By Leiselle Maraj
newsday.co.tt
Friday, July 13 2007
The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) has listed Trinidad and Tobago among ten countries in the world which abuse Hindus’ human rights in its third annual Hindu human rights report for 2006 published on Wednesday.
The HAF is a non-profit, non-partisan human rights group, “promoting the Hindu and American ideals of understanding, tolerance and pluralism,” according to the foundation’s website.
The report, “Hindus in South Asia and the Diaspora: A survey of Human Rights 2006,” listed ten countries and one state in India where Hindus constitute a minority: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Fiji, the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Trinidad and Tobago.
Notice of the report’s existence came from a release from HAF Executive Director, Ishani Chowdhury, sent to Newsday by Radio Jaagriti CEO Devant Maharaj. Within this release HAF executive council member and the report’s primary author, Ramesh Rao stated the countries were not “rank-ordered in terms of level of discrimination and human rights abuse” and their listing did not mean that each was an abuser of human rights “to the same extent.”
Its summary stated that “racial and religious animosity between Afro-Caribbean and Indo- Caribbean (people) has been exacerbated over the years.
“Indo-Trinidadians have been systematically denied government benefits and employment in government service. The police have too often ignored attacks on Hindu-Trinidadians.”
Almost seven pages of the 200-plus page report are dedicated to detailing instances where the human rights of Hindu-Trinidadians have been abused.
It stated that contrary to the Constitution, Hindus in Trinidad and Tobago “experience discrimination and violation of their human rights in religion, culture, politics, economics, education, employment, housing, and health.”
“Worse yet, Hindus and Indians are targeted by organised gangs of kidnappers and murderers.”
The report also stated that Hindus were not allowed equivalent sums of money to organise religious and cultural event, as given to Christian groups and are sometimes not allowed outright to hold such events.
The report claims that “the People’s National Movement ruled for 30 consecutive years without appointing a single Hindu as a government minister. The cry of rural neglect, alienation, marginalisation and discrimination affected the political psychology of Indians as they lost hope of ever winning a general election.”
It cited the Trinity Cross issue where a new name and symbol for the nation’s highest award is yet to be commissioned and the seven-year legal struggle by Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha Secretary General, Satnarayan Maharaj for a radio broadcast license. Maharaj told Newsday yesterday, he read the report and said that Hindu discrimination in TT “is not an invention but a fact of life which we see happening all around us.”
“A number of US congressmen are alerted to the fact that Trinidad and Tobago discriminate against Hindus. There is no question that this report is accurate as it is on court record that the Hindu community was discriminated against in the radio license case.”
HAF recommended that the United States should encourage the TT Government to abide by the Constitution and guarantee safety and security to Hindus and Indo-Trinidadians.
http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,60484.html
UPDATE: July 15, 2007
Re: Hindus under attack in TT
Where is the evidence?
Hotep
July 15, 2007
The allegations made by the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) in the article “Hindus under attack in TT” come over as another propagandist, politically-motivated attempt to solidify Indians around election time.
There is no evidence to date that kidnappings in Trinidad and Tobago are racially motivated. It appears that kidnappers are of the two majority races in the country and they are targeting people who they believe have readily available cash and reside in areas where there is less security.
However, there is evidence that some of the reported kidnappings were staged and most of the people involved in fake kidnappings, in an attempt to extort money from their families, were Indians (See: “Fake kidnapping inquiry” and “She faked kidnapping to raise $100,000“).
The state’s refusal to grant Sat Maharaj a radio license was not necessarily because he was Indian and Hindu. It could very well have been because he has a history of making outrageous and racist statements against African people. There are several Indian radio stations in Trinidad and Tobago, but not one African radio station. Prior to the many Indian radio stations, the state media hosted Indian/Hindu programs on an almost daily basis for around twenty years. Sat Maharaj also had programs on the state media. There were never sustained African oriented programs on the state media: just tokens around Emancipation time. The people who make these claims of Indian and Hindu discrimination are not substantiating these allegations. They are just being sensational.
Another example is in the police service. How many Indians/Hindus applied to the police service and how many were able to pass the tests and were refused? Without this information we could be looking at something totally different. For example, we do not see many Indians coming forward to play football, but they do come forward to play cricket. So we cannot conclude that the absence of Indian footballers is as a result of racism. Traditionally, Indians did not participate in certain sports like football and basketball. Also, Indian families discouraged their children from joining the army and police services. Raffique Shah has written about this (See: Memories of Regiment’s first Indian officer…a personal experience).
On the other side, we have many claims of Africans trying to get into the field of medicine and other sciences in the UWI medical fraternity and they were not accepted despite meeting the requirements. Some of them who were refused entry went to other universities abroad to pursue their careers in those fields. There is now a call for the medical fraternity to be investigated surrounding these claims (See: Prof hits admission policy of Mt Hope medical school).
The allegations in the article imply that Indians and the Hindu section of the Indian community are being targeted for racial and cultural discrimination against them by the state and other ethnic groups in the society; they are not bringing forth the evidence to substantiate this. People who believe this should present the evidence so that it can be discussed and dealt with.
http://www.trinicenter.com/tnt/2007/150707.html
Let me aske two questions that are relevant. (1)Who owns more commercial property in Trinidad and Tobago, Africans or Hindus?
(2) Who owns more media entities in Trinidad and Tobago, Africans or Hindus? The answer to these questions are important. Because if, as I imagine it to be, Hindus have the advantage in these areas and still talking about discrimination, then fairness for them must mean them controlling everything and Africans controlling nothing. And I rather think this is the kind of measurement they are making, and the paradigm of fairness they envision.
IRO head: Hindus left behind
By Sandra Singh and Sean Douglas Saturday
newsday.co.tt
July 14 2007
President of the Inter Religious Organisation (IRO) Archaraya Karamanda believes that a Hindu American Foundation report, which listed Trinidad and Tobago among the ten countries guilty of discriminating against Hindus, is credible.
Karamanda yesterday said the instances of abuse highlighted in the report are indeed real.
HAF in its report, “Hindus in South Asia and the Diaspora: A survey of human rights 2006”, said Hindus in Trinidad and Tobago experience discrimination in religion, culture and politics and have been the targets of crime.
Karamanda indicated that while Christian groups are given grants of up to $400,000 to organise cultural and religious events, Hindu groups are left behind.
He also supported the claims of discrimination made with respect to the Government’s initial refusal to grant the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha a radio broadcast licence.
In terms of employment, Karamanda said he has received reports about Indians who pass the theoretical part of the police examinations but are failed in the physical aspect.
“While the Prime Minister’s son is given a gun licence, Indian proprietors are forced to wait long periods before they receive licenses,” said Karamanda.
