A strong belief once existed among the Hindus in India. This belief was tied to the honour and pride of the Hindus, specifically the upper castes and going against this belief was thought to be even scarier than death itself.

One has to go through tough ordeals and extreme purification rituals to revive their caste status. For the lower castes like Shudras and some Vaishyas, this was not much of an issue since their status had been already low in Indian society. But for the Brahmins and Ksatriyas, the Kala Pani taboo was engrained deep into their psyche and the very fear of losing their caste and, thereby, their honour, discouraged them from taking any sea voyages.

Interestingly, such a bizarre belief did not originate from the mere superstitions of the people. The taboo of Kala Pani appears to be grounded in both mythologies as well as in several Hindu religious sources. In Hindu mythology, the oceans were considered the resting place of Gods and Goddesses. People were expected to avoid venturing out into the ocean unless they wished to disturb the Gods and incur their wrath!

According to a few accounts, probably passed down orally, people who ignored this law were ostracized by society. Even if they desired to restore their varna order, they had to undergo rigorous rituals and ‘prayaschita pujas’ to purify themselves.

Similarly, Manusmriti (200 BCE), another very important religious text of the Hindus, mention that if Brahmins crossed the waters, they would be denied Shraddha (an annual ritual of appeasing the spirits of the dead ancestors). In Manusmriti, such people who cross the waters are even equated with prisoners and other offenders.

The religious taboo of the oceans was justified by the upper caste Hindus in various ways.

Further, the Brahmins believed that by going away from their punyabhumi (holy land), they would be excluded from the cycle of rebirth as they would have no access to the Ganges, a symbol of regeneration.

When the British in the 17th century and 18th century attempted to carry Indian labour forces across the seas to their other colonies, they became aware of this taboo and were caught in a dilemma. Therefore, as a solution, they carried large cauldrons with the water of the Ganges, which managed to persuade some Hindus to venture into the oceans.

Interestingly, this taboo, although existed long ago, was not as strictly followed until the medieval period. The reason is unclear, but the orthodox Hindus imposed this strict ban on ocean travel only after the 13th-14th centuries. Given the rich history of maritime trade and travel of India, it is difficult to believe that Hindus never ventured into the waters in ancient times.

K.M Panikar, a historian who had done extensive studies in the South, argued that the Hindus in the South had no such strong objections to ocean travel. In fact, it was the Hindus who were known to have used a ‘Matsya Yantra’(magnetic compass) during sea travels in ancient India. Even the Rig Veda mentions evidence of sea voyages undertaken by Hindu rishis like Vasishtha as well as by merchants for commercial purposes.

Although we do not the exact reason why the taboo of Kala Pani became more pronounced in the medieval and early modern period, we can say that even though the taboo existed, it was not universally followed by all Hindus. But the fear still ran deep among those who believed in this taboo of the ocean.

We must have heard about the historical jail of the Andaman Islands called Cellular jail. The prison from the 1890s was used by the British for deporting freedom fighters and was infamous for the torture and other inhumane activities carried out by the colonizers.

The taboo of Kala Pani was broken sometime in the latter half of the 19th century by a few Bengali elites who began to venture regularly into the far-off lands.

India as we know it today has been shaped by countless migrations of diverse groups of people at different points in time. Similarly, the emigration of Indians into foreign places has shaped the history of those places as well. We can think of countless reasons why people migrate to other places. Better opportunities, better lifestyles, and freedom from caste/class/race distinctions in society are only a few of them.

But the story of Kala Pani tells us that there were even reasons why people were bound to their lands and refused to venture even when the need arose because it went against their religious beliefs.