PRIME MINISTER, Moses Nagamootoo, on Friday expressed the hope that the foundation for the erection of the Indian Arrival Monument would be unveiled soon. “We hope, on March 15, that we would be able to unveil a foundation for the erection of the monument, which I understand has been in Guyana for some time,” the Prime Minister said while delivering remarks at a reception held to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Abolition of Indian Indentureship in Guyana. The dinner was hosted by the Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Venkatachalam Mahalingam, at the Aagman Restaurant.
While applauding former Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, Dr. Frank Anthony, for championing the need for a monument to recognise the contributions of Indian indentured labourers, Prime Minister Nagamootoo said he had the privilege of meeting the sculptor.
“When I was in India last year, I was privileged and honoured to meet the sculptor. I am sure this would be the realisation of one of his best pieces of sculptures,” he said. The Indian Arrival Monument which is a gift from the Indian Government will be erected at Palmyra Village in Berbice. The $35M bronze-sculpted artistry will decorate a one-acre plot of land at the ‘T Junction’ at Palmyra Village just off the eastern end of the Berbice River Bridge. The monument will be a tribute to the ancestors who came to the then British Guiana from India.
“The abolition of Indian indentureship is recognised as an important event in Guyana. In fact it reminds us of an end to a period that was characterised by cruel exploitation in the worse form, and bondage on the sugar plantations,” the Prime Minister said.
He said the East Indians that came as indentured labourers made signification contributions towards the foundations for the economic, infrastructural, social, cultural and all-round development in Guyana.
“A few days ago I was at the Cove and John Ashram and I commented that one of the precious gifts that Indian indentured labourers brought to Guyana was their culture, their spirituality, their religion. And Hinduism and Islam as well as Christianity contributed to the rich cultural heritage of our country,” he posited.
The Prime Minister said Guyana would be in a better place if it had held fast to the values of the Indian indentured labourers. “Today we are better off, if I may say so, and would be better off, if we follow the precepts of these philosophies and rituals and beliefs that could lead us to becoming a society that is less divisive, less deformed with corruption and malpractices of one type or the other and with criminality that seem to have infected even our schools.”
He noted that Guyanese must be cognizant of the fact that the past was not simply the past; it can influence the present and mould the future.
In observance of the 100th Anniversary of the Abolition of Indian Indentureship in Guyana, the Social Cohesion Minister, Dr. George Norton, in partnership with a number of civic organisations, religious bodies and the government, is hosting a number of events to commemorate certain hallmarks that would be associated with Indian indentureship.