Indo–Trinidadians and Tobagonians
Indo–Trinidadians and Tobagonians or Indian Trinidadians and Tobagonians are people from Trinidad and Tobago whose ancestors are of Indian origin that came from India and the wider subcontinent beginning in 1845 during the period of colonization and indentureship.
Indo-Trinidadians and Tobagonians are a subgroup of Indo-Caribbean people, which is a subgroup of the wider Indian diaspora. Generally, most Indo-Trinidadians can trace their ancestry back to North India especially the Bhojpur and Awadh regions of the present day Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, two states located in the Gangetic plains of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers. However, some Indo-Trinidadians may trace their ancestry to other parts of South Asia, notably South India, such as the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Indians first arrived in Trinidad and Tobago as indentured laborers from India through the Indian indenture system from 1845 till 1917, and some Indians and other South Asians, along with their families, later came as entrepreneurs, businesspeople, religious leaders, doctors, engineers, and other professional occupations beginning in the mid-20th century. Some Indo-Caribbean people from many other Caribbean nations, such as Guyana, Grenada, Martinique, and Saint Croix, also immigrated to Trinidad and Tobago.
Indo-Trinidadians and Tobagonians are the largest ethnic group in Trinidad and Tobago, identified by the official census, accounting for about 35.43% of the population in 2011.
History
Of 94,135 Indian immigrants to Trinidad, between 1874 and 1917, 50.7 percent were from the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, 24.4 percent hailed from Oudh State, 13.5 percent were from Bihar Province and lesser numbers from various other parts of the British Raj, such as the Madras Presidency, Bengal Presidency, Central Provinces, Chota Nagpur Division, Bombay Presidency, and Punjab Province. Out of 134,118 indentured labourers from India, 5,000 who left from the Port of Madras distinguished themselves as "Madrasi" and the immigrants who left from the Port of Calcutta distinguished themselves as "Kalakatiyas".Many were people who were escaping poverty in India and seeking employment offered by the British for jobs either as indentured labourers, workers or educated servicemen, primarily, between 1845 and 1917.
The demand for Indian indentured labourers increased dramatically after the abolition of slavery in 1834. They were sent, sometimes in large numbers, to plantation colonies that produced high-value crops, such as sugar, in Africa and the Caribbean.
Caste
Many indentured labourers taken from British India came from marginalised and lower-caste backgrounds, including a significant number from the Chamar caste. Facing entrenched discrimination, poverty, and limited opportunities in India, they were often drawn by misleading promises of better livelihoods abroad. As a result, they formed an important yet frequently overlooked segment of the indentured workforce in Trinidad and Tobago.Impact of Girmit System on Caste Dynamics
Although the Girmit system subjected all labourers, regardless of caste, to harsh and exploitative conditions, migration nonetheless offered many Chamars and other oppressed groups an opportunity to escape rigid caste hierarchies. Over time, they established new communities across the globe, reshaping social identities and forging resilience in diaspora.Religion
According to the most recent census conducted in Trinidad and Tobago, Hinduism is the religion followed by a plurality of Indo-Trinidadians. The breakdown of religious affiliation for Indo-Trinidadians is as follows -- Hinduism – 49.54%
- Islam – 11.64%
- Pentecostalism/Evangelicalism/Full Gospel – 9.67%
- Roman Catholicism – 6.48%
- Not Stated – 6.30%
- Other – 5.81%
- Presbyterianism/Congregationalism – 5.68%
- None – 1.04%
- Spiritual Baptist – 0.96%
- Seventh-day Adventist Church – 0.91%
- Jehovah's Witnesses – 0.73%
- Anglicanism – 0.56%
- Trinidad Orisha – 0.31%
- Other Baptists – 0.21%
- Sikhism – 0.06%
- Methodism – 0.05%
- Rastafari – 0.02%
- Moravian Church – 0.007%
A majority of Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian Muslims are Sunni, however there are notable Shia and Ahmadiyya minorities. The major Muslim organisation representing Muslims in Trinidad and Tobago is the Anjuman Sunnat-ul-Jamaat Association. Other Islamic organizations include the Trinidad Muslim League, Darul Uloom, Ummah T&T, the Muslim Federation, and the Tackveeyatul Islamic Association.
