Indo-Jamaicans
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (74,000) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Kingston, Montego Bay, Savanna-la-Mar | |
| Languages | |
| Mostly Jamaican English, Jamaican Patois; Dwindling minority speak Caribbean Hindustani and Tamil (to lesser extent) | |
| Religion | |
| Protestantism, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Roman Catholicism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Indo-Caribbean |
Indo-Jamaicans or Indian Jamaicans are the descendants of people who came from India to Jamaica and are citizens or nationals of Jamaica. Indians form the third largest racial group in Jamaica after Africans and Irish Jamaicans . Along with the Chinese, they represent the wider Asian community on the island.
Due to deteriorating socioeconomic conditions in India under British rule, more than 36,000 Indians came to Jamaica as unskilled labourers between 1845 and 1917, mostly from North India (Rajasthan, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh), with around two-thirds remaining on the island. The demand for their labour came after the end of slavery in 1830 and the failure to attract workers from Europe. Indian labourers, who had proved their worth in similar conditions in Mauritius, were sought by the Jamaican Government, in addition to workers coming from China. Indian workers were actually paid less than the former West African slaves. This, along with fundamental cultural and linguistic differences and a tendency to not mix with the local population, caused the Africans as well as the British to look down on them. Indians were harassed with the derogatory term, "coolie," referring to their worker status. They were initially placed at the bottom of the social ladder.
The Indian Government encouraged indentured labour and recruiting depots were established in Calcutta and Madras, although agents were paid significantly less per recruit than for a European worker. Most Indians who signed contracts did so in the hope of returning to India with the fruits of their labour rather than intending to migrate permanently. The Indian Government appointed a Protector of Immigrants in Jamaica, although this office tended to protect the interests of the employers rather than the workers. Although technically the workers had to appear before a magistrate and fully understand their terms and conditions, these were written in English and many workers, signing only with a thumb print, did not comprehend the nature of their service.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, smaller numbers of East Indians came to Jamaica not as labourers but as merchants conducting business alongside Chinese, Syrian, and Lebanese immigrants.
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