Legacy of Slavery and Indentured Labour

Linking the Past with the FutureConference on Slavery, Indentured Labour, Migration, Diaspora

and Identity Formation.June 18th – 23th, 2018 , Paramaribo, Suriname

Org. IGSR& Faculty of Humanities and IMWO, in collaboration with Nat. Arch. Sur.

June 19th 2018.Conference: Legacy of Slavery and Indentured Labor.Paramaribo, Suriname.Anton de Kom University of Suriname.

Logie Socialisms

By Vassan Ramracha

This paper endeavors to contribute to the understanding of the evolution of the

“Logie” culture of the indentured servants who came to the America’s especially in regions

such as Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname in terms of the development of their

cultural and political views leading up to their lifestyle and conditions which eventually

beheld socialism. “Logie” being defined as the barracks or living quarters of the period. It

will also include a brief history of the formation of the political parties, individuals and

independence movements of people of both Indo and Afro Caribbean descent which lead to

this socialism among the descendants of indentured labourers and the creation of our current

“Logie” socialist lifestyle. The paper will feature analysis on the separations of the political

parties on ethnic lines of division, how political ideology and climate can play a positive or

negative role on the development of a strong ethnic identity or lack thereof, examination of

indentured and slave suffrage, the present political situation of the Indo-Caribbean diaspora

and how the Indo-Caribbean diaspora can more forward using the tools of the native Indian

belief systems of their ancestors.

In the beginning of the colonial era, a calamity befell mankind or perhaps it was even some sort of

karmic consequence we may never understand, when Africans and Indians were enslaved and indentured

1

for a cube of sugar to make life comfortable for average Europeans and fill the royal treasuries. During the

10th to 15th centuries, Europeans’ life was disastrous with starvation, diseases, and dissensions among the

various European powers, wars, religious factionalism and persecutions especially with the coming of the

reformations periods of Protestantism. The 15th century Europe was soon economically alleviated by

means of Columbus and his three ships setting sail for much easier routes to India and other parts of Asia.

Asia was one of the richest continents in the world with China and India having a high Gross National

Product (GDP). Before the arrival of Europeans, in the mid-17th century, China’s GDP was staggering and

India’s was 27% of the world’s Gross National Product (Tharoor 2017).

     The Europeans, by passing around Africa to Asia was in a position to analyze the strengths and

weaknesses of Asia’s two major eastern powers India and China, options both nations failed to understand.

Europeans also had many divisions not exploited by these powers. By the 16th century Europeans were the

new conquerors of the “3rd world,” in the barbaric East. It was no longer the Arabs and Turks. News

eventually reached the various Kings and Queens in Europe and by 1492 there was a whole “New World”

“discovered” across the Atlantic, ripe for plunder. Competing European powers sent their battle fleets to

start the process of colonization and the first holocaust of indigenous peoples in the Americas began.

In Caribbean countries like Trinidad, Guyana, Surinam and other parts of the Caribbean regions

these countries were ruled by different European powers until the British eventually took Trinidad in 1797

and Guyana in 1796 while the Dutch took Surinam in the latter half of the 17th century. In all of these

countries, a European plantocracy was developed. Firstly, the natives were enslaved, labour was forced on

the indigenous tribes including the Arawaks and Caribs. This failed and new labour was sought to keep the

plantations alive. Planters began importing Africans slaves from African as well as Arab slave traders on

the African mainland. Slave trading was a lucrative economic source for Africans, Arabs and Europeans at

the time (Manning 1990). Africans were captured and taken to ships on a cursed journey to the “New

World.” These planters in Trinidad, Guyana, and Surinam imported Africans slaves to labour mainly on the

sugar estates, a commodity of great demand in Europe.             

Slaves had to endure appalling conditions of a slave life. African slave life in the Caribbean was a

life of horror and should be judged within its own narrative and experiences. African slaves had no rights to

ownership of their own life, native belief in their own Gods was eventually extinguished, their indigenous

languages vanquished and replaced by the colonial languages and off course they were never even paid

wages. The African slaves were often whipped for disobedience and could be legally raped or killed. They

lived and breathed at the whim of their masters’ desires. The food, clothes, and housing conditions were

also deplorable. However, the emancipation bell was finally rung, although about four hundred years too

2

late for millions of slaves. Africans slaves in British colonies were emancipated in the mid-18th century

because of abolitionists and the coming industrialization signaled a new era of doing things.