The Sikh community in Trinidad and Tobago, numbering at about 300, consists of the descendants of the few Punjabis who came during the indentureship period, Punjabi Sikhs who came in the twentieth and twenty-first century, and Sindhi Hindus and Punjabi Hindus who also came in the twentieth and twenty-first century and who are, in addition to being Hindu, Nanakpanthis, followers of the Sikh Guru Nanak. The Sikhs have a gurdwara in Tunapuna dating back to 1929.
Politics
Most Indo-Trinidadians have traditionally given their political support to parties that opposed the People's National Movement which has historically been perceived as a Christian Afro-Trinidadian dominated party. Voting patterns among Indo-Trinidadians have also been influenced by religion. At times, non-Presbyterian Christian and Muslim Indo-Trinidadians have shown major support for the PNM due to concerns about the Indo-majority led political parties such as PDP, DLP, and ULF that were felt to be Hindu and Presbyterian Indo-Trinidadian dominated parties. With the advent of the NAR and then the UNC this polarization by religion has been on the decline however its existence is still felt with the UNC fielding a Muslim candidate in every election for the San Juan/Barataria seat since 1995 owing to the presence of a large Indo-Trinidadian Muslim population within this constituency.Notable Indo-Trinidadian politicians include:
- Basdeo Panday – first prime minister of Indo-Trinidadian descent and the first Hindu to hold the office
- Kamla Persad-Bissesar – first female prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago
- Noor Mohamed Hassanali – first Muslim head of state in the Western Hemisphere and the first Muslim and Indo-Trinidadian to hold the office of President of Trinidad and Tobago
- Christine Kangaloo – first female president of Trinidad and Tobago of Indo-Trinidadian descent
- Rudranath Capildeo – Leader of the opposition at the time of independence
- Bhadase Sagan Maraj – Leader of the Parliamentary wing
- Ashford Sinanan – Opposition leader ; West Indies Federation Opposition Leader
- Rudranath Capildeo – party leader
- Stephen Carpoondeo Maharaj – acting opposition leader
- Simbhoonath Capildeo – opposition leader
- Vernon Jamadar – opposition leader ; party leader
- Adrian Cola Rienzi – mayor of San Fernando and Member of the Legislative Council for Victoria
- Raffique Shah – opposition leader
- Winston Dookeran – UNC party leader ; COP party leader
- George F. Fitzpatrick – first Indo-Trinidadian member of the Legislative Council, nominated in 1912
- Sarran Teelucksingh – Member of the Legislative Council for Caroni ; first Indo-Trinidadian elected to the Legislative Council, a predecessor of the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobgao
- Isaac Hyatali – first chief justice of Trinidad and Tobago of Indo-Trinidadian descent
- Satnarine Sharma – first Hindu chief justice of Trinidad and Tobago
Culture
Indo–Trinidadian and Tobagonians have retained their distinctive heritage and culture, while also functioning in a multicultural society. The South Asian languages of their ancestors have largely been lost, although a number of these words have entered the Trinidadian vernacular language. Indian movies, music, and cuisine have entered the mainstream culture of Trinidad and Tobago. Chutney and chutney soca music rivals calypso and soca music during the Carnival season.Holidays and festivals
Diwali, Eid ul-Fitr, and Indian Arrival Day are national holidays, and Phagwah/Holi, Maha Shivratri, Hanuman Jayanti, Ram Naumi, Sita Naumi, Navratri, Vijayadashami, Krishna Janmashtami, Radhastami, Saraswati Jayanti, Raksha Bandhan, Vivaha Panchami, Guru Purnima, Ganesh Chaturthi, Kartik Snan, Ratha Saptami, Karagam Puja, Kalbhairo Jayanti, Mesha Sankranti, Makar Sankranti, Tulsi Vivah, Gita Jayanti, Datta Jayanti, Ratha Yatra, Gurpurab, Buddha Purnima, Ramadan, Hosay, Eid al-Adha, Mawlid, Shab-e-barat, Chaand Raat, Islamic New Year, and other Hindu and Muslim holidays are widely celebrated.Cuisine
Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian cuisine is mostly derived from the Bhojpuri and Awadhi cuisines of North India. It has considerable South Indian, especially Tamil and Telugu, influence on preparation and ingredients in the tropical environment of Trinidad and Tobago that was similar to the tropical environment of South India, where a significant minority of Indians came from. There is also influence from other ethnic cuisines on the island such as Creole, Chinese, West African, Indigenous, French, British, North American, Portuguese, Arab, and Latin American cuisines. It is unlike the mainstream Indian-South Asia cuisines, which is mostly based on Punjabi, Rajasthani, Mughlai, Gujarati, Bengali, Udupi, and Tamil cuisines. This "mainstream" Indian cuisine was brought to the country by more recent immigrants and is termed as East Indian cuisine in Trinidad and Tobago and is contrasted from the local Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian or local-Indian cuisine.Breakfast
A traditional Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian breakfast consists of sada roti, a type of unleavened bread made with flour, baking powder and water. The dough is rolled out and cooked on flat, cast-iron skillet, called a tawa. The cooked dough is cut into quarters and served with a variety of fried vegetables, tarkaris or chokhas. Sometimes fried bake is eaten instead and is made using with flour, baking powder and yeast and is then fried in oil. Usually breakfast is vegetarian, however salt fish is sometimes added. Some breakfast dishes include baigan chokha, damadol chokha, pepper chokha, aloo chokha, karaili chokha, murtani or upar ghar, fried or curried bodi, fried or curried aloo, fried or curried ochro/bhindhi, fried or curried seim, fried or curried karaili, pumpkin or kohra ''tarkari, fried or curried saijan, fried or curried lauki, bhaji'', and/or fried plantains.Street foods
Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian foods like doubles, aloo pie, pholourie, saheena, baiganee, bara, and kachori are popular street foods throughout the country and are served with various chutneys, achars, and pepper sauce. Doubles is made with two baras and curried channa and is served with toppings, like pepper sauce, kuchela, and tamarind, mango, pommecythere, cucumber, coconut and bandhaniya chutneys. It is one of the most popular breakfast foods eaten on the islands, however, it is eaten at any time throughout the day. Another Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian street food that is popular is roti, which consists of roti that wraps curried vegetables, curried channa and aloo, curried chicken, curried shrimp, curried goat, curried duck, curried conchs, or any other spicy fillings. The town of Debe in southern Trinidad is a popular destination for these street foods.Festival foods
Traditional Diwali and other Hindu festivals and prayers foods include appetizers such as pholourie, saheena, baiganee, bara, and kachori. Main dishes include roti and karhi and rice served with condiments such as achar or anchar, kuchela, mother-in-law, pepper sauce, and dishes such as curried mango, bhaji, pumpkin or kohra tarkari, curry channa and aloo, fried or curried baigan, fried or curried bodi, fried or curried seim, curry eddoes, curry chataigne or katahar, and other tarkaries. Desserts include mohan bhog (parsad), lapsi and suhari, burfi, khurma, gulab jamun, pera, rasgulla, batasa, gujiya, gulgula, roat, kheer (sweet rice), laddu, and jalebi. It is traditionally served on a sohari leaf.Special Eid, Hosay, and other Muslim festival foods include curry goat, curry channa and aloo, sawine, burfi, rasgulla, sirnee, maleeda, and halwa.
Condiments
Indo–Trinidadians and Tobagonians accompany their meals with various condiments; these can include pepper sauces, chutneys and pickles and are often homemade.Pepper sauces are made by using scotch bonnet or other hot peppers, either minced or chopped and added to vinegar or lime or lemon juice and sometimes pickled together with carrots, sour cherries, bitter melon, or daikon. Mother-in-law is another popular condiment which is a coarsely chopped spicy medley of peppers, pimentos, carrots, bitter melon, and other spices.
Chutneys are popular as well and often include mango, tamarind, cucumber, pommecythère, bandhaniya, dhaniya, chalta, and coconut. They are most commonly eaten with doubles, aloo pie, saheena, baiganee, kachori, and pholourie. There are a variety of popular pickles known locally as achar or anchar which are commonly used. Kuchela a grated spicy version, usually made from mango but sometimes made from pommecythère, the mango version being most popular. Other version of achars are made from mango, pommecythère, tamarind, amla, lemon, lime, chayote, chalta, and green apple.