In this discourse, Caribbean Indians (not Bharati Indians who are still citizens of India)) are defined as Indians who left India/ Bharat many generations ago are Indentured Indians and are the ones who brought to the’ New World’ the Vedic Culture long before?
Swami Vivekananda did so to the shores of America. It must be understood that Caribbean Indians in the’ New World’, never signed any affidavit stating they are not Indians. Indians in the Caribbean and other places still maintain their birth rights in their respective country, and still hold on to their Indianness as in the case of Indo – Trinidadians. Unlike Pakistan signing an affidavit giving their country a new identity foreign to the sub – continent of Bharat / India that left Pakistani ‘s with no claim to India.
Had Pakistan named its country Northwest India it would have had historical claims to India as in the case of North and South Korea which have claims on each other. My point Is indentured people have claims to Bharat. On the political and cultural arena Bharat – vs – Indians while we share cultural similarities our political capacity is ahead of Bharat Indians. While Bharat Indians remain fossilized in colonial thinking, we Indians , especially Hindus [ I will let the Muslims Christian Indians make their own cases] are always loyal to our race, our Sanatanist culture and our respective country. Caribbean Indian Hindus are sometimes more nationalists to our Vedic Culture.
Our Vedic Culture widely known as Hinduism is very personal to Caribbean Indians because of the PRICE we Indians PAY to sustain Hinduism. We Indians in the Caribbean see Hinduism as our ‘Religion’ and our WAY of LIFE and do not like anyone claiming this privilege. We Indians [ Hindus ] do not only think in English , and Hindi but ipso facto in Vedic ways. Caribbean Indians already decolonize the minds many years long before Bharat Indians that is why V.S.NAIPAUL evolved out of Trinidad.
Politically, in the Caribbean mostly TRINIDAD,GUYANA, SURINAM , we Indians have not reached our Political Heights because of lack of a POLITICAL IDEOLOGY that can Unite the FRACTIONS of the Indian Race as in the case of India struggling to unite all Bharat people as one under HINDUTVA. Similarly, how Bharat Indians understand the race issue is not the quite the same as how we Caribbean Indians understand it.
For us Indians in the Caribbean racism is not only limited to Black , Brown and White. We Indians have to address all form of RACISMS from all people of different narratives and Culture.
In New York City, it will be recalled Bharat Indians had an identity crisis that Indians in the Caribbean Indians did not have. Bharat Indians were more regional in thinking, as opposed to Caribbean Indians who were just Indians. That is why Bharat Indians had to coin an identity call Desi people.
Additionally Caribbean Hindus when cremated have their ashes thrown into the Ganges as a symbolic act that their souls are returning to India. Some Caribbean Hindus even travel to Bharat with their loved ones ashes to do this ritual unlike other Indians heading to the Vatican and Mecca.
As Bharat rise economically and Military all Indians soles will be heading to Ganga. As Bharat Indians rise similarly to Western Powers status this will trickle down globally to all Indians.
SITA RAM.
VASSAN RAMRACHA.