Amral why dont you pin this up on the top.. since may begins tomrrow... think about it. thanks

you might have to bribe Amral. I was think that maybe we do a short piece for the papers which we can post on this thread as well.

wuk on it.. am sure he will.. he does it for other events...why not this one

you wanna do a first run and then I can take if from there?

There is no serious effort to build an indentureship museum to date and the records are decaying.

sorry bhaijan, a wuz lookin for dis tred yes'day but couldnt find it

quote:

Originally posted by DaFreak:
sorry bhaijan, a wuz lookin for dis tred yes'day but couldnt find it

Na tek worries, amral has " pinned up" white, blak, omen, man history months....yaddahaa.... and this....


The rebirth of Islam in 1838 forever changed the face of Guyana. The glorious civilization of Muslim India had arrived on the shores of Guyana. They came from the land of the Mughals who built the Taj Mahal and from districts and cities with where Mughal culture proliferated- Lucknow, Ghazipur, Allahbad, Gorakpur, Murshidabad, Azamgarh, Mirzapur, Shahabad, Sultanpur, Faizabad, and Azamgarh. Lucknow and Faizabad as well as Patna were centres of great learning and culture. bringing with them rich cuisine, urdu, sheer korma, biryani/pilau, Gulab Jumun, jaleebi, Kofta kebab, the Turkish Salwar Kameez which was adopted by Muslim India. Patna was a major city of Bihar, a center of learning and the seat of the Mughal Governor where Arabic and a considerable amount of Persian and Urdu poetry were written. “It attracted poets, painters and scholars.” Muslims have left their indomitable mark on India in culinary, architecture, gardening, music, paintings, clothing, literary and artisitic achievements, civil engineering, statistical digest, dictionary of science, memoirs, books of rules and procedures. In the year 1838 about 90 Muslims arrived on the shores of Guyana on board the Hesperus and Whitby, who since 1838 have played a major role in the social, poltical and economic history. Pultun and Juman were the first two heroes to excaped the cruelity of the plantation system, however their bodies were found in Mahaica. This ground breaking research will feature the names of all the Muslims passengers who arrived in Guyana in 1838 and end a gap in the history of Guyana. Bk and i have travelled to Guyana, India and the UK to document this history.

Zindabad!!

The Only first hand account of indentureship by an immigration.. from the memoir of an immigrant

Aboard the Ship
After 3 months of our arrival in Calcutta the final list of immigrants was made. During those 3 months, I had not gathered enough courage to write to my father. Just before our departure however, I sent him a letter telling him that I was on my way to the island of Surinam. We had come to know that our departure by ship was due in the first week of phagun (February) and that we would be with about 750 men and women. A few days later, we heard that the ship would be ready for sail the very next day. We were given our kit which included a tin plate, a tin lota [utensil], two blankets (one red and one black woolen one), two dhotis, three shirts (one black, one coloured and one white), two caps (one warm black one and the other coloured), and a bag to keep our new belongings.

The atmosphere in the depot, after this distribution, became very charged and people became anxious about their journey to an alien world. Our excitement and joy deprived us of sleep and the very next morning, at 10 a.m. when the bell rang for our meal, nobody seemed to be hungry at all. At 3 p.m., we were all aboard the ship on the deck and at 4 p.m. the anchor was weighed. A big steamer pulled the sailing ship out of the harbour into the open waters. It was somewhere in the month of February 1898. We left Calcutta behind and saw nothing more than water around us. At 5 p.m. we got something to eat. We received three buiscuits each and a big spoon of sugar. I had never seen let alone eaten buiscuits and wondered what to do with this food. One of my friends, Abdullah who had returned from Demerara [British Guyana] and now had become the chief, explained how to eat these buiscuits. I had to break them in pieces and mix them with water. I was still unable however to eat those buiscuits.

