$35M bronze Indian Arrival Monument to soon be erected
Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Venkatachalam Mahalingam
Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Venkatachalam Mahalingam

THE Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Venkatachalam Mahalingam, has announced that construction of the Indian Arrival Monument which was promised Guyana by the Indian Government is almost completed, and the structure will soon be erected at Palmyra Village on the East Coast of Berbice.He made this announcement at Plantation Highbury, East Bank Berbice, where, on May 5, 1838, the first batch of immigrant Indians arrived in the then British Guiana as Indentured labourers; and where their descendants had made the yearly pilgrimage, this time to observe the 178 anniversary of that historic arrival.

Mahalingam revealed that the $35M bronze-sculpted artistry will decorate a one-acre plot of land at the ‘T Junction’ at Palmyra Village, East Coast Berbice, just off the eastern end of the Berbice River Bridge.

The monument, he said, will be a fitting tribute to the ancestors who came to the then British Guiana from India.

In rehashing Guyana’s history, Mahalingam reminded those gathered from as far as Springlands, on the Upper Corentyne, that during this month in 1838, the first batch of Portuguese arrived as indentured labourers; and it was also during this time that the first batch of indentured labourers from Africa arrived on the shores of Guyana.

The High Commissioner said, “We have assembled here to pay homage to our ancestors and commemorate an historic event which took place 178 years ago; and (to) recognize the difficult journeys, extreme hardships, travails and perseverance of them in making their land of adoption not only fit to live, but also successful.

“Your fore-parents landed in Guyana perhaps with only a handful of personal belongings, but most importantly they carried their genes, mind, and soul; the knowledge of Vedas, Upanishads, Ramayana and Mahabharata. They had the knowledge of Aryabhatta, the Father of Mathematics, who invented zero. They also brought with them the knowledge of medicines; metallurgy; recipes for tasty foods, and culinary skills; dance, music, yoga, surgery and even plastic surgery. In fact, if I may say so, they were your fore-parents who had discovered and developed all these; and even today, they are your cousins — brothers and sisters living in India — who are helping India to become the fastest growing economy in the world.”

He noted how proud he was of the Indian migrants, who have gone to other lands and established themselves with remarkable success.

“In Guyana, you were thrown together as indentured labourers with other ethnic groups, yet you managed to establish a single nation with shared destiny, common national spirit, and singular national agenda. Together with other ethnic groups, you have weathered the storms of slavery, indentureship and colonialism to emerge with common and shared aspirations and energy to mould a new nation.

“Like it or not, your fate is inextricably intertwined with other ethnic groups; and therefore (you should) embrace, engage and enhance kinship and partnership among people, and ensure that (your actions) bear fruits for generations to come,” he concluded.

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