INDIANS IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

                                    

                        ( Writer Shiva Naipaul )

                       ( Sir V S Naipaul Nobel Laureate)

                   ( Hindus in a Temple in Trinidad)

                                                         

                                ( Hanuman Temple in Trinidad ) 

                                         

                        ( A Gurudwara in Trinidad and Tobago)

                    ( A Hindu Temple in Tand T)

                   ( A Hindu Temple in Tand T)

             ( Inter faith dialogue in Trinidad and Tobago)

                           ( Holi in Trinidad And Tobago )

                           ( A Hindu  Temple in Trinidad )

 ( Satnarayan Maharaj, a well- know Hindu community leader in Trinidad and Tobago)

                                             

( Noor Hassanali, the first Indo-Trinidadian and the  first Muslim President of the country)

                                         

                ( A mosque built by immigrants from India )

Indians in Trinidad and Tobago: A Story of Crossing, Rooting, and Becoming

The first thing you notice about Trinidad and Tobago is the sea. It is never far. Two islands lie just seven miles off the coast of Venezuela at the southernmost edge of the Caribbean, where the Atlantic meets the Caribbean Sea and the Orinoco River pours its brown water into the Gulf of Paria. Trinidad is the larger, rounder island, 4,828 square kilometres of green hills, cane fields, and a north coast that drops straight into cliffs. Tobago is smaller, 300 square kilometres, quieter, more coral, more reef, more sleep. 

The geography made them inevitable meeting places. Trinidad has three mountain ranges running east to west: the Northern Range with its rainforest and waterfalls, the Central Range, and the Southern Range. Between them lie the Caroni Plain and the Naparima Plain, flat land that the British would later flood with sugar cane. The climate is tropical maritime. Two seasons only: the dry season from January to May, and the wet season from June to December, when afternoon rain comes like a curtain. Average temperature sits at 27C year round. The beaches tell you which island you are on. In Trinidad you have Maracas Bay on the north coast, where the road winds through the Northern Range and spills out to grey sand and bake and shark. In the south there is Manzanilla, long and wild. In Tobago you have Pigeon Point, Store Bay, and Englishman’s Bay, white sand, turquoise water. Tourism came late to Trinidad and early to Tobago. Trinidad built its reputation on Carnival, steelpan, calypso, oil, and gas. Tobago built its on eco-tourism, birdwatching, diving, and the promise of quiet.

To understand how Indians came to be here, you have to start with who ruled. 

Christopher Columbus sighted Trinidad in 1498. Spain claimed it but barely settled it. In 1797 the British took it from Spain. Tobago changed hands 33 times: Spanish, Dutch, French, British, until the Treaty of Paris in 1814 finally gave both islands to Britain. In 1889 Trinidad and Tobago were formally united as one colony. 

Britain brought sugar. And sugar needed labour. 

When slavery was abolished in 1834, the plantations emptied. Freed Africans moved to towns and refused plantation work. The planters looked to India. 

Arrival: The Routes

Between 1845 and 1917, 147,592 Indians arrived in Trinidad under the indenture system. The first ship, the Fatel Razack, docked at Port of Spain on 30 May 1845 with 225 passengers from Calcutta. That date is now Indian Arrival Day. Most migrants came from the Bhojpuri-speaking belt: eastern Uttar Pradesh and western Bihar. A smaller number came from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, and a few from Gujarat and Maharashtra. They were recruited by arkatis promising wages, land, and a return passage. 

The journey took three months from Calcutta and Madras. Many died at sea. Survivors were inspected at Nelson Island, then sent to estates in Caroni, Couva, San Fernando, Penal, and Princes Town. They signed five-year contracts for 25 cents a day. At the end, most took 10 acres of crown land instead of return passage.

Seven Old Photos of Indian families in Trinidad And Tobago

( An Indian village in 1890 in T and T)

( Hindu priests in T and T )

Settlement: From Barracks to Villages

The first settlements were plantation barracks. Then came free villages: Charlieville, Chaguanas, Couva, Tunapuna, Debe, Barrackpore, Siparia. They adapted. Rice replaced wheat. They planted mango, saheena, bodi, dasheen. Houses went on stilts. Women worked in the fields. The joint family bent but held. By 1946 Indians were 36 percent of the population. Today they are about 35.4 percent of 1.4 million people. Africans are 34.2 percent. No group has a majority.

Trade: From Cane to Commerce

Indenture began with sugar, but Indians did not stay on the estate. 