The European Christians, after hundreds of years of filling the coffers with death, destruction, loot

and exploitation suddenly became morally divine with a vision to stop slavery and replaced it with paid

labour. Many planters resisted emancipation, but the call for ending slavery was to be heard. Emancipation

came due to the end of slavery ended for example as seen in the case of Trinidad on August 1st 1834 as in

most English speaking Caribbean countries under British rule. Africans were now elated with the bell of

emancipations, “free” at last they shouted. They were no longer slaves.  The so-called “freed” Africans still

had to serve an apprenticeship period for the white master for another bitter sweet rip off period and to also

train ex-slaves with certain technical skills to be part of a free society and bureaucracy. It’s debatable

whether ex-slaves wanted to return to paid field work that reminded them of slavery or most of the ex-

slaves wanted to be newly independent workers. Most of them eventually opted for becoming shop keepers

and other handicraft jobs.

                 However, the sugar estates did not stop functioning. By the 18th century in Asia, especially in

China and India, the British were experimenting on a new force of labour [coolie labour] to send and

replace the Caribbean labor force even after white indentured labour had failed as seen with the indentured

Portuguese, Irish and French (Besson 2012). Amongst the Asians, the coolie Chinese arrived in Trinidad,

Guyana and other parts of the Caribbean first. However, after thorough meddling, manipulation and

maneuvering with a divide and conquer strategy comprising politics and history even more so than military,

in India, the British were now well implanted and controlled every aspect of the Indian political and

economic system. The British, as well as the Portuguese and French had prepared conditions for the forced

migrations by reducing India’s GDP from 17-25% to 3% (Tharoor 2016). The British even destroyed

Indians culturally and spiritually by instituting their own current Abrahamic God and religion, which had

colonized Europe itself, over the native Indian Hindu Aryan Gods found on the Indian subcontinent.

     The story of indentureship is one of the few histories of Indian people reknowned, but can usually be

summed up in two lines in Trinidad, Guyana and Suriname. In Trinidad for example it goes, “We came on

the Fatel Razack in 1845 and brought our music, culture and religion. We developed roti, doubles and

chutney music.” End of A great epic story. It’s debatable how many Indians understood the coolie contract

of indentureship, if they truly understood how far across the Atlantic Ocean this road trip was going to be or

how many Indians were forced into accepting their fate of the famine conditions the British created in India.

The circumstances under which the famine in India led to indentureship or forced the Indians into

indentureship in the Americas are suspicious to say the least. The journey across the ocean for 4 months

3

with rationed food, cramped conditions and many diseases made sure many Indians did not make to the

shores of Trinidad, Guyana and Suriname.

In regards to life cross the Atlantic Ocean, the African slaves were unable to warn the Indians of

their dreaded ordeals to come (de Boissiere 2012). In Trinidad, Indians were sent to different plantations or

estates to harvest and cultivate sugar, cocoa and coffee. In Guyana and Surinam it was mostly sugar. Many

of the conditions endured by slaves was almost repetitive for what the coolie people endured. Indian Coolie

people had no rights or special privileges. Food and living quarters was no 5th avenue living. Coolie life on

the different estates was just an inch different according to the last Overseers of Indian immigrants such as

Major Comins and Arnauld De Boissiere, in fact, historian Frank Birbalsingh notes, “the conditions under

which indentured immigrants existed suggested that they were slaves in every other respect other than

name. Indentured laborers on arrival in the colonies were housed in the same living space vacated by the

freed slaves and performed their exact tasks,” (1993). The Indians were considered less human and their life

style had little difference to that of African slaves. It’s true that Indians was paid an awful wage for long

hours and often ended up indebted to their plantation masters for food and lodging. This too was probably

done by design to keep a continuous labour force on the plantation. One thing we cannot ever overlook is

the British ability to master design social engineering. Slaves had no wages, but still food and logging was

provided. Food, housing and paid or no paid wages for both slaves and coolie labourers were no conditions

to boast about (Bissessarsingh 2017).

After indentureship ended, many Indians, finally freed from their contracts, like the emancipated

slaves were now facing a new hell. Both the races had to continue working for their white masters, plant in

small groups or work independently as skilled workers in which case most Indians did not yet acquire such

technical skills as the ex-slaves. Many Indian families by now were well rooted in Trinidad, had created a

life for themselves or simply could not afford passage back to India, for whatever reason those who were

not able to return to India, stayed for another 10 years on different estates.