we
At dawn, the dark ocean surrounded us and the onl
y land that could discover was the place of the sacred temple of Jagannathpuri. The ship's mast and sails had been hoisted and they fluttered in the strong winds of phagun. The wind and the waves toyed with the vessel, which swayed to and fro in nature's Excited and happy, we looked around us intently and experier. something that our parents and grandparents had never ever, of. In books it has truly been written that on a ship in the one is turned towards the Supreme Being, because it is the:; _ His works are manifested and all one's senses are focussed on Him. "Hie vast stretch of water, the horizon, the playfulness of nature, all emed so miraculous. The only things that we could see apart from .ese, was the ship and ourselves. When we still had, been on the snore in Calcutta, I had been told about the experiences I would face aboard. However, I still had the impression that land would be more or less visible throughout our journey! But already on the very next day I realized that I had been completely wrong. Many r>f us became dizzy and had to vomit. Even I was not spared and as seasick for nearly 3 weeks. As a result I could not eat properly and only one roti with tamarind chutney was all that I could digest. The food on the ship was far better than the food that had been served at the depot in Calcutta. But the nausea prevented us to feed ourselves well. On our ship, more than half of the passengers hailed from West Punjab and South Bundelkhand. Therefore, rice and rotis were served thrice a week while on Sundays we were given chura or biscuits. Every fifteenth day, fresh sheep meat and rotis were given to us. Daal, vegetables, tamarind chutney, tinned meat and limejuice were also provided daily.

Everyone, be it Hindu or Muslim, was forced to eat what was served. If anyone resisted, he would have to fast. On board, there were no distinctions between high castes and low castes, Hindus or Muslims, or other racial distinctions. Each of us had to eat the tinned meat fried in ghee to our heart's content. Persons, who were rigid in their religious practices, had not been allowed aboard of the ship to Surinam. No brahmin could remain chaste among us in Surinam since everyone had to eat meat, etc. This was unavoidable. There was provision of medicines and dressings for the sick and all of us were well cared for. Every week each one of us was supplied with a bar of soap to wash our clothes and take bath. If our clothes became worn out or were torn, we received new ones. The strong winds facilitated our journey and we crossed Cape Town (South Africa) after 4 weeks. Within 2 months, we reached Satlina, where we harboured for 24 hours to refill our food stock: sheep, vegetables, cucumber, potatoes, onions, drinking water, etc. The kind ruler of the place gave all of us pears to eat which were very sweet and delicious. A doctor checked our (medical) fitness and prescribed two pears for each of us including the 150 black men who worked on our ship and looked after its maintenance and safety. After 24 hours, we again set off.

A week later, the captain announced one evening that a storm was anticipated after a couple of days and after 3 p.m. we all became concerned and were disturbed. Yet who can avoid Khuda's orders? On the third day, dark clouds were seen high up in the sky. The captain ordered everyone to abandon the deck and go indoors one hour before the scheduled time. (Normally, we were to go inside at nine every morning and three in the evening for our meals that were served at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. each day. After meals, we would again climb up and stay till 6 p.m.). When we were all inside, the captain ordered his men to pull down all the sails except the one in front The sailors immediately set out to work, but before they could finish assembling the heavy cloth, the storm struck. Two of the three masts had been untied, but the third, which was in front, was still manned by a sailor who was trying to untie the sails. The force of the storm broke the tip of the mast and the sailor atop it fell into the waters along with the broken end. The captain immediately ordered to cut off all the ropes of the masts. The sailor who fell down could never be traced again. The ship tossed about dangerously and every now and then we felt as if we were going to drown and find our watery graves. Ropes were tied along the corridors and passages to hold on to while walking because the ship was shaking vigorously and it was difficult to stand still. The food served that day was biscuits and we ate inside with great difficulty amidst the turbulence. Things began to fall here and there and there was commotion everywhere This storm lasted for 3 hours and we were extremely shaken a. frightened. Khuda then commanded it to subside and the win: velocity decreased. The Captain then ordered his men to hoist u.: sails again. Everyone thanked God that the ordeal was over and they had survived. We were a happy lot.


The ship started sailing again with albeit two masts only, remained functioning however, and we finally arrived at the sh of Surinam. The water was cold in the morning when we were t that our destination was now visible as we watched a thin streak darkness at the horizon ahead of us. We learnt that this line that -could see, was the jungle of Surinam. The captain commanded | the sails be lowered to slow down the ship. As we drew ne; thin line seemed to grow broader and taller and by the after we had neared the shore. Only two sails remained untiec captain then sent an officer who was a European, along with

keep it coming - i shall print this and give it to as many of our children that i can

These memoirs are now in a book in English, Dutch and Hindi and they are moving...i scanned a few pages of the book. Will look for the rest. We can make a movie from based on this book.

