Indian Women of Guyana: Reflections of their Existence, Survival,
and Representation
By Janet A. Naidu
Guyana Under Seige | May 10, 2004
http://www.guyanaundersiege.com/Cultural/Indian%20Women%20of%20Guyana.htm
"How shall the wealth and power and glory
of a nation be founded
save on the immutable honour of its womanhood?"
�Sarojini Naidu, Indian Nationalist and Poet
One of the major consequences of British colonization and imperial
oppression of Indians in the Caribbean is the deprivation and erosion
of their cultural and social heritage. After slavery was abolished,
British sugar cane planters brought 238,909 Indians to Guyana between
1838 and 1917 to work on the sugar plantations. These indentured
Indians came with their languages, religions and other cultural
practices, and retained their customs, but this was primarily because
of their residential segregation on the sugar plantations where they
were allowed to eat their own food with spices brought from India,
maintain marriage customs and religious practices. Their survival
spans many decades of great hardships during the periods of indenture,
post-indenture and post-independence.
Although Indians have contributed significantly to Guyana's economic
and social development, they continue to struggle for their heritage
survival and national representation. Most importantly, Indian women
have been relegated to subordinate positions as their presence
continues to be limited in the social and political fabric of Guyana.
Both men and women suffered tremendously at the hands of the
colonizers, but Indian women suffered doubly in the patriarchal society.
This article examines the existence, survival and representation of
Indian women of Guyana, but specifically provides some insights into
their existence and survival during the indenture, post-indenture and
post-independence periods, not only as a unique group to the region,
but also their placement within the larger community.
Indenture
May 5, 2004 marks 166 years since Indians crossed the kala pani1 and
arrived in Guyana. On a 5-year contract as `Indentured Laborers' with
the condition of a free return passage to India upon completion of
their contract, they were transported to various sugar plantations.
Those who came after 1862 had to pay their own expenses; otherwise,
they were forced to be re-indentured for another 5 years for a free
return passage, making it 10 years under contract. In this way the
British colonizers kept a tight leash on Indians. To understand their
great suffering in a foreign place, far away from India, it is
essential to understand that British planters turned to India to
revive the failing sugar plantation economy, after previous attempts
with indentured laborers from other countries. The first arrivals in
1838 on the sailing ships, Hesperus and Whitby, numbered 396 of whom
only 22 were women. The only reason that immigration agents
subsequently secured more women was because sugar cane planters
established certain quotas of laborers to meet their economic gains.
Therefore, they encouraged depot marriages to increase laborers and
yet maintain low expenses.
Gender Disparity
While immigration increased and quotas were established, women were
still disproportionately represented with a ratio of 35 women to 100
men and 50 to 100 in 1860. The indenture system facilitated this gross
disparity. Even as late as 1890, the proportion of women to men
declined to 41 women for every 100 men. Although repeated requests
were made to colonial immigration agents for more women, the disparity
of female indentured laborers remained throughout the indenture
period. The planters viewed women as `uneconomical' and recruiters
were not encouraged to meet the recommended quotas; few Indian men
wanted to bring their wives as they intended to return to India. As a
result, the disproportion of the sexes created a social problem for
men and women on the estates. They were not only "exposed to planter
tyranny and neglect, but they also suffered from the serious
disproportion in the sex ratio which produced considerable tension."
Planters abused their position of authority and engaged in sexual
relationships with Indian women, and in most cases, another man's
wife, without recourse.
With the disproportion of men and women, morality became an issue as
some women were depicted as being unfaithful. As a consequence an
alarming number of murders occurred where, for example, during the
period "1859-1864, some 23 murders of Indian women by their husbands
or reputed husbands were recorded." Murders continued into the 1920s
and barbaric acts were committed by the use of a hoe or a cutlass.
Although some women came with their husbands, Rhoda Reddock revealed
that about two-thirds were single, and that "the majority of Indian
women came to the Caribbean not as wives or daughters but as
individual women." For example, when Annapurani came on the ship,
Ganges, in 1915, almost all of the few women who came were single and
between the ages of 18 and 25 Indian women were not only placed in a
minority position,requiring protection against a dominant male
culture, but they were also subject to "sexual abuse by drivers,
overseers and other estate personnel."