In the 20th century by 1925 political development was taking place and locals were elected to

legislative councils and this time most of the African ex-slaves had become more Anglo-creole and

Anglicized religiously, culturally and linguistically than the Indian race. Even at this time the coolie race

spoke very little English and were often see unfit to integrate with Anglo-sociopolitical and cultural ways.

By the fifties many political parties began to be formed according to the different ethnic groups and even

religious affiliation.  The African-based party by Uriah Butler won the elections in 1950 by plurality, but

the British Governor cited the seat of the government to Albert Gomes as the first chief minister of Trinidad

and Tobago. Mr. Uriah Butler was looked upon as too radical and leftist and even “rubbed people the wrong

way,” (Khan 2011). 1956 was the era of elections in which various ethnic groups lead Trinidad on the road

4

to independence that eventually impacted and changed the political and cultural landscape of Trinidad even

today. The 1956 elections in Trinidad and Tobago was won by an African black-based party People’s

National Movement (PNM) with some Muslims and Christian Indians helping that win with their votes.

Trinidad’s culture was now defined by Africans as a creole culture that marginalized mostly the Hindu race

because by default Hinduism was the lifeblood of everything culturally Indian in origin.

African and Indian socialisms were developed out of the constructs of slavery and indentureship.

Both slave and the indentureship system was based on workers depending on the planters who functioned as

the state which provided what was “best” for their well-being. And naturally all these political parties and

movements emerging from the forties to the seventies and with global decolonization taking place many of

these parties ended up leftist-socialist parties. In the late sixties to the seventies most parties in Trinidad and

Guyana was grounded as race-based parties embracing leftist or socialist ideology. Trinidad and Guyana’s

African-based party leftist ideology was more rooted in the empowerment of the race politically and

economically.

Most of the main foreign companies were nationalized as government state enterprises. Such

enterprises was and is still controlled by black bureaucracies. African leaders like President Forbes

Burnham of Guyana nationalized the sugar and bauxite company while Trinidad’s Prime Minister Dr. Eric

Williams of the PNM party nationalized the sugar industries and oil industries both of which have been

disastrous economic choices (Mathura 2012). The Indian-based parties like Democratic Labor Party (DLP),

United Labour Force (ULF) and United National Congress (UNC) were not grounded in the empowerment

of Indian people, but believed in the ultra-purity of a socialist state that destroyed any Indian nationalist

movement party like the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) under the leadership of Bhadase Sagan Maraj

who went on to found the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha organization for Hinduism.

So can we even debate the age old question that surfaces every once in a while? Who suffered

more slaves or indentured laborers? It’s important not to judge one’s narratives and separate ethnic

experiences by one's ethnocentrisms. There is no scale to measure or compare any one suffering with

another. Each suffered dearly in their own context. However, the reason it’s important to understand why

most black leaders and intellects are peddling that Africans slaves suffered more, ideas which are

unwittingly and gullibly blessed and supported by leftists socialist Indians, has to do with legitimacy of

ownership of Trinidad and Guyana and special entitlements for the African race in the Caribbean. Dr.

Eric Williams, former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago preached patrimony entitlement for blacks or

the African race. And Forbes Burnham, Guyana’s president and members of the ACADA black

organizations and the PNC black-based party subscribes to the doctrine of an African Guyana.

5

  African Caribbean leaders and even other African leaders around the globe are now demanding

reparations for slave crimes against them. Reparations is mainly demanded from European nations, not from

Arab and African slave traders notwithstanding the Arabs were heavily involved in capturing Africans and

selling them. Notwithstanding the current modern Arab states also enslave people including around 10

million Africans and having the longest record of slavery covering fourteen centuries as opposed to the

almost four centuries of the Tansatlantic Slave Trade (Garvey 2012). Reparations for ex-slaves is supported

by most Caribbean nations and usually any Indian-based government in Trinidad and Guyana (Guardian

2013). Reparation for Indians or the indentured coolies are not supported by any mainstream historically

Indian or African based party or organizations (Maharaj 2018). There are certainly no reparations for the

Wissmar Massacre of Indo Guyanese people in Guyana (Shah 2017). Similarly, the executions of elected

Indian officials in Surinam in December 1982 (Hofte 2017). Neither were there any calls for reparations for

the mass exodus of Indians which lead to the mass immigrations of Indo-Caribbean people to the United

States and Canada because of conditions created by an African-based government that compelled Indians to

leave especially in countries like Guyana and Surinam, having to sell off their properties for next to nothing.

