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Janey Tetary | |
---|---|
Statue of Tetary that was erected in 2017 | |
Born | c. 1856 Patna |
Died | 26 September 1884 Suriname |
Janey Tetary (c. 1856–26 September 1884) was a British-Indian indentured servant, rebellion leader and resistance fighter.
Life
Tetary was born in 1856 in Patna and was raised as a Muslim. She was divorced at a young age and was known to defend women who had been badly treated by their husband.
On 11 September 1880, Tetary and her 10-year-old son Boodhoo signed contracts in India to labour overseas. They were indentured to Plantation Zorg en Joop near the Commewijne River in Suriname, which was under Dutch control as a plantation colony.
In 1884, Tetary lead the collective labour resistance of a group of "Hindustani" indentured servants against exploitation, after planters filed a petition to the colonial administration to change penal ordinances. They also protested about the low wages and difficult tasks they were given on the sugar plantation. When the military and police were called in to put down their rebellion, she mobilised women to fight armed with stones and bottles they had collected.
She was murdered by policemen, allegedly on the advice of the colonial official Barnet Lyon, dying from a shot to the back of her head at close range on 26 September 1884. Six other indentured labourers were also killed.
Legacy
In 2013, the documentary film Tetary Over strijd, moed en opoffering (Tetary, about courage, battle and sacrifice) was broadcast on Dutch television.
In 2016, Tetary's life story was featured in The Uprising music documentary which told the story of resistance against racism in the Netherlands, UK and France from a decolonial perspective.
In September 2017, a statue of Tetary was placed in Paramaribo, Suriname near the President's Palace, replacing a statue of Barnet Lyon. The statue was paid for through the Tetary Must Rise crowdfunding campaign lead by the artist and activist Pravini Baboeram.
In August 2019, a street in the Netherlands was named in her honour.
References
- "Janey Tetary". Counter/Narratives. 2019-01-30. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
- Christian-Muslim Relations. A Bibliographical History Volume 19. Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America (1800-1914). BRILL. 2022-06-20. p. 490. ISBN 978-90-04-50038-9.
- Roopnarine, Lomarsh (2016-11-15). "Who is Janey Tetary?". Guyana Times. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
- ^ Pande, Amba (2020-01-03). Indentured and Post-Indentured Experiences of Women in the Indian Diaspora. Springer Nature. p. 192. ISBN 978-981-15-1177-6.
- "Tetary is opgestaan – Sarnamihuis" (in Dutch). 2017-10-01. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
- Fokken, Margriet (2018). Beyond Being Koelies and Kantráki: Constructing Hindostani Identities in Suriname in the Era of Indenture, 1873-1921. Uitgeverij Verloren. p. 12. ISBN 978-90-8704-721-4.
- "SG – Movie: 'The Uprising'". WUR (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2024-07-22. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
- Gounder, Farzana; Hiralal, Kalpana; Pande, Amba; Hassankhan, Maurits S. (2020-11-01). Women, Gender and the Legacy of Slavery and Indenture. Routledge. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-000-29510-8.
- "Pravini Baboeram". FilmForward. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
- "Amsterdam vernoemt straatnaam naar Tetary – Sarnamihuis" (in Dutch). 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2025-01-17.