Dougla, a word used by people of the West Indies, comes from dogala, the Hindustani word for "bastard".

It was often used by people of Hindustani descent (i.e. East Indians) when referring to a person who was of mixed descent. This included anyone who was not a pure blooded member of a single caste. In the West Indies, as caste decreased in importance and intermarriage between castes became more common, this word became less used when referring to people as long as they were full-blooded Indians. However, "dougla" continued to be used frequently when referring to people of mixed African and Hindustani descent. This reflected widespread Hindustani opposition to interracial marriage. Their opposition was caused mainly by two factors: their desire to perserve Hindustani culture and tension between races as a result of Black discrimination against Indians. Many Blacks also opposed interracial marriage because of anti-Indian prejudices. They, too, began referring to multiracials as "douglas".

Today, most people are unaware of the real meaning of "dougla". They simply think it means "a person of multi-racial descent". Despite its usual use as a racial slur, "dougla" is becoming increasingly used by multi-racials to describe themselves.

External links

• "MULTIRACIAL IDENTITIES IN TRINIDAD AND GUYANA: EXALTATION AND AMBIGUITY", Camille Hernandez-Ramdwar University of Toronto — see section 2 entitled "Douglas"
• Dougla Government by Terry Joseph