The New York Ashram observes East Indian Arrival Day

Dear Editor,
The sun shone brightly as a cool breeze swept across Jamaica. Plants and trees blossomed with spring, while adults and children enjoyed camping and playing games in the park near the America Sevashram, where a programme celebrated the 187th arrival of East Indians in Guyana.
The first batch of East Indian immigrants arrived on May 5, 1838 on the ship Whitby that landed at Highbury, Berbice, and the second batch arrived on the same date on the ship Hesperus that landed at Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara (WCD). From 1838 to 1917, 239,000 East Indian immigrants arrived in Guyana.
The cultural programme included patriotic songs from Guyana, India, and the United States (US) with children waving flags to the Angels Caribbean Band’s tunes. Ms Geeta Bisram sang Indian patriotic songs and shared insights into the immigration experience. Swami Siveshanandaji Maharaj delivered a keynote on culture and history’s importance for personal and communal growth.
Another highlight of the programme was the presentation of some mesmerising traditional Indian dances, including kathak, by the famous Natraj Centre for the Performing Arts. They portrayed their exquisite talent with their intricate movements, colorful costumes, and panache much to the admiration of the audience.
East Indian immigration was a “monstrous rotten system” said Guyana’s colonial Chief Justice Joseph Beaumont. The historian Hugh Tinker referred to it as “another form of slavery.” Throughout indentureship East Indians remained resilient and had as their main ally, their culture and religion. Despite strenuous efforts by the authorities to anglicise them, the majority of East Indians stuck to their traditional religion: Hinduism and Islam.
One of the reasons why the Jewish people are so successful is that they lean on three pillars: culture, religion, and history. East Indians are good at culture and religion but not necessarily at history. One of the purposes of East Indian Arrival Day is expand their awareness of East Indian history. East Indian leaders believe that a “people without history is like a flock of sheep without a shepherd.” And yes, “we cannot separate ourselves from our history no more can we separate ourselves from our shadow.”
One of the intriguing things about East Indian immigration to Guyana compared to Trinidad and Tobago (TT) is the vast difference in the Indian population. Between 1838 and 1917 over 239,000 East Indian immigrants landed in Guyana while 148,000 landed in TT. Despite Guyana having received more immigrants. Yet the current Indian population of TT (470,00) is much higher than Guyana (297,000).
Our analysis shows that this difference in population size was not due to higher fertility levels of TT Indians but to the massive emigration (outflow) of East Indians from Guyana, especially during the decades of the 1970s and 1980s. Although Guyanese Africans were leading initially in the emigration stream, they were overtaken by East Indians in 1973 and that trend has persisted until today.
The challenge for researchers is to determine if East Indians are better off in their new adopted countries compared to living in Guyana. What impact has history had on their perceived progress?
East Indian Arrival Day is observed on May 5th. Guyana’s Vice President (VP) Dr Bharrat Jagdeo extends congratulations to the organisers of the Ashram’s event on behalf of himself and the Guyana Government and he further commended the organisers for conducting a dignified and authentic cultural programme.

Sincerely,
Dr Tara Singh