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May 28, 2008
Indian Arrival
Day Not Just for Diaspora
in Trinidad
By Paras Ramoutar
Not many know that May 30 marks 163 years since the arrival of the
first set of Indians in Trinidad and Tobago. People came from Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Bombay, Orissa, Rajasthan and central India
and even from Nepal.
The first batch of 230 Indian indentured laborers touched the soil
of Trinidad and Tobago at Nelson Island, where they were held in
captivity for health and social reasons - as if the almost 117 days
they spent on the vessel Fatal Razack coming through the Kala Pani
were not enough.
The episode of degradation, inhumanity, racism, discrimination, ill
health, social, moral and spiritual decay continued. Although that
period is now history, it must not be neglected.
2016, just eight years away, will mark the centenary of the struggle
spearheaded by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi against continued Indian
indentureship from India to Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Fiji and
Mauritius, among several other countries, at the height of British
colonialism.
Gandhi was absolutely shaken by the harsh treatment meted out to
indentured labourers in South Africa and was quick to raise the
matter with the Indian National Congress where he received support
from G.K. Gokhale.
Gandhi, showing his deep love for humanity, quickly dispatched
lawyers to report on the situation in Mauritius, Fiji, Guyana,
Trinidad and some other Caribbean islands.
One of his better-known emissaries, confidants and ardent
supporters, C.F. Andrews, included this land on his itinerary. His
report was shocking and, based on it, Gandhi persuaded Gokhale to
demand the abolition of Indian indentureship in the Indian Imperial
Council.
Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, in a rapid response to Gandhi's call,
moved in the legislature for the abolition of indentureship. It is
reported that Governor Hardinge supported the call and Gandhi,
Andrews, Henry Solomon and Leon Polak campaigned throughout India,
and on March 21, 1916, the British government cancelled all
indentureship.
Our historians, social scientists, researchers and even our
politicians must revisit that time and see how and from where the
Indian diaspora in Trinidad and Tobago emerged.
Can one say that the Indian diaspora has emerged, arrived, or is it
still searching for its space here, after 163 years? In either
scenario, how do we graduate to the next level or by what means do
we reach there? Is it through politics?
I think former United National Congress senator and attorney-at-law
Suren Capildeo answered it succinctly at the induction ceremony of
the National Council of Indian Culture, on April 14, 2007.
"How much more humiliation can the Hindu society take? Every time
you look at the news, our leaders are either leaving court or
entering court. This is not limbo. It's not how long can we go. The
stench of shame is compelling. I do not want to inflict more on you.
The Hindu in politics is a tragic story. It is a story of betrayal
after betrayal. It is a story of gross incompetence and total
selfishness. It is a story of weak leadership and political
stupidity."
How do we reverse this trend? What are the ways to carry out this
superlative assignment? We have betrayed ourselves. We have to blame
no one for that.
We have to move on. And we have to do so in a very humane,
sociological way. A second coming awaits us. We have to get away
from the politics of hatred, deceit, infighting and confusion. Those
who are guilty of that approach must move aside and give to sober,
intelligent and balanced minds of integrity the assignment to
recapture the political throne.
Indian Arrival Day must not be construed as a celebration for one
sector of the national citizenry. It is a national celebration,
having been sourced through the realms of international politics and
economics.
All of us as citizens of Trinidad and Tobago must continue to
respect our national institutions, systems of governance, national
constitution, laws and other elements of governance. We must do our
utmost to adhere to and respect the philosophical injunctions of our
national anthem and national flag, for all these are integral parts
of the national body politic, until it is otherwise through
constitutional strategies. Let all those who are apt to fracture
this society rethink that approach.
We must remember that our contributions in the past, present and
certainly future, must continue uninterrupted. We must do so with a
strong sense of validity, purposefulness, dedication and benevolence
to all the people of the nation state of Trinidad and Tobago.
(Paras Ramoutar is the IANS correspondent in the Caribbean based in
Port-of-Spain. The views expressed here are personal. He can be
contacted at paras_ramoutar@yahoo.com)
May 28, 2008
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