He called upon the Government to take action on all levels to lessen the discrimination that exists.
However, Karamanda pointed out that these are his personal views and do not reflect those of the IRO. He indicated that a consensus must be derived from the other board members before an official statement is issued by the IRO.
COP MP for Chaguanas, Manohar Ramsaran, also endorsed the concerns of the HAF.
“We have noticed for example from time to time there are certain things that the Hindu population will take for granted which we expect Government to assist us in and we have noticed that things are left out.
“For example the whole question of taking care of cremation sites which falls under the purview of the Ministry of Local Government, I have written to the Minister asking him to look at those within my constituency that is the Caroni cremation site and the Felicity cremation site. To this day nothing has happened, because these are exclusively for use of the Hindu population. They are not being rehabilitated, they are not being fixed.”
He said there are many instances in public places where Hindus, despite forming 40 percent of the population as he claimed, are not treated equally across the board.
Ramsaran complained that if a Hindu prayer is being said in Government offices, people often react negatively.
“When the Minister of Legal Affairs Camille Robinson-Regis took over from the Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, there was some hue and cry over what she did there before and had a whole cleansing process.” Further, a jhandi was removed from the Prime Minister’s residence when Patrick Manning took over from Basdeo Panday , said Ramsaran, “as if this was some sort of witchcraft.”
Ramsaran also backed the Maha Sabha’s stance on replacing the Trinity Cross. Ramsaran said worldwide secular symbols are used for national awards and the same should be true in Trinidad and Tobago.
http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,60558.html
Ah, the “Indians”-Hindus, are at it again. Enough said
RE: RACISM AGAINST HINDUS
I have seen what others have said regarding Hindus not being discriminated against or experiencing racism. A. Hotep in his/her comment written to your newspaper cites that the kidnapping and murder against the Hindu population has no racial tones. When you read about the great number of East Indians that are kidnapped and/or murdered, and a great section of the East Indian populations that fall victim to these horrendous acts are Hindus, one begins to wonder. The majority of people that commits these bad acts against Hindus are committed by certain sector of the population. The majority of these crimes are not committed by or none of these bad acts are committed by Chinese, white, Portuguese, Syrians, Spanish, French, or others against Hindus. Just looking at the trend of these bad acts against Hindus, the average man can figure out the situation that Hindus and/ or East Indians are being targeted, you do not need a genius to figure out the situation. The constant reporting of crime against a certain sector of the population should tell you who is being targeted. For example, his name is Ram Singh, Maraj /Maharaj, Balgobin, Sunil, etc, should tell you who is bearing the brunt of the crimes. You want statistics; ask the police force and the newspapers reporting the crimes. I believe you think all the reporting is a lie. By the way, my relative was a respective Hindu, she live a short distance in a well developed area few miles from the police station. She was senior in age; she was raped and murdered by a non-Hindu/non-East Indian. She is one of the statistics where crime is concerned. If the government and others would not hold it against the East Indians for telling what they are experiencing they would come forward. Those who want statistics, survey the entire population of East Indians in TT. Better yet go into the heart of Indian residential areas and talk to them about their life on the job and off the job. Find out what they feel. They say only if you are Jewish that survive the death camps, and then you can experience what the Holocaust victims went through. Only if you are East Indians/ Hindu, then you can experience the horrors of racism and inequality in TT. I know about racism and discrimination in TT. My parents like so many other parents and myself have experience both. My nieces and other members of the family struggles with this system everyday in TT, i.e. racism and discrimination.
Citing one or a few acts of kidnapping whether fake or real committed by East Indians against Hindus or other Indians against Indians does not substantiate your argument that there is no racism involved and everyone is getting their fair share. The fact is that the acts of violence / kidnappings committed by a certain sector of the population against Hindus is racially motivate. Many people in TT continue to push the idea that the East Indians owns this and that. They motivate a certain sector of the population to go after the East Indians / Hindus and hurt them. TT should say thank God, and support the East Indians who continue to strive to keep the economy in Trinidad going by building business and creating jobs. By the way the majority of the East Indians who are involved in businesses are Hindus. They are the ones experiencing the most robberies /murders /kidnappings.
Concerning the police force, traditional ways of selection and the lack of providing suitable foods, and other things to a Hindu population did not provide incentives for Hindus to join the police force or the army. In addition to blatant incidents of racism, prejudice, pressure, lack of promotion and other factors experienced by those who took the chance to join the force did not provide much incentives to potential Hindu/East Indian candidates. If your way is block with obstacles, racism and prejudice caused by others or there is a very slim chance you will be promoted or treated fairly in the police force or the army, then why would a Hindu/East Indian want to pursue career in these sectors. Some has took the chance and join the army / the police force. Please do not say East Indian parent did not want their children to join this force or that force. If that were the case, then as of today there would not be any East Indians in the TT police force. Did you survey all East Indian parents in TT? If they did, it is because of their learned experience of wide spread racism and fear of lack of opportunities for their children. Raffique Shah is one man’s story, did Raffique use a consulting firm to survey the entire East Indian population. I do not blame East Indian parent for not wanting their children to join the forces, as I pointed out where religion and culture is concerned, Hindus traditions is not to eat beef. Many are vegetarian who do not eat meat. East Indian Muslim prefers to eat Halal meat and not eat pork. Would you want your children to join an organization where their customs are not respected? Has the police fore and army changed its customs to accommodate a major sector of the population, i.e. East Indians.
I can give you first hand event of a young well-educated and smart Hindu youth who broke with tradition and join the police force. His life was no bed of roses. You should hear the events of racism and prejudice that was practice against this Hindu youth. I know what you going to say; well he is lying, right. Wrong, his stories were all true, why because his father was also a policeman who went through the training and experienced the form of racism that you are denying exists against Hindus. These are the few Hindus who decide to break with tradition and eat what ever they were provided with just to graduate. By the way the Hindu youth, despite these obstacles became a policeman. Want another incident, another young Hindu man decided to leave his good job and join the police force. After his graduation and months later he could not bear to stay any longer because of the treatment given to him. With the reign of black power and the conditions he was experiencing at the time, his mother advise him to quit. Want more actual stories about racism?
You may know that Hindus have adopted the custom of not eating beef. Likewise it is against the Muslim custom to eat pork. Did the previous black governments tried to accommodate Hindus by catering to their needs? Did the past black government cater to the East Indian Muslims by serving Halal meat for those who join the forces? Take a look at the British police forces and other forces of the world that have deliberately gone out to attract and recruit and train East Indians. There are lots of East Indian policemen in London.