In Trinidad this immigration happened to a lesser degree.

  What went wrong with Indo-Aryan race? Historically, every conquering nation has always and will

destroy their conquered nations in various ways for example in which England did in India. In order to

impose their hierarchy and structure they must destroy one’s language, culture, way of life and the fabric of

the conquered civilization to thoroughly and effectively own them. One of the most effective ways is to

replace their Gods. One of India’s last Presidents A.P.J. Abdul Kalam once talked about Lord Thomas

Babbington Macaulay one of the education “reformers” of India whom he quoted paraphrased as having

saying in Parliament 1835, in the House of Commons, concerning India’s heritage, unabashedly and

obviously a direct reference about her ancient religion Hinduism, “I have traveled across the length and

breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief, such wealth I have seen this

country, such high moral values, people of such caliber, that I do not think we would ever conquer

this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage,

and therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for it the Indians

think that all is foreign and English is good and greater than their own , their native culture and they will

become what we want them, a truly dominated nation.” Henry Kissinger said in 1974 of the Greek people

on Cyprus, while addressing a group of Washington, D.C. businessmen 1 September, 1974 revealed in his

words, “the people are anarchic and difficult to tame. For this reason we must strike deep into their cultural

roots. Perhaps then we can force them to conform. I mean, of course to strike at their language, their

religion, their cultural and historical reserves, so that we can neutralize their ability to develop, to

6

distinguish themselves, or to prevail. Thereby removing them as an obstacle to our strategically vital plans

in the Balkans, Mediterranean, and the Middle East, to all this neuralgic territory of great strategic

importance for us, for the politics of the USA,” (AFC). These quotes show us why the more politically

stringent, few and powerful collective African oligarch class (CAOC) in Trinidad, Guyana and Surinam

would want to destroy Indian-Aryan culture and to control their minds and mentalities with creolizations.

Colonization has many different form: indentureship, slavery, hegemonization, Anglicization and even

creolization.

In Trinidad and Guyana, after independence a black Afro-Caribbean (as in race) oligarchy class

developed replacing the White oligarch collective plantocracy ruling both these two countries and Surinam.

The African man or those of African descent who see themselves as Afro-Caribbean armed with their own

black social political philosophy coined “Negritude” by Aime Cesaire in his work entitled Notebook of a

Return to the Native Land and other the black movement originators like Frantz Fannon, born in Martinique

who wrote The wretched of the Earth and Black Skin, White Masks (Zolatova 2011). This empowered black

people how to think socially and politically from a socialist and Marxist perspective, though. This African

race oligarchy collective is analogous to what George Orwell wrote about Europeans playing out by blacks

in Trinidad, Guyana and Surinam. Instead of being the businessmen, the blacks got political power as

tax collectors. This could have worked out well if one group had gone onto be the politicians and others the

scientists and business men however, due to recurring marginalization and almost literal “taxation without

representation,” Indians are having more than enough. The Afro-Caribbean oligarch did not need to own

business because all state enterprises are theirs. The few from the collective black oligarchy are the rulers at

the top and the middle class as would have been according to Orwell were made up mostly of the Indians

who were the workers to keep the top one percent collective oligarch Afro-Caribbean elite as the affluent

livers.

So if there is a top few collective black oligarchs then what about the rest of the Afro-Caribbean

race? According to Orwell’s theory, the lower and lowest level class are the poorer blacks who keep the

oligarch blacks in power by their own political ignorance and mentality having been previously trained to

focus on Indians as their enemies. Therefore, to recap, the passive logie socialism attitude of Indians who

never speak up for themselves or take any stand coupled with strong black oligarchic political control is a

constant circuitous defective cycle playing out in these countries for years with neither one being able to

truly take the countries forward because of each one’s backward deficiency. In comes another group who

ends up getting the lion’s share while the two majorities squabble such as the new one percent elite Syrian

minority class. This Afro-Caribbean race has been so concerned with the detriment of the Indo-Caribbean

race they are about to lose all economic prowess and easily give it away to a newer group that has not had

7

any political spotlight before. The oligarchs are still hell bent making the ignorant ones referred to by

Fannon as the lumpin proletariat, get caught up protecting the oligarchs on top, the Indians are their

enemies. These then proceed to vote for the welfare of the upper class blacks unknowingly and not realizing

those same elite political blacks are keeping them in the dark for their (upper class) benefit. The Afro-

Caribbean people tend to say Indians only like business, it is they are the ones who do not want to join

police force, army and politics, but given a chance to exchange they don’t want to.

