fbpx
  • Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • Opinions
  • Features
  • Letters
  • Videos
  • Editorials
  • Columns
Mgicc

The saga of the Mahatma Gandhi Cultural Centre in Trinidad

November 3, 2020
Dr. Vishnu Bisram

Kissinger has died not Schlesinger (died in 2007)

December 4, 2023
Harry Hergash

Book on Alice Bhagwandai Singh, an iconic social and cultural activist in British Guiana during the early 1900s

December 4, 2023
WHAT’S NEW IN ANGUILLA THIS WINTER

WHAT’S NEW IN ANGUILLA THIS WINTER

December 4, 2023
ADVERTISEMENT
suriname-map-physical

Suriname Delegates visit Buddhist Temple

December 4, 2023
At Diwali 2023 Celebration hosted by India HC in Guyana

At Diwali 2023 Celebration hosted by India HC in Guyana

December 3, 2023
DR-Tulsi-Dyal-Singh

RUDY IS DANCING BETWEEN THE SUNBEAMS

November 29, 2023
Dool Hanomansingh

The failure of Hindu leadership

November 29, 2023
Dool Hanomansingh

Family and Friends Mourn the passing of Indra Chattergoon

November 29, 2023
Dool Hanomansingh

Say no to terrorism!

November 29, 2023
Caribbean Delegates At a Buddhist Temple in Bangkok

Caribbean Delegates At a Buddhist Temple in Bangkok

November 28, 2023
Venezuela Maduro’s Opponent calls for suspension of Referendum on Guyana’s Essequibo

Venezuela Maduro’s Opponent calls for suspension of Referendum on Guyana’s Essequibo

November 28, 2023
Vishnu Bisram

At the World Hindu Congress Concluding Session

November 27, 2023
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and Condition
Monday, December 4, 2023
  • Login
Indo Caribbean Diaspora News
  • Home
  • Columns
    Venezuela Maduro’s Opponent calls for suspension of Referendum on Guyana’s Essequibo

    Venezuela Maduro’s Opponent calls for suspension of Referendum on Guyana’s Essequibo

    Dr. Vishnu Bisram

    Venezuela Maduro Risk Regime Change with annexation of Guyana Territory

    Dr. Vishnu Bisram

    NY Guyana Democracy Project Condemns Venezuela Aggression against friendly peaceful, Guyana

    Jai Lall

    Road Accidents madness

    Lester Siddhartha Orie

    Armchair Critics and Wheel-Chair Experts

    Tarun Basu

    The Indian diaspora’s ‘indentured route’ – and a ‘lost’ children’s quest for identity

    Vishnu Bisram

    Indians experienced Racism during the dictatorship in Guyana

    Dr. Vishnu Bisram

    Venezuela’s PR on Guyana border issue is all Fantasy

    Paras Ramoutar

    Trinidad’s President calls for urgent collective responsibility to save the environment

    Gary Griffith

    Blaming Parents for Crimes in Trinidad

  • Letters
    Jai Lall

    Using Guyanese Satire and Creolese describing current issues

    The DPP must use the new law to achieve justice following shocking Munir murder acquittals

    The DPP must use the new law to achieve justice following shocking Munir murder acquittals

    Judge in Trump Trial is Indian Jamaican;

    Judge in Trump Trial is Indian Jamaican;

    Vassan Ramracha

    PRESIDENT IRFAAN ALI ONLY REPRESENTED ONE RACE ON BRITISH MEDIA.

    Guyana-map

    Mis-represented view on Color & Indians in Guyana and Bollywood

    Baseless Allegations against Guyana Govt in Race Focused Washington Conference

    Baseless Allegations against Guyana Govt in Race Focused Washington Conference

    Vassan Ramracha

    Indians too Suffered in Guyana

    Jai Lall

    Indian Guyanese Creolese or Dialect on Display

    Tail Wagging Dog in Guyana Gov’t Finances

    Tail Wagging Dog in Guyana Gov’t Finances

    Vassan Ramracha

    NORTON’S CALL FOR AFRICANS TO GO INTO BUSINESS IS HISTORIC

  • Community News
    Harry Hergash

    Book on Alice Bhagwandai Singh, an iconic social and cultural activist in British Guiana during the early 1900s

    At Diwali 2023 Celebration hosted by India HC in Guyana

    At Diwali 2023 Celebration hosted by India HC in Guyana

    Dool Hanomansingh

    Family and Friends Mourn the passing of Indra Chattergoon

    Vishnu Bisram

    At the World Hindu Congress Concluding Session

    Hindu Political Discourse at WHC 2023

    Hindu Political Discourse at WHC 2023

    Maximizing Hindu Political Impact

    Maximizing Hindu Political Impact

    Evelyn Ramrup called ‘Aunty Ivy’

    Berbician Aunty Ivy Scores 100

    Indo-Caribbean Hindus at World Hindu Conference 2023 Thailand

    Indo-Caribbean Hindus at World Hindu Conference 2023 Thailand

    Caribbean Airlines’ Chairman Mr. S. Ronnie Mohammed (right) presents Mr Rashed Alshammair- Vice President of Commercial from Saudi Arabia's Air Connectivity Program (ACP) with a gift after their strategic meeting.