As for radio license and Sat Maharaj, it is amazing when someone decides to speak for Hindus, you quick to say he is against black. What a one sided game. When Panday was in power it was and an Indian thing, how they put it, an Indian government. PNM is a black government and have exist for years. Why are you not saying it is a black thing, it is a black government? I believe Pandy catered to all people whether they were Chinese, Afro-Trinis, and East Indians etc. in his party. The license not granted to Sat was not solely against him, the main reason it was not given, was the radio would be catering to the Hindu population. Is this not racism? Is this not a form of racism being practice against Hindus? As for the others who broadcast to the East Indian population, they have put out their hard-earned cash to buy their own equipment; the government did not given them money.
Regarding sports, how government sponsored coaches have been or are in Hindu schools or Hindu areas promoting or teaching soccer or basketball. Has anyone gone out and say, we want East Indians to be part of our team? Has anyone tried or emphasize that if you are East Indians and you come forward you will be treated fairly. The same East Indian /Hindus that migrate from TT, when taught and given the chance, are found playing a variety of games overseas including tennis, soccer, basketball, lawn tennis, hockey. Anyway, when the Hindus/East Indians are constantly facing so much of pressure, obstacles and racism in all sectors in TT, why would they even bother to venture to ask to be place on a soccer team or basketball team?
As for the issue of selection for medical school at UWI, I would not get into that where you are saying blacks are having a hard time. I have already written enough.
When East Indian whether they are Hindus or not Hindus are experiencing full blown racism on the job and off the job and in every sector of their everyday life, they are not imagining things. They are not blowing things out of proportion, they just stating the facts. Keep examining the articles published, e.g. Hindu teachers being under paid in schools. Is this not racism? Opportunity to further promote Hindi, the language of Hindu parents is getting lip service support. Why is this happening? Hindus being brush aside or give half answers. Is it because you are East Indian that such treatment is being served to you? Half of TT population is East Indian, their parent language Hindi. Why was Hindi not fully promoted and made one of the official languages of TT for East Indians? Instead a foreign country language like Spanish is given official status. When this happens, what would East Indians think, are they not being discriminated against?
I believe judgment was finally passed against the medal Trinity Cross after so many years. Where is the new medal? How many time have request been put to the Prime Minister to change this medal? Not wanting to accommodate the East Indian sector by changing this medal, what would you called it racism or hate against the Hindu/East Indian population. Sat Maharaj being denied a radio license, while other gets license. What would you call it racism and/or discrimination or just pure hate?
By A. Hotep
Jul 16th, 2007
Before responding to some of the remarks in your reply, let me first state that I am an African and I identify with Africa as my cultural homeland. I am also a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago. I generally believe Hinduism with its built-in caste system is a racist ideology (See: The Untouchables: Who Were They and Why They Became Untouchables? By Dr. B. R. Ambedkar). If someone is claiming that he or she is a Hindu and cannot show how he or she is working to dismantle the caste system and the negative imagery of dark-skinned people in Hinduism, then I simply look at him or her as either deliberately or naively promoting racism. Discrimination against dark-skinned people is an aspect of the teachings of Hinduism so it is rather strange that some Indians/Hindus are now trying to make accusations that it is Africans who are discriminating against them.
In response to some of your remarks:
There are more materially wealthy Indians than there are Africans in Trinidad and Tobago. Although Indians’ ‘wealth’ may be less than that of Whites, wealthy Indians are in far greater numbers than people of other races in Trinidad and Tobago. Unlike Chinese and White people, materially rich Indians live in neighborhoods among ‘poor’ and middle-income people with average security. Their material assets are quite visible and they are very involved as operators in their businesses. Being accessible and more visibly wealthy makes them targets for kidnappers. It has also been suggested that some of the kidnappings of Indians are being arranged by fellow Indians (who solicit the services of others to carry out the kidnappings). If in the near future there is an arrest of a family member of the most famous kidnapping to date, that would shed some more light on this.
The fact that impoverished Indians and Africans are involved hands-on in the deed of kidnappings does not mean that they are the only orchestrators of these incidents. You have not made the case that anyone is specifically targeting Indians or Hindus (a group of Indians who practice the religion Hinduism) because of their race. Sensationalism is not evidence of racism.
How do you account for the Indians and Hindus (a group of Indians who practice the religion Hinduism) who have been involved in the drug trade, car stealing racket, stolen car parts industry, murder, suicide, and other forms of corruption, including political? Many are aware of the allegations and charges of corruption against prominent Indians including Indian politicians. Dhanraj Singh was accused of employing poor Africans to carry out his dirty deeds and he barely escaped the murder charge that was against him.
If any Indian community feels they are being discriminated against, they can speak out for themselves and present proper arguments to make the case. You said, “When East Indian whether they are Hindus or not Hindus are experiencing full blown racism on the job and off the job and in every sector of their everyday life, they are not imagining things.” Instead of just making unsubstantiated allegations, bring forward the evidence to support your case. Also, there is no shortage of Indian lawyers who would gladly take these cases to court to further their political agenda.
There definitely is racial and cultural discrimination in Trinidad and Tobago but the brunt of it is experienced by Africans who assert their African Identity. This does not mean Indians do not experience discrimination but the arguments in that article and your response are bogus to say the least.
You speak of Raffique Shah as someone just putting forward one man’s story while you tried to put forward your own story (that cannot be substantiated) in an attempt to claim racism.
You said:
You have not shown where Indians (Hindus and Muslims) applied for jobs in the military, requested a different diet and were refused.
Here is what Raffique Shah actually said about this:
Raffique is on point. Indian families discouraged their children from getting involved in certain fields especially areas where they would have to mix with Africans.
Remember that race-mixing is still strongly discouraged by Indians, and to a greater extent, Hindus (a group of Indians who practice the religion Hinduism). Indian parents and extended families literally disown their sons and daughters for marrying Africans. Africans are not so stridently opposed to race-mixing.
I am sure if the government deliberately went about trying to get Indians to play football and basketball in Hindu schools without this being first initiated by leaders in the Indian community there would be a lot of noise about the government trying to “douglarise” the country. A similar argument was made when the government proposed that pan be taught in all schools as it is the national instrument. Frontline members of the Indian community complained that the government was attempting to “douglarise” the nation by trying to force Indians to play pan. They wanted the government to declare some Indian musical instruments, which were not invented here, as national instruments just to rival the Steelpan. That entire public outcry was based on anti-African racism.
Indians were against joining the civil service until salaries were raised considerably, only after Africans protested for decades for increased salaries and other benefits. From colonial times, both Africans and Indians did not want to join the police and civil service. These jobs were low paying and considered degrading.
Most Indians were settled on arable agricultural lands and were better able to sustain themselves. Many Africans were eventually settled in areas with the worst possible land for agriculture, like Laventille and Belmont, and without compensation from slavery and agriculture to sustain themselves, they slowly gravitated to civil service jobs, the police and the army. Salaries in the civil service improved in the years during the oil boom from 1973 to 1981.
