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The '''kangani system''' was a form of labour recruitment and organisation in parts of [[European colonisation of Southeast Asia|Southeast Asia under British colonial rule]], generally in operation from the early 19th century until the early 20th century, specifically the areas now known as [[Colonial Burma|Myanmar]], [[British Malaya|Malaysia]], and [[British Ceylon|Sri Lanka]]. The system was similar to [[indentured servitude]] and both were in operation during the same period, with the kangani system becoming more popular from late 19th century onward. Under the kangani system, recruitment and management were taken up by people called the ''kangani'' (from the [[Tamil language|Tamil]] word for foreman), who directly recruited migrants from [[India]]—especially [[South India]] in Tamil-majority areas—via networks of friends, family and other contacts, with that same person then responsible for the supervision of the labourers they recruited.<ref>{{cite book |first=Amarjit |last=Kaur |title=Southeast Asia: An Historical Encyclopedia from Angor Wat to East Timor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QKgraWbb7yoC |year=2004 | publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=1576077705 |pages=639, 641}}</ref> The leader of these groups of immigrants had considerable control over their affairs and generally forced them to enter debt-bondage relationships by illegally deducting their wages. In smaller groups, they might work as labourers themselves in addition to their other responsibilities but in larger groups their role was more one of organisation, supervision and dealing with the landowner.<ref>{{cite book |first=Raj Sekhar |last=Basu |title=Nandanar's Children: The Paraiyans' Tryst with Destiny, Tamil Nadu 1850 - 1956 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4NeGAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA111 |year=2011 |publisher=SAGE |isbn=978-81-321-0679-1 |pages=111, 119}}</ref> With certain estimates showing that nearly 1 in 8 Indian labourers in Burma was a kangani, some have argued that stepping into the role of recruiter and supervisor, with its accompanied rise in income and status, was a relatively achievable form of social mobility among the labourers of the plantations<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=39lJz_L4MdUC|title=Rising India and Indian communities in East Asia|date=2008|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|others=Kesavapany, K.,, Mani, A.,, Ramasamy, P. (Palanisamy), 1949-|isbn=9789812308009|location=Singapore|pages=19|oclc=746746932}}</ref><br />
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== References ==<br />
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== Further reading ==<br />
*{{cite book |last=Sandhu |first=Kernial Singh |year=1969 |title=Indians in Malaya: Some Aspects of Their Immigration and Settlement (1786-1957) |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-52114-813-9}}<br />
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{{British Ceylon period topics}}<br />
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[[Category:Labor relations]]<br />
[[Category:Asian people by ethnic or national origin]]<br />
[[Category:Labor history]]<br />
[[Category:South Asian culture]]<br />
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