Ceri-Anne Fidler, in her doctoral thesis, describes how food was used to oppress Indian sailors on colonial ships.
“The lascar was always sallow. It didn’t helpthat his name anagrammed rascal. He carrieda whiff of scurvy, a hint of rats in the hold,hulls battered by typhoons.”
These words from a poem by Ranjit Hoskote are a vivid summation of the life of lascars, the wretched seafarers from the Indian subcontinent who were employed on European ships from the 16th century until the mid-20th century. Misery and suffering was often their lot. Considered inexpensive labour, they were mistreated, dehumanised and sometimes left to the ravages of disease.
Ceri-Anne Fidler in her doctoral thesis describes the dismal conditions lascars were subjected to. While Europeans were allocated nine “superficial feet” of living space, each lascar got nearly half of that. Medical assistance too varied based on race. Doctors were accused of being “altogether unsympathetic” to the needs of the l...