Without reflecting on history, about twelve years ago, some Indians started making the claim that their low numbers in the civil service was as a result of racism. That was totally untrue. As a matter of fact, if Indians are suddenly interested in football it is only after witnessing the prominence the Soca Warriors rose to and the millions of dollars in rewards they were given.
Although some Indians speak Hindi, the majority of people including Indians in Trinidad and Tobago speak English and it is for that reason English remains the national language. Nothing is stopping Indian schools from teaching Hindi and I think the argument for making Hindi an official language is mostly for symbolic and political reasons. If you are in favour of a language that is not commonly spoken by the people in the country then, by all means, learn it. The government is not trying to make an African language the official language of Trinidad and Tobago and there are Africans who study and learn different African languages. The reason for promoting Spanish is simply because Trinidad is close to South America and the language commonly spoken there is Spanish. So the government is really pushing Spanish to facilitate trade with South America. I would be in favour of more trade with Africa and India and, in that context, would like to see Trinidadians and Tobagonions learn more African and Indian languages.
It is not only some Indians who are opposed to the Trinity Cross, some Africans who claim their African identity also do not like the dominant Christian symbols. The fact that many Trinidadians are in favour of the Trinity Cross is simply because they are ‘Christians’ (a legacy of slavery and colonialism that mostly negatively impacts Africans). Remember that there are Indian Christians who are generally not factored in when Indian spokespeople comment on these issues. There are many Indians who are Roman Catholics, Anglicans and Presbyterians and they are in favour of the Trinity Cross (like most Christians).
So far your response DOES NOT PROVE racism against Indians and the Hindu subsection of the Indian community. This could all be another politically motivated attempt to be inflammatory, and to divert attention from the fact that, for the most part, Brahminical Hinduism with its caste system is inherently racist and should not be accepted by any society as is. Although this is my personal view, I am in opposition to the government when it extends to some Hindu organizations without understanding the racist nature of those organizations. Some years ago, I drew it to the attention of those in authority and other members of the African community of how racism was being taught by some pundits on the state media under the disguise of promoting their religion and culture. I can clearly remember a pundit explaining to the audience on 91.1 FM that African people came about when Ram (a God) burnt Rawan (the devil).
http://www.trinicenter.com/tnt/2007/150707.html
Last week, July 13,there was a programme on the Parliament Channel discusing the road to full internal self-govt. I found it informative. Here’s why. After the Moyne Commission Report was done, the Colonial Office began to loosen its stranglehold on the throat of Trinidad and Tobago. Full adult suffrage, and ordinary people paticipating in government came about. They repoted that in the Parliament of 1946, Mitra Sinanan, Roy Joseph and others were elected. There was only one African, Dr. Patrick Solomon. In the Parliament of 1950, Solomon lost his seat,the Butler party won seven seats, and Victor Bryan, Ajodasingh, Chanka Maharaj,Mitra Sinanan, Netto of Arima, Roy Joseph, Lionel Sieukeran and others won. Butler was the most strongly identified with the cause of African people. Although his party won more seats than any other group, he could not form a government becuse he could not get any alliances with any others in the elected group.
Not an Indian-origin person said that that was discrimination. In the parliament of 1956, the PNM swept to power under Eric Williams, and the Africans who were a majority all along, finally got some power in the land that their fathers had slaved for. The Indians have been complaining about discrimination ever since.
What sort of system returned more Indians to power in Parliament in 1946 and 1950, than African people? Jerrymandering? Bought votes? Or the willingness of the Colonial Office to create a buffer zone between them and the African population? Were the Indians willing participants in this ceation of a buffer zone?
Is this why we constantly hear of race at election time? Is this a lament for the power the Colonial Office was willing to encourage them to believe in, that was not bolstered by real votes?
If the golden age of Indian political influence was the period 1946 to 1955, I would like to know if the record shows that ONE, that would be enough,One Indian voice was raised in Parliament to suggest that Tubal Uriah Butler should rightfully have been asked to try to form a government based on the number of seats his party won.
That was racism.
The sad thing is there is discrimination (both real and imagined) on all sides and there is an outright unwillingness of any of the parties involved to acknowledge that it affects anyone but themselves.
Anyone who says Hindus are not discriminated against and makes excuses like they live among people of lower income brackets unlike the whites – using that as an excuse for the disproportionate number of kidnappings are grasping at straws to discredit any arguments. Similarly indo-Trinidadians do discriminate against afro-Trinidadians regularly. It’s just the majority of people are too stupid and biased to see all sides of the argument. Reading the initial article, if I were an outsider, I would think Afro-trinis are the sole cause of problems for Hindus in T&T and then after reading the follow-up comments to this and the previous article on the subject, I would think Indians are the sole cause of all the problems of the Afro-Trinidadians. I may even think that it’s alright to be racist against men and non-attractive women or if a group of people have money, then they don’t deserve any more rights.
one more point…whoever said that the Indians received fertile agricultural lands is dead wrong. Chagaunas was a virtual swamp but the people raised the land there over the years. My great-uncle has land in the Caroni Swamp! I can’t begin to tell you how much millions of dollars all the mangrove and mosquitoes has made my family over the last 3 generations.
By A. Hotep
July 17, 2007
Riaz Ali said:
I already stated:
Riaz Ali said:
This comment is particularly dishonest as it first uses the sleight of the hand attack by addressing “Anyone” while it is juxtaposing two different points to make it appear that it is a direct response to something I wrote. In response to “Anyone who says Hindus are not discriminated against…” I already said: “There definitely is racial and cultural discrimination in Trinidad and Tobago … This does not mean Indians do not experience discrimination but the arguments in that article and your response are bogus to say the least.”
I have not seen the evidence that Africans are doing the bulk of the kidnappings. This is just what some Indians say without proving it. The bulk of the kidnappings are unsolved and I have not read reports where those who were kidnapped claimed that Africans kidnapped them. From among the people arrested for kidnapping (real and faked ones) there were both Indians and Africans involved. If there is a disproportionate amount of Africans involved in kidnappings (I have no evidence of this), that in itself does not prove that Africans are simply targeting Indians because of their race or because some Indians are Hindus.
My argument should be easy to follow. Some Indian spokesmen have always boasted that Indians are among the wealthiest in the country. And I would agree that there are more wealthy Indians than Africans. That simple fact can explain the disproportional amount of Indians who are kidnapped by both Indian and African criminals.
Another point that I did not mention earlier on was made by Dr. Kwame Nantambu in his article “Decoding kidnappings for ransom in TnT” published in 2004. I have heard the same points he made from several senior police officers.
