By Ravi Dev
This is adapted from the Guyanese journal “Timehri” of 1919, and illustrates how even the literate class in British Guiana viewed the Immigrants. The original title was “the different kinds of Coolies”. This word, retained below, was used indiscriminately by non-Indians in Guiana and elsewhere. 
“The coolies most sought after in Upper India* are those from the Orissa Bhagalpur and Chota Nagpur (more particularly the latter ) divisions of Bengal, but these are Prime favourites of the Tea Planters in Assam and Cachar, and Emigration Agents for the Colonies could not, on account of the huge commissions obtainable, compete with these latter for them; very black in colour, and of rather negroid caste of feature, they belong to the aboriginal tribes of Bengal, and are considered the most docile and hard-working coolies to be had.
(*Approximately 6% or 15,000 of the total of 238,909 Indentureds originated from the Madras Presidency, and were shipped out of Madras. They were dubbed “lazy” by the Planters for refusing to be exploited.)
“The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh have always provided the Colonies with the bulk of the coolies recruited for them, at least 80% to 90% coming from this part of India, the principal districts supplying the greatest number of emigrants being Basti, Gonda, Gorakhpur, Faizabad, Allahabad and Cawnpur. Delhi used also to provide a fair proportion of recruits, whose physical standard was invariably higher than (those of) any other District, but on account of the trouble Punjaubees gave in the Colonies — they are a truculent people — their recruitment was discontinued and the Sub-Depôts there closed.
“After the amalgamation – up to the end of 1915 -recruiting for Fiji used to be from January to May, followed by joint shipments to British Guiana, Trinidad and Jamaica from then on. The early months of the year are the best for recruiting purposes.
CASTES
“Excepting ex-policemen, ex- soldiers, Brahmins, Chatris, Rajputs, Barbers, Dhobis, Nats, Banias, Fakirs, Punjabis, and coolies of any of the non-agricultural castes, all other castes are recruited, and have been sent to the Colonies. The castes from which the greatest numbers have been drawn are Ahirs (cow-minders), Chamars (dealers in skins), Kurmis (Cultivators), Kahars (Carriers), Kumhars (Potters), Kewats(Cultivators and boatmen), Lodhs (Cultivators), Muraos (Cultivators), Jats (Cultivators), and Mallahs
(Boatmen). Musselmen (Muslims) usually comprised about 20% of a shipment, in addition.
These figures are in respect of adult males and females ranging between the ages of say 18 and 29. Indians are, for the most part, small-boned, and a man of 10 stones in weight looks much heavier than he really is.”