The black oligarch class control the media, advertisements, education, language, political

infrastructure, social engineering dominance as is widely subtly understood by the phrase, “this is PNM

country” or black-based party, Trinidad as with the PNC black-based party political domination in Guyana

including the Burnham legacy all based on creolizing Indians with the help of politically gullible Indians

destroying Indian customs, culture, Gods and way of life in the same manner as Lord Macaulay had

prescribed to conquer and dominate the a race, in this case, the Indian race for their black benefits. In light

of what is happening to the Indian race becoming increasingly marginalized each day by the oligarch

African class, the Indian political class has not been able to respond appropriately to the black oligarch class

due to their socialism-idealistic handicap. Our Indian oligarch collective class are still orientated and

educated to be creolized and or Eurocentric socialist activist-type politicians which is no way a proper

methodical effective march in response to the black negritude movement. Indians have abandoned their

nationalistic Indo-Aryan ways that left the Indian people in perpetual disarray and dominated by the Afro-

Caribbean blacks. The Indian race in Trinidad, Guyana and Surinam has become a kind of new and

improved indentured servants for the black oligarch collective to work and pay taxes to sustain the oligarch

black living life style. Off course the poorer blacks do not get anything from this because they need to

remain impoverished and believing Indians are their enemies in order to sustain the voting banks and voting

style to keep the oligarch Afro-Caribbean elite in their seats. Indians should ask the question whether the

independence of these 3 countries Trinidad, Guyana and Surinam, was worth it for them? After

independence in Trinidad, Guyana and Surinam, for most of the colonial independent years Indians were

ruled by the African and black-based oligarch collective class. In Trinidad, the black-based party ruled for

50 years or more after independence leaving Indians solely as tax payers. In Guyana the black collective

ruling class ruled for 28 years or more and bankrupt Guyana until 1992 when the PPP party which was

historically Indian-based revitalized the economy as the new improve indentured servants for Guyana. In

effect, Indians made Indians the new indentured servants because they had no political foresight or vision,

no political training and understanding and no political identity on which to stand. They got power and

started swaying in the direction of the wind because of their inherited logie socialism limp.

8

Surinam’s case was similar causing mass exodus for the Indian race to the Netherlands. In order for

Indians to elevate from political dormancy from black dominance they must develop their brand of Indian

nationalism I will hereby coin the “Logie Indian Aryan Nationalism or (LIAN) for Indo-Caribbean

leadership to be fair and effective rulers with governance that does not break the back of their own

community. No race or country will not and cannot succeed without their own brand of nationalism be it

Zionism, Hindutva, Russian Nationalism or even Anglo Saxon nationalism. This does not mean nationalism

is racism, most people have used nationalism to fight against their enemies not the least of which was in

World War II including the Americans, British and Russians who were all on the side called the Allies. It

was the Nazis who were practicing socialism. It is only because of the current leftist world globalist strategy

to institute democratic socialism that the true sting and understanding of socialism has been buried under

academic rubbish research so that socialism can make an easy comeback on the global stage. Most

communist leaders, for example, Moa in China, although a communist country used nationalism to rise

against the Japanese occupation of China, Stalin in Russia also used nationalism against the Germans and

urged them to fight for the Motherland? When Churchill in England basically said the Englishman will not

surrender to Germany he was appealing to English Anglo Saxon Nationalism not the working class or

proletariat. Even further back in history, George Washington appealed to American nationalism when he

convinced the colonies they were Americans not Englishmen he had also relied on nationalism. Time and

again it is nationalism that has caused the march of freedom not the absence of it. All Indians irrespective of

their religious beliefs should be exposed to the Mahabharata for answers to their political problems as will

be further impressed in this paper for practical and ideological reasons free from imperial colonization and

cultural colonization. The strength of the black-ruled party in Trinidad, Guyana, Surinam relies on the

political and social ignorance of the Indian Aryan race. This is not to say Afro-Caribbean people cannot

have their nationalism. Perhaps they would be at a disadvantage too if they lost theirs. In fact, nationalism

should be balanced with nationalism because when it is balanced none can take advantage of the other.

Caribbean people appeal to Pan-Africanism but what is that not black nationalism for the Caribbean?

