Q : What do the people below have in common?

Ans : All of above are the offspring of indenture coolies.

From left to right:

Nicki Minaj, Rapper and song writer from Trinidad

Alvin Kallicharan, a famous cricketer from Guyana

Vijay Singh, Former world number one Golf professional from Fiji

Anerood Jugnauth, former prime minister of Mauritius

Fatima Chohan, Deputy minister of home affairs, South Africa

Approx. 4.5 million progeny of the 1.3 million indenture coolies are thriving globally today.

It is an interesting study of geopolitics, history and economics to understand why there are almost 1.3 million Indian South Africans (almost the same as in the Caribbean), but the number of coolies was a third.

Amongst the countries in the Caribbean, notice how the Indian population of Trinidad is more than twice of that of Guyana even though during Indenture days the population in Trinidad was 60% of that of Guyana. One would need to understand the political, economic and social fabric of each colony and trace it over the past hundred years to understand the picture better.

The Indians in these countries are playing key roles —from government to business offices, in the sports arena and the arts, in education, and beyond. We, the progeny of the indenture coolies, share a common bond—that of our ancestors who toiled endlessly on the sugarcane plantations in order for us to survive and succeed. It is in their stories of sorrow and struggle that we must find hope in order to build a better tomorrow.

Let me take you on a tour of the indenture colonies.

 Caribbean (West Indies)

The Caribbean (also known as the West Indies) is a group of about 700 islands located between North and South America. The islands include the Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Trinidad, Guyana, Antigua, and St. Vincent. The Caribbean is a favorite destination for vacationers worldwide because of its beautiful beaches, tropical climate, and exceptionally diverse ecosystems. The word “Caribbean” conjures up images of palm trees, white sandy beaches, rum, calypso music, friendly people, and great food.

Most of the modern day slavery centered around Brazil and the Caribbean. Among all the indenture colonies, the highest number of Indians, about 550,000 people, went to the Caribbean. The number of their descendants has grown to about 1.8 million Indians now and comprise the largest ethnic group in Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. They are the second largest group in Jamaica, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Martinique, and Guadeloupe.

When I was growing up in the 1970s, the West Indies also had the world’s best cricket team. They were simply unbeatable.  They won the world cup in 1975, 1979 and were finalists in 1983 (being beaten by India in an incredible final). I was crazy about Clive Lloyd, Vivian Richards, Michael Holding, Malcom Marshall and the rest.

Cricket is a religion in India, and Alvin Kallicharan and Rohan Kanhai, the legendary West Indian batsmen, were part of my pantheon of gods. At the age of six, when I started learning cricket, my coach told me to bat left-handed like Alvin Kallicharan. I was a good batsman and soon got the nickname “Kallicharan.” While learning about indenture, I realized that Alvin Kallicharan, Rohan Kanhai, and I share a common bond—we are all the descendants of indenture coolies.

In a strange way, I feel connected with the cricketing legends on a higher level than sport.

On my work trips to New York, I usually strike up conversations with the cab drivers. Some of them who do not look Indian still ask me, “Do you know Hema Malini, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna?”—people who are all famous Indian movie stars. Initially I used to find the question amusing and wondered how they knew Indian film stars. Now, when I find someone from Guyana, Trinidad, or Jamaica, I feel a sense of kinship with them and our conversations range from sugarcane, food, movies, and music. It is one happy world when we can share stories with one another.

 Guyana

The first batch of Indian indentured laborers arrived in Guyana on board the steamships Whitby and Hesperus in May 1838. The locals called them “Gladstone coolies” as they worked on the plantations owned by John Gladstone, the father of the British statesman William Gladstone. The name stuck and since then, Indian coolies were commonly called “Gladstone coolies” across the Caribbean.

