Indo-Caribbean People
About
Who are Indo-Caribbean People? People who have Indian origin and live(d) in the Caribbean, including Guyana and Suriname. Guyana and Suriname are located in South America and are linked to the Caribbean by culture. Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America. Suriname's official national language is Dutch, and other languages are also spoken.
Today
Today, Indo-Guyanese are 43.5% of Guyana’s population. The Muslim population is 12%. Additionally, Guyanese (of all races) are the second largest foreign-born immigrant group in Queens, NY, and the fifth largest in New York City.
Indian Indentureship
In British Guiana, Indentured Laborers from pre-partition India worked sugar cane plantations along the country’s coastline from 1838 to 1917. The Indians were “free,” unlike the formerly enslaved people working the sugar cane fields. However, they were bound to the land and contracted to work for five years. They were promised return passages to India, but because of British policies, few ever returned to India. Indians had few freedoms in plantation life aside from cultural traditions they observed on Sundays. The Indians received meager allowances and often lived with several (related or unrelated) people in huts called logies, which were one-room dwellings.
Learn & read more...
Indo-Guyanese Authors
Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture,
Gaiutra Bahadur
Far from Mecca: Globalizing the Muslim Caribbean, Aliyah Khan