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.

From 1838 to 1917, over half a million Indians from the former British Raj or British India, were brought to the British West Indies 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 which makes 2008 the 170th anniversary.

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 South Asia, 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.

Modern-day immigrants from India is to be found on Saint-Martin / Sint Maarten and other islands with duty-free commercial capabilities, where they are active in business.

Indo-Caribbeans are the largest ethnic group in Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad. They are the second largest group in Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and other countries. There are populations in Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, French Guiana, Grenada, Panama, Dominican Republic St. Lucia, Martinique and Guadeloupe. There are also small groups often called "mulatts" who are of Indian^{[disambiguation needed]} descent in Haiti.

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 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]

[edit] Migration

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

In Canada, notable Indo Caribbeans include:

Bas Balkissoon - born in Trinidad and Tobago, is a member of the Provincial Parliament of the Province of Ontario.
Ian Hanomansing - born in Trinidad and Tobago, is a television anchor with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
Nalini Sharma - whose parents migrated from Trinidad and Tobago, handles weather for CITYTV/CP 24 in Toronto.

In Britain, notable Indo-Caribbeans include:

Waheed Alli, Baron Alli, multimillionaire media entrepreneur and politician, and one of the few gay Muslims in public life
David Dabydeen - University of Warwick