The venue was a stadium in Couva, central Trinidad, surrounded by sugarcane fields, fully packed with thousands of people of Bharatiya origin, raising the chants of ‘Seetaram!’, ‘Jai Shri Ram!’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai!’ in joy. These were the Indo-Trinidadians, with their ancestry from the Gangetic plains, particularly Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, waiting for Modiji, not just as the Prime Minister of Bharat, but the PM of their Motherland, representing the Bharatiya sanskriti and heritage. Even today, 180 years after the arrival of the first Bharatiyas to this country in 1845, the vast majority of this diaspora, carry surnames of Shri Ram. When Modiji started greeting them with Seetaram and Jai Shri Ram, they responded resoundingly.
The Pride In Bharatiya Identity
These Indo-Trinidadians have maintained pride in their Bharatiya ancestry and kept the flag of Hindu sanskriti and dharma flying high for the last 2 centuries. This is inspite of the atrocities and hardships they endured psychologically and physically after their ancestors in Bharat were forced by the British into the 10,000 mile distant island ostensibly as indentured labourers. However, many had been freedom fighters of 1857, primarily from UP and Bihar and were perceived as a threat to British rule and exiled.
The deep seated love and loyalty for Bharat never faded though. They compared the hardships Shri Ram faced during the 14-year long period as their own ‘Vanwas’ from the motherland and, Shri Hanuman remained their leader. An 85 foot tall Hanuman murti stands just 10 minutes away from the venue where PM Modi was addressing them. Even today, one finds the Dhwajas outside many Hindu houses and the observance of Hindu festivals and lifestyle which they maintained despite the ongoing pressures of conversion. They established their panchayats and named their settlements as Barrackpore, Fyzabad, Hindustan and so on, names resonant with our fights for independence in Bharat. The Hindus there also pray to Sipahi Mai, known across Northern Bharat as the patron Goddess for soldiers. The British, after the forced end of slavery in Bharat, invented this new form of slavery to save their dying plantation economies by procuring labour from Bharat. They referred to this scheme as ‘Indentured labour’, where the farce of signing an agreement was done to legalise this new human trafficking in the eyes of British Parliament and the world.
The Unimaginable Atrocities They Faced
That is how the word Girmitiya, used among other former plantation colonies, came from the word ‘agreement’. However, none of these supposed agreements mentioned that Hindus once there, would not be allowed to return home to their loved ones; not allowed to cremate their dead; that Hindu marriages would not be recognised and the children born would be declared illegitimate and lose inheritance rights; if the children were to be educated they had to convert, as was the case for employment, and later on, voting rights were given only to those literate in English. In fact, this oppression started right from the beginning when the agents of the colonial planters, the Arkatias indulged in a multitude of fraudulent practices including even kidnapping women and children to be sent as labourers.
These Arkatias were none other than some of those Bharatiyas who had sold their soul to the British for money. Huge depots were made in Indian port towns for keeping the Bharatiyas in captivity before they were to be boarded on the ships. Sadly, the ruins of these depots exist and evoke sharp grief from visiting Person of Indian Origin (PIOs), sensing the pain of their great grandparents forced forever from a much loved motherland – Bharat. Archival records show that the ship journeys, to the Caribbean islands and Fiji took almost three months and were characterised by abuse and violence as can be expected from British hands. Those who were sick or died on the ships were thrown overboard and none bothered to inform their kith and kin in Bharat. This was repeated at Nelson Island in Trinidad to any failing the medical examination, after the ravages of the 3 month and 10,000 miles voyage. Once on land, separation of families was practiced to weaken unity among the Bharatiyas and prevent them from formulating any plans of return. Remittance was withheld and laws passed to prohibit Bharatiya festivals, simply to break the sense of identity and solidarity. The boundaries of the plantations were impassable and the Bharatiyas required a permit to go out of the estate which was rarely given. The conditions of the slavery times had not changed as they were made to live in same barracks and same working conditions for a meager wage. The list is endless, including practices committed even after the independence era in Trinidad as well. The British knew that this far from Bharat, these Bharatiyas had no support. Yet, they were able to establish links with the Hindu Maha Sabha and some preachers did visit them.
The Resilience Of This Community
PM Modi’s reference to the Temple by the Sea and to Siewdass Sadhu who built it in Trinidad in 1950 was a touching moment for the gathering. He had been an indentured labourer who had made a small Moorti but was imprisoned for 15 days on charges of trying to build a temple on British owned land, near his own home without permission. Undeterred, after his release, Siewdass Sadhu took a pledge to construct a temple and every evening after toiling for the whole day in the fields, he would carry huge stones in a pail on a bicycle until wading up to a point inside the sea where he would drop them, claiming that at least the sea was free, even if the British owned all the land. He was able to make a platform in the sea and on this, he established a murti. Thus was constructed what is known today as ‘Temple in the Sea’ – a place of pilgrimage for every Hindu in Trinidad.
With such a mindset, there were cheers when PM Modi announced having brought the pious water from the Sarayu River and the Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj besides the gift of a replica of Shri Ramlalla Mandir in Ayodhya. Not only were these of strong spiritual significance for this diaspora, but many of them trace their ancestry from Prayagraj and Awadh.