Dr. Kwame Nantambu wrote:
Riaz Ali said:
You wrote that the intent of the initial report/article was to blame Africans for the problems of Hindus but then you went on to make a dishonest claim that the response to the initial diatribe paints the picture that, “Indians are the sole cause of all problems for the Afro-Trinidadians.” I know for sure that Africans, generally speaking, do not make such claims and the responses to the initial article no way imply such. After realizing that the racist attack in the initial article was exposed you are now attempting to accuse Africans, and quite possibly even I, of doing the same as the Indians did in their dishonest report.
It is well-known that the bulk of protests for change in Trinidad and Tobago come from Africans who regularly and readily blame the PNM government for their ills. African spokespeople are always blaming the ills in their communities on Africans themselves. I would like to see the evidence that Africans appear to blame Indians for all their problems or as you stated, “…after reading the follow-up comments to this and the previous article on the subject, I would think Indians are the sole cause of all the problems of the Afro-Trinidadians.” Where is the evidence for this?
It is only Indians spokespeople who regularly try to blame Africans for all their woes.
Remember the case where Indians who were trying to get into Canada were making the claim that they were under attack from Africans? The Canadian embassy sent them right back and found there was no validity to their claim.
Then there was the case of Hulsie Bhaggan who led a protest claiming that Africans were raping Indian women. When the rapes were solved it was discovered that it was Indian males with Rasta wigs who were raping Indian women. Hulsie Baghan has yet to apologize for that.
While some Indian spokespeople have continually attempted to blame Africans for all their problems, Africans have no history of blaming Indians for all their problems. You are making unsubstantiated claims.
Riaz Ali said:
Unlike you, in my view it is not all right to be racist. Being racist means such people are always attempting to infringe on the rights of others.
Riaz Ali said:
I thought the issue of how most Indians were settled versus most Africans following Emancipation and Indian Indentureship was already understood, so I summarized. My response was not an attempt to give the entire history here.
As Bukka Rennie wrote:
Here is another comment from Bukka Rennie:
Honest research into what Bukka Rennie explained there would lead to a better understanding of race relations in Trinidad and Tobago.
http://www.trinicenter.com/tnt/2007/150707.html
I don’t understand why you A. Hotep has to go into such detal to analyse my 3 paragraph comment. This is a demonstration of what is good for the goose ISN’T good for the gander.
A. Hotep’s technique for arguement is to plainly say, “this isn’t true.” When in fact he is the one who states many falsehoods. e.g. “It is only Indians spokespeople who regularly try to blame Africans for all their woes” Correct me if I’m wrong (and I’m sure you will even if I am not) didn’t recently Afrio-Trinidadian “spokespersons” claim discrimination in Mt. Hope admittance? Why didn’t you complain then? I guess that must be a valid issue since the representitives form Barbados, Jamaica and Bahamas on the selection board must also be discriminating.
A. Hotep is so egar to defend himself, he doesn’t realize the comment I made about it being ok to be racist against only men and unattractive women was sarcastic. It wasn’t even aimed at him. Me thinks the lady protests too much.
Let’s see if this get’s published.
By A. Hotep
Jul 17th, 2007
Given that some Indian activists are going at length to cry persecution at the hands of Africans, I think it is fitting that I respond to some of their false claims. Why would you have a problem with me giving details to refute some of this racist propaganda?
Riaz Ali said:
Your insinuation in this paragraph is untrue. Where did Africans blame Indians for ALL their woes? Africans claiming that they experience racial discrimination by Indian professors and the Medical Fraternity at UWI (which is yet to be investigated) is definitely not blaming Indians for ALL their woes.
thank you for again proving my point. (see first line of your last paragraph). You have now moved one step further and misinterpret what I write (even though you quote it). Go back and read the paragraph you quoted and tell me where I said Africans blame Indians for ALL their woes? I did say that in a previous post but again, the context may had eluded you as I said there that “if I were an outsider” it would look that way to me.
Hotep
There are several Indian radio stations in Trinidad and Tobago, but not one African radio station. Prior to the many Indian radio stations, the state media hosted Indian/Hindu programs on an almost daily basis for around twenty years. Sat Maharaj also had programs on the state media. There were never sustained African oriented programs on the state media: just tokens around Emancipation time. The people who make these claims of Indian and Hindu discrimination are not substantiating these allegations. They are just being sensational.
No they are not delusional. They are malicious. They using the tried and proven strategies of the Conversative Right in the US. Shout reverse discrimination so loud that it drowns out complaints of the establishmentarianistic discrimination historic to the US. By the same token some Hindus have adopted this strategy as a means obscuring their anti black prfejudice.
Africans are too reticient in gathering evidence of the economic inequities between Africans and those who continuously engage in the “wolf wolf” strategy. African American Congress persons are cogently familiar with these kinds of evidentiary relationships, and it is time Africans in the Caribbean went on the offensive in response to these mean spirited and coveteous moves. Because if they have the overwhelming advantage in economics and ownership of business et al and are still crying discrimination, then what will satisfy them. The complete decimation of Africans, or retrogression into a state akin to slavery?
I cannot believe I am reading this article. Hindus in Trinidad are being discriminated, what rubbish is this? I am an indian and a hindu and I disagree with these comments. While some observations are true e.g it is difficult for a indian to get a job in the government and as we all know in every island government it is who yuh know and not what you know… This is the typical island culture that needs change and this is the only thing I will agree with.
I will tell a little story to draw an example of how these asians differ from the Trinbagonians that we are. I live in the US and my daughter is taking indian dance classes from an india origin teacher. She mentions to me that her friends hindy daughter married a muslim Trinidadian doctor and the parents were celebrating the event. She did not understand why they permitted the marriage to a muslim person, it was an embarrassment.
I said to her in Trinidad we consider ourselves Trinidadians first, with our brothers and sisters regardless of race. Our religion is second and it has never come in the way of our relationships. A Trinidadian muslim does not pray 5 times a day and is not the fanatics you think off in arabic countries. I said, if it is diwali, my muslim and christian neighbors come to my house to celebrate and vice versa, it is our culture and the way we always have been. We have respect that we are different and respect our neighbors right to pray to whatever denomination.
She could not understand this concept of being a people first and a religion second.
I draw this example to emphasize the asian, arabic and indians are so deep into conflict and chaos that they cannot let go of the driving prejudices that funnels their causes.
They are attempting to create a divide amoungst a great people, to create like problems that they have in their own countries.
Crime and politics that we have in Trinidad are our own fault. We as a people have let our goverment off the hook and have not held them accountable to provide protection against the crimes outlined.