He meant St. Helena. Most of the ships made stops in St . Helena.

quote:

Originally posted by Jansher:
These memoirs are now in a book in English, Dutch and Hindi and they are moving...i scanned a few pages of the book. Will look for the rest. We can make a movie from based on this book.

name of the book?

quote:

Originally posted by villo:

quote:

Originally posted by Jansher:
These memoirs are now in a book in English, Dutch and Hindi and they are moving...i scanned a few pages of the book. Will look for the rest. We can make a movie from based on this book.

name of the book?

By Munshi Rahman Khan, an Quran and Ramayan teacher who was knigted by the queen around the 1970s. Let me google it. I bought a few and gave them as gifts. Powerful stories of triumphs and tribulations of our peoples.

quote:

an Quran and Ramayan teacher

lovely

quote:

Munshi Rahman Khan

Kathinka Sinha-Kerkhoff, Ellen Bal, Alok Deo Singh, Autobiography of an Indian Indetured Labourer. Munshi Rahman Khan (1874-1972)
Delhi: Shipra Publications, 2005; ISBN 81-7541-243-7

Glancing away from the usual topics in Amrika, Britain, Canada and the Subcontinent—long before Microsoft was filling out H1-B forms, and even before Sputnik inspired the 1965 Immigration and Nationalization Act*, indentured laborers were crossing from South Asia to South America. At the age of 24 Munshi Raman Khan brought with him a love of all things Indian, particularly the Ramayan, on which he lectured the children of his Hindu brethren. Why do I have a feeling this guy could have had a great blog if he was around today?

At age 24, Rehman M. Khan (1874-1972), a young Pathan arrived in Suriname in 1898 on the steamship Avon. …this young Khan knew the Qur’an as well as the Ramayana very well. He soon became popular in his plantation and among the surrounding Indians of the other plantations as a Ramayan specialist. He started propagating the Ramayana ideology and taught Hindi to the children of the Indian community… .there are many manuscripts available which he wrote in Suriname dealing with the Muslim problems in Suriname, the language issues and his own biography in four volumes. Coming from a middle class Pathan family, Khan was very educated. His knowledge of Urdu and Hindi helped his literary prose. He was also a poet and could compose poetry in standard Hindi “with a flavour of Braj”…He used his knowledge to educate the Hindu and Muslim community and to reconstruct the “Indian identity”. Khan kept in touch with India constantly and was also craving for news from his homeland. (Link.)
Khan wrote an autobiography, apparently in Hindi or a related dialect, that was previously only translated into Dutch. (According to one review in The Hindu, he was even knighted by the Dutch Queen Juliana for his merits.) A translation into English has been popping up in reviews in The Hindu, IndoLINK, and The Tribune. The Autobiography of an Indian Indentured Laborer, by Munshi Rahman Khan, looks to be a fairly new release and seems available for purchase in dollars from Bagchee.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN INDIAN INDENTURED LABOURER - Munshi Rahman Khan (1874-1972): Translated by Kathinka Sinha-Kerkhoff, Ellen Bal and Alok Deo Singh in English; Shipra Publications, 115 A, Vikas Marg, Shakarpur, Delhi-110092. Rs. 495.

Over one and a half million Indians went overseas to earn a living as indentured workers in the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries to Burma, Malaya, Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific islands.

Munshi Rahman Khan (1874-1972) was one of the indentured workers, who went to Surinam, but he was an unusual migrant for he kept a diary of his life's experiences. His diary is a fascinating account of the lives of the early migrants.

Khan lived to the ripe old age of 98 years through a period of tremendous changes. He is remembered in Surinam as a poet and was knighted by Queen Juliana of The Netherlands in 1951 for his literary qualities. He was an unusual man, for unlike the majority of indentured workers, he was educated and well-versed in the Ramayana.

Voyage abroad


He was born in Hamirpur in Uttar Pradesh, (in the then United Provinces) studied up to middle school and became a teacher (munshi) in a government school but his restless and inquiring spirit took him to Kanpur to see the famed Ramlila in the city. There he met two recruiters who offered him a supervisory job in Surinam and he fell victim to the recruiters' tales.

