Dr.Dinesh
Continued from Nicobar Diary part-8
(letter to Prime Minister Shri..Jawaharlal Nehru)
They were not allowed to sell their articles on land but on their ships, to avoid trouble with the Nicobarese.
The Natives when they saw a ship at anchor, they load with nuts (some sentences missing in the manuscriptas it has faded due to passage of time)
articles for barter:-
Commodities :- Prices in coconuts.
1. Nickel silver soup ladle 500 pairs of nuts
2. Long spoon 500 pairs of nuts
3. Table spoon & fork 500 pairs of nuts
4. Desert spoon & fork 300 pairs of nuts
5. Tea spoon & small fork 120 pair of nuts
6. Mustard spoon 200 pair of nuts
7. Tumbler 20-40pairs according to size
8. Decanters 60 -80 “
9. China plates 40-80 “
10. China Bowls 40-80 “
11. Enameled Plates 40-80 “
12. Enamel Cups 40-80 “
13. Matches packet of 12 Boxes 24 pairs
14. Thread, a dozen box 13 pairs
15. Needle a dozen 12 pairs
16. Chinese tobacco 1 pkt 40 pairs
17. Chinese tobacco 1 bundle 100 pairs
18. Red cloth 1 piece 1200 pairs
19. Red cloth 1 pc (Turkey) 1600 pairs
20. White calico 1pc 800 pairs
21. Chinese cloth(black) 1 pc 600 pairs
22. Madras Handkerchief 1 pc 600-2000 pairs
23. Fancy coloured chintz & sari
24. Fancy Bombay Handerkerchief
25. Rice (1 bag 2 mound, (Calcutta) 300-500 pairs
26. Rice(1 bag 3 mnds Burma) 500-600 pairs
27. Earthern pots 10-40 pairs
28. American knife 80-120 pairs
29. American cl. Knife 20-60 pairs
30. Burmese Dah 40-200 pairs
31. Table knife 40-160 pairs
32. Rupee 30-50 pairs
33. Wooden teak boxes
34. Tin boxes, looking glass etc
The forks and spoons were for ornaments and show on festival days.These prices were fixed by government but the traders never adhered to the rule where there is no sale inspector. More often they sell their articles above prices. The natives were enslaved and burden with heavy debts which the father and sons can never cleared out in their lives. These debts are handed down from father to sons.The traders can cheat the natives very easily because the cost of articles are all ended with zero. For instance a father died, the traders come to the son and show him the account of his father. The son produced notches with his stick with notches out, out 1 for 100 pairs of nuts. He produced the sticks with one notch. These traders says account book cannot say a lie look your account is 1000 pairs, but one zero is added to the figure 100 to make it 1000. He gained 800 pairs for 100 pairs(The European were reputed to be better traders)
When the cheating was detected out by the government, in 1930, order was enforced to cancel all the outstanding debts. This was in the time of Mr.R.W.Scott, A.C.N who strictly carried out the orders. This made him the enemy of the traders. It is the first step of uplifting the poor Nicobarese. The traders were brought out at first to be a blessing to the islanders but they were cursed. When they settled on the island, all the year round, the condition of the people became bad to worse. They were all under their thumbs.
• Ex- Dental Surgeon of Government Civil Hospital (now known as Bishop John Richardson Hospital), Car Nicobar under Directorate of Health Services A & N Administration. e-mail: dineshdentalclinic@gmail.com
To be continued…………