So please US Hindu ASS or whoever you are, stay out of Trinidad, we do not need you. I am an indian and a Hindu and this article that you have written is disgusting racism and is not what hinduism teaches. The Mahabarata, Ramayana, Upanishads not once discusses racism and prejudice. This outrageously deflamatory article that you have written is a vile stain on your characters and those of you have driven the concept to write it. Karma baby, look for yours, it is coming soon…
S Herd
So please US Hindu ASS or whoever you are, stay out of Trinidad, we do not need you. I am an indian and a Hindu and this article that you have written is disgusting racism and is not what hinduism teaches. The Mahabarata, Ramayana, Upanishads not once discusses racism and prejudice. This outrageously deflamatory article that you have written is a vile stain on your characters and those of you have driven the concept to write it. Karma baby, look for yours, it is coming soon…
Thank you S herd for renewing my wavering faith that human brotherhood and sisterhood should transcend all other immutable and artificial differences. I am not primarily offended by an organization’s attempt to ensure that there is no discrimination against Hindus anywhere in the world in general, and the Caribbean in particular. But I am offended when claims are put forth that obviously ignores important advantages of Hindus in areas that nullify and cast doubts on such claims, or at least spoor inquiring and curious minds to nuances and variables that need to be factored into any finished conclusion. The fact that they selective ignore such variables suggest that their quest and motive is more machevellian than restorative.
J. Singh, you are highly disillusioned on your knowledge of Trinidadians, and based on your comments you sound like you are suffering the effects of second hand racism your parents tought you. As your experiences are not first hand by hearsay based on other individuals lessons to your young mind. Let me break it down for you:
I grew up in Trinidad, indian/hindu people there actually mostly eat meat, some do not eat beef but it is the rare Hindu that does not. Maybe a Maharaj but not all.
Indian people in Trinidad like to dress, like the Americans, they want all the top styles, makeup, shoes and money, don’t forget the big house…
Indian people in Trinidad like to drink and fete, party, break out the curry duck and dhal puri.
Indian people in Trinidad, like to play Mas, we eh going to temple these days, those lessons long lost with our transition into Trinidadian culture.
Yuh know ah indian in Trinidad who doesn’t celebrate christmas? Ah want to meet them..
Indian people go to bazaars, gulf city, the club, we playing pool, have ah drink man.. oh no ah need sun tan lotion…
Leh meh further break it down:
You must have grown up in a small town…with small minds…yuh family didn’t let you wander to far from home I see…
Yuh family made sure you got an education, that is why yuh using so much big words, to impress… Me too, ah went to school, ah have an education, and a big job at a financial company in the US. But ah feel it necessary to talk to you with broken words to fit yuh small mind.
Yuh father or other relatives obviously tried to get a job/or was workin in the police force.. yuh know what my brother, an indian.. he is ah police.. oh my god, my friend is ah prison officer… ah know plenty police who indian…In Ire Village where my parents from, most people in town indian, and guess wat? Most children there grow up and join the police force or prison officers, one working CID and studying to be a judge and one is a finger print specialist…deh too many to count…
Like I said before, I eh denying there are barriers to entry in some professions, but yuh wrong…how many Trinidadian african yuh see owning business… doctors…lawyers…teachers.. engineers…architects… your small mind limit your discussion to only soldiers then?
You have some nerve to get off here and say that african people are getting the better shake.. I have known african friends who live in primarily indian villages, in poverty and without jobs, they can’t even get to cut cane from an indian farmer… you want to talk discrimation try being a african boy with your sister in an all hindu public school…then get back to me.. yuh are forced to learn all the hindu prayers, sing all the hindu songs and learn the hindu way…
I feel sorry for yuh…if only you and yuh father (yes I went there, ah sorry yuh leave meh no choice)had explored being FRIENDS wit another race, yuh know what yuh would ah find? That they just like you, worrying about how to feed deh children, how to stop living in a shanti and own ah big house like ah indian…how to give deh children an education..what meh wife cook today for meh…
Discrimination and prejudice that has marred your thoughts have grown from the lack of knowing people, from the lack of extending your self to another culture, from the fear of exploring something different from yourself, from prejudice passed on from one generation to another.
Life has its bumps on the road, there is no denying that. It true that indians being kidnapped and raped but not only by africans as you are inferring but not man enough to state. Indians being kidnapped by other stupid indians too, it is called a trend, indians have money=rob the indians. Same would be true if Africans owned the majority of business, then they would get robbed and raped. Looking at this from one point of view blinding you from other points of view.
If you look at Trinidadian wealth, Africans are poor, mostly live in poverty and have no choice but to join the army (where others may give them ah little squeeze) to get out of poverty, and you want to take that away from them by demoralizing africans with your big words racism?
If war come, they will be in the front line protecting your ass…ah bet yuh didn’t think ah dat eh? Oh maybe then you will volunteer for the army, yuh have a good chance of getting in for sure..
We people in Trinidad are unique, we have indian and african living in Trinidad for centuries, we never fight, never throw a stone at our neighbors house and today you want to throw the ugly stone of racism?
I am proud to be a Trinidadian, I am even prouder to say that Trinidad is the only place in the world without a race war, without religion war and without bombing. We are blessing to this world man… people should look to us to see how we have made this uniqueness possible.
Don’t be ashamed to be a Trinidadian, an indian, an african, you part of the greatest country on earth.
And ah proud to say, I am an indian, ah hindu, ah woman, mother of three, ah have a degree too, but a Trinidadian first!!!
GOPIO wants enquiry into Central Bank recruitment
Ruth Osman
Saturday, July 21st 2007
The Trinidad chapter of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) Inc. is demanding an enquiry into the recruitment process at the Central Bank.
In a letter to the Central Bank Governor, Ewart Williams, dated June 18, 2007, GOPIO accused the bank of maintaining racial imbalance in its staff and of recruiting only Afro-Trinidadians for its vacation internship programme.
The bank, in a letter dated July 12, 2007, responded by stating its commitment to fair employment practices.
“Our employment criteria are job-related and focused on the relevant qualifications, training, skills, competencies and experience necessary to perform effectively in given job roles,” the bank’s letter said.
The letter, signed by senior Human Resource and Communications manager Nicole Crooks, also addressed the issue of the vacation internship programme.
“…the Programme is partly geared to benefit the children of employees of the bank,” it said.
Full Article : trinidadexpress.com
Here is a challenge for those “Hindus” who are discriminated against in TnT. Get a pen and paper, and go walking on any day. Go to the first government offices you meet and do a head count of Indians vs otherss. Please count Douglas as others. Then go to the first ten Indian owned businesses, which is mostly any and all business, and do a head count, Indians versus others. Then publish your findings.It is still possible to know the ownership of a business by who is working there. The government, I predict will have a balanced number. Indian businesses will have 98% Indians. It was true when Kirpalani’s was the big department store in TnT. It is still true. Go check. Is it greedy to want half of the government pie for yourselves, and all of yours for yourself also?
