From India via Suriname to the Netherlands
The history of the Hindustanis, the largest group with Indian roots in the Netherlands.
On 5 June 1873 the sailing ship Lalla Rookh arrived in Suriname with the first indentured labourers from British India. Until 1916 about 34,000 men, women and children followed, mostly from present-day Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, to work on the plantations. About a third returned; the others stayed and built a community of their own, with Sarnami as its language.
Around Suriname's independence in 1975, many Hindustanis left for the Netherlands. Their descendants live all over the country, with The Hague as the undisputed centre. Every year on 5 June the Hindustani immigration is commemorated.
Anyone tracing their ancestors starts at the National Archives: the records of almost all indentured labourers, including their village of origin, can be searched online there for free.
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Useful links
- Nationaal Archief nationaalarchief.nl
Index of Hindustani indentured labourers in Suriname. - City of The Hague denhaag.nl
The city with the largest Hindustani community in the Netherlands.