Dear Editor,
May 5, 2020, marks the 182nd anniversary since the first group of Indian indentured labourers arrived in then British Guiana. This is one of the important dates in our country’s history since it could be safely regarded as the period which added to the multi-ethnic culture of Guyana.
Indians arrived at a very important junction in the history of our country. In less than three months after their arrival, the complete abolition of slavery took place. That created what the colonial powers were expecting and, by bringing Indians to our shores, were preparing for a massive exodus of slaves from the sugarcane fields.
The conditions that the Indians were placed in were not much different from those of the Africans who were held in bondage for centuries. They had to live in the same houses and toiled in the cane fields under the same conditions.
The Indian immigrants were brutally exploited. When the price of sugar went down on the world market, the planters compensated their losses by lowering the wages of the Indian workers. Indeed, in this sense, Indian immigrants were cheaper for the planters than slavery. The planters did not have to find food nor clothing for them, while being in a position to cut their wages.
It is important to note that from the time that Indians arrived in British Guiana, they became the most discriminated against in Guyanese society.
Many of the rights that were won by the freed slaves and their descendants and indeed the rest of the society did not apply to Indians. A good example of this was education.
Even though legislation was passed in1876 for the compulsory education of children, it did not apply to the Indian children. In fact, from the point of view of the planters, Indian children were a source of cheap labour as they had to go into the fields early to assist their parents whose wages were insufficient.
Even after indentureship was abolished, Indians were discouraged from moving into the urban areas so that they could remain a source of cheap labour for the plantations.
It was because they were so cruelly exploited that they played such a revolutionary role in Guyanese society.
From very early on, they sought to promote unity in the working people. The shooting of Ruimveldt in 1924 was one case in point when they struck in solidarity with Water Front workers and marched to the city to show their solidarity while also pushing their own demands.
It was the Indians who first raised the demand for universal adult suffrage as far back as the 1920s.
The continued discrimination and exploitation they faced and the position they held in the economy turned them into revolutionaries. They have, in the main, always supported progressive causes.
They led the struggle for industrial democracy from the 1940s. the killing of the five at Enmore in 1948 could well be regarded as the beginning of the end of colonial domination.
Even in the 1960s when colonialism and imperialism together with local reactionary forces launched a massive attack on the independence movement led by the PPP, the vast majority of Indian Guyanese did not waver in their determination to end colonialism.
Even though the combination of forces, internal and external, fought to halt independence and attacked PPP supports, Black and Indians, but mainly Indians, did not respond in kind.
Under strong patriotic leadership of the PPP, Indians only took defensive actions. They recognised that a large part of the working people was being misled and fought against their own best interests. The PPP supporters never stopped reaching out and working for national unity as the foundation of a strong and prosperous country.
The struggle is continuing today and the prospect is improving in this regard. The fight today for the protection of democracy and its straightening is vital to the cause of freedom and democracy. Unity cannot be forged in an undemocratic atmosphere.
As we salute our Indo-Guyanese brothers and sisters on their important achievements against great odds, we must resolve to continue the fight for real freedom, political, economic and social for all Guyanese! This is how we will build a truly united and prosperous state!
Sincerely,
Donald Ramotar
Former President
