The Ameena Gafoor Institute
for the Study of Indentureship and its Legacies
Who We Are
The Ameena Gafoor Institute for the Study of Indentureship and its Legacies (in partnership with the Pluto Educational Trust) has been set up to advance understanding about indentureship and its global impacts.
The study of Indentureship is largely unrepresented throughout academia, with universities in the West paying little or no attention to the history, lives and efforts of indentured labourers and their descendants. At the Ameena Gafoor Institute, we will aim to remedy this through publishing, scholarships, professorships and conferences.
Latest News
2026 Brij V. Lal Prize Winner Announced
We are delighted to announce Ben Jacob as the winner of the 2026 Brij V. Lal Prize for his outstanding essay, “Planting in the Ruins: Climate, indentureship and the cultivation of freedom in British Guiana and Mauritius”. The runner-up article is “Songs of Tamil Plantation Women of Malaya: contesting memories and histories” by Vandana Saxena and Nithiya Guna Saigaran, and Goolam Vahed’s “Indentured Labour in South Africa: the evolution in historical writing since the 1970s” was selected as the best historiographic article. Congratulations to all four scholars, and our sincere thanks to everyone who entered this year’s competition.
You can read the essays and full announcement on the Brij V. Lal Prize page here.
The Donald and Sheila Mann Studentship(s) in Indentureship Studies
Selwyn College is pleased to offer Master's Studentship(s) for students researching indentureship and related topics for their MPhil degree in any subject. The Studentship(s) will be open to both UK and overseas students and will make a partial contribution of up to £12,500 toward fees or maintenance costs. The award may be divided between multiple applicants. Applications from students from South Asian backgrounds would be particularly welcomed.
Those wishing to be considered should apply to the University in the normal manner. Applicants should specify Selwyn as their preferred College on the University of Cambridge application form and indicate that they are applying for the Donald and Sheila Mann Studentship(s).
Our Projects
Our Resources
The Indentured Remembered
Photos sourced from: The National Archives UK, SMU Libraries Digital Collections and Louis Renaudineau on Unsplash