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{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = Indo-Surinamese
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| flag = {{flagicon|India}} {{flagicon|Suriname}}
| image =
| image_caption =
| total = 148,443
| total_year = 2012
| total_source = census
| total_ref = <ref name="Census">{{cite web|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/2010_PHC/Suriname/SUR-Census2012-vol1.pdf |title=Census |work=Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek in Suriname (General Statistics Bureau of Suriname) |page=76}}</ref>
| genealogy =
| regions = [[Suriname]] ([[Paramaribo]], [[Nickerie District|Nickerie]], [[Wanica District|Wanica]], [[Commewijne District|Commewijne]]), [[Netherlands]], [[United States]], [[Guyana]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]], [[Canada]], [[United Kingdom]], [[Dutch Caribbean]]
| languages = [[Caribbean Hindi#Sarnami Hindi|Sarnami Hindi]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[Sranan Tongo]], [[English language|English]]
| philosophies =
| religions = Majority: [[Hinduism]]<br>Minority: [[Islam]], [[Jainism]], [[Christianity]]
| related_groups = [[Indian people]], [[Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin|Indian diaspora]], [[Indo-Caribbeans]], [[Indians in the Netherlands]], [[Indo-Caribbean Americans]], [[British Indo-Caribbean people]], [[Indo-Fijians]], [[Mauritians of Indian origin|Indo-Mauritians]], [[Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian]], [[Indo-Guyanese]] |
| footnotes =
}}

'''Indo-Surinamese''' or '''Indian-Surinamese''', are nationals of [[Suriname]] with ancestry from the [[Indian subcontinent]]. Their ancestors were [[India]]n [[Indentured servitude|indentured workers]] brought by the Dutch and the British to the (then) Dutch colony Suriname during the 19th and 20th century.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hindostanen in Suriname (in Dutch)|url=https://www.nationaalarchief.nl/onderzoeken/zoekhulpen/hindostanen-in-suriname|website=Outlook|access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref> Per the 2012 Census of Suriname, 148,443 citizens of Suriname are of Indo-Surinamese origin, constituting 27.4% of the total population, making them the largest ethnic group in Suriname.<ref name="Census" />

== Etymology ==
Indo-Surinamese are also known locally by the [[Dutch language|Dutch]] term ''Hindoestanen'' ({{IPA-nl|ˌɦɪnduˈstaːnə(n)}}), derived from the word ''[[Hindustan#People|Hindustani]]'', lit., "someone from [[Hindustan]]".<ref>{{cite book|last1=van der Zeijden|first1=Albert|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TmDzd8Tlvz4C&q=hindoestanen%20in%20suriname&pg=PA154|title=''De cultuurgeschiedenis van de dood''|date=1990|publisher=Rodopi|isbn=9789051832167|page=154}}</ref> Hence, when Indians migrated to Suriname they were referred to as Hindustanis, people of Indian origin. Since 1947 the official name for the ethnic group in Suriname has been ''Hindostanen'' (“Hindostanis”). As the term ''Hindoestanen'' was mostly associated with followers of Hinduism, ''Hindostanen'' also includes the Muslim and Christian followers among the Indian immigrants in Suriname.<ref>{{cite web|title=Waarom Hindostaan en niet Hindoestaan? (in Dutch)|url=https://www.hindorama.com/waarom-hindostaan-en-niet-hindoestaan-jai/|website=Outlook|date=31 May 2019|access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Choenni |first=Chan E.S. |editor-last=Adhin |editor-first=Kanta Sh. |title=Hindostanen, van Brits-Indische emigranten via Suriname tot burgers van Nederland|publisher=Communicatiebureau Sampreshan|date=2003|isbn=90-805092-4-8}}</ref> Nowadays the term ''Hindoestanen'' and ''Hindostanen'' are interchangeably used in common Dutch language, and with that the meaning of ''Hindoestanen'' came to be more inclusive. They were also known as [[Girmityas|girmityas]], a term referring to the Agreements that the labourers had to sign regarding the work and the period of stay, and meaning "Someone with an Agreement."<ref>{{cite web|title=Suriname Seeks Stronger Relations with India|url=http://www.outlookindia.com/newswire/story/suriname-seeks-stronger-relations-with-india/715709|website=Outlook|access-date=7 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=India|first1=Press Trust of|title=Suriname forstronger ties with India|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/suriname-forstronger-ties-with-india/article1556284.ece|website=The Hindu Business Line|access-date=7 January 2017|date=20 March 2011}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Tropenmuseum Royal Tropical Institute Objectnumber 60008924 Een groep Brits-Indische immigranten.jpg|thumb|Indian indentured labourers]]
During the [[British Raj]], many Indians were sent to other British colonies for work. After the abolition of slavery in the Dutch colony of Suriname, the Dutch government signed [[Anglo-Dutch Treaties of 1870–71|a treaty with the United Kingdom on the recruitment of contract workers]]. Indians began migrating to Suriname in 1873 from what was then [[British Raj|British India]] as [[indenture]]d labourers, mostly from the modern-day Indian states of [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Punjab]], [[Haryana]], [[Bihar]] and [[Tamil Nadu]]. However, among the immigrants there were also labourers from other parts of South Asia, such as [[Afghanistan]], [[Nepal]] .

