ABSTRACT
The transportation or migration of the Indians and especially of women under the Indentured labour system was no less an experience than the Kala pani Crossings as the metaphor suggests. Introduced in the aftermath of the abolition of slavery the system of indenture practically inherited the abusive mindset and exploitative condition that existed under the slavery. In the recent years, as the indenture system caught the attention of the academia and practitioners in the field of diaspora and migration, it has resulted in some in-depth investigations and shattering of the existing narratives on the subject. This chapter aims at discussing one of the hitherto unexplored facets of Indentured women and that is, the prevailing discourses in India on the Indentured women. I argue that the general protectionist attitude dominated the discourse in India and Indentured women were either projected as exploited and powerless victims or as the morally degraded beings, who were the cause behind most of the evils that existed on the plantations. Within these dominant narratives the real challenges and problems faced by the indentured women were completely sidelined and their voices completely silenced.