Alvin Kallicharan and Rohan Kanhai, my cricketing gods, are both Guyanese and so are Clive Lloyd and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. May 5 is celebrated as the arrival day and is a holiday in Guyana. Indo-Guyanese make up about 40 percent of the population and are the largest ethnic group in Guyana. Most of the coolies (60 percent) came from districts that are now part of the North Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Cheddi Jagan is widely regarded as the Father of the Nation. He was a great leader who dreamt of a prosperous Guyana for all people irrespective of their color.

Holi (or Phagwah as is called in the Caribbean) is celebrated with gusto in Guyana. Watch the latest celebration news here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7j_Ql1IF74

Some of the other noted Indo-Guyanese include:

• Bertrand Ramcharan, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
• Bharrat Jagdeo, former President of Guyana
• Deborah Persaud, virologist, named one of the world’s most influential people
• Harischandra Khemraj, writer
• Laxmi Kallicharan, writer
• Moses Nagamootoo, Prime Minister of Guyana
• Shridath Ramphal, former Commonwealth Secretary General

 Trinidad

Trinidad is only seven miles away from Venezuela and the southernmost island of the Caribbean. The original name for the island in the Arawaks’ language was “Iëre” which means “Land of the Hummingbird.” Christopher Columbus renamed it “La Isla de la Trinidad” when he landed there in 1498.

With a 20 percent Hindu and 5 percent Muslim population, Trinidad has a diverse population of ethnicity, religion, and culture. Most of the indenture coolies who came to Trinidad came from the northern state of India called Uttar Pradesh. They spoke Bhojpuri, a Hindi dialect, which became the shared and unifying language for East Indians in Trinidad.

The most famous snack of Trinidad is “Doubles.” The cook takes two baras, a fried flat bread, fills them with curried chickpea stew called curry channa, and tops them with chutney. Doubles was born during the indenture era as food that could be prepared quickly and consumed easily on the farm. Here is one of the many videos that I liked about Doubles.

Sunder Popo, the founder of chutney music, is a Trinidadian. He combined Hindi folk music and Trinidadian English to create mellifluous songs which are popular worldwide. “Chalbo Ke Nahin,” my favorite song of his, talks about a lover asking his beloved to come with him to his village in India. His most famous song remains Nana & Nani.

Enjoy the mellifluous chutney music song here

Some of the other noted Indo-Trinidadians include

• S. Naipaul, the Nobel Literary prize (2001) winner and a prolific writer
• Bhadase Sagan Maraj, Hindu activist and founder of Sanatan Dharma Sabha
• Deborah Persaud, AIDS researcher
• Nicki Minaj, Trinidadian rapper and songwriter
• Ravi Rampaul, present cricketer of West Indies cricket team
• Shivana Jorawar, legal advocate, women’s reproductive health activist

 Jamaica

Two names come to my mind when I think of Jamaica. Usain Bolt, the fastest human being on the planet, and Bob Marley, the renowned reggae singer.

The first ship carrying workers from India, the “Maidstone”, landed at Old Harbour Bay in 1845. The coolies were mostly from the Bhojpuri region and the Awadhi region (present-day states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand) of the Hindi Belt in North India and other places in the Hindi Belt of North India (present-day states of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttarakhand).

In 1995, the government proclaimed May 10 as Indian Heritage Day in recognition of the Indians’ contribution to the social and economic development of the country.

Some of the notable Jamaicans of Indian descent include:

• Diana King, R & B and dancehall artist
• Five Star, R & B/pop group
• Jamie Gunns, model
• Kamala-Jean Gopie, political activist
• Lisa Hanna, Miss World 1993, MP Saint Ann South Eastern
• Rajiv Maragh, jockey
• Sabrina Colie, actress
• Shaun Bridgmohan, jockey, first Jamaican in the Kentucky Derby
• Super Cat, dancehall artist
• Yendi Phillipps, winner of the Miss Jamaica World beauty pageant

 South Africa

South Africa is now my third home, after India and the US. It is breathtakingly beautiful with its world famous national parks, game reserves, mountains, lush winelands, glorious ocean vistas, and gorgeous beaches. The people, music, food and nature in all its glory. The country has been through lot of pain for the past few centuries, and I pray for all South Africans to have every happiness. I am tormented whenever South Africa plays India in cricket. I cannot choose which team to cheer for. I end up cheering both and feel happy for either team that wins. Both are my homes and close to my heart.