The first ship transporting Indian indentured labourers, the ''[[Lalla Rookh (ship)|Lalla Rookh]]'',<ref>{{cite web | last=Murphy | first=Janet | title=Lalla Rookh- Marking the Indian Arrival in Suriname | website=NewsGram | date=30 April 2016 | url=https://www.newsgram.com/lalla-rookh-marking-the-indian-arrival-in-suriname/ | access-date=23 January 2021}}</ref> arrived in [[Paramaribo]]. Newly freed slaves in Suriname who witnessed Indian workers disembarking at the harbour, reportedly stated, "''Jobo tanbasi''", meaning "The white man is still the boss", suggesting that they viewed the development as a continuation of the slave trade. Initially, the transport and living conditions of Indian labourers in Suriname was worse than it had been prior to the abolition of the Dutch slave trade. The British Viceroy of India described it as "a new system of slavery". In 1870s, conditions were improved greatly following the passage of new legislation to protect the Indian workers. The Government of the United Kingdom and the colonial British Government in India feared comparisons to slavery would hurt their reputation, and enacted several legislations to make transportation of Indian workers safer and improve working conditions in plantations. The Dutch government, which had signed the agreement to recruit workers with the British after long and difficult negotiations, also feared jeopardizing the arrangement and meticulously followed the regulations imposed by the British. The Dutch were also concerned that they would be accused of reviving the slave trade.<ref name="Emmer"/>

In order to reduce the mortality rate among workers being transported from India, the colonial British government required the presence of at least one doctor on every ship. As regulations required the doctor to be of European-origin, the regulations also required that one Indian indentured labourer be appointed as a translator and that he would be paid for his services at the end of the journey. Other regulations mandated that every ship have distilling apparatus with a capacity to produce at least 500 litres of drinking water from seawater daily, and also required ships to have a sickbay, male and female nursing staff, adequate food and medicine, and artificial ventilation in the passengers' quarters. Another regulation prohibited any ship transporting Indian indentured labourers from setting sail between the end of March and the beginning of August. Any shipping company that violated the regulations would be prohibited from transporting contact workers in the future. While the mortality rate among slaves working on plantations between 1680 and 1807 averaged 50.9 per thousand people, following the passage of the regulations post-1873, it dropped to 7.1 per thousand among Indian workers.<ref name="Emmer">{{cite book|last1=Emmer|first1=P. C.|title=The Dutch Slave Trade, 1500-1850|date=30 January 2006|publisher=Berghahn Books|isbn=9781845450311|pages=138–140|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xDO0BAAAQBAJ|access-date=7 January 2017|language=en}}</ref>

Indo-Surinamese made up 37.6% of the population in the 1972 Census.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.caricomstats.org/Files/Publications/NCR%20Reports/Suriname.pdf |title=National Census Report: Suriname |work=[[Caribbean Community|Caricom]] |date=2009 |page=32 |access-date=2017-01-07 |archive-url=https://archive.li/20170627135503/http://www.caricomstats.org/Files/Publications/NCR%20Reports/Suriname.pdf |archive-date=2017-06-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Following the independence of Suriname on 25 November 1975, a significant portion of the Indo-Surinamese population migrated to the Netherlands, thereby retaining their [[Netherlands|Dutch]] passport.

