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A
comment posted on PD on
Feb. 10, 2006 reads as follows:
"My name is Jasmine, I reside in the USA, my
grandparents were two of the people that were
taken from the state of Bihar and/or Uttar
Pradesh, in the early 1900's, they were taken on
a boat called the Fatel Razak by the British as
indentured laborers to Trinidad, West Indies, I
am trying desperately to find my relatives."
The name of the boat Fatel Razak caught my
attention. This name became a symbol of
Indentured Indian Labourers abroad. Although the
Indentured labourers were carted off at
different times by different vessels, the "Fatel
Razak" became a symbol of Indian Indentureship
during the British Raj.
The vessel, 'Fatel Razzak' to the uneducated
labourer was actually "Fateh-al-Razzak" (victory
of Allah). When the East India Company
approached the British ship owners for a ship to
carry labourers to their colony in Trinidad &
Tobago, most ship-owners refused. Finally an
Indian Muslim ship-owner Ibrahim Bin Yusuf,
agreed - and his ship, the Fatah-al-Razzak set
sail from Calcutta on February 16, 1845 carrying
227 Indians. After a 103 day voyage, the ship
arrived at Trinidad on May 30th, 1845. This day
is observed as the "Arrival day" in Trinidad.
Only once before this voyage, two ships, the
Hesperus and Whitby, had brought Indians to
Guyana in 1838. The Indian labourers brought to
Trinidad and Tobago were put to work on the
sugar estates.
When education came to the labourers, they wrote
their Indian names as they pronounced it.
Vasudev became Basdeo, Prasad became Persaud,
Tilak Singh became Teelucksingh and so on.
The Indians who came to Trinidad found other
races who had also been brought from other parts
of the world. They were the African and the
Chinese labourers. Though uneducated, the
Indians had a deeply rooted religious
philosophy. They preserved their culture and
despite a shortage of women in their community
(more men were sent over than women), they,
unlike the Chinese or Africans, never married
across race lines.
The long separation from India caused them to
evolve a culture which is very unique and
quaint. The descendents of these hardworking
Indians got educated and aided by a deep
philosophical outlook on life, they have reached
pinnacles of success. The famed author V. S.
Naipaul, Shiva Naipaul and Niala Maharaj are
glowing examples of this success.
There has been the inevitable effect of the
local influence on the descendents of the Indian
indentured laborers. Their language is a mix of
Bhojpuri, Creole, Hindi and English. The
influence of Missionaries from America and
Canada is also visible. Some of the people have
converted to various denominations of
Christianity. Through all this, today the
Indians of Trinidad and Tobago have a strong
point of ethnic snobbery. Having stuck to their
original culture that they brought with them,
they rarely have broken families.
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Comments: |
Aarcee,
your depth of knowledge and
imagination is incredible. I
consider you as one of the most
selfless, neutral and least
controversial writer (in spite of
recent rage).
Information about "Fateh-al-Razzak"
was really great. I have some
friends from South African descent
Indian and had few colleagues from
South American descent Indians. The
way these people maintain their
culture and Indian heritage is
incredible.
A year back I met a guy from
Surinam. I was stunned by his
impeccable Hindi when he told me
that his ancestors left India at
least 150 years back.
Since you have knowledge and
resources I would encourage you to
write a weekly article series and
provide some insight into the way
Biharis have migrated to Africa,
South America, and Europe and if you
can find how they are today. I have
heard that lots of Biharis are in
Mauritius, South Africa and other
places. This will be a very useful
effort. - Kaushal Das - Mar. 20,
2006
Aarcee ji, thanks for the
information. Very enlightening. I
personally know a few Indians from
Guyana and it never ceases to amaze
me how beautifully they have
maintained their Bihari culture
despite being away from India for
well over a century.
If any West Indian/Mauritian/Fijian
or others of Bihari origin is
visiting this site, I would like to
request them to tell us more about
their life, their experiences, their
ties with Bihar etc. I am very much
interested in reading about them. -
Anil Kumar - Mar. 20, 2006
Arcee ji, Thanks for the good
analysis. I live in USA and have met
few Biharis from West India.
Unfortunately most of them do not
know about the original place from
where their ancestors migrated. But
I met a Bihari (from WI), who has
setup a Shiva temple in his backyard
and flies Hindu Red flag with pride
in his front yard. - Om Prakash,
Seattle - Mar. 21, 2006 |
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