The system of indentured labor from India, which the British devised in the aftermath of the abolition of slavery to replace the demand for labor world-wide, has often been referred to as a “new system of slavery.” When, how and why did this once lucrative system eventually come to an end? What was the significance of this second abolition?

Mrinalini Sinha, associate professor of history and women’s studies at Penn State, will address these questions in a Social Sciences Forum lecture on April 18, 4:00 p.m. in the UMBC library, 7th floor. The talk is co-sponsored by UMBC’s Asian Studies Program, Gender and Women’s Studies Program, and the Departments of History, English and Political Science.

Sinha will focus on the contributions of abolitionist Totaram Sanadhya, an ex-indentured laborer and author of one of the earliest first-hand accounts of indenture.