Khan recorded the vast changes that took place in the lives of the migrants as they embarked on the voyage abroad, how the indentured migrants learned to live together and how the Hindus dropped their caste inhibitions and practices, and began eating in the common kitchen. His story relates how Indians lived on the plantations, the new experiences, the troubles, and the voodoo and black magic practised in the region.

He came into confrontation with the authorities on the plantation but his intrinsic abilities came to be recognised and he was offered the position of Sardar of the workers. Among the Indian workers, he was regarded as a Pandit and his knowledge of the Ramayana made him a popular teacher in Surinam.

Autobiography


This book is a valuable one for there is little published material in English about the Indian experience in Surinam. The autobiography is divided into four sections or volumes as they have been termed in the book.

The first volume deals with his life in village Bharkhari, Hamirpur district in the United Provinces till his departure to Surinam, the second is about his experiences under indenture, and the third is about making a living in Surinam. The fourth is shorter but it deals with a painful period for the Indian community and Khan personally. It gives an account of the breakdown of the harmony forged during the indenture days, of how the Hindus got divided into different sects, and the communal differences that arose between the Hindus and the Muslims. The early migrants shared a way of life with similar traditions and evolved a common language for themselves. But later arrivals brought with them the differences that were developing between the Hindus and the Muslims in India. The arrival of Arya Samaj preachers in Surinam, in 1929, caused a rift in the Hindu community, between the followers of Sanatana Dharma and the Arya Samaj.

Translation


A few years later, the Arya Samaj preachers led a boycott of the Muslims that put an end to the close social and cultural contacts that had existed within the Indian community. It was a difficult time for the author for he was no longer welcomed as a `vidwan' among the Hindus or asked to recite the Vedas.

The autobiography was first published in a Dutch translation for the commemoration of the 130th anniversary of the Indian arrival in Surinam. It has now been translated into English by Kathinka Sinha-Kerkhoff, Ellen Bal and Alok Deo Singh. The translators have performed a valuable service by adding an introduction that provides a brief background to the Indian migration to Surinam and an interpretation of the legacy of Munshi Rahman Khan, poet, writer and `vidwan'.

one day my friend - i hope you are rewarded for doing the things you are doing

Jansher, one more from Chronicle (SupaMike did the honors)

I saw nothing speical nor new witten on the subject in the guyana media. How sad

Jansher, you miss this note by Mangar

*************

EAST INDIAN IMMIGRATION, 1838–1917
By Tota Mangar

FOR over three quarters of a century, East Indian indentured labourers were exported from the Indian sub-continent to the West Indian colonies, ostensibly to fill the void created by the mass exodus of ex-slaves from the plantations following the abolition of the despicable system of slavery and moreso the premature termination of the apprenticeship scheme in 1838.

This influx into the Caribbean in the post-emancipation period of the nineteenth and early 20th centuries was only one segment of a wider movement of Indian labour to other parts of the world including Mauritius, Sir Lanka (formerly Ceylon), Fiji, the Strait Settlements, Natal and other parts of the African continent.


Overall, where the English-speaking Caribbean is concerned, substantial numbers of indentured Indians were imported. Based on statistical evidence, Guyana (the former British Guiana), was the recipient of 239,909 East Indian immigrants up to the termination of the system in 1917; Trinidad 143,939; Jamaica 36,412; Grenada 3,033; St. Vincent 2,472; St. Lucia 4,354 and St. Kitts 337.


In addition, the non-English speaking Caribbean also imported Indian indentured labourers. For example, the French colonies (now overseas departments) Martinique received 25,509; Guadeloupe 45,844 and French Guiana 19,276. Suriname while under Dutch rule imported 35,501 immigrants.


The importation of indentured labourers from the Indian sub-continent was part of the continuing search for a reliable labour force to meet the needs of the powerful plantocracy.


As far as Guyana is concerned, the “Gladstone Experiment” proved to be the basis of East Indian immigration. John Gladstone, the father of liberal British statesman, William Ewart Gladstone, was the proprietor of two West Demerara Estates, Vreed-en-Hoop and Vreed-en-Stein at precisely the time when the British Guianese planters were beginning to experience an acute labour shortage as a consequence of the mass withdrawal of ex-slaves from plantation labour during this period of ‘crisis, experimentation and change’ in the 1830s.


