Trampled Grass , livre ebook

Trampled Grass
Navara de Wijoo
Austin Macauley Publishers
2020-02-28
Trampled Grass About the Author Dedication Copyright Information © Acknowledgement Chapter 1 Trampled Grass Chapter 2 Remove Thorn from the Path Chapter 3 Deception and Politics Chapter 4 Search for Another Way Chapter 5 Still Searching Chapter 6 Victory Chapter 7 It’s Not the Fox Chapter 8 Recruit for the Plan Chapter 9 Fox’s Approach Khunti, Chota Nagpur Chapter 10 Gathering at the Maidan Net Closing Chapter 11 Hope for Some, Reality for Others Chapter 12 Scruples for Saints, Temptation for Others Chapter 13 Counting the Price Chapter 14 Still at the Depot First Batch of Victims Chapter 15 Depot or Prison One’s Pain, Other’s Opportunity Chapter 16 Cannot Hide ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ Chapter 17 New Ground, Different Ball Chapter 18 Calcutta Harbour 27 Jan, 1830 Chapter 19 Action Fury Quayside, Calcutta Harbour Chapter 20 Calcutta Harbour and Beyond Chapter 21 At the Voracious Sea Chapter 22 On the Way to Port Chapter 23 Port of Vizy The Confessor Chapter 24 Going Onwards Chapter 25 Meandering to Madras Chapter 26 Onwards to Ceylon Chapter 27 For Change, Peace at Sea Appetite Remains Chapter 28 Onwards in Indian Ocean Foolish Kind Heart Chapter 29 Moving Along Noisy Crime Chapter 30 Caught You Chapter 31 Judge or Conspirator Chapter 32 Good Catch, for Whom? Chapter 33 Stormy Sea in Calm Waters Chapter 34 Playing with Others’ Lives Chapter 35 No Place for Pride Chapter 36 Wrath of Mother Nature Chapter 37 Still at Sea Looking for Answers Chapter 38 No Room for Softy Chapter 39 New Experience, Smoke with Fire Chapter 40 On Northwards Snake Bites, That Is His Way Chapter 41 On the Way to St Helena No Shame for Naked, Others’ Embarrassment Chapter 42 St Helena Without Emperor Chapter 43 End of Journey, New Life, New Passage References
About the Author
The author worked as a head and neck cancer surgeon for over forty years. Has been actively involved in three charities, helping to raise funds by completing London Marathon, London-Paris bike ride and others. While looking after a terminally ill patient, he learned the plight of indentured labourers, which he researched and which led to this historical novel.
Dedication
I would like to dedicate this book to the love of my life, who not only walked all along with me, but also guided me on the right path, making me feel stronger and confident in my actions, whether complicated and difficult surgical operations, or climbing a difficult slope of life. That person is my wife, Wijoo.
Copyright Information ©
Navara de Wijoo (2020)
The right of Navara de Wijoo to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
This novel is based on historical facts of labourers from India and their plight. All names of the characters are imaginary.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781528909365 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781528909372 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781528959254 (ePub e-book)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published (2020)
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd
25 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5LQ
Acknowledgement
I would like to express my gratitude to Mr Hugh Tinker, author of A New System of Slavery . This is an exhaustive study, perhaps the only book with very invaluable references which helped considerably. I am particularly thankful to Mr Arif Ali, proprietor of Hansib Publishing Limited, who told me that this book is the encyclopaedia on this subject.
I am also grateful to Baron William Hague, author of William Wilberforce , which had excellent references about movement of abolition of slavery.
I am very much indebted to Austin Macauley Publishers, who provided a team to guide me, whose systematic feedback helped shape this book to make it informative, entertaining and worth reading.
In particular, I like to express my gratitude to Anna Cooper of production team, who was always present and ready to help for corrections and modification of the text.
Chapter 1

