Indo-Trinidadian
religious flags in front of the dwelling indicate Indian ancestry
Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian are nationals of Trinidad and Tobago of Indian or other South Asian ancestry.
Hindu temple
Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonians has now become interchangeable with Indians or East Indians. These were people who were taken from India by the British either as (indentured laborers) workers or educated servicemen in the 1830s. Most of the Hindus and Muslims of Trinidad and Tobago are Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonians.
In the book Finding a Place, author, journalist, editor, journalist and
academic, Kris Rampersad challenges and rejects the notion of East Indians to
describe people in Indian heritage in the Caribbean and traces their migration
and adaptation from hypenated isolation inherent in the description
Indo-Trinidadian or Indo-Caribbean for the unhypehnated integration into their
societies as IndoTrinidadian and IndoCaribbean that embraces both their
ancestral and their national identities.
mosque
Some Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonians can trace their ancestry to indentured
labourers who immigrated to Guyana, Jamaica, St. Vincent, Grenada, or other
islands in the Caribbean. Many are descendants of later immigrants from India,
predominantly doctors and Gujarati businessmen.
A majority of Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonians are Hindu; a very large minority
are Muslim. Three national holidays, Indian Arrival Day, Divali and Eid-ul-Fitr
are primarily celebrated by Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonians. The Opposition
United National Congress draws most of its support from the Indo-Trinidadian and
Tobagonian community, and the new party: The Congress of the People
mosque
A major Hindu organisation in Trinidad is the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha led by Satnarayan Maharaj. The major Muslim organisation is the Anjuman Sunnat-ul-Jamaat Association (ASJA) led by Yacoob Ali. Although these organisations were once seen to speak for the vast majority of Hindus and Muslims in Trinidad, their membership has gradually eroded but they still remain the largest organized voice for the respective Indian communities.
Trinidadian and Tobagonians that consider themselves Indo-Trinidadian and
Tobagonians have retained their distinctive culture, unlike the original South
Asian people that arrived earlier as indentured servants, but also function in a
multi-racial milieu. The Bhojpuri, Hindi, Urdu, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam
languages of their ancestors have largely been lost, although a number of these
words have entered the Trinidadian vernacular. Indian movies, Indian music and
Indian cooking have entered the mainstream culture of Trinidad and Tobago.
Chutney music rivals calypso and soca music during the Carnival season. Divali
and Eid ul-Fitr are national holidays, and Hosay (Ashura) Phagwah is widely
celebrated.
Text from Wikipedia
Indo-Trinidadian hide-a-way