In 1896, a sexual relationship between Jamni, an Indian woman, and the
deputy manager at plantation Non Pariel caused orders to be given to
the police who shot and killed five Indian men, including her husband,
Jungli, as well as injuring 59 men who protested. Earlier in 1871, a
Royal Commission Report stated that it was not "uncommon for
overseers, and even managers, to form temporary connections with
Coolie women, and in every case with the worst possible consequences
to the good order and harmony of the estate." The brutality against
Indian women was taken lightly by colonial powers as they viewed such
exploitative relations as having greater impact on the stability of
the estate than on families.
While Indian men suffered because of the scarcity of women and were
even killed as a result of British overseers' sexual exploitation of
women, Indian women suffered even more, not only by British overseers
on the estates but also by their husbands at home. The scarcity also
led to the perpetuation of child marriage, with many young women
forced to have older husbands and this, in some cases, leading to
domestic violence and murder of women. In 1896, 11-year old Etwarea's
marriage was arranged by her parents to the wealthy Seecharan, age 50,
who paid her parents "a cow and calf and $50 and made a Will leaving
his property to his wife." He later suspected her at around age 16 of
being unfaithful and `sharpened his cutlass and completely severed
[her] right arm' after which she died. By perpetuating their ancestral
custom of `child marriage' (with the legal marriage age set at 13
years for girls and 15 years for boys) young girls became housewives
and were subject to their husbands' commands.
Even though in 1900 the gender ratio was 62 women to 100 men, there is
no written data to suggest that the shortage of women was a main
factor for the abuse and murder of Indian women. But it is highly
suggestive that the exploitation of men by their colonial master
caused some men to function as the patriarchal authority in the home
where a new dimension of sexism developed. Humiliation and
self-degradation contributed to their low self-esteem and they began
to harm their wives and children, the people closest to them.
Daily harsh treatment under colonial rule caused many Indian men to
drink rum after a hard day's work. Then they would go home in
frustration and behaved cruelly with their wives and children. This
was very common and hence, the stereotypical `wife beater' image
attached to the Indian male. On the other hand, gender identities were
shaped by Indian values as depicted in Indian religious texts.
The role of women such as `Sita' of the Ramayana and `Radha' of the
Mahabarata were portrayed as the pure and ideal wife and these
representations continued to influence gender relationship
expectations between men and women (at least among the Hindus). During
the periods of indentureship and post-indentureship, many Indian women
and men maintained the ideals of a good wife and a devoted husband
particularly embodying the roles of Rama and Sita in the Ramayana.
However, the displacement of Indians in a western environment created
some difficulties for men and women to maintain their ancestral
heritage in gender identities. As Patricia Mohammad argues, Hindu
symbolisms act as a strong influence in "the construction of
masculinity and femininity among Indians," where the women had to
`prove' their virtue repeatedly. Women who resisted or were accused of
violating the oppressive patriarchal structures within Indian family
structure were abused or even murdered. Among the women killed in this
early period were "Anundai, Baumee, Goirapa and Saukalia, for
allegedly deserting their husbands."
Although the gross disparity of women created the conditions for
sexual exploitation, it also served to strengthen their resistance
movements throughout the indenture period. The importation of Indian
females served as a stabilizing force on the predominantly male
plantation workers. However, in spite of efforts to bring more women,
"sexual immorality, polyandry, and bride purchase [thus] continued,
providing the Indian nationalist movement [in India] with a powerful
weapon against the continuation of the system."
Perceptions of Feminine Image
feminine images also impacted upon the perception of women as
generated over the years by western and Creole ideology. As Indians in
the Caribbean were adapting to western and Creole culture, they also
struggled to maintain their own customs. Within this context, Indian
women's development contrasted against Indian role expectations of
their ancient texts, where changing values were their greatest
challenge in the Caribbean region.
Although Indians make up more than half of Guyana's population, Indian
women continue to fulfill traditional roles of wife, mother and
homemaker. As Ramabai Espinet states, women "have to fight doubly hard
to even begin to find the ground for emergence" and that they must
face this battle "in isolation from support of the males in their
domestic sphere, as well as in that isolation from each other that
patriarchal societies have always been careful to construct." Espinet
claims (arguably) that the "ohrni" or the "chador" was an instrument
of isolation and that the ohrni shields the chaste wife or daughter
from the gaze of the outsider as well as her mate, making the woman as
an unseen being.
