Celebrating 188 years of East Indian Arrival

Guyanese will, on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, observe East Indian Arrival Day, an occasion commemorating the 188th anniversary of their arrival, when they brought with them their ancient customs, food, and culture from India.
Under a system of agreement, an Order in Council of Britain was passed on July 12, 1838, making provision for indentured immigrants to travel to Guyana for a term of five years.
On January 13, 1838, the Whitby left the shores of India with 249 immigrants on board and arrived in Guyana on May 5, 1838, after a voyage of 112 days, during which five immigrants died. The Whitby first proceeded to Berbice, where it landed 164 passengers at Hilbury on the East Bank of Berbice, nearly 12 miles from New Amsterdam. On the same day, it returned to Vreed-en-Hoop in West Demerara and landed 80 passengers. Of the 244 immigrants aboard the Whitby, 233 were men, five were women, and six were children. The first man to step ashore in Berbice was Anant Ram, while in Demerara the first to disembark was Nutha Khan.
On January 29, 1838, the Hesperus sailed from Calcutta sixteen days after the Whitby with 165 persons on board. It arrived at Port Georgetown on the night of May 5, 1838. Thirteen immigrants died during the voyage, including two who fell overboard. Of the 152 immigrants who arrived on the Hesperus, 135 were men, six were women, and eleven were children.
On January 26, 1845, the Lord Hunger left Calcutta with 162 passengers and arrived in Georgetown on May 4, 1845, after ten persons died during the journey. The next ship was the Success, which arrived on July 21, 1845, with 231 passengers, of whom 14 died on the way. This was followed by the Nestor, which arrived on December 26, 1845, with 233 persons and also brought 500 bags of rice.
On February 2, 1846, the Manchester arrived, followed in succession by the Thetis, Tamerlane, Martin Luther, and Troy, then the John Wickliffe, the Bussorah Merchant, the Aurora, and the Lady McKinnaway. Lastly, the SS Ganges docked in Georgetown on April 18, 1917, bringing an end to that period. Over the course of 79 years, 238,979 indentured labourers journeyed from India to Guyana to work under colonial administration, and they were distributed across various locations along the coastland.
The plantation system and its conditions were extremely unfavorable. The immigrants worked from sunrise to sunset and were paid so poorly that they could barely survive. They laboured intensely, providing luxurious living for their masters while enduring hardship themselves. Despite this, they brought with them a rich culture, heritage, and language. The indentured immigrants were disciplined and found satisfaction in honest, productive work. They were kind, hospitable, and generous, and they lived contented lives while making tremendous sacrifices so that their descendants could enjoy a better standard of living.
The foremost characteristic of the struggle of East Indian immigrants against the indenture and plantation system was their unity, which had been forged during their shipboard journeys. Those who traveled on the same ship considered each other “jahaji” (ship brothers and sisters). A further factor contributing to unity was their interfaith mindset, as the majority were Hindus and Muslims, along with the belief that the caste system had been lost through crossing the “Kala Pani” (Black Water). Over the years, this community spirit manifested in various ways, such as forming groups to sing the Ramayan and bhajans, reading the Holy Quran, and observing festivals and holidays.
The plantation owners and colonial administration feared this unity and used several methods to undermine it. By January 1840, there was evidence that Indian labourers were being mistreated. More significantly, uprisings frequently occurred, often leading to the tragic deaths of immigrant workers protesting illegal wages, poor conditions, and the exploitation of their women.
There were eight major disturbances on sugar plantations that led to shootings by colonial police, from Devonshire Castle in 1872 to Enmore in 1948. At Vreed-en-Hoop on the West Bank of Demerara, an English nurse, Betsy Ann, testified that she had witnessed immigrants being flogged with the cat-o’-nine-tails. Another witness, Elizabeth Caesar, stated that immigrants were flogged under the manager’s house, after which salt pickle was rubbed onto their backs.
Records show that one out of every five immigrants was brought before the courts, not for criminal offenses but for resisting the plantation system, which was supported by the judiciary and colonial administration. There were no trade unions until much later.
East Indians have contributed significantly to building Guyana’s economic and social structures. It was their unity in principle and action that helped bring progress and success to the nation. (Adapted from an article by Shan Razak; 2013 Guyana Times newspaper.)