In fact, this was not the first visit of PM Modi to Trinidad for he had spent a long time there earlier and was accustomed to interacting with the Bharatiya community. Hence, his familiarity with the Trinidadian Bharatiyas’ fondness for popular street food ‘Doubles’ (like Chola-Bhatura), Dhalpuri-roti and Jalebi. Those reminisces came back to him when he was served traditional (and still a daily) Indo-Trinidadian food, on a banana leaf during the official dinner hosted by the country’s Prime Minister, Kamla Persad Bissessar, the Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago, whose ancestry is from Bihar. She is the second Prime Minister of Trinidad of Bharatiya and Hindu origin. The first was Basdeo Panday whose ancestry was from UP and was also praised by PM Modi.
The Inspirational Journey
It is inspirational to imagine this journey of freedom fighters in 19th century Bharat, becoming labourers and then Prime Ministers of this former plantation colony. This community produced VS Naipaul a name in literature, Rudranath Capildeo a Mathematician, and many politicians as well as many famous cricketers of the West Indies team. While avidly retaining their Bharatiya values, they are highly educated, no gender or caste discrimination, maintain a high respect for education, agriculture and family values, are economically successful, and well travelled, with most having relatives living abroad, and have contributed financially and socially to their oil and gas rich, tropical island home.
Six MOUs were signed between the two governments of which, the most crucial one is in the field of healthcare and medicine which is costly in Trinidad, as it is sourced from Western countries. PM Modi offered camps for providing artificial limbs and supply of medicines and medical equipment. No doubt, Kamla Persad Bissessar praised Modi for having supplied the Covid vaccine at a time when others were hiding their stocks.
In the field of education, the chairs at University of West Indies have been revived with a chair for Hindi and one for Indian studies. The third chair for Ayurveda is also in the process. It is worth mentioning that through the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), the students of Trinidad are offered fellowships in Bharat for higher studies and the Indian High Commission, under the Know India Programme, send youth yearly to Bharat. The Bharatiya Prime Minister also gifted 2,000 laptops for students and sea ambulances for the sister island of Tobago. In sports field, the MOUs deal with exchange of talent, training, infrastructure development and joint capacity building. Modi also offered to train young women cricketers from Trinidad in Bharat. The other MOUs dealt with deeper cooperation in the field of agriculture; quick impact projects and providing diplomatic training.
Overwhelming Response For PM
A Bharatiya Prime Minister had visited here after 25 years. He was conferred the Order of the Republic of the Trinidad and Tobago, the highest national award, offered to a foreign statesman for the first time.
The rich, living Indian cultural heritage of Trinidad was showcased in a grand manner surprising and mesmerising even the Bharatiyas back home, unaware of this aspect of Hindu sanskriti being alive so many seas away. When traditional Chautaal was sung, PM Modi was seen clapping along with the audience. Similarly, both primary and secondary school children of various Hindu schools, performed not only dances, but also sang Bhojpuri folk songs and played tassa, in addition to reciting shlokas and mantras. For these Indo-Trinidadians, Sanatan is still an active way of life, being transmitted generationally, more prominently. While living in the West for nearly 200 years, they have intentionally retained it and still succeed in all fields of life, both in Trinidad and other countries they may migrate to. In such a country, one can imagine how Modi had thrilled the gathering by reciting Chaupais from Tulsidas’ Ramcharitmanas.
Kamla Persad Bissessar described PM Modi’s visit as a matter of “profound honour” and not just “protocol”, adding that the country was “graced by the presence of someone who is near and dear to us”. She further described Modi as a “transformational force who has refined the governance of India” and has positioned his country “as a prominent and dominant global power”. She further stated that “you have instilled pride into the hearts of all Indians all over the world”.
I was watching the live chat during PM Modi’s speech and interacting with some of the Indo-Trinidadians there, and was extremely thrilled to see the way they were applauding his speech. The statements of 3rd generation Indo-Trinidadians and OCI holders, Bheesham Pitama and Savitri in Trinidad were heartwarming. For them, PM Modi’s visit was “a sign of the affinity between Indians of both countries and an emotional and symbolic inclusion in our ancestral deity, Shri Ram’s Ram”. They cherished the hope for a global revival of Sanatan Dharma, held unwaveringly by their own parents and grandparents, so far away from Bharat.
It is true that this visit of PM Modi ushers a new era in relations with the older Bharatiya community globally, beyond the new Non-Resident Indians.
I would like to emphasise the importance for direct flights between Bharat and Trinidad, as it will reduce the travel time and fares by more than half of what exist at present and render more visits from both sides affordable. These People of Indian Origin in Trinidad, pay hefty sums to travel via the US, Canada, the UK or the Netherlands, over 2-3 days, simply to visit Bharat. Their love for Bharat, a country which denied them nationality after receiving independence in 1947, continues so much, that the Hindus there retain the ashes of their loved ones only to be immersed in Ganga by someone. Many elderlies express their wish to leave their physical body at the Ghats of Kashi. It is time that the Bharatiyas here welcome, understand and learn more with respect to these torchbearers of our heritage and dharma.
Lastly, I would like to applaud the role of Dr Pradeep Rajpurohit, our High Commissioner in Port of Spain and his entire team for their commitment and hard work in organising and making this historical visit a success for all times.
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