Indians in Guadeloupe

Indians in Guadeloupe

Infobox Ethnic group
group = Indians in Guadeloupe
poptime = 40,000 [http://indiandiaspora.nic.in/diasporapdf/chapter19.pdf]
popplace = Basse-Terre
langs = French, Tamil
rels = Hinduism, Christianity
related-c = Non-resident Indian and Person of Indian Origin, Desi

Indians in Guadeloupe trace their roots to over 40,000 indentured workers who were brought from India to Guadeloupe in 1861 to work on plantations through an agreement reached between France and Great Britain. Most of the workers came from the Tamil Nadu region. The importation of Indian labour was gradually discontinued after 1883 as a result of adoption of a policy by the British Government against recruitment of labour in its territories and also because of high mobility of Indian labour.

Over 10,000 of them perished as a result of difficult living and working conditions and the rest of them continued to be treated harshly till the efforts of Henri Sidambarom in 1904 gave them some political rights. It was in 1923 that Guadeloupeans of Indian descent were granted citizenship and the right to vote.Since the cessation of migration, the history of the Indian community has been one of steady integration with the rest of the population, to the extent that there are very few Tamil speakers left on the island. However, third or fourth generation persons of Indian origin still maintain links with India in many different ways, such as adopting Indian names.

The Indian community in Guadeloupe is estimated to be approximately 40,000 in a population of over 450,000. Some of them have acceded to important posts in the public and private sectors. Dr. Henri Bangou held the post of Senator from Guadeloupe in the French Senate. Ernest Moutoussamy has been the Depute of Guadeloupe in the National Assembly of France.

There are several associations to promote Indian culture in Guadeloupe. These associations, run by mostly people of Indian origin, are fairly active in organising cultural activities in all the principal towns, namely, Pointe-a-Pitre, Le Moule, Port-Louis, Capesterre-Belle-Eau and Saint-Claude. One such prominent group is ‘Association Culturelle Guadeloupeenne des Armis de L’Inde’, which has over 300 members and 2000 associates.

Recently, 152th birthday of the arrival of the Hindus Tamil in Guadeloupe was held. The Indian Associations in the territory are in the process of forming a committee, which will start working to realise the event.

References

* [http://indiandiaspora.nic.in/diasporapdf/chapter19.pdf Indian Diaspora in the Caribbean]
* [http://www.atout-guadeloupe.com/152eme-anniversaire-de-l-arrivee-des-hindous-tamoul-en-Guadeloupe_a286.html 152th birthday of the arrival of the Hindus tamil in Guadeloupe]
* [http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1998/2/1998-2-12.shtml French-lettered Indians in a remote corner of the Caribbean reclaim their Hindu identity]


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