Phase 1: Agriculture 1845-1950

Indians became rice farmers in Caroni, cocoa and coconut planters in south Trinidad. They created the domestic food market. Roti shops, doubles carts, and provision grounds were the first Indian businesses.

Phase 2: Retail and Distribution 1950-1980

  

After WWII, Indians moved into trade. Families like the Rahaels, Mahabirs, and Ramcoos built grocery chains, hardware stores, and dry goods shops in Chaguanas and San Fernando. The “Indian store” became a feature of every village. They imported textiles, gold jewellery, and Puja items from India, Guyana, and later Dubai.

Phase 3: Manufacturing and Services 1980-now

With oil and gas booming, Indo-Trinidadians entered manufacturing, construction, food processing, and finance. Key sectors today: 

1. Food and Beverage: National brands like Royal, Solo, and Carib now have Indian management and ownership in distribution.

2. Construction and Real Estate: Major contractors in central and south Trinidad are Indo-Trinidadian.

3. Banking and Insurance: Executives in Republic Bank, First Citizens, and insurance firms.

4. Media: Nizam Mohammed and the CCN TV6 group.

India-T&T Trade Today

Since the 2000s, trade with India has grown. Trinidad exports LNG, methanol, and ammonia to India. India exports pharmaceuticals, automobiles, IT services, and Bollywood films to Trinidad. The Indian High Commission in Port of Spain runs trade missions. Indian companies like Bharti Airtel and Tata have explored Caribbean markets through Trinidad. 

The diaspora also drives trade. Trinis in Toronto and Queens import doubles mix, curry powder, and chutney music. Trinis in Trinidad import Saris, bridal wear, and gold from India. 

Trade turned the community from labourers into owners. The cane field became the shop, the shop became the company.

Cultural Continuity and Change

Language bent. Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Tamil, Telugu mixed with English and became Trinidadian Hindustani. By the third generation English dominated, but Roti, Dal, Puja, Diya stayed. 

Food went public. Doubles became the national breakfast. Curry, Roti, and Chutney moved from estate kitchens to every table. 

Music fused. Dholak and harmonium met African drums. The result was Chutney in the 1980s, then Chutney soca. Sundar Popo’s “Nani and Nana” in 1970, Drupatee Ramgoonai, Rikki Jai, and later Machel Montano put it on the Carnival stage.

Carnival: Where Indian Became Trini

Carnival began as French masquerade. After Emancipation, Africans turned it into Canboulay. For a long time Indians watched from the sidelines.That changed after the 1960s. First came the music. Chutney moved to the fete. By the 1990s, Chutney soca was a Carnival category. Today, Chutney Soca Monarch is watched by hundreds of thousands. 

Then came the bands. Indian costume designers like Wayne Berkeley and teams with Peter Minshall and Brian MacFarlane brought Indian mythology, Mughal silks, and temple architecture onto the road. Peacocks, lotus, and Ramayana scenes now parade down Ariapita Avenue. 

Then came the people. Jouvert in Port of Spain now has thousands of Indo-Trinidadians covered in mud and paint. Female masqueraders wine in Saris reworked as bikini costumes.Carnival became the place where the “deception of duality” collapsed. On the road for two days, there is no Indian, no African. There is only mas.

Religion: Temples, Mosques, and the Public Square

About 60 percent of Indo-Trinidadians are Hindu, 20 percent Muslim, the rest Christian. Hinduism rebuilt itself. The Temple in the Sea at Waterloo, Caroni, was built by Sewdass Sadhu walking into the sea daily from 1947. The Dattatreya Temple in Carapichaima has an 85-foot Hanuman. The Aranguez Hindu Temple dates to the 1890s. There is a well maintained functional Gurudwara in Port of Spain for about 10 Sikh families living in Trinidad and Tobago. Hindus also visit this Gurudwara on Baisakhi day.

Islam built the Jinnah Memorial Mosque in Port of Spain, the ASJA Mosque in San Fernando. Hosay in Cedros and Felicity, with its towering Tadjahs, is UNESCO-recognised heritage. 

Divali, Eid, Christmas, and Hosay are all national holidays. The Prime Minister lights Diyas.

Prominent Persons

Leaders: Adrian Cola Rienzi, Bhadase Sagan Maraj, Pundit Jagan Gosine, Maulana Nasir Ali, Dr. Satnarayan Maharaj. In politics: A.N.R. Robinson, Basdeo Panday, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Winston Dookeran, Roodal Moonilal.

