This publication highlights anguish and ethos of an oppressed community who were recruited to Sri Lanka during the British rule. The study reveals their aspirations to liberate themselves from bonded labour, their knowledge in trade and the tedious task of molding trade unions. But, now in the present context, these workers are undergoing social change and the formation of a new intermediary class and a rise in education levels. Yet, inequalities and inadequate representation in national and local electoral bodies is evident.