John Gladstone wrote the Calcutta recruiting firm, Gillanders, Arbutnot and Company inquiring about the possibility of obtaining Indian immigrants for his estates. The firm’s prompt reply was that it envisaged no recruiting problems and that Indians were already in service in another British colony, Mauritius.


Subsequently, Gladstone received permission for his scheme from both the Colonial Office and the Board of Control of the East India Company. The first batch of Indian indentured labourers arrived in Guyana on board the steamships “Whitby” and “Hesperus” in May, 1838.


This initial experimentation was not confined to Gladstone’s two estates but it involved plantations Highbury and Waterloo in Berbice, Belle View, West Bank Demerara, and Anna Regina on the Essequibo Coast as well.


This immigration scheme to Guyana involving Indian immigrants commenced in 1838 with a temporary halt from July 1839 to 1845, after which it continued virtually uninterrupted to 1917 during which time 239,909 immigrants landed in Guyana. Of this figure 75,547 returned to the land of their birth while the remainder who survived the system chose to remain here and make this country their homeland.

Indo Guyanese Contribution
East Indian indentured labourers and their descendants toiled and are toiling unceasingly to ensure the survival of the sugar industry in the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The vast majority of the work-force in the sugar industry are Indo-Guyanese and sugar remains one of the most important foreign exchange earners in the country in the face of grave global challenges.


Guyanese of Indian origin are largely responsible for the prominence of Guyana’s rice industry. The Indian indentured labourers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries began to cultivate rice on a large scale and this was linked to the almost exclusive Indian village settlements which emerged at the time. They are integrally involved in cattle rearing, milk selling and cash crop cultivation.


Ever since the 1880s Indian immigrants have displayed a high occupational profile in a number of off-plantation economic activities including cab-drivers, barbers, tailors, carpenters, boat-builders, charcoal makers, sieve-makers, goldsmiths, porters, small scale manufacturers and fishermen.


Today, Guyanese of Indian origin are found in every sphere of activity including business, the professional class, politics, religion and trade unions.


East Indian immigrants and their descendants have ensured there is a rich cultural heritage in this multi-cultural and pluralistic society of ours. Indian customs, values and traditions have survived over the years. They brought with them their main religions, Hinduism and Islam.


Approximately 83% of the immigrants were Hindus while 14% were Muslims. The remaining three per cent were Christians. Mosques and temples began to dot our coastal landscape from the late nineteenth century. Related to this were the introduction of languages, Hindi and Arabic and several other Indian dialects.


The Ramayan, the Bhagwat Gita and the Holy Quran are prized holy books in many households today.


A significant contribution is in the area of dress. Traditional Indian wear such as shalwar, sari, kurta and dhoti are popular today. Some of these have taken on nationalistic flavour. The Indian ritual marriage form and the extended family system have continued over time with only few changes.


Indian music, songs, films dance and other art forms have taken root in Guyanese society. Indian foods like roti, puri, curry, dal, polouri, bara, keer and vegetable dishes are regularly consumed by every ethnic group in our society.


Indian festivals are widely celebrated. These include the colourful Phagwah, Deepavali (festival of lights), Ramnoumi, Shiv-Ratri, Youman Nabi, Eid-ul-Azha and Eid-ul-Fitr. Four of these are today celebrated as truly Guyanese national holidays, a testimony to their significance.


Hindus and Muslims regularly perform their religious or thanksgiving ceremonies. Evidence of this development among Hindus is reflected in the numerous Jhandi and other flags and Murtis which are proudly displayed in devotees’ yards and homes respectively.


East Indian immigrants and their descendants were able to survive largely due to their resilience, determination, custom, tradition and commitment to family which invariably promotes thrift, industry and self-esteem. They continue to make valuable contributions to the overall progress and development of Guyana. Their strong cultural ties are undoubtedly a motivating factor as they march forward into this new millennium of ours with a great sense of purpose and maturity.


After all, Guyana relentlessly seeks to have greater economic benefits, socio-political stability and national cohesiveness at this juncture of its history. All its people are in this ongoing struggle in the face of harsh global realities.