Dear Mr. Hotep
The vast majority of Trinidadians identifying themselves as “Hindus” are descended from “lower” caste ancestors and do not identify themselves as members of any caste. They live, work, marry and reproduce without reference any caste assignment or concept and, by doing so, are contributing to the obliteration of whatever remains of the caste system locally. Hopefully, such persons will qualify for the “working against caste” exception to the “hindus are casteist therefore racist” rule.
Yes, there is a tiny, vocal, misguided pro-caste minority with a few prominent members- please do not use this to label thousands of others.
It would be a tremendous irony if the descendants of thousands of “lower-caste” hindus who fled caste discrimination, poverty and oppression in India are now stigmatized en masse as proponents of the caste system they abandoned.
Respectfully
Gunga Din
Dear Mr. Hotep
It is an oft-repeated complaint that there are 6 Indian radio stations but not one African radio station in Trinidad and Tobago. This is sometimes proffered by commentators as evidence that East Indians are victimizing Africans on the nation’s airwaves.
My concens about this position are as follows:
1. How, if at all, are Indo-Trinbagonians culpable for the absence of an African radio station? What action or omission of Indo-Trinidadians has blocked the establishment of 1, or 6, or 10 African radio stations?
2. Under an Afro-Trinbagonian- majority Cabinet and Government, why has it not proved possible for funding, equipment, frequecy allocations and personnel to be provided for the establishment of an African radio station, or even a multiplicity thereof?
3. Of the “Indian” radio stations, 90.5 FM is owned by CL Financial, and 106.1 and 106.5 by the ANSA McAL grop. These conglomerates are NOT Indian-dominated. Furthermore, the content of the broadcasts of these stations is not exclusively obtained from India. Nonetheless, these qualify as “Indian” radio stations. Frequencies such as Power 102.1 and I95.5 would appear to have a majority of African broadcasters, many of whom (e.g. David Mohammed) have solid Afrocentric positions. The music played on these stations is, in the main, of African Caribbean or African American origin. Yet, these stations do not qualify as “African”.
Does a purity/contamination model apply, in that anything tainted with “Indian” counts as Indian, while a criterion of pure African ownership, staffing and content would apply to the definition of an “African” radio station such that Power 102 and I95.5 do not pass muster?
4. If Trinidad and Tobago’s African community does not choose to mobilise itself to start one or more African radio stations, does this obligate East Indian formatted stations to shut themselves down through embarrassment over the resulting inequality?
5. Finally- what do you consider to be the solution to the problem of the absence of an African radio station, and how do you wish the East Indian community and East Indian formatted radio stations to conduct themselves so as not to pose an obstacle to this goal?
Respectfully
Gunga Din
Give me a break…Hindus being discriminated against!!?? That is bull, isn’t it the hindus that construct a big “God” and burn it saying “Bun the nigga God”…exactly…I am mixed wit Indian, French and African American…I still have Indian relatives in Trinidad, and it it “funny” to me to hear and see the older Hindus, and brothers of indian girls who date African men called “nigga lovers”…when those same name callers are ten times darker. Hindus are in no way victims, stop thinking that you are white….You are not…..You are Trinbagonian.
5. Finally- what do you consider to be the solution to the problem of the absence of an African radio station, and how do you wish the East Indian community and East Indian formatted radio stations to conduct themselves so as not to pose an obstacle to this goal?
Respectfully
Gunga Din
No one asked Hindus to find a solution to any problems. The point was that Hindus selectively point to low pay areas of the public service that blacks dominate as evidence of discrimination while ignoring the vast commercial sectors that Indians dominate. And since there have been longer periods under black led Governmensts than there has been under Indian led Governments in Trinidad and Tobago, and this has not resulted in a reduction of Hindu dominance of Commerce in this country, how the bleeding hell can some people open their mouths and scream discrimination.
This is greed in its worse manifestations. It is evil and malevolent greed. Evil and malevolent greed to own 100% of everything and drive the “New Sudras” into the ground. It is a situatuon where some Hindus wish to rewrite the lanscape of the Caribbean in a fashion reminiscent of ancient India. Only this time all Indians will be in the forward classes and Africans will be designated the backward classes.
The Nazis began their campaign by claimimg discrimination and painting Jews as thugs and vagabonds. This campaign, worryingly, is beginning to resemble that.
While some few people have made a judgement in error to fake kidnappings , it also a fact that many of the kidnappings in TT were real and Indians were mainy targeted.
For many instances Indians are not hired in the government service and this is not because of their education backgroud, because many of them graducate with high grades.
So please don’t sit by and tell us that were are not good enough for the job. We all know that the PNm government is racist and will not help the Indian or hindu populantion!!!
All of you arguing back and forth, radio station, african, hindu and this and that… I beg you to remember that you are Trinidadian first, who has more is a typical Trinidadian arguement, as we all know we all want more of this and that.
We should not be arguing but try and reach out a hand to embrace our brotherhood and forget if you are a hindu, indian, african or whatever…These things are not the defining stances of a human being..we all people of Trinidad and Tobago…come from somewhere else.
That article written by the American Hindu Ass. has suceeded in generating your arguments here, just like they are fighting all over the place, and forgetting that we are “our” people.
I am indian and a hindu, but I have never looked at myself as an indian from India, nor do I segregate myself from my people…I will lay down and fight for the rights of any Trinidadian before being a hindu or an indian…
I think we all need to get our priorities in line, if being a Trinidadian is not one of them, and you continue to argue over religion, african and indian, then you don’t deserve to call yourself a Trini…nor do you deserve to inherit our unique culture..
In fact I feel let down by all of this bickering, I guess it is only me and not all of you who do not see race or religion.. that realization hurt that all of you carrying these nasty baggages around, find it so easy to write slurs and derogatory, racist comments you post so blatantly…without forethought about another race or religion feelings, all of you jump down the racist road first!
I can only hope that me by myself will portray a better image of our people ( in my vision anyway), and one day your thoughts and minds will change….when you realize in the end all you are is a man or woman, times change, religions change, wealth changes, poverty changes, politics changes… it has done so for all of history and will continue to do so in the future… Do you think the battles you fight here today, would mean anything as our history changes? If you want to be the dominant indian or african in the future, then write your race card now and continue down that road if that is what you want to see…
I hope that all of you find the bigger and better person that I hope you all are, and realize in the end we all go to the ground the same way….taking nothing but leaving our ideas and thoughts in the legacies we leave behind to perpertuate an idea of what we should all be…
“majority…are loer caste” fact, but the fiction is that they, including VS Naipaul, claim to be brahmins. I have always maintained that Brahmins lose that atatus on leaving India, yet some Trinis claim it for themselves. Also, being discriminated in traditional India, does not create a pre-disposition not to discriminate, in fact the opposite amy be true. When you were an anvil, you got blows. now you are a hammer, give blows.”