Ramabai Espinet writes that Indian men are "conditioned to not really
`see' the Indian Woman" and to interact with her, but that she exists
in his imagination "in a framework which is static, already defined,
and to which numerous rituals are attached. The place of Indian women
in society is enacted through the mechanism of this existing
framework." However, this perception is contrary to Indian customary
attire where wearing the `ohrni' depicts the woman as honorable or
religious. The `ohrni' was not a traditional Indian garment, but a
modified version of the `sari' where the `dupata' was used to cover a
woman's head and face. (Similarly, Christian women of the Catholic or
other denominations wear traditional headwear for religious reasons.)
Indian women in the Caribbean continue to wear the `ohrni' to
religious and social functions.
Marriage
Indians recognize a marriage celebrated with "due publicity and
performed according to established rights and customs legal, whether
registered or not."26 This was a carryover from their Indian heritage
as practiced in India where in the 1880s, over "93% of the Hindu
population were listed as married before reaching the age of 14." Even
though a marriage may occur when the girl may be age 10, she was not
sent to her husband's home until puberty. While this early marriage
law allowed Indians to continue their practice, thereby restricting
and preventing their possibilities for education, it also satisfied
the plantocracy to secure an additional labor supply for its economic
gains. In many instances, parents also needed their children to help
with their work on the plantation.
Unlike Christian marriages, colonial authorities did not recognize
Hindu and Muslim marriages and thus, they were not legalized. Not only
were children labeled as `illegitimate' and further displaced by
British imperial rule, but also women were unrecognized by the
Government as not having any rights. If their husbands died without a
Will and left any asset, even if they had only a few cows, the
government did not recognize the widow and children as beneficiaries.
Although Indians endured a series of tests before they received a
marriage certificate, their marriage was not recognized by the
colonial authorities until the period between 1957 and 1961 when
Cheddi Jagan as Premier pushed for official recognition of marriages
by a Hindu Priest or Muslim Moulvi.
Elimination of Caste
In the Caribbean, Indian adherence to Hindu caste system became
diminished as there were only a few of the different castes compared
to India. The majority of Indians to Guyana between 1868 and 1917 were
identified as agricultural castes and low castes, with a small number
of Brahmins and other high castes. Many bonded with each other of
different castes while traveling as `jihajis' on the ships and
remained friends upon their arrival in Guyana. Women found the caste
system restrictive and "since there was a shortage of females in the
colonies, especially upper caste women, it became impossible to
maintain upper caste endogamy." However, as Moses Seenarine aptly
states, `varna [color] has replaced caste, and although there is no
strict correlation between occupation and caste [in Guyana], Brahmins
are an important exception. Hindus in the diaspora do claim a caste or
varna identity." Families would seek brides who were `light color' for
their sons. Generally, the reduction of the caste system helped men
and women to overcome prejudices and barriers of casteism and
subsequently helped to reduce the oppression among Indians and bring
them together as a distinct group within a multi-racial environment.
The gradual elimination of the caste system allowed Indians to unite
as `Indians', not as `Hindu', `Christian' or `Muslim'. However, many
still practiced `caste' in their treatment of each other. The slow
change in caste identity was also observed in the way Indians referred
to the caste Chamar when derogating a person. While the `caste'
categories were eventually (but not fully) eliminated, new
terminologies such as `high nation' and `low nation' were established
to distinguish caste.
Women on Sugar Estates
Indians lived in logies with poor sanitary conditions throughout the
indenture period. Further, they were obligated to toe the line while
working on the estates as Planters insisted that workers "complete the
stated five tasks per week or their pay was docked," a form of
exploitation that women were also subjected to. Children and young
women worked on sugar plantations in the `weeding gang' and later in
the `task gang' or `creole gang', earning poor wages. Even at the
height of their pregnancies, women were expected to maintain planters'
expectations:
"Indian women's reproductive and productive role to which they were so
accustomed in India was not seen as important in Guyana�. Illness and
even pregnancy did not guarantee lighter tasks. Indeed, many Indian
women worked in the sugar plantations late in their pregnancy, a
phenomenon that still exists, although not necessarily on the sugar
plantations but in the wet-land rice fields in rural Guyana."
