ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to examine the correlation between the transportation of people as labour by colonial regimes and its impact on the refugee crisis. The researcher posits that this non-consensual movement of people led to the destabilization of identities and led to their ostracism once countries gained independence. These newly formed nations were unwilling in granting citizenship to these labourers, begetting a stateless population. These workers, on attempting to return to their country of origin found themselves labelled as refugees. The researcher’s focus would be on the specific case of Indian Origin Tamils (IOTs) from Sri Lanka, who are currently placed in refugee camps around Tamil Nadu. Indian labourers who were taken to Sri Lanka as labour for the plantations became Indian Origin Tamils, referred to locally as ‘Hill Country Tamils’ or ‘Malaiha Tamils’. The nexus between imperial migration policies and its contribution to the refugee crisis in India has been largely unexplored. The unique demography of India and its past as an imperial colony make the situation here incomparable to any other country’s past or present policies.