The 1.3 million Indians in South Africa today are now a vibrant part of its social, economic, and political fabric. Durban is the largest Indian city outside of India. The Indians in South Africa have played an important role in the freedom struggle. Gandhi’s Great March of 1913 from Natal to Transvaal created history in South Africa. That was the nation’s first mass protest and it did not involve any violence. Gandhi’s descendants have contributed immensely to South African society.

Author, Krishna Gubili outside Mandela home in Soweto, 2015. Family album

Dr. Yusoof Dadoo, G.M. Naicker, Ismail Meer, J.N. Singh, Yusuf Chachlia, Amina Cachalia, and Nana Sita are some of the Indians who played an important role in the struggle against apartheid. Ahmed Kathrada spent twenty-seven years with Mandela in Robben Island.

Some of the other noted progeny of Indian indenture in South Africans include:

• Deepak Panday, author of The Kings of Durban Trilogy
• Fatima Chohan, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs
• Goolam Vahed and Ashwin Desai, writers of Inside Indian Indenture, a must-read on the South African indenture story
• Kader Asmal, activist
• Kumi Naidoo, activist
• Mac Maharaj, activist
• Natashya Pillay, academic/politician
• Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
• Pravin Gordhan, politician
• Sagaren Pillay, Rear Admiral of the South African Navy

 Réunion

Réunion, a small but beautiful island near Mauritius, became a French colony in the early 1700s. The early settlers tried their hand at agriculture and grew sugarcane and other crops. The labor force was initially made up of slaves from Africa and Madagascar. In late 1700s, when slavery was abolished in the French empire, the need for cheap labor increased.

The French East India Company had factories in Surat and Masulipatnam, which they lost to the British East India Company. The French then consolidated their presence in Pondicherry, which became a French colony until 1960. To this day, Pondicherry has a distinct French flavor in terms of architecture, language, and cuisine.

To support the labor needs in their colonies like Réunion and Mauritius, the French sent the coolies from Pondicherry and neighboring areas without the knowledge of the British. Thus, most of the Indians today in Réunion have ancestors from Pondicherry.

The Indians in Réunion strive to retain their Indian heritage by celebrating Indian festivals. Indian cuisine is popular with numerous restaurants in the capital city of St. Andre.

Some of the well-known Réunion islanders of Indian origin include:

• Denise Nilameyom, Deputy Mayor of Tampon
• Didier Robert, the organizer who led fifty-three delegates to India in 2013
• Dominique Sorain, Prefect of Réunion
• Armoudom Lena, orthodontist and organizer
• Jean-Paul Virapoullé, Mayor of Saint Andre
• Nadia Ramassam, Vice President of General Council
• Nassimah Dindar, President of the General Council of Réunion
• Frederic Cadet, Vice-President of the Regional Council of Réunion
• Serge Camatchy, Vice-President of the Regional Council of Réunion

Fiji

In 1998, the year I moved to the US, there was lot of excitement in the world of golf. Vijay Singh, a golfer of Indian descent, had won the PGA championship. The Indian newspapers and media went overboard to praise Vijay Singh and mentioned his Indian roots. I was glad but could not connect the dots then. Vijay Singh is an Indo-Fijian, whose ancestors went to Fiji, just like mine went to South Africa.

Located in the western Pacific near Australia and New Zealand, Fiji is a group of 800 tropical islands. Most of the indenture coolies hailed from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar regions of India. The coolies were called Girmitiyas, a term derived from “agreement.”

