East Indians
The first batch of East Indians arrived in what was then British Guiana on May 5th 1838 on two ships: the Whitby and Hesperus. They brought them over their ancient customs, food and culture from India. The majority of the Indians that came over to Guyana were very poor folks that lived in the country. Most of the people that were migrating to Guyana were between the ages of 10 and 30 and they came from Uttar Pradesh, from Bihar, Karachi, Lahore, Punjab, Hyderabad, the Deccan, Srinagar in Kashmir, Peshawar, Mardan and Afghanistan. By the time the Indians had been done arriving in Guyana, there was about 238,909 immigrants that made it over.
There was a lot of conflict still with the plantation owners, even after slavery was abolished. The Indians soon found out about the way that these plantation owners were treating their people poorly, so the Indian government banned all immigration to America. This ban on Indian immigration gave a large threat to the sugar industry. By 1845 the living conditions had improved and Indian immigration resumed because plantation owners were able to settle a deal. The deal was that they would bring in 5,000 immigrants from subcontinents of India. As Indian immigration resumed in Guyana, the need for Indian laborers increased in different places.
In 1913 a massacre had occurred at rose hall estate. This was a very important event in the East Indies immigration into Guyana because it had a large impact on the laborers from East India. In this event, the colonial police open fired at rose hall estate, ultimately killing 15 workers and wounding 41. This massacre ended up being internationally reported and was one of the leading causes of bringing an end to the East Indian indenturship in 1917.
During indentureship, East Indians were not involved in politics and did not have much political power. In 1992, the first Indian president, Dr. Cheddi Jagan was elected in Guyana.
Works Cited
EAST INDIAN IMMIGRATION (1838-1917). (2014). Retrieved April 26, 2016, from http://guyanachronicle.com/east-indian-immigration-1838-1917/
East Indian Indentureship. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2016, from http://www.cariwave.com/East_Indian_Indentureship.htm
Guyana Celebrates 177 Years of Indian Arrival. (n.d.). Guyana Inc., (15), 1-98.
Guyanese americans. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2016, from http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Du-Ha/Guyanese-Americans.html
The Indian presence in Guyana - Stabroek News. (2009). Retrieved April 26, 2016, from http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/guyana-review/05/28/the-indian-presence-in-guyana/