Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Dr Lenny Saith said yesterday that while the local segment of the Indian diaspora will always recognise its ties to India, the Caribbean is now considered ’home’.
Saith was speaking at a seminar on the Indian Diaspora at the Learning Resource Centre of the University of the West Indies (UWI).
The seminar was a joint effort of the High Commission of India in Trinidad and Tobago (with support from the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs), the UWI, the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) and the National Council of Indian Culture (NCIC).
In a brief address at the opening of the day-long seminar, Saith said that while the Indian diaspora in the Caribbean will continue to face its own challenges, it is now an important part of and contributor to the regional and local society.
’The Caribbean is home for the Indian diaspora,’ Saith said. ’This is their own society and they are authentically people of the Caribbean.’
He added, though, that the diaspora’s connection to India will not only endure but will become stronger, aided in no small way by technological tools like the internet.
This level of interaction has already brought greater economic and cultural ties between the two countries, he added.
Commending the Indian High Commission for creating the on-going, month-long Festival of India, which will culminate in a local celebration of India’s Independence, Saith said this country will continue to be supportive of India as it develops.
He also congratulated the Indian government for its efforts in reaching out to the diaspora through the annual convention ’Pravasi Bharatiya Divas’, which is held in a different state of India each year.
In a vote of thanks that followed, Indian High Commissioner Malay Mishra remarked that while the PBD has so far been successful, too few Caribbean members of the diaspora were in attendance.
’I think we should have more participation from the Caribbean in the PBD,’ Mishra said, adding that the annual event in India should be seen as an opportunity to network.
He was also applauded for suggesting that Trinidad and Tobago is the ideal location for a ’mini-PBD’ for the Caribbean.
Recalling a recent statement by Prime Minister Patrick Manning, that it is difficult to govern a multi-ethnic society, NCIC president Deokinanan Sharma said that while Manning was right, the will must be there to get it done.
Sharma said that diversity should be treated ’as a resource and not a handicap’ and that a multicultural policy should be put in place to ensure equality for all.
’We, Indo-Trinidadians and other Indo-Caribbean people, have an inalienable right to lead a multi-culturally fulfilling life,’ Sharma said. ’A multicultural policy to give effect to this must therefore be put in place, as has been done in some other countries.’
Indians in the Caribbean have been silent for too long. We have been made to feel inferior. South Africans had to fight for justice. All cultures should keep their own identities in multi-cultural societies and still live together in harmony.
This is true and no one's fault. Indians have been conditioned (by their own in the caste system) to turn the other cheek. We believe in fairy tales, that all would be well in the end. Well like everyone else we have to stand up for each other and ourselves. Speak up against prejudice, injustice and for your basic rights...and speak up for others (non-indians) as well. Things will get better when Indians empower themselves.
Indians would have been better off in India instead of having to face discrimination,crime and other ills in the caribbean.This is an uncomfortable
home for the indian diaspora.
OMG you are kidding right? First of all have you been to India? THANK GOD my ancestors left and I was born in Trinidad. As a female who jealously guards her freedoms, her right to work and enjoy life and her basic right to choose I am eternally grateful for the diaspora. This is my home, it is the only one that I know. I feel no connection to India except I am Indian when I look in the mirror.
You feel no connection means you have lost your culture. A person who forgets his mother and father will fall some day in life. Our grand fathers and mothers come from India you should be proud of the culture they retain which the British tried very hard to destroy.
May God Bless you.
NY
That's like saying "Africans are better off in Africa, Chinese and Whites and all other groups are better off where their ancestors came from..." If everyone thought like that, no one would have an international experience. Wouldn't that be sad (for me) for us.