    CARIBBEAN AIRLINES’ CHAIRMAN EXPLORES STRATEGIC COLLABORATION WITH SAUDI’S AIR CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM

    Trinidadian Hemraj Ramdath felicitated in Bodh Gaya

    Trinidadian Hemraj Ramdath felicitated in Bodh Gaya

  • Editorials
    WHAT’S NEW IN ANGUILLA THIS WINTER

    WHAT’S NEW IN ANGUILLA THIS WINTER

    Jai Lall

    Guyana not an aggressive nation; does not seek tension with Venezuela

    Jai Lall

    Guyanese Creolese on Contemporary Issues

    Capil Bissoon

    Opposition to renaming Trinidad Piarco Airport after Eric Williams

    Book Launch on Indentureship at BHU

    Book Launch on Indentureship at BHU

    ST. KITTS AWARDED TOP CARIBBEAN ECO-FRIENDLY

    ST. KITTS AWARDED TOP CARIBBEAN ECO-FRIENDLY SUSTAINABLE DESTINATION

    Jai Lall

    Response to Pt. Ubraj on attack in Jagdeo in Guyana

    Leyland-Chitlall-Roopnaraine

    THE PROCUREMENT AND TENDER BOARD NEEDS TO BE SCRAPPED

    Jai Lall

    Cricket & the PNC

    Gandhi’s 154th Celebrated in Guyana

    Gandhi’s 154th Celebrated in Guyana

  • Opinions
    Dr. Vishnu Bisram

    Kissinger has died not Schlesinger (died in 2007)

    Dool Hanomansingh

    The failure of Hindu leadership

    Dool Hanomansingh

    Say no to terrorism!

    Dr-Vishnu-Bisram

    Delay of Trinidad and Tobago Paria Commission Report raises doubts on getting to the truth

    Dool Hanomansingh

    Credit Unions and the Poor

    Dr. Vishnu Bisram

    Scarcity of Research Materials on Guyana-Venezuela border dispute

    Vishnu Bisram

    The Petit Bourgeois, PPP, and Diaspora

    Paras Ramoutar

    New director of Indian Centre for Cultural Relations visits Trinidad and Tobago

    Dr Jerry Jailall

    In support of not meeting visiting Black American legislators in Guyana

    Dool Hanomansingh

    Protest and terrorism do not address the underdevelopment of the Muslim world

  • Videos
    Dool-Hanomansingh-003

    US Congress woman Tulsi Gabbard condemns the ongoing genocide of Hindus and other minorities

    Geeta-Vaahini

    Geeta Vaahini, President of the  Hindu Prachaar Kendra speaks on the social significance of Ganga Dhara Festival.

    Geeta-Vaahini

    Geeta Vaahini, President of the Hindu Prachaar Kendra speaks on the Hindu view of the environment.

    swami-brahmadeo

    Swami Brahmadeo – Hindus are top CEOs and Medics in North America and Europe

    Gowtam-Maharaj

    Gowtam Maharaj, a farmer of Barrackpore, South Trinidad, shares his challenges being a farmer.

