|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Reading Time 1 mins
May 30, 2023
Happy Indian Arrival Day!
Photo credit: UWI Hindu Society (St Augustine Campus)
Throughout May and early June, Caribbean nations celebrate Indian Arrival Day (IAD) as a day of deep reflection on the strides made by Indo-Caribbean people since their Arrival in 1838 to the region’s plantations as replacements for the newly-emancipated Africans. Beginning on May 1 in Grenada, the celebrations culminate on June 1 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and June 5 in Suriname.
Today, May 30, IAD is celebrated in Trinidad and Tobago with rousing ceremonies throughout the nation, as is done to varying degrees throughout the Caribbean on particular Indian Arrival Days.
The East Indian presence is about one-sixth of the region’s population (over a million). With substantial concentrations in Trinidad, Guyana, and Suriname, they are the most significant minorities in Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Yet, though Indo-Caribbeans have made significant strides in all facets of life, their culture has been given short shrift at both the University of Guyana and the University of the West Indies (UWI) Campus in St. Augustine, Trinidad. Both of these public universities are charged with advancing the educational needs of their multicultural nations. This glaring omission, evident in UWI’s Theology Department, is our focus. Dr. Kumar Mahabir raises this concern in “UWI Discrimination: Why no Hindu or Islamic BA Theology Degree?” Dr. Mahabir’s is a powerful call for redress, so UWI embraces inclusion.
Read on and join the discussion by adding your voice to this quest for representation and equity in our public universities.
From BDN Editors