With all of that said, there are ways to improve the social and political conditions of life for the

Indian ethnic race in the Caribbean territories as a whole inclusive of Trinidad, Guyana and Suriname. Due

to the Colonial and African leadership in Trinidad, Guyana, Surinam and other parts of the world where

diaspora Indians live including Africa itself, Indians have been facing oppressions for hundreds of years,

marginalization, genocide, cultural genocide, discrimination, religious persecution, brutal beatings, rigging

elections and even gerrymandering districts to empower the African race politically. In many of these

countries, there has never been any Indians yet to emerge to truly empower the Indo-Aryan race particularly

9

in Trinidad, Guyana and Surinam. Our Indian leaders and “activists” use the wrong doctrine of instruments

of “DAS CAPITAL” the communist doctrine of Karl Marx to “fight” their opposites.

Solutions to Indian logie socialism are hereby proposed. What can we look to for revival and

renewed political energy? One example includes Federalism. What is Federalism? As in the case of the

United States of America Federalism can be applicable and modified to the political functions and

governance in Trinidad, Guyana and possibly Suriname so that within our diverse ethnocentric culture we

can continue to remain diverse and have ethnic security in all aspects of governance without worrying about

ethnic prejudice from one group or another. Federalism is a method of government that allows two or more

entities to share control over the same geographic region, they make a pact from the Latin foedus (CSF). 

Each person in a federal country is subject to the laws of that city, county, state or the central government.

In the federal system of government the power is divided between the national government  and local or

regional governments.

Regional governments such as those in the United States of America govern or exercise certain

local powers of authority separate from the U.S. government. States operate and govern themselves mostly

independently of government interference while even cities within states such as New York City within the

State of New York have certain freedoms of self-governance separate from state governance and hence are

able to develop their constituents by having their own local laws, taxes police force and can meet the needs

to suit their communities within the structure of the constitutions. Presently, in Trinidad, Guyana and

Surinam the central government is usually a one party ethnic base that decides all developments in all

regions or constituents dismissing the wishes of the elected oppositions in their respective constituencies.

Federalism is different from a unitary government as in Trinidad and Tobago where Tobago has its

own Tobago House of Assembly even though the central government is still seated in Port of Spain which

controls the Tobago House of Assembly by its purse and law enforcements. Federalism is also different

from a confederation as in an independent association of government as all Caribbean nations coming

together. Federalism is needed in countries like the West Indies especially Trinidad, Guyana and Surinam

particularly due to their multiethnic backgrounds and a given political culture of ethnic based-parties. At the

moment, Federalism provides consistency among all parties with a sense of security of citizenship, “it

aligns responsibility with authority, steers decision towards the practical and varied approaches towards

problem solving,” (Hess and Kelly 2015). Federalism in simple words is the empowerment of each

individual. Local government in federalism and how it can be applied to Trinidad, Guyana, Surinam where

public administration of towns, cities, counties and districts concerning city utilities, libraries, fire

10

departments, local law enforcement and other public areas are all controlled independently from the central

government.

So why do these Caribbean and West Indian nations like Trinidad and Tobago need some form of

decentralizations? Let’s take an example in case. When the government of Trinidad was elected in 2010

lead by Kamla Persad-Bissessar, her United National Congress (UNC) a historically Indian-based party it

embarked on many projects mostly in the neglected and underdeveloped UNC constituencies building

highways, universities, high schools and hospitals. Most of these projects remained incompleted because the

Prime Minister Kamla Bissessar party UNC lost the elections in 2015 and was unable to complete the

various projects. The incoming government in 2015 the Peoples National Movement (PNM), a historically

African-based party lead by Prime Minister Keith Rowley felt no loyalty, even to the projects for the sake

of the benefit of the Trinidadian people to complete the United National Congress projects that would have

benefited all nationals of Trinidad.

