Impact of Indian Immigrants on the Caribbean23

Impact of Indian Immigrants on the Caribbean ECONOMIC •

•

•

•

•

•

•

 The Indian immigrants immigrants helped helped the sugar production production survive for as long as it did especially in Trinidad and British Guiana. Had it not been for the Indians it would have collapsed earlier. They continued to provide labour which the exslaves generally shied away from as well as provide labour which the other immigrants namely !frican "adeiran  Chinese and #uropean failed to do. !dditionally many Indians re-indentured themselves after their contract ended in light of the government$s promise to pay return passages only after the immigrants lived for at least %& years in the colony. This was deliberate as the government could not a'ord free return passages to India and also to (eep a steady supply of labour for the estates. estates. !lso those Indians who gave up repatriation and too( up free land o'ered instead in Trinidad Trinidad and Guiana eventually became cane farmers. The e'ect of all of this was an increase in sugar production. Conse)uently in Trinidad for example the amount of sugar exported increased from %*%&* tons in %+,% to ,& &&& tons in %+% to */&0 tons in %+%. In British Guiana by the end of the % th century sugar production was 1/&2 greater than its pre-emancipation level.  They helped to (eep (eep wages for estate labour low at the expense expense of ex-slaves ex-slaves but on the other hand this helped the sugar estate owners deal with the economic downturn in the sugar industry.  The growth growth of the rice rice industry in Trinidad and Guyana was due due to the #ast #ast Indians. By the %+&$s rice growing in Guyana had reached signi3cant proportions proportions and by %&* and estimated 1* +/* acres of rice were under cultivation for the domestic use as well as for export.  The introduction introduction into the 4est 4est Indies of age-old traditional traditional Indian s(ill s(ill in irrigation 3rst in connection with rice growing and then the sugar industry is attributed to the Indians. 5nce the #ast Indians ac)uired land they established a settled Indian peasantry. They cultivated rice mai6e peas ground provisions plantains breadfruit breadfruit oranges mangoes tomatoes cucumbers. "ai6e which was formally an imported food was actually exported from Trinidad to neighboring 7ene6uela.  The Indians also also played a signi3cant role role in diversifying diversifying the the economy by contributing signi3cantly to the cultivation of export crops such as cocoa and coconuts. Between the %+,&$s and %+&$s Trinidad production of cocoa had more than doubled to an average of +., million pounds a year. year.  The employment of immigrants in manual 3eld wor( wor( opened up a wider range range of employment of resident blac(s as artisans factory wor(ers and policemen.

Social

•

 The importation of immigrants especially the Indians stimulated the expansion of social services especially medical facilties which were applied 3rst to the immigrants and then extended to the population at large.The increase in poplation led to a larger and more e8cient police force.  The entry of Indian immigrants into the Caribbean further added to the emergence of a plural society where the races mixed but did not combine.  The latter is because the Indians had generally remained segregated from the population on estates as indentured servants and even after indenture they set up distinctive communities with their own culture. The di'erence in culture and the fact that they were viewed by the blac(s as persons responsible for the depression in wages would have further (ept them apart from other groups such as the blac(s. 9espite the segregation some Indians later on did ta(e on partners of other races and produced mixed race children such as douglas and chinidouglas.  The Indians brought with them their religion and feasts associated with them.  They brought for example Hinduism and Islam : about +/2 of them were Hindus and %/2 "uslims. The Hindus continued to celebate Indidian feasts such a Holi and 9iwali;festival of lights or Indian Christmas<. The "uslims celebrated Hose or Hosein=Hussay and #id. >ome of the bac(s ?oined in the Hindu festival of Hose adding their own drumming.  The Indians brought their languages to the Caribbean. They brought Hindi and @rdu dialects.  They brought their architecture such as Hindu temples and Islamic mos)ues as well as their ?handis which are small coloured triangular Aags on bamboo poles placed outside Indian styled houses.  They brought their cuisine for example the roti doubles aloo pie sada roti polhourie chutneybuss up shut etc.  They also brought their idea of the close (nit family structure and the extended family which though wea( in the beginning of indentureship reemerged when free Indian villages were established.  They brought their music and musical instruments and dance which later impacted on the art forms already in existence in the Caribbean