Indians have played a significant role in the country’s economy and politics. Mahendra Pal Chaudhary became its prime minister in 1999, and today, the 330,000 Indo-Fijians make up a third of the total population of about one million. Before the military coup of 1987, Indo-Fijians were nearly 45 percent of the total population. After the coup the 1960s, there was lot of racial violence against Indo-Fijians, which prompted more than 100,000 of them to immigrate to Canada, Australia, and other nations. Today, May 14th is celebrated as “Girmit Day” or “India Arrival Day” in Fiji.

Some of the noted Fijians of Indian descent include:

• Brij Lal, noted historian and academician
• Badri Maharaj, an Indo-Fijian farmer, politician, and philanthropist
• Bobby Singh, retired professional American and Canadian football guard
• Imrana Jalal, human rights advisor to the United Nations Development Program
• Jai Ram Reddy, member of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
• Joy Ali, boxer
• Mahendra Pal Chaudhry, Fiji’s first Indo-Fijian Prime Minister in 1999
• Rajen Prasad, former member of parliament in New Zealand
• Rajesh Chandra, first Vice-Chancellor of University of Fiji
• Rocky Khan, New Zealand Rugby sevens player
• Vijay Singh, former world number one golfer

Mauritius

Mark Twain, the famous American writer known for the classic The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, visited Mauritius in 1896 and apparently remarked, “Mauritius was made first and then heaven; and heaven was copied after Mauritius.”

With its pristine beaches and bewitchingly beautiful landscape, Mauritius is better known as a honeymooner’s paradise, but few are aware of its scarred history of slavery. Mauritius was a French colony until 1810 when it became a British colony and got independence in 1968. So, most of the residents speak French and English, a unique combination seen in few countries. Indian languages like Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu are also common.

The indentured labor saga began in Mauritius.

On Sunday, November 2, 1834, thirty-six Bihari coolies arrived in Port Louis on board The Atlas, setting off the Indian indenture saga. The 453,063 indenture immigrants who later came to Mauritius arrived from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh.

The unique aspect about Mauritius among all the indenture colonies is that majority of the population today is Indian. Thus, unlike the Caribbean or Fiji or South Africa, where Indians struggled to get equal rights, in Mauritius, Indians have always had a prominent place in the society. About 70 percent of the 1.5 million Mauritius islanders are of Indian origin.

Both the first prime minister of Mauritius, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, who led the island’s independence movement, and recent Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth are of Indian origin. In fact, all of its presidents except Karl Offmann and all of its prime ministers except Paul Berenger have been members of the Indian community.

Aapravasi Ghat (Aapravasi meaning “immigrant” in Hindi) is the immigration depot in Port Louis where the coolies were examined when they arrived from India. It has been designated as a UNESCO heritage site.

Watch this interesting video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clxBAoXYCbw

Some of the noted Mauritians of Indian origin include:

• Anerood Jugnauth, President and Prime Minster
• Ariranga Govindasamy Pillay, Chief Justice
• Khal Torabully, poet and writer (coined the term “coolitude”)
• Misha Mansoor, prominent musician
• Navin Ramgoolam, Prime Minister
• Rama Sithanen, Finance Minister and Vice Prime Minister
• Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, freedom fighter and the first Prime Minister
• Viveka Babajee, model and actress

The indenture workers’ descendants may have adapted their language, foods, dress, customs, festivals to their new homelands, but they all have a little India in a corner of their hearts. For the younger generation, though, the link with India is weakening. They identify themselves increasingly with the current homelands and their Indian heritage is becoming an amorphous idea. Very few speak their mother tongue. Their names are no longer Indian. They watch Indian movies sometimes, but with English subtitles. They are less likely to go to India on a vacation.

The 4.5 million of us are one big family. Let us not forget the sacrifices of our ancestors and do whatever we can, each in our own limited way, to keep our story alive, rekindle our bond with India, and above all, instill a sense of fairness toward fellow human beings in the younger generation.

I hope to visit all these countries soon. I hope you will too.