Commemorating Indian Heritage Day

Fri, Oct 10, 2014

Editor: As we all should be aware, the population of St Vincent and the Grenadines is a mix of several ethnic GROUPS: Caribs, Arawaks, Africans, Europeans, Portuguese, Indians and some later arrivals. In recent times official recognition has been given to celebrating the heritage of various groups; thus Caribs, Africans and Indians during the year have their special days.{{more}} Every year, March is celebrated as Heritage month, with 14 March declared an official holiday as Heroes’ Day, in commemoration of the date in 1795 when Carib Chief Joseph Chatoyer was assassinated.

Meanwhile, Indo-Vincentians this year have been marking the 152nd anniversary of Indian Arrival (June 1) and the 7th October has been officially recognized as Indian Heritage Day. On that date in 1882, some 50 Indians marched from Argyle Estate to Kingstown to bring their grievances directly to the Lieutenant Governor, which included maltreatment and the failure of the Government to keep the promise of returning them to India on completion of their contract service.

On this occasion it would be fitting to reflect on what the terminology ‘Indo-Vincentian’ means to people of Indian origin as well as to other Vincentian citizens. Unlike Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname with much larger Indian populations, who have maintained culture and religion and links with India, for us we have been in the melting pot. The pot has indeed melted over the years, so much so that we are in a distinctly fully integrated society, in every sense of the word, except the way we look, which unfortunately sometimes continues to evoke the racial slur of being a ‘coolie.’ I have to say this: when someone of Indian appearance says or does something that the other person does not like, that person often lashes out with that coolie racial slur. And believe me, this bigotry is not confined to people ‘who don’t know better,’ but sometimes emanates from ‘those who should know better.’ Racial prejudice from all groups and individuals is something endemic in our society, against which we must constantly fight.

The story of how Indians came to SVG has been told before in these pages. Indians came here by boat as indentured workers between the years 1861 and 1880, from south India and north India. In all seven ships brought just fewer than 2,500 Indians between 1861 and 1880, most of whom were Hindus. It must have been a sight to the natives to watch the scores of strange looking people coming on shore, dressed differently, men in dhotis and loincloths and carrying their meagre possessions tied in a sack. Some would have brought with them their own mementoes from India, a jar, a drum, maybe some seeds like mango and other native plants, oh yes and ganja, the herb of the Ganges! However, by 1884, 1,100 had returned to India. The remnants moved off the estates in the early years of the 20th century to establish their own villages.

What happened to the Indians in St Vincent? Why are they different from say the Indians of Guyana, Trinidad and Suriname? The answer must lie in their historical experience in St Vincent and I would like to suggest some of the underlying reasons and conditions that contributed to our situation. These include: no critical mass; competition to save heathens; breaking ties with India to make them feel at home in SV; absence of Indian school and temple/mosque; change in eating habits; change in dress styles. As mentioned before, of the 2,500 who came 1,100 returned to India and in the post-indenture years (1890s), the Indian population was further reduced by the twin disasters of the devastating hurricane of 1898 and the volcanic eruption of 1902.

As the number of Indians increased in the island, various groups and individuals began to take an interest in their religious welfare and by the late 1860s Christianity had gained some ground among the Indians, so that in 1868 an Indian had risen to be superintendent in a church, and was preaching to his countrymen on Sundays. Infants were being baptised in Christian churches and given Anglo-Saxon names after the manner of planters, managers and overseers, as part of the Christianization process. The churches were so active in baptising Indians that it was not uncommon for one church to re-baptise someone who was already baptised in another church.

Attempts were deliberately made for breaking ties with India in several ways and to create loyalty to St Vincent, often by spreading rumours of the outbreak of famines and diseases, which acted as a powerful disincentive to return. Then too, because of limited numbers, there was no Indian school, temple or mosque, unlike the three larger Caribbean territories where temples, mosques and schools for Indians were established. A school was established at Argyle for Indian children in 1884, but it closed a year later, primarily because of the rush to get back to India and the poor turnout of children. Very early in the indenture experience, Indians were forced to change their eating habits, from curried dishes to Creole foods, as it was not easy to obtain the ingredients for these dishes. Fish and ground provisions soon became the norm among the Indians. Then too, as early as the first indentured lot, the Immigration Agent reported that the Madrasees had taken to wearing civilized dresses and the men had given up their loincloths. The end result was that very early in the immigration experience, Indians were re-socialized into Creole culture and thoroughly Christianized, with the children retaining hardly any Indian names. In this process too, we lost all the major Indian festivals, such as Diwali.

These were the changes that were necessary in order to survive and become part of Vincentian society; so today, when one identifies as Indo-Vincentian, it is simply to say that one is of Indian origin; but in popular talk the Indian is still identified with having certain values and traits, such as commitment to family, thrift, and being law-abiding. I once bemoaned the loss of Indian culture in St Vincent and the Grenadines to an Indian colleague and his remark was very interesting: look at where you are now; you haven’t done so badly after all. May be he’s right in the sense that the loss of Indian religion and culture does not necessarily mean the loss of identity, for in the long process, we of Indian origin have played our part in the creation of a uniquely racially integrated Vincentian society. Today, we are proud of our Indian heritage and ancestry, but more important we are irrevocably part of the Vincentian social and cultural tapestry. That means our identity remains right of the hyphen, Vincentian first and foremost. As people of Indian origin we are part of a global network (Global Organization of People of Indian Origin – GOPIO) and more importantly for our future development, we now have the opportunity, together with our other Vincentian brothers and sisters, to forge stronger links with India, which could only redound to our development.

Dr Arnold Thomas
SVG Indian Heritage Foundation
GOPIO International Caribbean Regional Coordinator
Email: arnoldthom@yahoo.co.uk