UG to host symposium commemorating 184th anniversary of Indian arrival to Guyana

The University of Guyana will be hosting a three-hour-long symposium on May 4 to commemorate the 184th anniversary of the arrival of East Indians in Guyana.
The symposium, which will be held virtually from 17:00h to 20:00h will focus on the lesser-known and lesser-celebrated East Indians who have made significant contributions to the development of Guyana since their arrival 184 years ago.
The High Commissioner of India to Guyana, Dr KJ Srinivasa; University of Guyana’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof Paloma Mohamed-Martin; Dean of the Faculty of Education and Humanities (FEH), Dr Roslin Khan; Lecturer in the FEH Alim Hosein; Head of the Department of Language and Cultural Studies, FEH, Andrew Kendall are among those scheduled to make remarks at the virtual event.
Professor Baytoram Ramharack, one of the leading academics, will present on Jung Bahadur Singh & Balram Singh Rai; Dr Seeta Shah Roath will present on Esther Mahadeo; Professor Somdat Mahabir will present on Nutan Bishun and Premsukh Poonai, while Cliff Rajkumar will present on Pam & Harry Harrack. The presentations will be followed by discussion sessions.
The symposium will also feature cultural presentations and readings from the works of Indo-Guyanese writers by present and past students of the UG, including award-winning poet Gabrielle Mohamed. Another feature of the symposium will be a spotlight on Guyanese poet Mahadai Das and her artistic focus on another group of undersung persons of Indian heritage: women.
In celebrating lesser-known historic and contemporary East Indians who helped to develop Guyana, and also looking forward to contemporary and future development of Indo-Guyanese culture and scholarship in Guyana, the symposium will widen the thinking on the Indo-Guyanese contributions and presence in Guyana.
The declaration of May 5 as Arrival Day followed the passage on April 14, 2003, in the National Assembly, of Resolution No 12 of 2003. It celebrates the contributions to the national development of our African, Indian, Chinese, Portuguese, and European ancestors, and their descendants.
Arrival Day contests us to appreciate diverse peoples and their cultures and encourages Guyanese to strive for a society in which the contributions of every ethnic group are recognised, respected, and rewarded.
May 5 also marks Indian Arrival Day. The first set of East Indians arrived in Guyana on May 5 in 1838, as part of a scheme of “indentureship” or contracted labour devised by the planters to obtain the labour for the sugar estates after the end of slavery in 1834. Between 1838 and 1917, when indentureship ended, an estimated 240,000 Indians were brought to Guyana.
The UG Press will also host the virtual book launch of “Kiskadee Days” by Gaitri Pagrach-Chandra later in May to continue the month of commemoration of Indian arrival and their contributions to Guyana.
The University will also host similar events for Emancipation Day and Indigenous Peoples Month on these commemorative days later this year.
The symposium is free of cost and open to the public. Interested persons are asked to register ahead of the symposium at https://tiny.one/Arrival-Heroes. The site is already open for registration from members of the public.