Name: History of Hindostanis 1873-2023
SKU: 9789083345178
Availability: InStock

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The price of the hardcover (POD) edition is €45 (shipping costs excluded). You can order History of Hindostanis by sending an e-mail to info@sampreshan.com. You will receive an invoice including shipping costs, and once payment is received, your order will be shipped via PostNL.

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This book analyses and describes the fascinating history of the Hindostanis. The Hindostanis are the descendants of 34,304 Indian Indentured labourers who emigrated from (British) India to the former Dutch colony of Suriname between 1873 and 1916. Additionally, approximately 3,000 Indians emigrated from neighbouring colonies to Suriname between 1865 and 1920.

Altogether, their descendants, the Hindostanis, numbered over 350,000 by 2023. They settled in Suriname and The Netherlands, with smaller numbers also residing in the United States, Canada, the Dutch Antilles, and Belgium. A century after the commencement of migration in 1873 from India to Suriname, a second migration of Hindostanis began. Preceding Suriname’s independence on November 25, 1975, many Hindostanis migrated to The Netherlands because, as the largest ethnic group, they had been politically marginalised in Suriname since 1973. Between 1974 and 1975, nearly 60,000 Surinamese emigrated to The Netherlands, predominantly Hindostanis. After 1975, a smaller number of Hindostanis continued to settle in The Netherlands. By 2023, their total population in The Netherlands reached 180,000, while in Suriname, it was 170,000. The remarkable population growth among the Hindostani group, compared to the Indian population in Indian indentured diasporic countries and other ethnic groups in Suriname, is exceptional. The Hindostanis have largely retained their (Indian) culture and language and have become an affluent community over time. Suriname now has a Hindostani president, Chandrikapersad Santokhi. The Hindostani group remains the largest ethnic group in Suriname. Ten chapters of this book portray the two migrations and integration into social, economic, and cultural domains as well as the political field.

Additionally, special themes such as gender relations, relationships with India, and the impact of Bollywood are addressed. This 150-year glorious history (1873-2023) of Hindostanis is based on extensive research. Dr Chan Choenni has collected extensive data, providing a vivid picture of the Hindostani community. He has published several books about Hindostanis and numerous articles in both Dutch and English. A comprehensive book in English on the history of Hindostanis has been lacking until recently now.

Dr Chan(dersen) E.S. Choenni is an emeritus professor born in 1953 in Paramaribo (Suriname). He studied political science and science of Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam. He received his PhD in 1995 at the University of Utrecht; his thesis was based on research on Surinamese conscripts in the Dutch military. Chan Choenni was a policy advisor at several Ministries of the National Government. He was appointed Embedded Lalla Rookh Chair Professor at the Free University Amsterdam in 2010 and retired in 2016. His assignment was to study the history of the Hindostani migration. Lalla Rookh was the name of the first ship that transported Hindostani emigrants in 1873 from the port of Calcutta (now Kolkata) to Suriname. Chan Choenni has recently published a voluminous book about the history of Afro-Surinamers in Suriname from 1863 to 1963. Currently, he is researching the history of Javanese Surinamers from 1890 to 1990.