    BAMBOO #1 Flooding – Frustrated Residents

    BAMBOO #1 Flooding – Frustrated Residents

    NATIONAL-LOTUS-THEATRE

    NATIONAL LOTUS THEATRE – Performance of Niyantran

    radica-jairam

    Story of RADICA JAIRAM from Orange Valley

    fisherman-trinidad

    Families of Orange Valley felt neglected by PNM Government

    Dr Subramanian Swamy

    Dr Subramanian Swamy – Dharma Rising London April 2015

  • Features
    suriname-map-physical

    Suriname Delegates visit Buddhist Temple

    DR-Tulsi-Dyal-Singh

    RUDY IS DANCING BETWEEN THE SUNBEAMS

    Caribbean Delegates At a Buddhist Temple in Bangkok

    Caribbean Delegates At a Buddhist Temple in Bangkok

    Gary Griffith

    National Transformation Alliance Media release

    DR-Tulsi-Dyal-Singh

    Guyana SATIRE: A FACT FINDING REPORT

    Guyana-map

    Guyana tops Caribbean in CXC and CAPE

    Lester Siddhartha Orie

    The Naipaul Awardee who is Primus Inter Pares

    Trinidad map

    THE CARIBBEAN’S BEST RUMS CROWNED IN ST BARTH

    Trinidad and Tobago Kamla on Diwali 2023

    Trinidad and Tobago Kamla on Diwali 2023

    Ravi Balgobin Maharaj

    Trinidad and Tobago handling of foreign relations

No Result
View All Result
Indo Caribbean Diaspora News
No Result
View All Result

The saga of the Mahatma Gandhi Cultural Centre in Trinidad

by Paras Ramoutar
November 3, 2020
in Community News
0
Mgicc

Photo : Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Cultural Cooperation

14
SHARES
151
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

PORT-OF-SPAIN: Some 52 years later, the Mahatma Gandhi Centre for Cultural Co-operation, has taken shape, and it is projected to open shortly. On the invitation to visit the Centre by Shri Anniruddha Das, Second Secretary, Indian High Commission, on Tuesday, October 27, I was amazed at the magnificent edifice fitted with modern-day theatre logistics, seating capacity in excess of 700, library facilities, and offices. It is unique, even though it took so long in coming.

This Centre was first promulgated by then Indian Prime Minister, Shrimati Indira Gandhi and the then Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister, Dr. Eric Williams, both of whom are now deceased. It is a great tribute to both outstanding leaders to have inked such an institution. Mrs. Gandhi, the first Indian Prime Minister to touch on our soil, visited Trinidad and Tobago for two short days, and this could well be the most outstanding feature of her visit here. Now, the progenitors of this cultural edifice are no longer, and it must be a tribute to the wisdom that today, this establishment is now a full reality. And the genesis began in October 1968. However, 58 years late, but better late than never.

Just for the record, following the furor that evaporated in local politics, and to assure the Government of India, then Prime Minister A.N. R. Robinson sent his Deputy Prime Minister Winston Dookeran who took along his Permanent Secretary Carlyle, who recently passed away, in 1987/88 to meet with then Indian Deputy Prime Minister Moraji Desai  to assure him  of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago confirmation to have the Mahatma Gandhi Cultural Centre established in this country and to reconfirm the protocols. It was a necessary diplomatic visit so as to get the facts correct.

Whilst the populace felt that the construction of the Centre was a lost dream after some 38 years in abeyance, it was given a new stimulus by the then Vice-President of India, Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat on a visit here in April 2006, as he told a reception held in his honor at the Trinidad Hilton that long-awaited Centre will become a reality, some fourteen years later.

paras-ramoutar
Photo : Paras Ramoutar

The Gandhi Centre is now a living reality and a visible manifestation for the approximate 700,000 persons of East Indian extraction strong Indian Diaspora. Between 1845 to 1920, some 148,000 East Indians were brought here by the British Government to work on rescuing the agricultural economy, which was originally filled by the African slaves. The agricultural economy was experiencing a slow death, a point of extinction.

The Gandhi Centre offers three messages to the people of T&T. Firstly, it will mark the 72nd anniversary of Gandhi’s assassination on January 30, 1948. Secondly, it will mark the 151st birth anniversary of Gandhi on October 2, 2021, and thirdly it will mark the 175th anniversary of Indian Arrival Day.

At the “Bhoomin Puja’ on Saturday, April 2000, at Mt. Hope, the late Indian High Commissioner to T&T, Prof. Parimal Kumar Das called it, “the Sangam”, the point of confluence between the cultures of India and T&T. Then Minister of External Affairs, Ralph Maraj termed it, “the noble cause of national unity as it is even important for those who do not know enough of Indian culture to take full advantage of the opportunity that comes with the establishment of Mahatma Gandhi Institute”.

He added : “The relationship between India and T&T is as strong as when the seeds of India were first scattered in this country”. The establishment of the Institute is a very significant occasion in the cultural and religious history of T&T, and India.

The first concrete step was taken with the signing of the Cultural Agreement in 1987 by then Minister of External Affairs, Basdeo Panday, and the visiting Indian Foreign Minister, Narain Dutt Tewari. Four years later, in November 1991, a Protocol was signed between the two governments.

On that occasion, Ralph Maraj who was Minister of Foreign Affairs in the PNM Government handed over to the Indian High Commission the deed of a lease for the five-acre plot of land at Mt. Hope for the construction of the Centre. And prior to the then Prime Minister Basdeo Panday’s sojourn to India, the United National Congress Government, in January 1996, provided a Caroni(1975) bungalow, Caroni, as a temporary center.