In the late 1940s women would leave their babies at the Estate creche
and go to work in the fields. They would also carry their babies in
the fields, until an older child was able to stay home and look after
the younger sibling. Beyond this, sugar planters imposed harsh working
conditions on laborers, so that many strikes (riots) occurred. Labor
unrests were often as a result of workers' protests against
mistreatment of estate workers, especially since the first riots on
estates broke out in 1869.
Women also participated in protests against planters' mistreatment of
workers on sugar estates. In 1903, at Plantation Friends in Berbice an
indentured woman, Salamea, urged Indians to fight against the plights
of indenture. Moreover, after indenture ended in 1917, while Indian
women continued to protest as they struggled for justice, they also
became victims of the planters' oppressive practices on the sugar
estates. In 1964, Kowsilla, at age 44 and mother of 4, was "mowed down
by a tractor [at Leonora sugar estate]. She became another martyr of
the Guyanese working people movement." Her death on May 6 is
remembered for a woman who stood up bravely against a system of
exploitation and oppression as during 1964 especially, many suffered
during the sugar workers' strike. Few such experiences and forms of
resistance were recorded against planter oppression.
Education
Prior to the 1950's, many Indians did not send their children to
school. Several factors � education combined with Christian
indoctrination, schools predominantly in urban centers (mainly
Georgetown and New Amsterdam), children employed under age 12 and
girls could marry at 13 � contributed to 80% not attending school in
1901 and still 71% not attending in 1923.41 No Indian women
organization emerged to address this problem.
However, while those in existence, such as the British Guiana Dramatic
Society in the 1930s worked to develop cultural and social activities,
women in organizations worked with their husbands who served on
religious, cultural and social organizations to push for girls'
education. Under the direction of Alice Singh and N. Ghose, an Indian
national, they held activities in Georgetown, staging the play 'The
Maharani of Arakhan' in 1936, held dances, lectures and Hindi lessons
for its members. However, these activities were limited to the social
circle in Georgetown. (Later in 1936, Alice Singh founded the Balak
Sahaita-Mandalee, a voluntary child-welfare society, which was
belatedly recognized by the Indian middle-class for its work on the
"desperate.)
It was not until the 1920s, organizations such as the Hindu Society,
British Guiana East Indian Association (BGEIA) and British Guiana East
Indian Institute advocated for the education of Indian girls. The
deprivation of girls' education also occurred within the multi-ethnic
and coeducational public school environment which was dominated mostly
by Christian male teachers. Indian girls were also alienated around
issues of Indian religion, language and culture. Undoubtedly, Indian
women were oppressed as they were denied the right to educational
opportunities.
While the majority of Indians maintained their religion, the
indoctrination of Indians into Christianity served to help them become
more `western'. According to the 1931 Census, out of the Indian
population of 124,000 (nearly 50% of the total population), 1,958 were
Roman Catholics and 3,465 Anglicans.
Indian families were strongly involved in keeping up their cultural
and religious practices and were against sending their children to be
educated in Christian schools and to be Christianized. The schools did
not teach Hindi or Arabic. In 1904, an order was passed (which
remained in force until 1933), that no pressure should be placed on
Indian parents who wished to keep their daughters at home and not send
to school. Also, co-ed meant that girls would have to sit near boys;
their parents would not tolerate this type of mixing and subject their
daughters to possible relationship. Still, the colonial government
actively connived at denying Indian girls an education. In 1925, only
25% of Indian children in primary schools were girls. In 1929, Subadri
Lall was the first to qualify for exemption from the Matriculation to
attend the University of London, establishing a unique record for
local girls. In the 1950s, attitudes to education for girls had
changed sharply within the Indian community as attempts were made to
catch up with other sections of the population. Iris Sookdeo became
the first woman to achieve a Doctor of Philosophy at the University of
Sussex in the 1970's.
