Publication Title
Colonial Encounters and Slavery in Early Modern Asia
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
12-31-2025
Subjects
Forced labor -- Great Britain -- Colonies -- History -- 19th century, Indentured servants -- Great Britain -- Colonies -- History --- 19th century, British Empire -- Colonies -- India -- History, Coolie labor -- India -- History -- 19th century
Rights
Abstract
Coolie labor needs to be understood as a contemporary transnational practice rooted in local practices of feudal kings and the British Empire. When the British Raj established Shimla as its summer capital in 1864, they did not eliminate archaic labor practices; instead, they cleverly modified them to serve the Empire’s infrastructural needs. Under the guise of reform, the British introduced nominal pay to bypass anti-slavery laws, effectively rebranding the forced laborer as the "coolie"—a racialized linguistic construct that signified a state of permanent subalternity. This labor force was the veritable backbone of the Raj, manually carving the treacherous Hindustan-Tibet Road out of Himalayan rock and porting the heavy commodities of colonial life.
Locate the Document
DOI
10.24415/9789400605107-005
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/44700
Citation Details
Kapoor, P. Coolies of Shimla: Modern Slavery as Relic of the British Raj. COLONIAL ENCOUNTERS AND SLAVERY IN EARLY MODERN ASIA, 81.
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Inequality and Stratification Commons, Other Political Science Commons, Political History Commons