A Happy 169th Anniversary of Indian Arrival in Guyana.


THE bronze sculpture of the steamship `Whitby’ which brought some of the first Indian indentured labourers here, in the Indian Monument Garden, Camp and Church Streets, Georgetown.

quote:

The first batch of Indian indentured labourers arrived in Guyana on board the steamships “Whitby” and “Hesperus” in May, 1838.

However, as a histrian he should have known that neither of these two ships were steamships....

Bk this is something i am working on... its needs some polishing

Summary of Indian Indentureship to British Guyana 1838-1916


R. Chickerie


Aurangzeb, son of Emperor Shahjehan became ambitious and took the Peacock Throne in a violent rage, and in the process imprisoned his father. It was the beginning of the end of the Mughal Empire after more than 500 years. England invaded from the Bengal because India was fractionalized. They were Hindustanis, Gujaratis, Punjabis, Sindis, Bengalis, or Mahratis, but not yet Indians. At the same time, in the Colony of British Guiana, slavery had just ended. The abolition of slavery in British Guyana in 1834 led to economic decline in the colony, and quickly a new source of labour was found. India became a lucrative source of endless indentured labourers for Guyana’s many sugar plantations. Indians fill the labor void that Africans once provided; in 1838 Hindustanis began arriving in the British Guiana on a five-year contract because of poverty, personal reasons, entrepreneurship and some looking for adventure. Also, the British/Afghan Wars and the Meerut uprising of 1857 let to the banishment of Sepoy and Afghan militants to Guyana.

The blessings and the curse of the monsoon thundering upon Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal left many penny and homeless; it brought diseases in a region already pregnant of castism, poverty, illiteracy and religious conflicts. These wretched souls were vulnerable to cheats who lured them to Guyana. The total number of indentured workers from 1838 to 1917 to Guyana was about 239, 000. Guaranteed return passage was part of the contract. Approximately one third returned to India and many died within the first five year of arrival. Before their arrival in Guyana, immigrants spend up to three months in the Calcutta Depot, and it was here, and during the three month voyage that castism vanished.
According to the memoirs of Munshi Rahman Khan, an indentured immigrant, at the Calcutta Depot all symbols of caste vanished after upper castes Hindus took their last bath in the Bhagirathi River. They shed their Brahmin wear and had no problem wearing the yellow kurtas and dothis that the rest wore. Even their sacred janau (thread) and the tilak on the forehead were gone. “All Hindus had become sudras. There was no differentiation between Brahmins, Kshtriyas, Vaishyas or Sudras, but the Muslims with their beards and topi could be singled out. They offered namaz on their beds or under the nearby mango tree.” Strangely the Brahmins did not complain about sitting next to a Muslim, or a chammar. They did not protest sharing plates or food being served by someone wearing shoes. The Upper castes did not bring their wives, and quickly kept company with women of lower castes. “The Sudras were a thousand times more god-fearing as evident from their manners and their way of life than these hypocrites.” (81) (Autobiography of Munshi Rahman Khan: New Delhi, 2005)


At the holding depot, immigrants from all parts of India were held. There were recruiting agencies across North India. Tamil workers mainly departed from Madras. According to Surinamese scholar, Dr. Mohan Gautham, the Indians who came to Guyana and Suriname were neither from a single homogeneous cultural background, nor from a single region or from a single language group or speech locality. Like Surinamese Hindustanis, Indians who came to Guyana spoke mainly Bhojpuri, Magadhi, Bundeli, Chatisgarhi, Pahari, Avadhi, Braj and Khari Boli. “There were also the people who came from the tribal belt of Chota Nagpur, Nepal, Punjab, Rajasthan, Bengal, Assam, Orissa, and even from South India (Andhra Pradesh). They did speak their mother tongues and regional languages and even caste dialects (like Kaithi, the script of the Kayastha and business community and Telugu).” They also communicated in the so-called Bazari Hindi, Hindustani, and Urdu, which were spoken as the trading languages in the cities of North India. According to Gautham, after spending long periods at the holding centre at Garden Reach Depot, a lingua franca emerged, Hindi. Also, it was from this depot that many illiterate Hindustanis became eager to read the Ramayana. It was here that life-time friendships were cemented and many seek tutoring which continued on the sugar plantations when they arrived in the Caribbean. (http://www.saxakali.com/indocarib/sojourner7a.htm).


