President David Granger yesterday said that the centenary of the abolition of Indian indentureship is a timely tribute to the struggles of the fore-parents of Guyanese of Indian ancestry and is a fitting foundation for the building of a more cohesive nation.
A Ministry of the Presidency release said that he was at the time addressing a large crowd at a Mela and Cultural Show held at the tarmac of the Leonora Synthetic Track and Field Facility. The event was organised by the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangha in collaboration with the Guyana Indian Indentureship Abolition Association. The release said that the Government of Guyana also made a significant contribution to funding the event.
The President called on Guyanese of all origins to come together to commemorate this “significant milestone, which marks the closure of a dark chapter in the country’s history”. He said that Indian indentured immigration transformed the culture and political economy of what was then British Guiana. “Indians turned the tragedy of separation from their motherland into the triumph of settlement in their adopted homeland. They responded to the challenge of indentureship by recreating familiar conditions relevant to sustaining their existence. They cultivated, also, respectful relations with other peoples they found here,” the President said.
He added that indentureship was akin to human trafficking and if it was still in existence today, those responsible for this system would have been jailed. He also reminded of the brutal murders that occurred in various parts of the country when Indians started to resist the abuse and brutality. He said that the coastland is replete with memorials to the martyrs of riots including at Devonshire Castle, Enmore, Leonora, Non Pariel, and Rose Hall.
“The mortality rate of the immigrants during the long journey on the ships from the East Indies to the West Indies was high. Working conditions on the plantations were appalling. Indentured labourers were victims of low wages and high mortality rates. Indians overcame the brutalities of the plantation by virtue of their resilience. They resisted but they persevered… They expanded their own income-earning activities in agriculture, business, politics and the urban professions. The end of Indian indentured immigration saw Indians expanding their presence in all areas of our country’s culture, economy, politics and social life,” Granger said.
“The abolition of Indian indentured immigration bequeathed a rich legacy of resilience, of the retention of cultural values and of the recognition of the need to live together in a shared a common space on the basis of mutual respect. We celebrate the contributions of persons of Indian ancestry to the development of our country,” the Head of State said.
Parliamentarian, Irfaan Ali, who spoke on behalf of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic, urged citizens to use the milestone to contemplate how far they have come as a nation and where they would like to be. “It is the responsibility of all of us, to act collectively to ensure that the foundation that was laid by those who came before us, is not destroyed,” he said.
