Indians still close to roots in distant Trinidad & Tobago Prasanta J Baruah Port of Spain (Trinidad & Tobago), Nov 28 For 60-year-old Dr Suruj Rambachan, a third generation Indian settled in the Carribean Island nation of Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indies, the Ramayana is an obsession though he does not know Hindi. An author of seven books on the revered epic, he claims to have met Assams Jnanpith Award winner and an authority on the Ramayana Dr Mamoni Raisom Goswami.
Dr Rambachan, who was present at the reception for the Indian Prime Minister hosted by the Indian community here on the occasion of the CHOGM 2009 on Friday, said that he was still trying to trace the roots of his family who migrated to the West Indies way back in 1845 from Uttar Pradesh to work in the sugar plantations here. The Indians who came here were mostly from the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa.
According to Dr Rambachan there are about 2,60,000 Indian Hindus and 1,10,000 Muslims of Indian origin here with about 300 temples and 50 mosques dotting the island nation. Though we have forgotten the language, Indian culture has survived. We follow the religion, the rituals have been retained though there have been changes in the presentation. The Indian High Commission has done a good job of conducting Hindi classes here for us, he added.
Though Indians constitute the majority 47 per cent of the population, with Africans coming next with 40 per cent and the rest of mixed heritage, the community has not been able to assert itself politically because of divisions in their ranks. With the Africans holding the reins of power, the Indians are gradually feeling marginalised and discriminated in matters of employment and other economic opportunities.
However, Indians are still dominant in the medical, legal and engineering fields. In recent days there has been an increase in the number of young Indians trying to migrate to the US and UK for better opportunities, Dr Rambachan said.
Since the days when their forefathers came here to work in the sugar plantations, Indians have contributed tremendously to the development and progress of this island nation rich in oil and natural gas. Cricketers like Rampaul, Ramadin and Adrianne Bharat have played for the West Indies. The legendary Brian Lara hails from Trinidad and Tobago.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh addressing the Indian community here rightly said, Todays India is on the move, just as the people of Indian origin are on the move. India is reaching out to the world with confidence. In reaching out to the people if Indian origin, we are reaching out to the world. You are, for millions of Indians, the most visible symbol of our globalisation .