Writers: V.S. Naipaul, Nobel 2001, Sam Selvon, Ismith Khan, Lakshmi Persaud, Brinsley Samaroo ,Professor Kumar Mahabir , Shiva Naipaul and many more

Cricketers: From Estate Grounds to the World

1. Sonny Ramadhin :Esperance Village, 1929. Spin twin, 158 Test wickets.

2. Denesh Ramdin :Couva. Former West Indies Test captain.

3. Sunil Narine :Trinidad, 1988. T20 pioneer.

4. Ravi Rampaul : Preysal. 2012 T20 World Cup winner.

5. Akeal Hosein : Gasparillo.

6. Brian Lara : Santa Cruz, Indian and African ancestry. 400 not out.

Painters, Sculptors, and Designers

1. Neil Paris : Penal. Painter of rural Indian life.

2.Leela Persad :San Fernando. Indian miniature meets Caribbean colour.

3. Shalini Seereeram : Port of Spain. Identity and migration.

4. Kama Maharaj: Sculptor of the Hanuman at Dattatreya.

5.Carnival Designers : Wayne Berkeley and others. Indian imagery now defines the road.

Music, Film, and Media : Sundar Popo, Drupatee Ramgoonai, Rikki Jai, Machel Montano collaborations. Noble Douglas, filmmaker. I95.5, 103FM, TV6, CCN. Bollywood on prime time.

Population of Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago has a total population of about 1.4 million people as of the 2011 Census, with estimates for 2024-2026 placing it around 1.52 million. It is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the Caribbean, and no single group holds a majority. 

Of the total population, people of Indian descent make up the largest single ethnic group at about 35.4%, which is roughly 537,000 people. This community traces its roots to the 147,592 indentured labourers who arrived from India between 1845 and 1917, mainly from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. 

In terms of religion, Hindus account for about 18.2% of the total population, or approximately 276,000 people. They form the majority within the Indian community and are largely Sanatan Dharma and Arya Samaj practitioners. 

Muslims make up about 5.0% of the population, roughly 76,000 people. Most are Sunni, with a smaller Ahmadiyya community, and the majority are also of Indian descent, though there are African and mixed Muslim families as well. 

The remaining population includes Africans at 34.2% , Mixed at 22.8%, and smaller groups of Europeans, Chinese, Syrians, and Indigenous peoples. Christians are the largest religious group overall at about 55.2%, followed by Hindus and Muslims. The rest include other faiths and those with no religious affiliation.

This mix shapes Trinidad and Tobago’s public life. Divali, Eid, Christmas and Hosay are all national holidays, and the country’s identity is built on this balance: Indian, African, and everything in between, living together on two small islands just off Venezuela.

Language and Demographics

English official. Trinidadian Creole spoken everywhere. Trinidadian Hindustani revived in schools. Indians concentrated in Chaguanas, Couva, San Fernando, Penal-Debe. Tobago under 5 percent Indian.

Migration: US, Canada, UK, Europe

Post-1962 independence wave. 

USA: Queens, Richmond Hill “Little Trinidad”. 

Canada: Toronto, Scarborough, Brampton. Divali Nagar Toronto 40,000 people. 

UK: London, Birmingham, Manchester. 

Europe: Netherlands, Germany. 

They send remittances and culture back. Toronto Carnival and New York Divali now influence Port of Spain.

Tourism

Trinidad sells Carnival. Tobago sells beaches. But both sell Indian food. Curry crab and dumpling is Tobagonian. Heritage tourism now includes the Fatel Razack monument, Indian Caribbean Museum, Waterloo, and temple sites.

V.S. Naipaul and the Question of Home

Naipaul left at 18 and wrote Trinidad as “half-made”. Indo-Trinidadians argued with him. A House for Mr Biswas gave them their novel. He is both son and critic. That tension is the story.

Conclusion: Ingrained in Oneness

The sugar estates are gone. Oil and gas came. But the people stayed and built. From cutting cane to owning the Roti shop. From the Roti shop to the construction firm. From the construction firm to sponsoring a Carnival band. Today an Indo-Trinidadian child in Chaguanas eats doubles, plays mas at Carnival, does Puja and watches Lara highlights on Sunday. She has a cousin in Toronto and knows her great-grandfather came from Calcutta. From Sonny Ramadhin to Sunil Narine. From Sewdass Sadhu walking into the sea to build a temple, to a designer putting Hanuman on a Carnival costume. From a Bhojpuri folk song in Felicity to a Chutney soca anthem on the Savannah stage. 

That is the story. Not exile. Arrival. Not loss. Translation. The islands were a crossroads. History made them a home. And on Carnival Monday and Tuesday, for 48 hours, the whole country proves that what is non-dual and ingrained in oneness can also dance.

( Avtar Mota)

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