Indo-Caribbean

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Indo-Caribbean people or Indo Caribbeans (the colonial term "East Indian" is fading) are people with roots in India who live in the Caribbean region or are the descendants of such people.

From 1838 to 1917, over half a million Indians from the former British Raj or British India, were brought to the Caribbean as indentured servants to address the demand for labour following the abolition of slavery. The first two shiploads arrived in British Guiana (now Guyana) on May 5, 1838.

The majority of the Indians living in the English-speaking Caribbean came from eastern Uttar Pradesh and western Bihar, while those brought to Guadeloupe and Martinique were mostly from, but not only, from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. A minority emigrated from other parts of the Indian sub-continent, including present-day Pakistan and Bangladesh. Other Indo-Caribbean people descend from later migrants, including Indian doctors, Gujarati businessmen and migrants from Kenya and Uganda. A vague community of modern-day immigrants from India is to be found on Saint-Martin / Sint Maarten island or other islands with duty-free commercial capabilities, where they are active in business.

Today, Indo-Caribbeans are the largest ethnic group in Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad They are the second largest in Jamaica. Other Indo-Caribbeans live elsewhere in various Caribbean countries where they often form the second largest ethnic group. There are populations in Barbados, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Martinique and Guadeloupe.

Many Indo-Caribbean people have migrated to the United States of America, Canada, The Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom.

In Canada, notable Indo Caribbeans include:

1) Bas Balkisson - born in Trinidad and Tobago is a member of the Provincial Parliament of the Province of Ontario.

2) Ian Hanoomansing - born in Trinidad and Tobago is a television anchor with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

The indentured Indians and their descendants have actively contributed to the evolution of their adopted lands in spite of many difficulties. Jamaica has always celebrated the arrival of the East Indians in Old Harbour Bay on May 13th. In 2003, Martinique celebrated the 150th anniversary of Indian arrival. Guadeloupe did the same in 2004. These celebrations were not the fact of just the Indian minority but the official recognition by the French and local authorities of their integration and their wide-scale contribution in various fields from Agriculture to Education, Politics, and to the diversification of the Creole Culture. Thus the noted participation of the whole multi-ethnic population of the two islands in these events. See [1]