According to the Indian High Commissioner, Shri Jagit Singh Sapra, in 2006, pointed out that the seed of Indian culture will take a new direction and will grow into a robust tree with dedication, enthusiasm, and unwavering commitment. It is projected that the Institute will provide opportunities to Indian cultural enthusiasts to learn Indian music, culture, the arts, dance, and the learning of Hindi. And it is aimed at the people of T&T to preserve and promote the heritage of the, “Mother Culture” through the vicissitudes of history. Another focus is that this Institute will serve as a meaningful extension to the Indian diaspora.

The late Prof. Das pointed out that there seems to have no parallel in the history of the movement for national liberation and self-assertion. The construction of the Gandhi Centre is a living testimony and an urgent need to re-enact another movement or vehicle, to retranslate in the hearts of our leaders—religious, political, social, community and international agencies and organizations—to take a serious and scientific look and spread Gandhi’s Universal Message of Truth, Non-Violence, and Peace to all mankind. Over the years, it is acknowledged that subsequent Indian diplomats took up the task to ensure that the Centre was activated. They included Virendra Gupta, Malay Mishra, Bishwadeep Dey, and now it is Kumar Sahu to finally deliver it.

Caribbean leaders and educators should take it upon themselves to establish a Chair of Gandhian Studies at the three campuses of the University of the West Indies. The late President of India, Prof. Sarvepalli Radhakrishanan remarked that: “We made Socrates drink his death, we nailed Christ to the Cross. We stoned and killed our prophets. Gandhi met his death facing the forces of darkness, of ultimate unreason, and though it has increased the powers of light, love and reason”.

European thinker, Romain Rolland declared that he regarded Gandhi as, “a Christ without a Cross”. Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore acknowledged Gandhi saying: “The influence which emanated from Gandhi’s personality was ineffable, like music, like beauty, its claim upon others was great, because of its revelation of a spontaneous self-giving.” Noted physicist Albert Einstein remarked that further generations will doubt that such a human personality stalked the earth in blood and flesh”.

Dr. Williams in a radio broadcast to mark Gandhi’s 90th birth anniversary bemoaned: “India will remain one of the most lovable aspects of his many-sided character. He has left behind him not only the effects but the record of a great life”. Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and now Professor of Practice, International Institute, UWI, Winston Dookeran, noted that if Gandhi’s message was taken seriously the world stage would not have been a theatre of war and international indiscipline,

The Mahatma Gandhi Cultural Centre remains a serious and deliberate memorial to his life and passing, according to Sant Brahmavairagy, the spiritual leader of the Brahma Vidya Peetham, Caratal, Claxton Bay. This Institute will benefit all the peoples of T&T as the culture of India is an integral factor of the heritage of all humanity, now and in the future. It is against this background that all the peoples will continue to cherish and work towards the fulfillment of its philosophical, religious, cultural imperatives.

Facebook Comments Box
Tags: indo caribbeanMahatma Gandhi Cultural CentreParas RamoutarShri Anniruddha DasTrinidad and Tobago
Share6Tweet4Share1
ADVERTISEMENT
Paras Ramoutar

Paras Ramoutar

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Dool Hanomansingh

The failure of Hindu leadership

November 29, 2023
Dool Hanomansingh

Family and Friends Mourn the passing of Indra Chattergoon

November 29, 2023
DR-Tulsi-Dyal-Singh

RUDY IS DANCING BETWEEN THE SUNBEAMS

November 29, 2023
Indo-Caribbean Hindus at World Hindu Conference 2023 Thailand

Indo-Caribbean Hindus at World Hindu Conference 2023 Thailand

November 24, 2023
Dr. Vishnu Bisram

Kissinger has died not Schlesinger (died in 2007)

December 4, 2023
Harry Hergash

Book on Alice Bhagwandai Singh, an iconic social and cultural activist in British Guiana during the early 1900s

December 4, 2023
WHAT’S NEW IN ANGUILLA THIS WINTER

WHAT’S NEW IN ANGUILLA THIS WINTER

December 4, 2023
suriname-map-physical

Suriname Delegates visit Buddhist Temple

December 4, 2023

The most important world news and events of the day.

Get ICDN daily newsletter on your inbox.

ADVERTISEMENT
Indo Caribbean Diaspora News

© 2022 Indo-Caribbean Diaspora News. All rights Reserved

Navigate Site

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and Condition

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Columns
  • Letters
  • Community News
  • Opinions
  • Videos
  • Features
  • Editorials

© 2022 Indo-Caribbean Diaspora News. All rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In