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Areas indentured Indians came from

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Finding the area ones ancestors came from is a daunting task. To assist the searcher, the table below has been created. The table distinguishes between the taluk ( which often has the same name as the town/village or district) (Column 2), the district proper (Column 3) and the presidency/State (Column 4). These three subdivisions are not to be confused with the three place names that accompany each indenture entry (with name, age, sex, caste, height, place names etc). The indenture entries lists place names that are villages, thanna (police circle) and zillah (district). Hence, one needs to find the district first before finding the village/town etc. In the table below a clear indication is given where a taluk or district falls and the presidency/state involved. Use the map of India 1900 to ascertain the relative location of the district (Column 3) and the presidency/state in India (Column 4). Once the district is found with the assistance of the table below, the village/town/taluk may be ascertained. Separate maps for the Madras Presidency (South : Tamil speaking)Madras Presidency (North : Telugu Speaking ), Province of Agra and OudhBihar is provided to assist in the location of the districts within these presidencies/states.

The three principal areas that contributed to over 2/3 rd's of Natal immigrants were the Madras Presidency, Provinces of Agra and Oudh and the Bengal Presidency (Behar features prominently). It is interesting to note that immigrants were drawn from as far as the Punjab, Champarun and other states like Mysore as well as Mauritius and Reunion Island (probably those who already served indenture there). In the table below an * signifies Taluks/tahsils (column 2) that may have the same name as the District (Column 3) or in themselves be districts. Hence, some smaller districts (Column 2 with *) lie within larger ones (Column 3). The "/" signifies alternate names while the "( ) " around a name signifies present day name change/usage.

Please note that while the Madras Presidency is divided into the Tamil and Telugu sections by two separate Maps ( Madras Presidency (South : Tamil speaking).Madras Presidency (North : Telugu Speaking ), often there were overlaps in languages e.g. the district of Chittoor had 56% Tamil and 39% Telugu speaking peoples. So Tamil in the table below refer to the Southern lying Taluks/districts while Telugu refers to the Northern Taluks/districts.

 
PORT OF DEPARTURETaluks/DistrictsDISTRICT ONLYPRESIDENCY/StatesRemarks
Madras Arcot, NorthMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
Madras Arcot, SouthMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
CalcuttaAgraAgraUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
CalcuttaAligurh (Aligarh)AligurhUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
CalcuttaAllahabadAllahabadUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
MadrasArnee*Arcot, NorthMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
CalcuttaArrahSahabadBihar 
MadrasAthur/Atur*SalemMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
CalcuttaAzimghur (Azamgarh)AzimghurUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
CalcuttaBahraichBahraichUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
CalcuttaBalliaBalliaUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
CalcuttaBancoorahBancoorah?Bengal Presidency 
CalcuttaBandaBandaUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
MadrasBangaloreBangaloreMysore 
CalcuttaBarabanki (Bara Banki)BarabankiUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
MadrasBellaryUnknownMadras Presidency (Telugu)Lies west of district of Anantapur (Andhra segment)/ Karnatika?
CalcuttaBenaresBenaresUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
CalcuttaBharatpore?* see commentMost probably lies on east of Rajputana Agency where Bharatpur is today
MadrasBobbilli*VizagapatamMadras Presidency (Telugu) 
CalcuttaBudaunBudaunUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
CalcuttaBustee (Basti)*BusteeUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
MadrasCassimodeMadrasMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
CalcuttaCawnpore (Kanpur)CawnporeUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
MadrasChingleput*ChingleputMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
MadrasChittoor*Arcot, NorthMadras Presidency (Telugu) 
CalcuttaChupraSarunBihar 
MadrasCoimbatoreCoimbatoreMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
MadrasConjievaram*ChingleputMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
MadrasCuddalore*Arcot, SouthMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
MadrasCuddapahCoimbatoreMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
CalcuttaDahabadUnknownUnknown 
MadrasErodeCoimbatore?Madras Presidency (Tamil) 
CalcuttaEtahEtahUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
CalcuttaEtawahEtawahUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
CalcuttaFaizabad (Fyzabad)FaizabadUnited Province 
CalcuttaFattehpore/Futtehpore (Fattehpur)FattehporeUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
MadrasGanjamGanjam/SrikakulamMadras Presidency (Telugu) 
CalcuttaGanjamGanjam/SrikakulamMadras Presidency 
CalcuttaGhazeepore (Ghazipur)GhazeeporeUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
MadrasGodavery/GodavariGodavariMadras Presidency (Telugu) 
MadrasGondaGondaUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
CalcuttaGondaGondaUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
CalcuttaGorakhpore (Gorakpur)GorakhporeUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
MadrasGudiyatam*Arcot, NorthMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
CalcuttaGya (Gaya)GyaBihar 
CalcuttaHazareebag (Hazaribagh)HazareebagBihar 
CalcuttaJaunpore (Jaunpur)JaunporeUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
MadrasKistnaKistnaMadras Presidency (Telugu) 
CalcuttaLucknowLucknowUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
MadrasMadras City*ChingleputMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
MadrasMaduraMaduraMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
MadrasMadurantakam*ChingleputMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
MadrasMalabarMalabarMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
CalcuttaMirzapore (Mirzapur)MirzaporeUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
CalcuttaMonghyrMonghyrBihar 
CalcuttaMozafferpore (Mazaffarpur)MozafferporeBihar 
CalcuttaMuthra (Mathura)MuthraUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
MadrasMysoreMysoreMysore 
MadrasNageryArcot, NorthMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
MadrasNellore*NelloreMadras Presidency (Telugu) 
CalcuttaNepalNepalNepal 
MadrasPalakonda*VizagapatamMadras Presidency (Telugu) 
CalcuttaPatnaPatnaBihar 
MadrasPeddapore (Peddaporum)*GodavariMadras Presidency (Telugu) 
CalcuttaPertabgarh/PertabgurhPertabgarhUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
MadrasPoloor*Arcot, NorthMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
MadrasPonner (Ponneri)*ChingleputMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
CalcuttaPoorooleeanUnknownUnknown 
CalcuttaRae Bereilly (Rae Bareli)Rae BereillyUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
MadrasRajamundry*GodavariMadras Presidency (Telugu) 
CalcuttaSahabad (Shahabad)SahabadBihar 
MadrasSalem*SalemMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
CalcuttaSarun (Saran)SarunBihar 
CalcuttaSooltanpore (Sultanpur)SooltanporeUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
MadrasSydaput (Saidapet)*ChingleputMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
MadrasTanjoreTanjoreMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
MadrasTindivanam/Tinivanam*Arcot, SouthMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
MadrasTinnevellyTinnevellyMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
CalcuttaTirhoot * see commentMost likely in Bihar or Bengal Presidency
MadrasTirutani*Arcot, NorthMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
MadrasTrichinopolyTrichinopolyMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
MadrasTrinamalaiArcot, SouthMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
MadrasTrivellore (Tiruvallur?)*ChingleputMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
CalcuttaUnaoUnaoUnited Province of Agra & Oudh 
MadrasUnknownUnknownMadras PresidencyDistrict/Taluk could not be ascertained /not given
MadrasVellore*Arcot, NorthMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
MadrasVillupuram/Villipuram*Arcot, SouthMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
CalcuttaVizagapatamVizagapatamMadras Presidency (Telugu) 
MadrasVizagapatam*VizagapatamMadras Presidency (Telugu) 
MadrasWallajah*Arcot, NorthMadras Presidency (Tamil) 
MadrasWandewash*Arcot, NorthMadras Presidency (Tamil)