The immigrants were mostly Hindus (80%), while the rest were Muslims. Many of these Hindus came from Brinda Ban, Matura and Ayodhia, some of Hinduism’s most sacred cities. A comprehensive study of immigration records by the author rebukes the myth of mass conversion prior to arrival in Guyana. Our ancestors did not lie about their caste and religion. Marriages and infidelity started in this depot. Some women ran away from abuses, some couples escaped because of love, and pregnancy out of wedlock made much easy prey to recruiters. Some women took Muslim husbands at the depot converted to Islam. Passenger’s biographical data indicates that about 75% of Hindus were from schedule castes such as Ahirs, kurmis, dobis, telis, chammar, and baniyas, among many others. There were births and deaths during voyages.


Standing there in front of translators at New Garden, Calcutta, the angrez (foreigners) recorded the worker’s biographical information such as name, caste, height, religion, colour, and village, etch. In the early period of indentureship tremendous errors were made during this process. Names were bastardized beyond recognization. Twenty percent of the immigrants were Muslims and like their Hindu countrymen were predominantly from the states of of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal and from districts such as, Lucknow, Agra, Bairaich, Fyzabad, Ghazipur, Bareilly, Gaya, Kanpur, Gorakpur, Mirzapur, Basti and Sultanpur. Small batches also came from Karachi in Sind, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi in the Punjab, Hyderabad, in the Deccan, Srinagar in Kashmir, and Peshawar, Mardan in the Northwest Frontier (Afghan areas), and Baluchistan bordering Iran. Many spoke Urdu and a handful Farsi and Pashto, among other North Indian languages. Under caste Muslims were identified as Musulman, Sheik, fakirs, ghosis, hajams, Julahas, Mahomedaan, Syeds, Mughuls, and Pathans. They migrated from far distance places like Peshawar and Mardhan. The majority of Muslim women bore names like Nasimun, Ameerun, Rashidan, Kariman or Aseeman which became corrupted after many generations, and today due to the lost of their Urdu language, these names among many others have become-Nasimoon, Karimoon, Ameeroon, Rashimoon, Aseemoon, or Nazmoon.


Originating from Afghanistan, the Pathan clan settled in Northern India during the 500 years of Muslim rule. The Durand Line sliced part of Afghanistan into India and what is now Pakistan. Immigration Certificates reveal that Pathans migrated from the Northwest Frontier and North India. Most of the Pathans bear the last name Khan. One of Guyana's oldest Mosques, the Queenstown Jama Masjid, was founded by the Afghan community, which had apparently arrived in this country via India. Afghan and Indian Muslims living in this area laid the foundation for the Masjid. One Imam reported that there were two hafizul Qur'an who were `residing in Clonbrook, East Coast Damerara, bearing the last name Khan. The ring leasers of the Rosehall Estate uprising, Berbice involved many Pathans during the eighteen century, and eventually they were scattered around Guyana.


The voyage from Calcutta to Guyana took about three months, and Indian staples such as rice, rotis, chutneys and dhal were on board. With a tin plate, a tin lota, two blankets, two dhotis and three shirts, the Indians left Calcutta for Guyana. Many quickly became sea sick and vomited. The sick were cared for and doctors examined passengers frequently. New clothing and good food were served. It was better than what they had in the Calcutta Depot. Frequently, the ship docked on the Island of St. Helena for water and food. Passengers were also allowed to disembark.


In their saris, dothis, salwar kameez, and topis they came with their Ramayan, Quran, dolak, harmonium, and dhantal. They sang, and played lively music to prevent boredom, and during evenings some young ladies were selectively allowed on deck. It was here that the gora sahib (whites) preyed on them. This was the beginning of our izzat (honour) descending into the kala pani. Many of our aurat (women) were violated. There is a well documented case of a young lady, Mohandaya, a twenty- year, who died after being gang-raped on board the SS Allenshaw which arrived in Guyana in 1885 from Calcutta. It was on board this said ship that Kishen was physically abused when his head was slammed into the floor of the deck. Mortality and cases of abuse during voyages and on plantations were high in the early period of indentureship. Eventually, due to tremendous outcry the system came to a stop. It resumed in the 1840’s, but there were still cases of rape and physical abuse in the high seas and on the plantations. Doctors were now part of the voyages and mortality dropped and abuses were seldom. At the turn of the 20th century, improved technology cut the journey to two months.


