Journal article
Asian Labourers, the Thai Government and the Thai-Burma Railway
Journal of Contemporary History, Vol.56(2), pp.364-385
2021
Abstract
While the suffering of Allied prisoners of war on the Thai-Burma railway during the Second World War is well documented, much less is known about the Asian labourers employed on the project. Focusing on Thai and Chinese workers in Thailand, this study argues that although Asian labourers often suffered in a way comparable to prisoners of war, they also exercised some agency in their dealings with the Japanese. Many workers were motivated to work on the railway by relatively high wages, and at times they employed physical resistance against their treatment. Those workers resident in Thailand often exercised the option of absconding from railway work sites. At times, as elsewhere in the war, race became a central issue and showed not merely social prejudice but political calculation as well. The Thai government acted to protect Thai workers from the excesses of Japanese employment, but this was often at the expense of Chinese labourers resident in Thailand, outsiders who bore the brunt of harsh treatment.
Details
- Title
- Asian Labourers, the Thai Government and the Thai-Burma Railway
- Authors/Creators
- A. Subrahmanyan (Author/Creator) - Murdoch UniversityM. Sturma (Author/Creator) - Murdoch University
- Publication Details
- Journal of Contemporary History, Vol.56(2), pp.364-385
- Publisher
- SAGE
- Identifiers
- 991005543074607891
- Copyright
- © 2020 by SAGE Publications
- Murdoch Affiliation
- College of Arts, Business, Law and Social Sciences
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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- Citation topics
- 6 Social Sciences
- 6.146 Anthropology
- 6.146.2281 Southeast Asian Politics
- Web Of Science research areas
- History
- ESI research areas
- Social Sciences, general