Struggles faced by today’s migrants similar to what obtained earlier – UWI professor – at second lecture to mark 175th anniversary of East Indians
The struggles which faced East Indian migrants to the Caribbean and other nations have been ongoing since they began leaving their ancestral homes in search of a better life, according to Dr. Kusha Haraksingh, a distinguished professor who was the main speaker at the second of a three part lecture series to mark the 175th anniversary of East Indian arrival to Guyana.
Members of the head table from left to right: University of Guyana Pro-Chancellor Dr Prem Misir, Professor Kusha Haraksingh, Moderator Neaz Subhan and UG lecturer Evan Persaud
The professor, who is also an economist and a lawyer, in addition to being one of the region’s leading historians, began his lecture titled “A far horizon, a world made small” by thanking Guyana and the late historian Dr. Walter Rodney for clearing a path for him, so to speak. He recalled that when he decided to pursue studies at a university in India, he was accepted without hesitation by the institution, due to Dr. Rodney’s outstanding academic performance there previously.
He said that after visiting the National Archives in his native Trinidad and Tobago, he travelled to Guyana to broaden his knowledge in 1974, gaining a wealth of information from the then poorly stored research materials. This first trip to Guyana, assisted him to publish his initial work on Indian resistance, a publication which examined how the early labour movement resisted the colonial rulers in various ways.
Guests, including Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport Alfred King at the lecture delivered by Professor Kusha Haraksingh
He spoke of the “Mingling of the Diasporas”, and noted that the experience of the early indentured labourers in terms of the struggle to find better lives and often times leaving behind their loved ones forever, was one which many are still familiar with due to spread of globalisation, “We have already gone through it, and hence we have something to teach the younger generation”.
The professor noted that not only do people move, but ideas also, and are shared. He gave examples of what some call traditional East Indian items such as silk garments, and incense that actually came from neighbouring China through trade routes used in ancient times. The “Diamond Sutra” the earliest known printed manuscript, which predated the 15th century Gutenberg Bible, from the 9th century gave the details of such a trade treaty between the two nations.
“Many of us are linked in ways we can hardly imagine to the actions of our fore parents,” he said. He used the example of a silk shirt which he was wearing showing such a connection to the land of his fore parents. His 100% cotton shirt, which he purchased in New York for US$10, was imported from Bangladesh, where it was sewn in a factory which was possibly similar to the one that collapsed recently killing over 1000 poorly paid workers.
The contribution of East Indian immigrants was inextricably linked to the election of the current American President Barrack Obama, noted Dr. Haraksingh. He cited the case of Mahatma Gandhi who travelled to South Africa in his early years where he learnt about the non-violent resistance movement by East Indian Indentured labourers. This idea was taken back to India, where he promoted it, much to the consternation of the British colonial rulers. Gandhi’s Ashram was then visited by two American residents who were the heads of Howard and Morehouse Colleges, two leading black institutions in the United States. These men were then instrumental in leading the struggle of blacks for civil rights.
Dr Kusha Haraksingh(centre) answering a question from a member of the audience at the Umana Yana
The contributions and struggles of the early immigrants, Dr. Haraksingh said, it one which is rich and still to provide even more insight and examples to the current generation.
Delivering brief remarks, Minister of Culture Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony whose Ministry organised the lecture series, said that persons should leave the presentation, “refreshed and energised”.
He also urged interested persons to submit potential designs, to the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, for an Indentured Indian Monument which will be built in Berbice at the site where the first batch of East Indian indentured servants landed in 1838. He reminded those in attendance that while they needed to remind themselves of their history, it was not to be used in any divisive way. “It is important to discuss and learn from our history, it will be in good stead, especially for our younger generations”.
Dr. Haraksingh is a professor at the University of the West Indies and has taught courses in Law, Business, History, Ethics and Jurisprudence in the medical sciences. He is also chair of several university committees and has been a trade union leader, a senator in the Trinidadian Senate and is also a member of Cariforum and the region’s lead negotiator for legal and institutional issues