TT 1 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
‘mmigrant Labour. 
Nearly all this labour consists of immigrants and, to a large 
extent, of immigrants who stay only for a short term. Separate figures 
for industrial labour are not available, but taking four of the five Indian 
races which supply nearly all the labour, the numbers of men in Burma 
who were born in and outside Burma at the 1921 census were as follows — 
Telugus 
Tamils 4 
Hindustanis 
Urivas 
Race 
Born 
in 
Burma. | 
10,384 
29,536 | 
12,820 
1.076 | 
Born 
outside 
Burma. 
100,196 
59,011 
68,580 | 
31.896 | 
Total. 
110,580 
81,647 
81,400 
32,902 
Percentage 
born outside 
Burma. 
01 
72 
84 
97 
Telugus and Uriyas, who show the highest percentage from out- 
side Burma, contain a larger proportion of industrial workers than the 
sthers. In the case of the fifth race, the Chittagonians, a large number 
were born and have settled in Burma, but they are not mainly engaged in 
organised industry. - The extent to which Indian labour is migratory 
is equally well illustrated by the fact that, although in the decade 1911-21 
the Indian immigrants numbered well over two million, the increase in the 
Indian population in Burma was only 142,000, ¢.e., from 745,000 to 887,000, 
From 1922 to 1929 on an average nearly 320,000 Indian immigrants 
per year entered Rangoon, the port of entry for four-fifths of these immi- 
grants, including nearly all the industrial workers. The annual average 
of the number of Indian emigrants leaving that port in the same period 
was about 260,000. Among the immigrants there were more than 12 men 
for every woman. We believe that, if separate figures were available for 
the industrial workers, they would show an even greater sex disparity. 
Recruiting of Immigrants. 
Of the Indian immigrants to Rangoon about one-third come 
from Calcutta and one-third from the Coromandel ports, the Hindus 
janis coming from the former and the Telugus from the latter; 
Uriyas are said to come from both. The remaining important classes of 
immigrants are the Tamils from Madras and the Chittagonians from 
Chittagong. The immigration is entirely uncontrolled, but it is not 
entirely unassisted. Employment in the rice mills is secured on a system 
with which we deal in more detail later, and which involves the grant of 
practically all responsibility for labour to maisiries or contractors. We 
quote the following from Mr J. J. Bennison’s Report of an Enquiry into 
the Standard and Cost of Living of the Working Classes in Rangoon .— 
“ Most of the paddy carriers are recruited in Tndia. The sub-maistries either them- 
selves go to India or send their agents there about October to negotiate with prospect- 
ve recruits. These recruits are generally well-known to the sub-maistries and are