Indian Arrival Day
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Indian Arrival Day is a holiday celebrated on May 30 in Trinidad and Tobago. It commemorates the arrival of the first Indentured labourers from India to Trinidad, on May 30 1845, on the ship Fath Al Razak (Victory to Allah the Sustainer- it is commonly called Fatel Razack). It was first celebrated in Skinner Park, San Fernando, as the East Indian Centenary on May 30, 1945(1) which marked the hundredth anniversary of the coming of Indians to Trinidad. A massive gathering of Indians highlighted the pride Indians felt for their accomplishments in the colony, which was recorded in the publication the East Indian Centenary Review.
A front page Trinidad Guardian story (2) on May 31, 1845 described the Centenary this way," Biggest single gathering of Indians Indians in this Colony was at Skinner Park all today and up to midnight in colourful celebration of the centenary of East Indian domicile in Trinidad." Witnessing the arrival of the two mile long procession was the acting Governor A.B. Wright, the acting colonial secretary, the chief justice, various government and industry officials, and the assembled leadership of the Indian community. It would set the tone for all later occasions to mark the arrival of Indians in Trinidad and celebrate their accomplishments.
After the 1945 Centenary extravaganza, however, the celebration of the anniversary of May 30 gradually declined. By the early seventies only the Hindu group the Divine Life Society of Chaguanas was staging an annual procession and ceremony under the name Indian Emigration Day.
By 1977 when even the Divine Life Society's annual march had been discontinued, an Indian activist group called the Indian Revival and Reform Association (IRRA) took up the challenge and set up a small committee to revive the event. The IRRA Newsletter of June 1978 (3) reported under the title "A Good Start to Reviving Indian Emigration Day", that "The response to our program to revive Indian Emigration Day this year has been just beautiful. A lot more people knew about the arrival of the first Indians in the Fatel Rozack on May 30, 1845 than we had at first believed - and practically everyone agreed that this historic day should become part of our calendar."
The newsletter stated that, "To set things off this year the IRRA put out a pamphlet (4) giving a little information about the indentured immigrants and listing the names of the first group of Indians. This was distributed widely, and well received. The president of the Association was interviewed by Gideon Hanoomansingh on the Radio 610 programme "Cultural Traditions", again bringing a favourable response. On May 30 itself a short article prepared by the Association appeared in the (Trinidad) Express (5) and one on the voyage of the Fatel Rozack by Dr Kusha Haracksingh was printed in the (Trinidad)Guardian (6). A few schools in San Fernando, including San Fernando Secondary, got together to have joint celebrations. The Mastana Bahar show the following week was dedicated to Indian Emigration Day. In short, a large amount of people heard of Indian Emigration Day and its importance."
The two page IRRA pamphlet titled "Indian Emigration Day May 30, 1978" was "Printed and published by Ramdath Jagessar for the Indian Revival and Reform Association, 13 Frederick Street, Curepe." Jagessar was one of seven IRRA members who formed what became the Indian Arrival Day Committee 1977, the others being Anand Singh, Khalik Khan, Rajiv Sieunarine,Rajesh Harricharan, Azamudeen Jang and Michael Sankar. They were soon joined by Rajnie Ramlakhan, Ashok Gobin and Anand Maharaj. All ten were young people from the Curepe-San Juan area of North Trinidad.
The pamphlet declared that, "For us in Trinidad and Tobago the history of Indians in this country begins on that historic day with that brave band of pioneers from the Fatel Rozack. We must never forget that event, never forget that group of our ancestors and those who came later... It all started with those 220 who came here 133 years ago, on the day that is the birthday of Indians in Trinidad." It went on to list the names of the Indians on the Fatel Rozack and review the history of Indians in Trinidad and their contributions.
The next year 1979, the IRRA committee moved to expand the celebration. It decided to contact existing Indian organizations for support and started with the nearest, the largest Hindu group, the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS), which was headquartered in St. Augustine. SDMS secretary Sat Maharaj and his executive responded strongly and positively, and the committee decided to go no further. The Maha Sabha agreed to host a large public celebration on May 30, 1979 at its headquarters, with the committee providing publicity and promotion. During discussions between the committee and the Maha Sabha the point was made that Indians were no longer emigrants to Trinidad, and the name Indian Emigration Day was no longer valid. It was changed to Indian Arrival Day to show that it referred to the anniversary date of the coming of Indians to Trinidad. The committee changed its name to the Indian Arrival Day Committee.
The 1979 Indian Arrival Day celebrations at the Maha Sabha grounds were a huge success and aroused great interest nationally. In the following years the celebration expanded enormously until by 1985 there were events all over the country and Indian Arrival Day began to assume a life of its own.
On the 150th anniversary of Indian arrival, then Prime Minister Patrick Manning declared it a one time national holiday, but decided to call it Arrival Day,leaving out the word Indian. The government's position was that the holiday should celebrate the arrival of all ethnic groups in the country and not Indians alone. This caused considerable anger in the Indian community and most of the Indian organizations continued to celebrate Indian Arrival Day in 1995. Indian commentators argued that Indian Arrival Day had been a community festival for many years, and that the government had no authority to change the name. The controversy was short lived, for soon afterwards the new prime minister Basdeo Panday made May 30 a permanent public holiday as Indian Arrival Day. Some elements in Trinidad have continued to make attempts to revert to Arrival Day but without much success.
Since its establishment in Trinidad, Indian Arrival Day has given rise to similar celebrations in Guyana, Jamaica, Britain, the United States, Canada, and Australia.
The importation of Indians as indentured labourers spanned the period 1845-1917. During this period over 140,000 people were transported to Trinidad, generally in cramped conditions in small ships. They were originally contracted to serve a 5-7 year indenture, after which they were promised passage back to India. Those who remained in Trinidad are the ancestors of the Indo-Trinidadian community (40.3% of the population; 1990 census) and a substantial (but unquantified) portion of the mixed-race population (18.4% of the population).
(1) Thousands Expected to Attend East Indian Centenary Today, Trinidad Guardian, Wednesday May 30, 1945. (2)East Indians at Centenary Told "Well Done". 20,000 Celebrants Hear Governor Say Opportunities Ahead, Trinidad Guardian, Thursday May 31, 1945 (3)Indian Revival and Reform Association Newsletter, June 1978, Curepe, Trinidad (4)Indian Emigration Day May 30, 1978, Indian Revival and Reform Association pamphlet 1978, Curepe, Trinidad. (5)A Close Look at the Indian Contribution by Ramdath Jagessar, Trinidad Express, Tuesday May 30, 1978. (6) 90 Days of Horror on the Fatel Razack, bu Dr Kusha Haracksingh, Chairman Institute of African and Asian Studies, UWI, St Augustine, Trinidad Guardian May 30, 1978.
