The Indian Action Committee (IAC), in recognition of the arrival of 420 Indian immigrants aboard the coolie ships WHITBY and HESPERUS on 5th May 1838, wishes all Guyanese a Happy Arrival Day, and especially calls upon all citizens to remember the 185th Anniversary of the Arrival of East Indians in Guyana.
The IAC, an organization which promotes and preserves Indian culture, and deals with the issues and concerns of persons of Indo-Guyanese origin, wishes to remind all Guyanese that the organization protested in front of Parliament in 2003 for the recognition of Indian Arrival Day as a national holiday.
The IAC, over the years, has provided Guyanese with historical information regarding the arrival of just over 239,000 Indian immigrants, who came to this country aboard 245 coolie ships, which made a total of 534 voyages across the Kaalaa Paanii between 1838 and 1917.
The IAC, as the organization has done over the years, continues to recognize the endeavours of these Indian immigrants and their descendants, the persons of Indo-Guyanese origin, to develop this country.
The IAC, which acknowledges important contributions of persons from Berbice, Demerara and Essequibo, as well as Indo-Guyanese in the Diaspora, is aware that tens of thousands of East Indians have made valuable efforts in all fields of human activity in this country, including business and commerce; banking and finance; the sugar and rice industries; coconuts and other crops; fishery and livestock; mining and quarrying; forestry and sawmilling; education and academia; medicine and law; journalism and communications; accounting and insurance; private and national security; the hospitality and aviation sectors; the alcohol and beverage industries; sport and entertainment; culture and religion; and politics and governance.
The IAC, in light of the continuous discoveries of massive amounts of oil and gas offshore, is calling upon the authorities to, in future, expend some of this newfound wealth as part of the Government’s “One Guyana” initiative to promote and preserve the cultural history of Guyana in the form of new museums, cultural centres, and educational academies.
A Happy Arrival Day to all.
