:

In Guyana being a coolie had alot of limitations until Dr. Jagdeo demonstrated to the antagonists he is a badass coolie boi. And they took notice. 

He may raise the spirits of the younger Indos,what i know for years Indos on WCD were bad ass.

mainly corentyne people.

Corentyne people na bad they mad

FM
antabanta posted:
seignet posted:

In Guyana being a coolie had alot of limitations until Dr. Jagdeo demonstrated to the antagonists he is a badass coolie boi. And they took notice. 

Jagdeo is neither badass nor great, just a petty thief.

Jagdeo is neither badass nor a petty thief, he is just great!

Bibi Haniffa
warrior posted:
seignet posted:
Django posted:
seignet posted:

In Guyana being a coolie had alot of limitations until Dr. Jagdeo demonstrated to the antagonists he is a badass coolie boi. And they took notice. 

He may raise the spirits of the younger Indos,what i know for years Indos on WCD were bad ass.

mainly corentyne people.

Corentyne people na bad they mad

Corentyne people nah mad enuff fuh buy you bull cow milk. Plaisance(sp?) people more mad than dem people in Canje mad house. If they took some people from your village, the admin from Canje mad house will have to release all the mad people to make space for you and the rest of your people. Where you think they got all those people who are in Canje mad house? Your village.

FM
skeldon_man posted:
warrior posted:
seignet posted:
Django posted:
seignet posted:

In Guyana being a coolie had alot of limitations until Dr. Jagdeo demonstrated to the antagonists he is a badass coolie boi. And they took notice. 

He may raise the spirits of the younger Indos,what i know for years Indos on WCD were bad ass.

mainly corentyne people.

Corentyne people na bad they mad

Corentyne people nah mad enuff fuh buy you bull cow milk. Plaisance(sp?) people more mad than dem people in Canje mad house. If they took some people from your village, the admin from Canje mad house will have to release all the mad people to make space for you and the rest of your people. Where you think they got all those people who are in Canje mad house? Your village.

Okay shit head u like punishment  I was going to be nice to u but I guess u too ugly for your own good

FM
Bibi Haniffa posted:
Mitwah posted:

Bibi this topic reminds of this bhajan.  Pitu Maatu Sahaayak .... Thau are  Father, Mother, Helper....

You gat anything more recent than this....please!!

This is still relevant.

Mitwah
Bibi Haniffa posted:
Mitwah posted:

Bibi this topic reminds of this bhajan.  Pitu Maatu Sahaayak .... Thau are  Father, Mother, Helper....

You gat anything more recent than this....please!!

I got this CD. Lots of good bhajans on it.

FM
Mitwah posted:
Bibi Haniffa posted:
Mitwah posted:

Bibi this topic reminds of this bhajan.  Pitu Maatu Sahaayak .... Thau are  Father, Mother, Helper....

You gat anything more recent than this....please!!

This is still relevant.

Here is one: "Main coolie number 1"

 

FM
Gilbakka posted:
Mitwah posted:
Bibi Haniffa posted:
Mitwah posted:

Bibi this topic reminds of this bhajan.  Pitu Maatu Sahaayak .... Thau are  Father, Mother, Helper....

You gat anything more recent than this....please!!

This is still relevant.

Here is one: "Main coolie number 1"

 

Well, you have better taste in music that my other friend over there

Bibi Haniffa
Bibi Haniffa posted:
Gilbakka posted:
Mitwah posted:
Bibi Haniffa posted:
Mitwah posted:

Bibi this topic reminds of this bhajan.  Pitu Maatu Sahaayak .... Thau are  Father, Mother, Helper....

You gat anything more recent than this....please!!

This is still relevant.

Here is one: "Main coolie number 1"

 

Well, you have better taste in music that my other friend over there

Thanks. Don't forget: Gilbakka is one proud coolie. He up to date wid coolie songs.

FM
antabanta posted:
seignet posted:

In Guyana being a coolie had alot of limitations until Dr. Jagdeo demonstrated to the antagonists he is a badass coolie boi. And they took notice. 

Jagdeo is neither badass nor great, just a petty thief.

Each of us have OUR HERO.

S

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