Latest update November 14th, 2024 1:00 AM

Guyana's largest selling daily and New York's most popular weekly

Latest News

The time has come to officially name May 5 as Indian Arrival Day

May 04, 2021 Letters

Dear Editor,

May 5 was officially designated a Public Holiday “Arrival Day” in 2004 but before then and since, it has been commemorated across Guyana as “Indian Arrival Day.” How did this dichotomy come about? On April 14, 2003, the PPP government established a Special Select Parliamentary Committee of which I was a member, “To Review the Public Holidays Act, Chapter 19:07.” More specifically, it was to consider making May 26 a permanent Public Holiday (Independence Day) and May 5 to commemorate the Arrival of Indians to Guyana.

The rationale for considering the holiday was stated in the introduction of the Report of the Special Select Committee, “Guyanese of Indian origin who form a large portion of the country’s population, had for a period of in excess of the past forty years been calling for 5th May to be declared a statutory public holiday, in observance of the arrival of the first batch of Indian indentured labourers who came to the then British Guiana in 1838.” Yet the government’s Resolution (No.12 of 2003) April 14, 2003 to establish the Committee declared that it should review as a possible public holiday “Arrival Day that is to say, the 5th May, or, if that day is a Sunday, the following day.”

In its conclusions the Committee noted, “While the aforesaid recommendation (on the holiday be named “Arrival Day”) is in keeping with our mandate, the Committee wishes to note that all the submissions favouring 5th May as a Public Holiday recommended that it be designated “Indian Arrival Day” as is the case in Trinidad and Tobago.” It was resent to the National Assembly on April 29, 2004 and approved. The first “Arrival Day” as a Public Holiday was officially observed on May 5 of that year.

The decision was clearly actuated by a desire of the PPP government not to possibly alienate other Guyanese groups who had also arrived as indentured servants. But in the years since, none of the other groups – such as Portuguese and Chinese, whose arrival dates were respectively on May 3 and Jan 12, took the opportunity to commemorate the occasion on May 5. In fact, there were expressions from individuals from those communities expressing disagreement that their arrivals should be conflated or subsumed with a date that clearly marked the Indian Indentured arrival to Guyana.

In 2017, President David Granger established a precedent when he issued a public notice in early January 2017 to the effect that Jan 12 was henceforth designated as “Chinese Arrival Day” but not a Public Holiday. Later, on February 27, 2017, he proclaimed 3rd May each year as Portuguese Arrival Day. The days have since witnessed commemorative activities by those communities. It is my considered view that the Guyanese community would almost universally support the reconsideration of the name of the May 5th holiday as “Indian Arrival Day.” And I submit that the time has come for the government to officially rectify the anomaly.

Yours truly,
Ravi Dev

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | November, 11th, 2024

 

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Guyana Beverage Inc. on board with Petra to host 8th Annual Girls U11 Football Tournament

Guyana Beverage Inc. on board with Petra to host 8th Annual Girls U11...

Nov 14, 2024

  Kaieteur Sports- As excitement builds for Saturday’s kickoff, Guyana Beverage Inc. through its Koolkidz brand has joined the roster of sponsors supporting the Petra Organisation’s MVP...
Read More
GFF launches NAMILCO/Maid Marian Wheat Up Women’s Cup

GFF launches NAMILCO/Maid Marian Wheat Up...

Nov 14, 2024

Semi’s bowls off tomorrow with double-header at Providence 

Semi’s bowls off tomorrow with...

Nov 14, 2024

NO SURPRISE!!

NO SURPRISE!!

Nov 14, 2024

More support for Project “Cricket Gear for young and promising cricketers in Guyana”.

More support for Project “Cricket Gear for...

Nov 14, 2024

Guyana to participate at 2024 FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup

Guyana to participate at 2024 FIBA 3×3...

Nov 13, 2024

Features/Columnists

  • Poor Power Planning (PPP)

    …Peeping Tom Kaieteur News- Planning has long been the PPP/C government’s pride and joy. The PPP/C touts it at rallies,... more

Publisher’s Note

Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.

Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]