PERHAPS readers might have noticed that I have been writing a series on Indians in the decades following indenture, the formative years of Indian presence in Guyana. My purpose in doing so is to bring about a better understanding of Indians in this important and transitory period as well as to recognise the concept of the Indian heritage month of May. In this space, I examine the challenges Indians faced in the aforesaid period with the hope and expectation that reckless labels of them from so-called leaders might be a practice of the past.

Arguably, migration, in whatever form or fashion, allowed Indians to explore opportunities beyond their indentured yards. In so doing, the period under discussion witnessed some great advancement in the Indian immigrant community turned permanent settlements. Most noticeable were economic development and cultural reconstruction in and beyond Indian communities.

What percentage grabbed migration opportunities is not precisely known. What is known is that some segments of the Indian population did engage in migration to benefit themselves amid myriad challenges. Life was difficult but not miserable. The experience of migrants in any society is rarely without problems. Indians were no different. Indians also experienced the transformation of their social structure, namely, from caste to class, as well as the survival of an elastic form of Hinduism and other Indian customs in British Guiana. Since their arrival to British Guiana, they have been in constant motion, trying to defend, retain and revive their cultural mores with some remarkable success. Indian music, especially religious and film songs, has been retained and displayed at religious functions, homes, and over the public space such as over the radio and on television. Traditional folk drama like Savitri (Love Conquers Death), Leelas, and reading from the Rig Veda, have been ubiquitous across Guyana.

Despite these successes, problems abound.  One troubling problem Indians faced following indenture was integration into British Guianese society which had limited experience with people from Eastern civilization. So, while Indians were making significant inroads in British Guiana, they were not tolerated or accepted of who they were by the wider society. It has been a common practice in Guyana to label Indians as “Coolies”, the Indian “C” word.

The British Guiana East Indian Association (BGEIA) noted in the 1940s that there was “a deliberate attempt to de-nationalise the Indian; to get him to forget his language; to change his habits and customs; to marry outside of his race”, according to the Indian Opinion in 1945. The BGEIA argued that the “Englishman living in the colonies does not forget his English Culture, his customs, his comforts, his tradition, or his race…and eventually marries his own race. In the process, no one blames him. If the Indian did the same thing, he is accused of sectionalism and racism.”

What was going on regarding Indian integration after indenture at the national level was a gradual development into the cross between the culture of the East and the culture of the West. The Indian community in British Guiana was following the independence movement in India and desired an independent India free from British colonial domination. Some prominent Indians such as J.A. Luckhoo wanted an Indian colony in British Guiana for internal self-development. Educators like P. Ruhoman sought to eradicate the stigma of “Coolie” with racial and ethnic pride.

Other Indian leaders, some emotional, believed that in the process, the culture of the East would eventually disappear. One hundred years later after that remark, we know now that was not entirely the case. Indian leaders did point out, however, some accuracy on the then-current situation of Indians, which is still prevalent in Guyana. They noted excessive rum drinking, high rates of suicide, vulgar mannerisms, and children under thirteen working on the plantations.  Most notable was the gradual deterioration of the Indian culture. The younger generation could not, by the 1920s, read or speak their mother tongue of India. Their original mode of dressing, music, dance, drama, and tradition had disappeared.

The challenge to effective integration was compounded by the fact that a large percentage of the Indian population was non-illiterate when indenture was abolished. The lackluster approach to education in the Indian community by both the colonial government and Indians themselves led to inter-generational low-level literacy in the Indian population. The 1876 Education Act that required Indian children to be in school until fourteen years old was not seriously instituted. Indians themselves were eager to put their children to work to bring in supplemental income. Economic endeavors substituted educational achievements.

Illiteracy was particularly high among Indian women and children. Janet Jagan (J.J) wrote in 1945 that illiteracy was the main obstacle to growth and development, owning property, and voting rights among Indian women. She espouses that Indian men and leaders were yet to display respect for women’s individuality in terms of exploring their own interests so that they could move away from “the status of maids of all work.”

The Indian community through the BGEIA recognised this problem and subsequently engaged in promoting education by collecting funds to build Hindu schools and insisting on the importance of education. Within a short period, there was, for example, one Hindu School at Bush Lot named Maha Mandal Sabah. Fifty -four boys and fifty girls attended, and the following words were voiced to encourage education in the Indian community: Loyalty, Patriotism, Individuality, and Unity – these attributes build strength and eventual victory, according to the Indian Opinion (lomarsh.roopnarine@jsums.edu).