Tanya Sitaram
2024

This study examines how the emotional experiences of Hindustani contract workers in Suriname and Trinidad were expressed and shaped, mainly through correspondence between migrants and their families in India (letters, petitions and ego documents). Letters were not only a practical means of communication, but also an outlet for feelings such as homesickness, care for family and hope for reunion.

Where migration history often emphasizes the economic and physical aspects, this study focuses on the emotional dimension.

This study contributes to the historiography of migration letters and provides insight into how personal narratives within archival documents can give a voice to underexposed histories. By taking a subaltern approach, these underexposed voices are given a place in the historiography of migration. The study compares emotional narratives from Surinamese archives with those from Trinidad for a broader reconstruction of colonial history and the role of letters in maintaining emotional ties.

With the grant from the Dr. Silvia W. de Groot Fonds, archival research will be conducted in Trinidad, where, as in Suriname, unique archives and historical sources are present that directly relate to the emotional narratives of Hindustani contract workers in the region, including documents from the archives of the Agent-General for Immigration.

Tanya Sitaram is director of the Library of the Anton de Kom University of Suriname (AdeKUS). Earlier she worked for about 20 years at the National Archives of Suriname. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and Communication and a Master's degree in History, specializing in Hindustani migration and contract labor (and in particular in Women's History). Sitaram is a lecturer at various educational institutions, including the AdeKUS, the Institute for Teacher Training (IOL), and the Academy for Higher Arts and Cultural Education (AHKCO), where she teaches History and Archival Science. Additionally, she is the secretary of the National Museum Committee Suriname. She is currently an external PhD candidate at the AdeKUS and the Radboud University Nijmegen and is conducting research into emotional narratives of Hindustani contract workers.