Between 1838 and 1917,close to half a million Indians arrived in the Caribbean as labourers under the British scheme of Indian indenture.Upon completion of their respective periods of indenture,most of these immigrant...Between 1838 and 1917,close to half a million Indians arrived in the Caribbean as labourers under the British scheme of Indian indenture.Upon completion of their respective periods of indenture,most of these immigrants did not return to India,opting instead to make the Caribbean their home.Due to a range of very provocative social,economic,and political factors all indubitably tied to British colonial agenda,Indians were unceremoniously implanted into the various colonies where they continued to exist in a pariah like state for the duration of the system of Indian indenture.Upon termination of the system by 1920,Indians had begun a very checkered journey towards integration in the wider Caribbean societies.For three Caribbean countries,these journeys culminated in the election of Indian prime ministers and presidents;for many others,they were often marked by the emergence of profoundly eminent Indians who carved out niches for themselves in the social,political,economic,and cultural landscapes of the Caribbean community.As communities within nations,the experiences of Indians were marked by varying facets and degrees of growth and development in the locations with substantially large numbers of Indians.In those locations with substantially smaller numbers,the Indian communities were either assimilated as a cultural/ethnic group into the wider social fabrics or,have been struggling to retain their Indian identity as a minority group.The objective of this paper is to chart the many trajectories that have emerged with and for Indians in the Caribbean,and to explore the many images and imaginings of Indians in the Caribbean that have been framed along these trajectories;both of and among themselves and from the larger Caribbean framework.展开更多
文摘Between 1838 and 1917,close to half a million Indians arrived in the Caribbean as labourers under the British scheme of Indian indenture.Upon completion of their respective periods of indenture,most of these immigrants did not return to India,opting instead to make the Caribbean their home.Due to a range of very provocative social,economic,and political factors all indubitably tied to British colonial agenda,Indians were unceremoniously implanted into the various colonies where they continued to exist in a pariah like state for the duration of the system of Indian indenture.Upon termination of the system by 1920,Indians had begun a very checkered journey towards integration in the wider Caribbean societies.For three Caribbean countries,these journeys culminated in the election of Indian prime ministers and presidents;for many others,they were often marked by the emergence of profoundly eminent Indians who carved out niches for themselves in the social,political,economic,and cultural landscapes of the Caribbean community.As communities within nations,the experiences of Indians were marked by varying facets and degrees of growth and development in the locations with substantially large numbers of Indians.In those locations with substantially smaller numbers,the Indian communities were either assimilated as a cultural/ethnic group into the wider social fabrics or,have been struggling to retain their Indian identity as a minority group.The objective of this paper is to chart the many trajectories that have emerged with and for Indians in the Caribbean,and to explore the many images and imaginings of Indians in the Caribbean that have been framed along these trajectories;both of and among themselves and from the larger Caribbean framework.
