Malaysian Indians & A Labour Movement - A Quick Summary [thread]
In 1947, Tamil labourers peacefully protested against the British that lead one of the deadliest clashes in Msian history - known as the Kedah Riots.
The demands:
*Ban of todi sales
*100% wage increase w/out gender discrimination
*No reduction on contract rates with Chinese labourers
*Proper living conditions
*Abolition of trespass signs so friends and family can visit.
The British used todi as means of controlling labourers by keeping them intoxicated. Todi was sold cheaper than food and shops were built close to the plantations, and declared that it posed no harm, despite evidence otherwise.
When the Japanese invaded Malaya and the British fled, so did the plantation owners - leaving mass numbers of Indians without work or income. Todi was all they could afford to consume for survival.
To keep the Indians from “causing trouble”, the Japanese increase the number of distilleries, making 50% of revenue.
After the Japanese surrendered and the British returned, the found a community that was so broken, they deemed them “useless” and blamed the alcoholism on Indians themselves. The stereotype of the Drunk Indian Man was born.
Expecting the labourers to continue work on the plantation, without any response to the todi crisis and no wage increase, sparked a two-prong labour movement.
An anti todi movement led by A.M Samy, a driver and grocer at the Harvard estate and a workers rights movement, led by S. A Ganapathy, chairman of the Pan Malayan Federation of Trade Unions.
An anti todi movement led by A.M Samy, a driver and grocer at the Harvard estate and a workers rights movement, led by S. A Ganapathy, chairman of the Pan Malayan Federation of Trade Unions.
An anti todi movement led by A.M Samy, a driver and grocer at the Harvard estate and a workers rights movement, led by S. A Ganapathy, chairman of the Pan Malayan Federation of Trade Unions.
One of the most important groups in the movement was “Thondar Padai” - made up of labourers and Tamil school teachers, with women leading the front. Members also formerly served in INA, under Bose during WW2.
We must also name that those who served under Bose’s “Queen Of Jhansi Regime” are responsible for the trafficking of over 300,000 Msian Tamils who died building the Death Railway.
Thondar Padai groups formed across Kedah, making est. 1000 members. There was no central organising body, and members met and discussed frequently, esp at temple festivals where they volunteered.
To quell the movement, the British formed the “Ross Committee” who were supposed to investigate their concerns. Despite providing 75 memorandas and reports by 30 doctors, the committee did not call for a ban of todi, and merely suggested that todi shops should close voluntarily.
On 28 Feb 1947 at 3pm, 100-150 Thondar Padai members peacefully protested in front of a todi shop in Bedong. They were later joined by 1000 labourers, including women and children from neighbouring plantations.
Police met the protestors with violence, killing a young Thondar Padai member. His name was Swaminathan. This radicalised the movement further.
S.A Ganapathy called for a nationwide strike. 89 estates with over 300,000 labourers participated. Malaya was placed under emergency.
Led by A.M Samy, labourers in 6 estates striked against todi shops after protests demanding the release of 12 Thondar Padai members were ignored. They were met with more violence, as more protestors were imprisoned and fired.
In March 1947, Thondar Padai helped organise a strike in the Bukit Sembilan estate. 66 labourers were arrested and fired. A month later, police killed a labourer during a raid of the Dublin estate.
In March 1947, Thondar Padai helped organise a strike in the Bukit Sembilan estate. 66 labourers were arrested and fired. A month later, police killed a labourer during a raid of the Dublin estate.
In March 1947, Thondar Padai helped organise a strike in the Bukit Sembilan estate. 66 labourers were arrested and fired. A month later, police killed a labourer during a raid of the Dublin estate.
With the constant violence, the movement slowly broke down. A.M Samy was arrested and exiled to India and S.A Ganapathy was hanged to death for allegedly carrying an unlicensed firearm in 1949.
Labour movements are integral to our history as Msian Indians. Our very identity is the result of capitalism treating our bodies as commodities.
The reason I tell this story is because history is repeating itself constantly, and our most clear examples right now are the treatment of migrant workers in this country and the Farmers Protest in India.
I am asking you to pay attention. I’m asking you to do what you can in your capacity. I am asking you to fight.
Sources:
1. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 8 • No. 10 • October 2018 Toddy Business among the Indian Labour in Colonial Malaya, 1900-1957 Dr. Parameswari Krishnan

2. Anti-Toddy Movement in Malaya, 1900-1957
Parameswari Krishnan
3. Malaya's Indian Tamil Labor Diaspora: Colonial Subversion of Their Quest for Agency and Modernity (1945-1948)
Patricia Annamaria Spencer

4. http://www.malaya-ganapathy.com/search/label/Kedah%20Riot%201947
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