Holiday should be renamed Indian Arrival Day

May 05, 2022 Letters

---

Dear Editor,
May 5 is designated Arrival Day. It is not secret it is the day in which Indians first landed in then British Guiana in 1838. Although that is the day that only Indians arrived in Guiana, and no other group uses it for self-reflection, observance, and recognition, succeeding governments in Guyana have consistently refused to rename it Indian Arrival Day (IAD). As Ravi Dev penned, when it was approved by the Parliamentary Committee in 2004, it was called IAD. The government side changed it to Arrival Day.
IAD is a day of reflection of the presence of Indians in Guyana. It salutes the Indian pioneers for their sacrifices and contributions. There was a long struggle for the recognition of May 5 as a holiday in Guyana. The British colonial rulers opposed it as did the PNC administration that succeeded the British. Dr. Jagan committed to recognizing it as a holiday but did not approve legislation. Bharrat Jagdeo assented to the holiday.
The public struggle for IAD was initiated by Indian Guyanese in the US supported by Indo-Trinis – all of us affiliated with the Indo-Caribbean Federation (like myself and Ravi Dev), Conservative Party of Guyana (like Dr. Baytoram Ramharack), and Jaguar Committee for Democracy (like Vassan Ramracha). We began agitating for this holiday since the early 1980s after my visit to IAD celebrations in Trinidad in 1981. IAD celebrations were transplanted to New York thru the ICF (Bhanu Dwarika who became coordinator with Rudra Nath becoming first President in 1985). IAD celebrations expanded to Florida and Schenectady where Guyanese settled in large numbers.
A group of us in NY came together and made a case that IAD should be recognized as a national holiday similar to Emancipation Day for Africans. Like the slaves, the indentureds or girmits have been an ethnically persecuted people since the time they arrived on May 5, 1838. They lived in inhumane slave-like conditions and were often cheated out of their pay and denied land as compensation that was promised. They persevered under very harsh conditions, overcoming the adversities they faced, doing so with dignity and with much cultural retention of the practices of life in Mother India. Their presence has added to the richness and uniqueness of the Guyanese nation: multi-cultural, multi-religious, multi-ethnic, and cuisine. Their values have persisted till this day. They have left an indelible imprint on the cultural (language, cuisine, music, clothing, dance, arts, etc.) landscape, and on the economic, social, religious, and political fabric of the nation. Their immense contributions and accomplishments in every field of endeavor have been on the basis of great personal sacrifice to better Guyana. Thus, we felt it is appropriate for the nation to recognize the contributions made by the pioneering Indians and the values and material things that they brought from India.
This idea of an IAD holiday was transplanted to Guyana by diaspora activists like Ravi Dev and myself and took on a life of its own when it was enjoined by GIHA and other groups. Other individuals and organizations like Dharmic Sabha were also speaking the language of a holiday for IAD, which was celebrated annually by that organization going back decades. Before Dharmic, British Guiana East Indian Association led by Dr JB Singh, Ayub Edun, and others celebrated IAD as did other groups like Gandhi Youth Org led by Dr Balwant and Dr. Ali that celebrated Rama-Khan Day. Among the other groups that later joined the movement for IAD were: Guyana Islamic Trust, Guyana Indian Foundation Trust, ROAR, Indian Arrival Committee (IAC); etc.
It took decades after independence to convince national politicians that the tremendous contribution and sacrifices of Indians to the nation must be recognised with a national holiday similar to Emancipation Day given to enslaved Africans. Emancipation Day was recognized as a holiday by the PNC early in the nation’s history, but there was no recognition for liberation from indentured slavery. Indian rights activists and community leaders waged an arduous battle for this recognition. It took intense lobbying from Ravi Dev, other activists and me to convince the PPP to honour the Indians with IAD. But it was called Arrival Day.
This holiday honours the hard work and great sacrifices made by Indian indentured labourers, who laid the foundation for a better life for their descendants and the politicians who benefited from their pioneering contributions. It is befitting to honour them with an appropriate recognition with Indian Arrival Day as was requested by Indian rights activists. The Indian in front of the holiday is missing.
Yours truly,
Vishnu Bisram

---

---