Nevertheless, access to the limited educational opportunities did
provide some girls with new options during the late period of
indenture and schooling began to have a much more positive influence
in the lives of many women after the mid-1930s. During the 1930s,
Indian enrolment in primary schools had increased by 50%, but these
would have comprised mostly of boys since girls were being groomed for
marriage. However, despite these changes, educated women's access to
formal employment and equal status were severely limited by colonial
and post-colonial policies that were patriarchal in structure.
While many Indian women, especially among the working poor, had not
attended school, they were working to maintain their families and to
send their children to school. Thus, these women contributed
significantly to their household and community, especially as
`financial managers', developing ways to improve their economic
position. These included planting their backyard with greens, raising
chickens, goats, sheep, looking after their cows, selling milk, and
buying and selling produce. Some also managed little shops in the
villages and assisted in their husbands' businesses, such as the
tailor-shops and grocery shops. In the early 1930s and 1940s, Indian
women preserved domestic life by participating in `throwing box hands'
to save money for their children's education or marriage and, in some
cases, they would `pawn' their jewelry to obtain sufficient funds. In
spite of the tremendous responsibilities they had to shoulder, their
strength sustained the home greatly. Without birth control, many
Indian women had large families, some having between 6 to 10 children
or more, and therefore had to find ways to increase the family income
to support a large family. In spite of the denial of education, Indian
women performed a wide range of jobs such as selling cow's milk,
selling greens in the village and market or working in the rice or
cane fields to sustain their families. During the post-indenture
period, some families whose daughters received a better education were
able to access other occupations. It was not until the 1950s that some
Indian women were able to access employment within the commercial
industry as noted when Barclay's Bank employed the first three Indian
women as `Tellers'.
Post-Indenture and Post-Independence
in the early part of the twentieth century, women on the whole were
relegated to the home, apart from those who were out working to help
their families. The majority of Indian women worked and resided in the
rural areas and often were the primary organizers of social customs.
Undoubtedly, the retention of Indian culture was owed "much to these
industrious, resilient women on the plantations and in the villages
while at the same time exerting much energy on their many children."
Because of their direct involvement in preparations religious and
social functions such as pujas, jhandis, weddings, Eid, Diwali and
other social customs, they formed a strong foundation for their
cultural retention. Mothers not only organized elaborate functions,
but their daughters also were completely involved in the arrangements
for social activities. Many of these women were not part of an
established organization with leadership opportunities, but they
formed the pulse of the nation's cultural development and progression.
Further, not only was it a social taboo for Indian women to join
social organizations and carry the banners but also they received
little or no respect.
However, a small group of middle-class Indian women in the urban areas
were beginning to participate in public circles. In fact, after
indentureship, in the 1920s they were contributing to the "visible
Hindu and Muslim culture festival" especially in Georgetown and New
Amsterdam where they provided forms of entertainment, but primarily
associated with religious functions.
One of the first known women to demonstrate resistance against the
injustices of colonialism was Esther Saywack Mahadeo (born in 1872)
who was widowed at the age of 28 with 4 children. Having inherited a
small shop, she refused her parents' offer to return home. Instead,
she became one of the leading merchants in New Amsterdam. As a young
girl, she learned business skills while her father went to work
selling oil on a donkey cart. With determination, she looked after her
children and never remarried. She became very involved in the business
and community, and became the first woman President of the Berbice
Chamber of Commerce. Recognizing the injustices against plantation
workers, she took a petition, signed by hundreds, to the Governor in
Georgetown, protesting the shooting of innocent workers who
participated in a riot at Plantation Rosehall, Canje where Indians
were shot and some killed in 1913. At this time, it was unthinkable
for a woman to have done this, especially an Indian woman and a widow.
She died in 1948, leaving a legacy of an Indian woman's early voice
against oppression. She took part in social work and was the first
woman President of the Berbice Turf Club. To have achieved this
singular position in this time in a colonial environment showed a
tremendous clout, resilience and courage.
Social and Cultural Organizations
Alice Bhagwandai Singh, born in Suriname and married to Dr. J. B.