The worst reacism is often found among its recent victims, who were not educated to be otherwise.
To say that Hindus are under attack and discriminated against is like calling the US a third world country.What they don’t publish is that they own more than half the businesses in the economy.There are literally 2 Indians to 1 African in the petro/energy sector and they own half the land including commercial property in Trinidad. The racist PNM just divested Caroni lands to farmers for housing in Central Trinidad and 95% of the recipients are Hindu farmers. I’m negro and I don’t qualify.Stop bellyaching and painting an ugly picture of T&T. We’re not perfect but there’s no Hindu Holocaust in T&T.Just greedy,politically motivated and racisicm driven people making mischief.
To say that Hindus are under attack and discriminated against is like calling the US a third world country.What they don’t publish is that they own more than half the businesses in the economy.There are literally 2 Indians to 1 African in the petro/energy sector and they own half the land including commercial property in Trinidad. The racist PNM just divested Caroni lands to farmers for housing in Central Trinidad and 95% of the recipients are Hindu farmers. I’m negro and I don’t qualify.Stop bellyaching and painting an ugly picture of T&T. We’re not perfect but there’s no Hindu Holocaust in T&T.Just greedy,politically motivated and racisicm driven people making mischief.
Well put MPY. That is exactly what bit is. Bellyaching because they cannot completely dominate and control the entire economic pie.
And Linda Edwards impeachment of the ridiculous assertion that it is impossible for Hindus or Indians who were outcastes in India to discriminate or be prejudiced against Africans is right on the mark. As soon as they leave the shores of India they conveniently transistion into the traditional role of the Brahmins that once were their overlords. And they do this with a glee and willingness that is transparently apparent.
The Swastika was not the only thing that the Nazis co-opted from ancient India. Like David Duke, they learned and grasped unto the system of an ordered society differientiated by skin pigment. Now the effort is to concert places like Trinidada and tobago and Guyana into replicas of such societies, with all Indians being catapulted into the roles of Brahmins, and Africans into the roles they had when they were in the mother land. This is an indication of how sick those in the vanguard of this movement really are.
I am so fed up of people trying to give the world at large the impression that Trinidad and Tobago is a racist society. How could a country that embraces all religions be rascist! Anyone who has been to the country would know that all these claims are untrue. Any seperation that exist is all self inflicted in my view with the creation of Hindu/Indian only establishment. There are so many REAL issues in the world… yet some are keen on trying to out the country in a bad light. Come on people!
The vast majority of Trinidadians identifying themselves as “Hindus” are descended from “lower” caste ancestors and do not identify themselves as members of any caste. They live, work, marry and reproduce without reference any caste assignment or concept and, by doing so, are contributing to the obliteration of whatever remains of the caste system locally. Hopefully, such persons will qualify for the “working against caste” exception to the “hindus are casteist therefore racist” rule.
Yes, there is a tiny, vocal, misguided pro-caste minority with a few prominent members- please do not use this to label thousands of others.
It would be a tremendous irony if the descendants of thousands of “lower-caste” hindus who fled caste discrimination, poverty and oppression in India are now stigmatized en masse as proponents of the caste system they abandoned.
Respectfully
Gunga Din
Please Gunga Din,
I guess the average Trinbagoian does not have access to broadband, so YouTube gets rather tedious to access. How can these topic STILL trigger such responses from people like yourself? Heard Dr. Ronoko Rashidi spoke sometime ago here on the Radio… Thought ah would share it wid allyuh.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YRe6S1CEz0Q&feature=related
Ram, Caste systems are created in situ, because people who knew it, had the need for it, and when they get an opportunity, they restructure the society along the lines they knew.
Those at the lower caste, the chamars and other dalits, who moved to Trinidad under indenture, did not seem to want a casteless system, but to move up within the existing caste system. No Brahmin wants a casteless system, its “contaminating”.
So as people like the Tulsis, the Maturas and the Bhaggans moved up the socioeconomic ladder, within the group, they gave to themselves a higher caste system by virtue of money. As they became educated, they created almost exact replicas of what they knew from racial memory(used here in a sociological sense only, meaning the collective memory of the group).
NO Brahmins moved from India to cut cane in TnT, but Naipaul claims to be a Brahmin, although he also claims to despise the caste system.
All right, he is a contradiction in terms- lots of people with artistic gifts are, so we forgive him that. At one point in our emergence as a society, some Hindus intermarried, changed their names- the Dulal-Whiteways are a case in point, I remember when the cydrax people(Whiteways Brand) offered money for the name changes and they accepted. At the same time, some people were adding Singh as an honorific at the end of their names. So Jugmohan became Jugmohansingh, especially if he was a first son.
The entire system has been so carefully replicated, that there are now generations of children born in TnT who may well believe that they were born into the Brahmin class, and they look around at their parents’ wealth, and that of their grandparents, and realize that they have the money to back it up. If others accept that they belong to an elite class by virtue of wealth and not by virtue of blood, they continue to acquire the trappings of the Brahmins, wearing their sacred thread in public and so on. When Iwent to scool, half a century ago, NO ONe wore the sacred thread to school. Some boys had their hair shaved on the passing of a grandfather, but that was it. Today, there is the demand that all sacred symbols worn to school be recognized as OK, or else a charge of discrimination is laid.
An excellent parallel would be the creation of a new British upper class, based on wealth and achievement, not of blood.
Among that new upper class in Britain are Sir Paul McCartney, Dame Judy Dench, and Sir Elton John. Musicians and entertainers all. What they need to do to complete the fiction of noble blood is to marry their children off to people with heriditary titles, and inject some money into crumbling castles, and they are good to go.
The process of renewal of the caste system is endemic in societies that practice them. (Europe, Africa, India, and even China, despite the Revolution)Everyone wants to be upper class- it helps to marry better, and leave the chamar dust behind.
There is nothing racist about this except the fiction of pure blood. All humans have pure human blood. It is not yet possible to transfer blood from cows, pigs or rabbits into human arteries. We humans are mixed people, but struggle continuously to improve our lot by claiming affinity to, and imitating the manners of, those we percieve as higher ups and better offs.
I give an historical context here. I leave the emotional re-action to others.
Many Indians in Trinidad claim to be Brahmins are truly Brahmins by “boat” not by “birth”.
Linda Edwards has given quite comprehensive and accurate history lesson on this topic.
Hindus in T&T would benefit from lowering the “Hindu rhetoric” by several decibels.