Dr.Dinesh
Continued from Nicobar Diary part-9
(Letter to Prime Minister Shri..Jawaharlal Nehru)
After loading the ships:-
The traders were to return via Port Blair after loading their ships with coconuts to report to the administration about the quantity of nuts loaded in their ships. If everything is all right port clearance were issued to whichever port they wanted to go and royalty realised for the amount of nuts they carry.
Mr. V. Solomen Appointed Government Agent:-
This coming to Port Blair and to leave from there after loading their ships with nuts was saved, when Mr. V. Solomen was appointed government agent at Car Nicobar in 1895.
Quoting from the book of C.D.Gloss of America 1901:-“we were met by Mr. V. Solomen, a Madrasi Christian, who fills the position of MeteorologicalObserver, Port Blair, School Master and Catechist, and act unofficially as Magistrate and amateur Doctor. He offered every assistance in his power and put the school house at our disposal, should we care to him ashore”. These offices which Mr. V. Solomen held was his enticement to have in such an isolation place which has a contact with the outside world once in a year or never at all. When Mr.V. Solomen settled down on Car Nicobar the traders poured in from west south and east of India and Burma. India and Burma divided the season between themselves. Burma came during the N.E season from November to May, for they are collector of copra and require more sunlight. About the end of the May they load their ships with copra andleave their huts to come back again in November next. They have their shops in all the thirteen villages.
The Indians were collector of nuts and hukka. They come in the month of May and leave about December and January with a fair wind. All traders sell the same kind of things, but Burma sell dahs and silver ware.
The first big firms were “Bora” from Colombo and Calcutta, They had their shops in all big villages and they were rivals.
One was E.G Adamali from Colombo and the other was Casimjee from Calcutta. At the least they had dozen Baglas each chartered from Kathiawar. They do like to leave their empty shops and returned for 6 months.
STAY ALL THE YEAR ROUND:-
As both parties Burmese and Indians compete each other they made it a point to settle on the Islands all the year round and did the Chinese in the central group of Nicobars. The work of the agent was to keep the peace between the natives and the traders. But the future agents were corrupts. They sided their kinds. Often the traders take loan in their hands when his clients delay to pay the debt. He is taken into his shop and put clients delay to pay the debt. He is taken into his shop and put in goat sheds and blows till the poor man promised that he would pay him at the earliest possible time.The Nicobarese reported the case to the agent, but in vain. His threatening by the agent to undergo remand for 3 months if he does not pay up his debts, even the marks of the beating wereplainly seen in his back.
• 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…………