Singh, (a former President of the British Guiana East Indian
Association � BGEIA) directed several plays directed several of the
plays produced by the British Guiana Dramatic Society of which she was
President. In June 1927, she founded the East Indian Ladies' Guild
which emerged about 10 years after the BGEIA and which functioned
primarily in a social, cultural and religious capacity representing
Indian concerns. As President of the Ladies' Guild, she and other
women organized and promoted cultural events. In April 1929, they
produced the play 'Savitri' based taken from the Hindu epic the
Mahabharata. Her husband, Dr. J.B. Singh played Satyavan and Miss I.
Beharry Lall played Savitri.
Later in 1936, Alice moved towards a greater role in terms of reaching
out to the poor. She founded the Balak Sahaita-Mandalee, a voluntary
child-welfare society, which belatedly recognized by the Indian
middle-class for its work addressing the "desperate poverty on the
estates." It was a time when few Indian women would have been accepted
in the public and in contrast to many women in the country-side, most
women in the middle class and in Georgetown were supported by their
husbands and othe male associates to participate in organizations.
History has not justly recorded many leading women in the countryside
who were already active in their communities. Many of them were the
backbone of Indian cultural retention by their everyday life in
arranging religious ceremonies, such as jhandis, preparation of food,
organizing weddings, singing bhajans and many other activities.
Although one can point to organizations in Georgetown where the middle
class and elite helped to keep a momentum of Indian national
consciousness, it was really the Indian women in the villages who
carried on the cultural traditions of their ancestors. Jeremy Poynting
states that Alice Singh and her colleagues acted in a "self-liberating
way what they thought was the best of Western culture, linked always
to a strong sense of pride in their distinct cultural identity." In
this context it appears the westernization of Indian cultural identity
was to appease the Anglo-Saxon taste, and as this did not spread
nationally.
One daring young girl left her foster home at Aurora Village,
Essequibo, at age 13 and traveled to Georgetown with the hope of
staying with her aunt. By dint of fate she began a singing career and
later acting in the 1930's. She performed throughout Guyana, in
Suriname, Trinidad and Venezuela, and became the "Indian version of
the famed Madame O'Lindy". Her name is Pita Pyaree, now 86 years old.
(Story in Guyana Chronicle 01/21/2002)
During the indenture period, while women worked primarily on the sugar
plantations and generally looked after the domestic affairs, including
arranging their children's marriages, they actively participated in
religious practices and cultural celebrations such as Diwali, Kali Mai
Puja, Eid and Rama Navami, which became very popular after the end of
indenture.
Indians resisted colonial oppression and were allowed to maintain
their ancestral religious practices through the establishment of Hindu
Mandirs and Muslim Mosques � with 2 Hindu Temples in 1870 and
progressing to 50 Mosques and 52 Temples in the 1920s.
Although Indian women were part of Guyana's Indian cultural
celebrations, either through the temple, at home or in the villages,
celebrating Indian festivals, they did not participate in political
affairs as they were still immersed in a life deeply rooted in
traditional Indian (albeit predominantly Hindu) culture. Unlike
African educated women who were nurtured by Christianity in bringing
them into organizations such as the Young Women's Christian
Association (YWCA) and the Presbyterian Berbice Girls High School,
Indian women did not benefit from their Hindu and Muslim religious
organizations in this regard, but, given the patriarchal culture, they
contributed their time to help their husbands or other men to lead
religious organizations. They mostly fulfilled the roles of `wives' of
religious and community leaders, which restricted them to meal
preparation, childcare and home responsibilities, and also worked in
the fields, the market and other `servant' jobs in the estate
managers' homes.
Today even though many Indian women are now educated and have moved up
in the social, political and religious organizations, they are still
marginalized. In some cases, many educated Indian women who are
capable of becoming leaders continue to be restricted. While it can be
argued that, in earlier times, many women suffered from a form of
subservience which was reinforced by religious patriarchal
indoctrination and other social demarcations, one can recognize that
there is still a long road ahead for women to access higher leadership
in such areas are unions and politics.
Literature
the fact that very few Indian women have emerged in the Caribbean in
the literary and artistic field is not surprising. Perhaps this is
attributed to their oppression socially, culturally and politically.
Some Guyanese Indian women have contributed to poetry and journalistic
writings, but very few, if any, have produced a novel. Unlike Trinidad
and Tobago with Shani Mootoo, Laxshmi Persaud and Ramabai Espinet,
Indian women of Guyana have not been provided with the freedom and
opportunity to develop their literary talents. No organization was
established to help the wider population explore their talent that
will be recognized nationally.
