ALTHOUGH they live thousands of miles away from their ancestral homeland and are, for the most part, third and fourth-generation Indians, the Indo-Guyanese diaspora, indeed the Indo-Caribbean diaspora, for decades has been celebrating India’s independence with flag-hoisting ceremonies and cultural variety concerts featuring their cultural displays inherited from Other India. Several programmes were planned in Guyana and Trinidad.  I attended a few in Trinidad.  In New York, Indo-Caribbean people take pride in referring to themselves as Indians and celebrating their ethnic identity — participating in Indian-related activities — comparable to other ethnic groups celebrating their heritage in the U.S.  Hence, the reason for their participation in the 31st annual India Day parade on Madison Avenue last weekend with President Bharrat Jagdeo as one of the Chief Guests.
The parade is helping Indo-Caribbean people to maintain their links with the motherland.  The impact created by the parade plays a meaningful role in preserving the heritage of their Indian forbears, bringing Indians together, and promoting the concept of unity among the Indian diaspora in the U.S.
India’s independence (August 15, 1947) has had a historical significance for people of Indian origin in the Caribbean.  The desire for India to become a free nation propelled Indians in the Caribbean to identify with the ‘Quit India’ movement and swaraj (home rule).

I interviewed many old timers who told me they were involved in protests in Trinidad and Guyana during the early part of the 20th  Century as part of the struggle to free India of British rule.

Indians were bonded in contracted servitude from 1838 to 1917 in several Caribbean territories, where some three-quarter million Indians were brought to rescue the sugar plantations and the colonies from bankruptcy following the emancipation of African slaves.

The method of struggle for India’s freedom was emulated by anti-colonial protesters. Later, the freedom of India would pave the way for the freedom of Caribbean colonies.  The Caribbean colonies began obtaining their independence in the 1960s.

In conversation with older people, they reminisce about their singing the Indian National Anthem, participating in India’s flag-raising ceremonies, and Hindu religious services against British rule as well as in observance of India’s independence in their home countries.

Indo-Caribbean nationalism has been strongly displayed at these ceremonies. Indo-Caribbeans frequently hoisted the Indian flag and paid homage to the tri-colour Indian flag before their own national flag, a type of nationalism and pride which even Indian nationals don’t display.

It was not unusual for school children in Trinidad, Suriname, and Guyana to sing the Indian national anthem instead of ‘Old Glory’ and to say ‘Jai Hind’ instead of ‘Long Live the Queen’.

So it was not surprising to find a large number of Indo-Caribbean people at the Madison Avenue parade over the weekend to catch a glimpse of President Jagdeo and favourite Bollywood star Rani Mukherji and to interact with Indians from other countries.
Indo-Caribbean people have been part of the parade since its inception. They took pride in participating in the first India Day parade in 1981 when Vassan Ramracha, Baytoram Ramharack, and Vishnu Bisram, among others, marched side by side with Indian nationals to celebrate their/our identity as well as to highlight the plight of Guyanese during the dictatorship.

The parade started out small in the 1980s and grew in size and stature over the years and so too did Indo-Caribbean participation in the celebration. The area downtown where the celebration took place was called Little India because of the large number of stores it boasted.  Guyanese of all races used to go there to shop for West Indian products.

The Indo-Caribbean participation in the early parades was small but they comprised a large segment of the crowd that turned out to view the parade as it made its way through Madison Avenue.

Initial Indo-Caribbean participation at the parade were City College students who prepared literature to expose the atrocities being committed in Guyana.

My colleagues and I informed the world of political/racial discrimination and victimization in Guyana.  Later, other Indo-Caribbean groups joined in the parades — the Arya Samajists led by Pt. Ramlall; the Social and Political Association of East Indians; the Indian Seva Sangh; the Conservative Party of Guyana; the Jaguar Committee for Democracy in Guyana; the Republican Party led by Vishnu Bandhu which boasted the first Indo-Caribbean float; the Association of Concerned Guyanese; the Indo-Caribbean Federation; and Ramesh Kalicharran, who was liaison with the Indian nations, etc.

Kali also sponsored a float for his group of companies and we used it to highlight issues pertaining to human rights abuses in Guyana.

All of these groups and individuals were in one way or another trying to raise political consciousness about human rights abuses in Guyana as they marched with their banners and distributed flyers, pamphlets and newsletters.

Many pleaded for India’s intervention to put an end to rights abuses and help to restore democracy in Guyana, but we did not get much Indian support. It was our appeal to the Americans that paid dividends to democratize Guyana.

The parade has grown in scope and form over the years to include all people of Indian origin.

From just token participation when the parade first started in 1981, there is today very active involvement of Indo-Caribbeans with their floats, banners, cultural presentations and media coverage and thousands lining the route to cheer the floats and VIPs.  I usually reported on the parade for Caribbean papers penning many articles each year.

For Indo-Caribbeans, participation in the N.Y parade is a continuation of India’s independence celebrations in their home countries.  And for many, the parade evokes memory of flag-hoisting ceremonies in their villages during the struggle for swaraj and the independence of Britain’s Caribbean colonies from India.

The parade has also become a major attraction in the City of New York drawing some quarter million people and is among the major cultural events in the city’s calendar of celebrations.
The India day parade has been impressively organised since its inception and has become a role model for Indo-Caribbean parades in Richmond Hill relating to Diwali and Phagwah.
In fact, the Phagwah Parade is a direct outcome of the FIA parade. The India Day parade is a symbol of togetherness of a diverse group of people who are attached to one another through their cultural identity.

The parade is also a symbol of what people of Indian origin have attained in the great city of NY and in the U.S – getting governments and important politicians to recognize their presence.

The parade helps to promote friendship amongst Indians of diverse nationalities (India, Caribbean, Europe, Africa, Fiji, and elsewhere). They may be from different regions in India or from different countries in the diaspora, but the mere fact that we are participating in the parade means that we are proud of their identity.

The various groups need to work closely together and with other ethnic groups to elevate their people to newer and greater heights. The same holds true for Indo-Guyanese and Indo-Caribbean groups in NYC. It is important for the older generation to teach the young about the struggle for India’s freedom  and to encourage them to be proud of their identity as the African-Americans, Chinese-Americans, Haitian-Americans, etc. are proud of theirs.