The most controversial of all the projects was the building of the Couva Children's Hospital known

as the Couva Medical and Multi - Training Facility at Preysal, Couva. This hospital at Couva was to

facilitate training for medicine, nursing, pharmacology and optometry making the most advanced medical

services available to the people of Trinidad and Tobago. What biased Indian political agenda could be

behind the making of a hospital that would benefit everyone? This wasn’t even one of the usual under-the-

table construction deal always being perpetrated (C News 2016). The children's hospital at Couva was

shelved because it was a project of the United Congress Party (UNC) and also looked upon as an Indian-

based party initiative and, therefore, the People’s National Movement (PNM) rather embark on the

completion of a Stadium in the Tarouba area. This Stadium was left incomplete by a past PNM government

that was condemned by international engineers (Felmine 2013). Whenever the People’s National Movement

come to power as a central government force it is the Indian districts that are neglected basic needs like

water, electricity, roads and other infrastructure. According to the latest news the present PNM government

is moving slowly to complete the Couva Hospital and is asking India’s Prime Minister Modi for possible

financial, engineering or staffing help (West Indian 2018). Had Trinidad utilized instituted some sorts of

decentralization the children's hospital might have been completed.

Guyana actually has a stronger case for federalism.Guyana has had a “Legacy of Terror” of African

Guyanese beating and killing Indo-Aryan Guyanese on a daily basis (Ravi Dev 2018). Almost every

election period Indo-Aryan Guyanese are prevented from voting by the most violent means by Africans

beating, intimidating and bullying Indians in Guyana unfortunately unlike in Trinidad, fortunately, during

election time. The Wissmar Massarce is one of the best cases for federalism in Guyana whereby Afro-

11

Guyanese felt politically empowered enough to burn Indian houses, beat and rape Indians without any

response from the socialist Indian-based People’s Progressive Party (PPP) out of fear of being cited as a

racist party as some of these noted by Dr. Vishnu Bisram (2017). The PPP party did investigate the Wismar

incidents, but off course to no avail.

Guyana, unlike Trinidad is a very volatile high-crime society where blacks think it’s their right to

victimize Indians on a daily hour to hour Guyana will always will have an ethnic security dilemma unless

some sort of decentralization or federal system is set up such as in the USA which as a country should be

used as a role model for nation-building and future progress to guarantee regional power to safeguard local

communities (Ravi Dev 2018). Geographically, Guyana has 3 main regions: Demerara, Berbice and

Essequibo boundaries, divided by rivers.  Most of these regions are ethnic-based and are not allowed to be

left to their own innovations to develop economically and politically without the central government

interference seated in Georgetown. Regions in Guyana cannot make laws suited for their local culture,

environment, communities, infrastructure, they have absolutely no control over education or political,

physical and social infrastructure. Most Indians in Guyana are in favor of federalism to have some direct

power over their communities whose decisions are mainly and constantly opposed by Africans or Black

Guyanese who believe that Indians will excel and leave Africans behind (Ravi Dev 2018). Guyana’s

solutions to its ethnic problems is also not going to be the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) since the same

problems playing out within the country plays out in the entire Caribbean. In Caribbean court of that justice

that is exactly what you definitely will not get. How can other islands with even less Indian populations

who may not even understand the ethnic interests of larger Indian populations in some countries and who

may have bias for their Afro-Caribbean brothers decide fairly or justly? It’s an unfair fight. It’s like bringing

a knife to a gun fight. These countries in order to serve all its ethnic groups must move towards a Federal

system and maintain each of their sovereignty from a greater African Caribbean pool (Bisram 2018).

One of our major and foremost solutions came with us on the ships to Trinidad, Guyana and

Surinam. They are called the Bhagavad-Gita, which forms part of the greater Mahabharata epic, and the

Ramayana. The Indo-Aryan culture gave us the Mahabharata which contains all the solutions and means to

empowerment politically, economically and socially. And it is the perfect means for the people of Indian

origin even for those Indians who are not Hindus any longer because these texts were never used in their

colonization, hegemonization and they are products of the Indian race. They are native to our ancestral

homelands. The Mahabharata tells the Indians how to organize a force. The Mahabharata is about treaties,

social contracts and loyalty to state or family. It is about honest and dishonesty and to “fight” for your

kingdom when you have been cheated and stand for Dharma or righteous principles.

12

Sita Ram.  

Vassan I. Ramracha

13

Bibliography

AFC (Action for Cyprus). “What did Henry say about the Greeks in 1974.” <

http://actionforcyprus.org/henry-kissinger-talking-about-the-greeks-1974/>

Besson, Gerard. “White Servants in the Caribbean.” The Caribbean history Archives. 30 Jul. 2012 <

http://caribbeanhistoryarchives.blogspot.com/2012/07/white-servants-in-caribbean.html>

Birbalsingh, Frank. Indo-Caribbean Resistance. Mawenzi House Publication, 1993.

