Indian Arrival Day commemorative magazine 2004 -
Theme: The massacre of Indians in the 1884 Hosay
29 May 2004, Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean
The Indo-Caribbean Cultural Council (ICC)
wishes to announce the publication of its latest magazine
commemorating Indian Heritage Month (May 2004) in Trinidad and
Tobago (Caribbean). The theme of this magazine which marks the
arrival of East Indians from India to Trinidad during
indentureship (1845-1917) is the massacre of Indians in the
1884 Hosay
On May 30th 1845, the Fatel Rozak docked in
the Port of Spain harbour in Trinidad and Tobago with 225
adult passengers onboard. The passengers were immigrants from
India who had come to the then-British colony to work in the
sugarcane plantations after the abolition of African slavery.
In many ways, they brought India to the Caribbean. They
continued with their traditions of Hinduism and Islam, and
eventually transformed Trinidad into a colourful cosmopolitan
society. Descendants of these Indian immigrants, who now
comprise about half of the multi-ethnic society of the island
(1.3 million), commemorate the arrival of their ancestors to
these shores annually.
On October 30, 1884, 22 Indians were killed
and over 100 were injured in a hail of police bullets fired at
a Hosay procession in San Fernando, Trinidad. The nation was
stunned in disbelief. This tragedy is is described by
historian Dr. Kelvin Singh as the bloodiest event of British
rule in colonial Trinidad. In the wake of industrial strikes
in Trinidad in the 1880s, the colonial authorities had set
about to prevent the continuance of Hosay/Muharram as a grand,
island-wide multi-racial procession led by Indians. The latest
petition restricting the staging of Hosay was met with dismay
and indignation. Armed with courage and determination,
indentured Indian celebrants ignored the ban and took to the
streets in their annual religious procession. Their resistance
was met with batons and bullets from British soldiers and
marines.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The 1884 massacre of Indians
[Editorial]
Greetings from the Prime Minister
By the Honourable Patrick Manning
Greetings from the Minister of Community
Development, Culture and Gender Affairs
By the Honourable Joan Yuille-Williams
Greetings from his The High Commissioner of
India
By Excellency Virendra Gupta
The Hosay massacre – commemorating Indian
martyrdom
By Dr. Kumar Mahabir
Testimonies from court records of the 1884
Hosay massacre
[Colonial court transcripts]
The Hosay massacre in Trinidad in 1884
By Dr. Neil A. Sookdeo
Protesting Indentured Indian women
By Moses Seenarine
Simboonath Capildeo
[New book release]
Indians in football
By Satnarayan Jaggernauth H.B.M
Discover your Indian roots
By Satish Rai
I dream’t of Caroni [poem]
By Khem Harrinarine
Bombay goes to Broadway
Associated Press Release
The Islamic realities of the Muharram
Massacre of 1884
By Daurius Figueira
The clash of cultures in Trinidad
By Parsuram Maharaj
Make May Indian History Month
By Ravi ji
MAI [poem]
By Jacqulin Suepaul
The first potter of Chase Village
By Dr. Harold Harrinarine
The need for a Jahaji Massacre memorial
By Devant Maharaj
Mere Desh in Trinidad
[Festival announcement]
Hindi words in Trini English
By John Mendes
A new way of looking at Caribbean history
By Dr. Baytoram Ramharack
Lowkee/Bottle Gourd Talkari
[recipe]
Info Tool – All-In-One Business Reference
[New book release]
By Vijay Luthra
Labour disturbances during Indentureship in
Guyana
By Dr. Basdeo Mangru
Strikes and protest action by indentured
labourers
By Dr. Ron Ramdin
Ancient Indian Ayurvedic Medicine Protected
[Brief news item]
Indians take over Queens
[Brief news item]
The persistence of Indian culture in
Trinidad
By Dr. Gita Bajpai
The Indian family in transition
By Dr. Simboonath Singh
Being Indian in the Caribbean
By Ryhaan Shah
From Caste to Class [book review]
By Rosabelle Seesaran
Naipaul and Bissoondath reflect on
Indentureship
By Dr. John Persaud Rampaul
The Panchayat [village court] system in
Trinidad
By Dr. Harry Ramnath
Colonial newspaper articles on the 1884
Hosay massacre
[Newspaper items]
Anthropologists find ancient habitation in
India
[Brief news item]
Britons getting a curried cheddar
[Brief news item]
The need for scholarly discussion
By Rajiv Malhotra
Spicing-up the English Language
By Vijay Dutt
The medicinal uses of chalta/elephant apple
By Dr. Kumar Mahabir
Heart to heart [short story]
By Kamla Williams
May-June 2004.
11 x 8 ½ inches. Glossy pages and cover.
ISSN 1683-4143
76 pages with advertisements and articles.
Available through mail service ONLY.
TT$20 (includes handling and local postage),
US$10 (includes handling and foreign postage).
Make check or money order payable to
Indo-Caribbean Cultural Council.
Postal address:
Indo-Caribbean Cultural Council (ICC)
Swami Avenue, Don Miguel Road
San Juan, Trinidad and Tobago
West Indies
Tel: (868) 674-6008. Tel/fax: (868) 675-7707
E-mail: mahab@tstt.net.tt
Of related interest is the website on books
on (East) Indians in the Caribbean: http://www.geocities.com/chakrapub/index.html
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