Map found, may lead to graves of Indian workers killed in 1902

A Suriname-born researcher in The Netherlands has found a map amongst Dutch military archives that could aid archeologists in Suriname in locating forgotten mass graves of Indian indentured workers killed by colonial authorities in 1902. Suriname's government earlier this month granted a local archeologist permission to carry out the search for the graves.

Indentured workers from East India came to Suriname in 1863, ten years after slavery was abolished, to replace the slaves on whose labour the colony relied. Many were placed to work at Marienburg , a once thriving sugar plantation in District Commewijne. From when they first arrived in the country in 1873, the Indians protested about ten times violently against the harsh working and living conditions they were exposed to. In total 24 Indian workers are believed to have fallen during these protests.

The revolt of 1902 at Marienburg was in retaliation against Scottish plantation director James Mavor, also known as Massa Mewa, who, aside from mistreating the workers, also withheld their meager pay at will and forced their married women into sexual relationships. Fed up workers eventually killed Mavor, following which the colonial Government sent the army to restore calm.

During the ensuing clash, 16 protesting workers were mowed down on July 30, 1902. Their bodies were dumped unceremoniously in unmarked mass graves alongside the train tracks of the estate. Before closing the graves soldiers scattered lime on the bodies to prevent stench. The colonial Government also prohibited visiting the graves.

On July 30, 2006 a monument to mark the workers' sacrifice was unveiled by then Vice President Ram Sardjoe, but the location of the mass graves remained unknown. Then last year, archeologist Benjamin Mitrasingh proposed to use modern technology and aerial surveys to locate the graves.

He recently secured government's go-ahead and has also been assured full support by the district commissioner (mayor) of Commewijne, the surveyor's office and the Marienburg coordinator for his investigations. The surveyor's office will provide a detailed map of the disused rail system at Marienburg. And according to media reports, Mitrasingh has also been offered the use of a private helicopter for an aerial survey of the area.

Meanwhile, as the archeologist waited for government's permission to commence his search, researcher Sandew Hira and historian Radhinder Bhagwanbali in The Netherlands located a map that could give indications to where the mass graves were located.

A copy of the map was sent to Mitrasingh, but he seemed a bit dismissive about its value for his research. "It is not an actual military map that gives coordinates and specific locations of the graves," said the archeologist. He said the map looks like a rough sketch that depicts the rail tracks, the roads and other topographical features of the area.

Bhagwanbali, the author of three books on migration and the indenture system in Suriname, had been researching the resistance on the plantations when he found the map. "During his research, Bhagwanbali went into the archives and studied the reports of the Dutch military regarding the uprisings by the workers. He found this map in the military files," Hira wrote in an email interview.

Hira, who himself is creating a database of all Indian indentured labourers in Suriname, has put together a list of the victims of the Marienburg massacre.

He said he is keen on also getting some recognition in India for those who died in the Marienburg uprising. "I have written a letter to the Indian government with the names, villages and addresses of those killed in the uprising, so that they can get recognition in their homeland. I am still awaiting a response," he said. Hira's list was sent to the ministry for overseas Indian affairs in July 2012.

Friday 25 January 2013

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