Bisram, Vishnu. “Will CCJ endorse voters’ sovereignty in Guyana.” Indo-Caribbean Diaspora. 22 Mar.

2018 <http://icdn.today/post/will-ccj-endorse-voters-sovereignty-in-guyana>

Bisram, Vishnu. “Wissmar Indian Massacre Commemorated.” Indo-Caribbean Diaspora News. 3 June.

2017 <http://icdn.today/post/wismar-indian-massacre-commemorated>

Bissessarsingh, Angelo. “Life After Indentureship.” Guardian 21 Apr. 2017 <

http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2017-04-22/life-after-indentureship>

de Boissiere, Jean. “The East Indians in Trinidad.” The Caribbean History Archives. 25 Jul. 2012. <

http://caribbeanhistoryarchives.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-east-indians-in-trinidad.html>

C TV. “Kamla: Open the Couva Hospital.” 17 Jan. 2016 < http://ctvtt.com/ctv/index.php/c-

news/news/item/1475-kamla-open-the-couva-hospital>

CSF (Center for the Study of Federalism). “What is federalism and its governmental forsm?”

Dev, Ravi. “Addressing objections to a federalized Guyana.” 18 Mar. 2018.

<http://www.icdn.today/post/addressing-objections-to-a-federalised-guyana>

Dev, Ravi. “The legacy of the Terror.” Indo-Caribbean Diaspora News. 25 Feb. 2018

http://icdn.today/post/the-legacy-of-the-terror

Dev, Ravi. “The PNC and Crime Inquiries.” Indo-Caribbean Diaspora News. 4 Feb. 2018

<http://icdn.today/post/the-pnc-and-crime-inquiries>

14

Felmine, Kevin. “Moonilal Eager to finish Tarouba stadium-185 million to fix issues.” Trinidad

Guardian 12 Sep. 2013 < http://m.guardian.co.tt/news/2013-09-11/moonilal-eager-finish-

tarouba-stadium-185m-fix-issues>

Garvey Jr., Marcus. “The Arab Muslim Slave Trade of Africans: The Untold Story.”

OriginalPeople.net 15 Nov. 2012 < http://originalpeople.org/the-arab-muslim-slave-trade-of-

africans-the-untold-story/>

Guardian. “Reparations fro Caricom.” 1 Aug. 2013 < http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2013-08-

01/reparations-caricom>

Hess, Frederick and Andrew Kelly. “More than a Slogan: Here are five good reasons federalism is so

important in education.” U.S. News. 15 Sep. 2015 < https://www.usnews.com/opinion/knowledge-

bank/2015/09/15/5-reasons-federalism-in-education-matters>

Hofte, Rosemary. “In Suriname an endless refrain: boom, bust and Bouterse.” The Conversation 30

May. 2017 < http://theconversation.com/in-suriname-an-endless-refrain-boom-bust-and-

bouterse-77351>

Maharaj, Satnarayan. Letter to the Secretariat CARICOM. 14 February, 2018.

Manning, Patrick. Slavery and African Life: Occidental, Oriental and African Slave Trades. United

Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 1990.

Mathura, Errol. “Nationalisation: The disastrous experiment that failed nations.” Guardian 11 Oct.

2012 < http://www.guardian.co.tt/business-guardian/2012-10-11/nationalisation-disastrous-

experiment-failed-nations>

Nasser, Khan. “Legendary Labour Leaders.” Guardian 20 June. 2011 <

http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2011/06/19/legendary-labour-leaders>

15

Shah, Ryhaan. “The Wissmar Massacre.” Guyana Times Inc. 21 May 2017 <

https://guyanatimesgy.com/the-wismar-massacre/>

Tharoor, Shashi. An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India. New Delhi: Adelph Book Company,

2016.

Tharoor, Shashi. “The need for a museum on the British colonization of India.” Al-Jazeera 12 May.

2017 < https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2017/03/museum-british-colonisation-

india-170312082632399.html>

The West Indian. “Trinidad and Tobago and India to explore areas of partnership.” 21 Apr. 2018 <

http://www.thewestindianonline.com/trinidad-and-tobago-and-india-to-explore-areas-of-

partnership/>

Zolatova, Krisitina. “Part IV: Fanon’s complex relation to the Negritude Movement: Cesairean

echoses, inflections and reharmonizations.” Percaritatem.com 11 May. 2011 <

http://percaritatem.com/tag/fanon-and-negritude/>

16