Subah (morning) to Sham (evening) the Indian toil the zameen (earth) and at night under the bright chand (moon), they recited the Ramayana and the Quran. They were introduced to sharab (alcohol) to quickly get over their nostalgia for their Hindustani. In the mornings the azan thundered on the plantations even how discreet the Musalman tried to keep it, while the blowing of conch shells by Bengali Hindus echoed throughout the plantation invoking Lord Rama, Vishnu or Brahma. The Hindus and Muslims quickly built masjids and mandirs and called each other jahaji bhais. They thought that their stay in Guyana would be temporary and resisted assimilation. There was no rush to learn English, to attend school or to get politically evolved. But quickly reality sunk, and they decided to push their children to school. Christian Missionaries worked very hard on plantations and to this day are working convert Hindus and Muslims. The Presbyterian Church was instrumental in the conversion process after they successfully brought under their wings a few Indian elites who were then instrumental in evangelization. They conceded that the Muslims were more resistant to convert. The system was made in such a way that to move up the social ladder, one had to be a Christian, and some Indians did just that. Also, Hindus and Muslims were considered as pagans, and their marriages were not recognized. These immigrants were perceived as “strange, docile and weird.”


Only a handful of women came in the early period of indentureship. There was a shortage of women in the colony. “The disproportion of Indian females to Indian males in Guyana was higher among indentured Indians on the estates than among free Indians. “The total female to male ratio went from 11 Indian women for every 100 Indian men in 1851, to 40 women for every 100 men in 1914” (Seenarine: http://www.saxakali.com/Saxakali-Publications/recastgwa.htm) . This was yet another dark chapter in our history. Without enough women, the bedrock of society, the family began to crumble. Morals, values and traditions were challenged. Rapes were on the rise and infidelity let to many men murdering their wives. Being uprooted from the mother country took a toll on the values, traditions and mental well being of the Indians. Many turned to daiwai (alcohol). And as they lost their mother tongue, they forgot the meaning of the term, Izzat (Honour/Dignity).
Indian women in the colony were abused by their countrymen, and this evil continues to this day. Seenarine refutes the myth that the shortage of Indian women on colonial plantations during the early period of indenture resulted in an improved status and mobility for the majority of South Asian women, relative to that in India. According to him, it ignores women’s subjection to control under various forms of male domination and oppression during the early period, including violence and abuse. He further demonstrates that the process of male control intensified during the later indenture period. “In both periods, the triple burdens of wage work, childcare, and housework were excessive for most women who had to work harder to fashion a new life for themselves and their families in colonial Guyana” (Seenarine: http://www.saxakali.com/Saxakali-Publications/recastgwa.htm ).



After India’s independence in 1947, Indians were given the opportunity to opt for Indian or Pakistani nationality and those who remained became Guyanese. Today they make up the largest ethnic groups in Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. It was from 1947 that Indians became politically conscious. Political leaders in the community spoke English unlike Suriname, where they were jeered if they spoke Dutch or Creole. It was no longer fashionable for Indians to assert their “coolieness.” The country “coolies” were suddenly booed and jeered by the new “city Indians.” To move up the social ladder one had to hide their “coolieness,” and many leaders in the community became Christians and spoke English. By 1966, Hindi was dead in Guyana, and many of the upper class Hindus and Muslims of Georgetown, the capital were Christians.

Jewellery worn by Indian women in the Caribbean

Thats a very impressive piece you wrote there, Jansher. Keep it up

quote:

Originally posted by Riya:
Thats a very impressive piece you wrote there, Jansher. Keep it up

Thanks for the encouragement... it was a very emtional moment when i penned this piece in a few hours. It needs some polishing as i heard it over and over. The rape of that young lady is part of a 300 page report and can make a major movie.

the gang raping of the young woman aboard the ship got to me too.

You did an excellent job writing that