Trampled Grass
Ramu was very thin, weak, but was at least on his feet, with enough strength to try to help others. He was looking forward to step on dry land. He did not count the days or months he was at sea; Captain Fraser kept a log and knew it was five and half months’ voyage from Calcutta to Demerara. Ramu and the other travellers had lost all track of time since they boarded the Thames.
At least, he and Paroo were alive. He had no opportunity to find out how many died on the way here from Calcutta, but looking at vacant spaces in the hold, where so called ‘indentured labourers’ housed another name for hired slaves—he was certain many passed away from this world while on the sea. For them, this was a journey of no return.
This was ‘Sugar Carnage’. Sugar—deadly sugar—that killed unawares. It was bitter killer sugar to the labourers.
It was not the sugar that finished these hired labourers; it’s the greedy, voracious, inconsiderate producers who killed many, and perhaps they were helped by politicians too. The name was changed from enslaved humans to indentured labourers, but the effect was the same.
Paroo and Ramu’s ordeal was not going to finish here; it was the start of a new page, a new chapter in their life which was going to last, unexpectedly, for many years. At least both of them survived to see what was on offer; others were at the bottom of the sea, and will never know the purpose of this voyage.
Two hundred and ninety healthy individuals embarked on the ship, in Calcutta, only one hundred and fifty saw the shores of Demerara; eighty out of them were taken to a so-called hospital, as they were ill, malnourished, full of dysentery, unable to stand or walk. They were skeletons draped by skin, alive in name alone. Perhaps half will succumb before taking their occupation.
There was no one to give a helping hand. The colonial office in London was supposed to have appointed a ‘Protector’, looking after these hapless individuals, but it did not happen. For them, the sky was dark and the path stony, and they did not know where it led.
News spread like summer sunshine that a ship with indentured coolie labourers had docked in the harbour.
Estate managers were hungry for these farming hands, ready with cash for bargaining with view of having them, outwardly looked like hiring them. Farms need to be tilled, to produce plenty of sugar—sweet white gold which will provide ready cash and make owners rich very quickly perhaps overnight. Not only did sugar cane need to be produced, but it also needed to be processed, packed and shipped all over Europe. This was a very competitive industry. Britain had no monopoly; France could produce this white gold in their colonies in New World and sell, too. When Demerara was ceded to British rule, the gentry were keen to acquire land, for pittance.
On front was Gladstone Estate, which was huge, and had a capable manager who was always on the lookout for strong, sturdy and healthy workers. He had no use of women or children; such a message was sent to India as well.
The manager of Stanford Estate—not as big as Gladstone’s—was there too. He was allowed second bite; he was not important and did not carry weight like Gladstone’s!
John Gladstone himself would never be in Demerara, oh no; he had important business to run in London, England. He needs money, his son wants to follow politics, aspiring to become Prime Minister one day, ruling the British Empire. Such far-flung property will need to be run by managers. Being so far away from London, managers were like self-rulers, with their own laws and regulations, meting out punishment to anyone who disobeyed. If there were to be any women in that bunch, managers used them for their own pleasure.
All the managers of the estates looked at paltry number of labourers and enquired where the captain of the ship and the ship’s surgeon were.
Captain Fraser appeared.
“How many labourers do you have? We need a health report too,” there was a chorus from inquisitive people.
“There are one hundred and fifty,” Captain Fraser said. “We could not get any doctor; we tried to recruit from every port from India to Africa. You will have to assess them and their health yourself.”
“That is very disappointing,” said the manager of Gladstone Estate.
He did not waste any time and started sorting them; others got muscling too to get good workers, like vultures fighting for meat from a lifeless carcass, only difference being that the labourers were very much alive. The fit and healthy labourers were told to go on one side, the others were told to go to the other. All came on land after a long time, unstable and somewhat giddy.
The managers went on selecting.
Chapter 2

Remove Thorn from the Path
How life moulds us depends not only on our parents and teachers, but close friends too. Beastly, bad-behaving and selfish friends will lead you to ruinous ways, but friends with good thoughts and virtuous guidance carry you to the right path. When he was at Cambridge University, he met Clarkson and joined Clapham Sect which changed his views on the world, the blinkers covering his eyes came off and he could see that suffering of all human beings is the same. The greedy and selfish take advantage of the poor and weak, trample the grass.
Democracy is the will of majority of ‘own’ people, right or wrong, good or bad. Democracy serves voters, which can be served by deception; politicians offering temptations so that they may follow them. This increases suffe