== Religion ==
The majority religion among the Indo-Surinamese is [[Hinduism]], practiced by 78% of the people, followed by [[Islam]] (13%), [[Christianity]] (7%), and [[Jainism]]. Among the [[Hindu]]s about 63% follow orthodox, traditional [[Hinduism]] that they call [[Sanātanī]] to differentiate themselves from the 15% who belong to the reform movement [[Arya Samaj]], started by [[Dayananda Saraswati]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/2010_PHC/Suriname/SUR-Census2012-vol1.pdf |title=Censusstatistieken 2012 |work=Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek in Suriname (General Statistics Bureau of Suriname) |page=50}}</ref> Among the Indo-Surinamese [[Muslim]]s, 75% follow [[Sunni Islam]] while 25% identify as Ahmadiyya, of either the [[Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the Propagation of Islam]] or the [[Ahmadiyya]] community.

== Notable Indo-Surinamese people ==
* [[Ashwin Adhin]], Surinamese Vice President
* [[Errol Alibux]], politician, former prime minister of Suriname, suspect in the [[December murders]] trial
* [[Robert Ameerali]], politician
* [[Kiran Badloe]], windsurfer
* [[Kiran Bechan]], football player
* [[Paul Bhagwandas]] Military officer, Football Coach, Suspect of December Murder 1982
* [[George Hindori]], Hindu Brahmin and Surinamese politician
* [[Tanja Jadnanansing]], [[Labour Party (Netherlands)|Labour Party]] politician
* [[Fareisa Joemmanbaks]], model and actress
* [[Ricardo Kishna]], football player
* [[Jagernath Lachmon]], politician, ex-Speaker of the [[National Assembly of Suriname]]
* [[Fred Ramdat Misier]], politician
* [[Luciano Narsingh]], Dutch footballer
* [[Prem Radhakishun]], lawyer, columnist, actor and radio and television producer.
* [[Pretaap Radhakishun]], former [[Prime Minister of Suriname]]
* [[Anil Ramdas]], columnist, correspondent, essayist, journalist, and TV and radio host
* [[Chan Santokhi]], [[President of Suriname]], ex-chief of police, [[Progressive Reform Party (Suriname)|Progressive Reform Party]] politician
* [[Ram Sardjoe]], politician, ex-Speaker of the National Assembly of Suriname
* [[Ramsewak Shankar]], politician
* [[Aron Winter]], football player

== See also ==
* [[Arya Samaj in Suriname]]
* [[Baithak Gana]]
* [[Surinamese Immigrants' Association]]
* [[Indians in the Netherlands]]
* [[Indo-Caribbean]]
* [[Lalla Rookh Museum]], a museum about the Indo-Surinamese history and culture

== References ==
<references/>

==Further reading==
* [http://www.gopio.net/publications_articles/Immigration_lecture_Sandew_Hira.pdf Sandew Hira ''The legacy of 135 years of Indian Immigration in Suriname'']
* [http://indiandiaspora.nic.in/diasporapdf/chapter18.pdf Indian Diaspora in Suriname]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030417123000/http://indiandiaspora.nic.in/diasporapdf/chapter11.pdf Indian Diaspora in Netherlands]

{{NRI-PIO}}
{{Ethnic groups in Suriname}}

[[Category:Ethnic groups in Suriname]]
[[Category:Indian diaspora in Suriname| ]]
[[Category:Surinamese people of Indian descent| ]]
[[Category:Indo-Caribbean]]

Indo-Surinamese - Revision history

>Citation bot at 05:27, 7 July 2021