The Caribbean is not just considered "home", Mr. Lenny Saith, it is home, our home, the land of our birth, and we pledge allegiance to it, and we will fight with the last drop of our blood to protect it. So Mr. Saith, please never question the loyalty of the people of Indian descent now living and calling our respective island "HOME". But, we have the right to recognise our ties with India, as are other ethnic groups and their respective motherland. We have freedom, yes freedom of choice, and we can keep and strengthen our links to India, if it pleases us. Like the older people would remind us - our ancestors came from there and we owe that respect to India as loyalty to our indentured servants ancestors' memory. It is our link to who we are as a people. We are very prooud of our ethnicity. Why does Mr. Saith find it necessary to lecture us by telling us that "The Caribbean is home for the Indian diaspora" and "This is their own society and they are authentically people of the Caribbean". We are not illiterate or unpatriotic, Sir. We are not outsiders in our own country, or are we, Mr. Saith? Mr. Manning's claim that it is 'difficult to govern in a multi-ethnic society' is mind-boggling. We are a multi-ethnic society, and we canot change this reality. We did not just show up on the front steps of T&T, we have been here going on almost 200 years and have worked, sacrificing our blood, sweat, tears and loyalty to build our country to where it is today. So our Hon. Prime Minister must accept this reality, educate himself, in this his twilight year, about the various ethic groups who call T&T "home". In so doing he would be able to govern in a plural society ensuring equity for all under his watch. But when he is on record as stating that 'it is difficult' he has already set the stacks up again him in succeeding in a plural society in his governance. Eg.- A parent with 6 children recognises that they are all different and have different needs, but at the end of the day, they are treated and cared for differently but with equity: That's what being a parent is all about. So too must Mr. Manning with his multi-ethnic society. That's what being a Prime Minister is all about. He is the P.M. of T&T, ALL of T&T.
A Trinidadian knows where their ancestors came from.. unless born from mixed race ,,then their ancestors are right on the island at present time. just a thought. said without prejudice. Ind.
Excuse me Mr.Saith, but you do not speak on behalf of the Indian community in this nation. Especially since you did not speak up, when we were financially insulted for Indian Arrival Day from your PNM government
I do not agree with you. Our children, while poor, are not begging in the street. Our girls, while still in need of protection, are not made to stay in tents to serve the needs of men while the authorities look the other way. Our boys, like girls still in need of protection, are not brought up to think of women as second class citizens and are not forced to work from the tender age of 4. We do not have children by the hordes begging in train stations (or City Gate). Our wives are not considered "damaged goods" when their husbands die or leaves them. We can still live normal lives here, inspite of everything, we can still live free here in T&T.
Goodness gracious.Many of us have come from so called"untouchables". Have you been to India? I have. Our names give us away. Even though there are Laws against mistreatment of so called lower caste,widows are burnt, wives are killed for dowry payment not delivered. Try marrying out of your caste or getting a good job. Count your blessings; Trinidad is my home. I bet the Africans are saying the same. So please let us live in harmony.
Minister Saith you made your point to the Indians. What a point. The Caribbean is now their home, not India. However, I do not see Mr. Manning appearing before a similar seminar for 'Africans' and presenting them with such a stern pronouncement. If he did our people of African heritage, and others, would make 'dog's breakfast' out of him. You Mr. Saith spoke out of turn and so would Mr. Manning if he did the same. Indians were brought here as indentured servants to serve the interests of their colonial masters. We will discuss the history of this 'indentureship' another time. We Indians living in the Caribbean are intelligent enough to know that this is now our home, and we love and cherish it. So please, do not appear before us like a 'slave master' with a whip in his possession, and have us repeat your mantra of 'the Caribbean is now our home, not India'. It is an unacceptable and ignorant tactic. As a descendant of those who were brought here from India some 150 plus years ago, I take pride in who and what I am. I am the sum of my parts - a woman, intelligent, sincere, generous, considerate, loving, caring etc. who live and let live. I am also of Indian heritage and am very proud of this fact. You cannot take it away from me by simply telling me that I am now Carribbean. It will not work. Mr. Manning attempting at every turn to remind us that he will be taking us to First World Status by 2020, must have included in his mater plan a sound respect for all people, their identity, their heritage and their desire to choose, as it is the futuristic thing to do. We must never be ashamed or made to feel ashamed of who and what we are. I am proud of my ancestory, and expect every other person to have the right to choose and embrace theirs. Many of us have been forced, encouraged or conned to deny our ancestory. No more will we fall prey to this shame. We have and are coming out of the closet. So please clear our pathway ...
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