Although Jeremy Poynting states, "several male Indo-Caribbean writers
are enabled to write full-time because they are supported by their
wives, but there are not, one suspects many males who look after their
children to give their wives the same opportunity," it is likely that
the oppressive environment contributed to the `silence' of many Indian
women.
In relatively recent times few women writers emerged, notably
Rajkumari Singh and Mahadai Das whose poetry reflects themes of pain,
oppression and gender assertion. Rajkurmari Singh, a one-time Indian
radio announcer at the Demerara Radio Station, wrote the play
Jitangali and published A Garland of Stories in 1960. She was
instrumental in staging plays at the Theatre Guild. With her mother,
Alice Singh, and her father, Dr. J.B. Singh, who were among other
leading advocates of promoting Indian culture in the 1920s and who
were part of the Indian upper middle class (Hindu and Muslims),
religious and cultural institutions to help Indians retain their
ancestral heritage, Rajkumari Singh was greatly influenced in the
arts. Like her mother, she pursued the arts and probably became the
first Indian woman in Guyana to explore local talents. From the early
1970s, she contributed to the cultural life of Guyana, as a radio
announcer of Indian program, a poet, dramatist and editor of a
literary booklet Heritage. In the Messenger Group she mentored younger
artists, stage performers, writers and poets, such as Gora Singh,
Mahadai Das, Rooplall Monar and others during the early 70s. Many of
them would gather at Rajkumari Singh's home for guidance and
inspiration, holding long discussions. Both Rajkumari Singh and
Mahadai Das were amongst the first published Indian women poets of Guyana.
Rajkumari Singh became involved in the PPP in the 1960s and was
appointed to the Commission that investigated the Wismar brutality
against Indians, particularly girls and women.
It appears that their entry into the oppressive and exploitative
Guyana National Service (GNS) in the early 70s led to the stagnation
of their talent in Guyana. While a student at the University of
Guyana, Mahadai Das joined the GNS. She subsequently studied in the US
but due to illness had to return to Guyana. Unfortunately, her
creative talent was completely obstructed as her illness took a great
toll in her life for many years. Although Mahadai Das' poems were
published in England, her books were hardly honored in Guyana. Her
books, I want to be a Poetess of my People (1976), My Finer Steel will
Grow (1982) and Bones (1988) are still unknown to many in the
Caribbean literary circle. In later years, Laxhmi Kallicharan, a
leading figure in the reconstruction and preservation of Indian
heritage, wrote poetry, and acted as a public voice for women's
identity, and helped organize for the Indian Arrival historical site.
She helped edited They came in ships, an anthology of Indo-Guyanese
writing.
While one may be wary of Rajkumari Singh's acceptance of the position
as Coordinator of Culture in the PNC government sponsored Guyana
National Service (GNS) institution, it is believed that she had
strongly pushed for Indian cultural heritage to be promoted within
GNS. However, it seemed that the PNC regime did not give much support
to Indian consciousness. Undoubtedly, her struggles must have endured
many trials. Rajkumari Singh was an activist and became involved in
the PPP in the 1960s and was appointed to the Commission that
investigated the Wismar brutality against Indians, particularly girls
and women. The PNC not the PPP regimes have not satisfied the public
with the investigative findings and, to this day, little is known
about the details of this tragedy.
Many people have criticized, ridiculed, labeled and scandalized
Rajkumari Singh's efforts in Guyana's cultural formation in GNS,
particularly Indians who felt she betrayed them by working with the
PNC. They view her role not as an act to promote Indian culture, but
to support the PNC regime which did not support Indian culture. With
the dissolution of the GNS, there was no preservation of Indian
culture and no legacy of efforts at GNS. But this does not discount
Rajkumari Singh's efforts, particularly since she attempted to use
this opportunity to ensure that Indian culture was included in
Guyana's cultural identity. For a woman who was stricken by polio at
age 5, Rajkumari Singh worked tirelessly to bring Indian cultural
heritage to the fore and as such, her role in Guyana's Indian cultural
heritage retention should be remembered. However, although very few
authors have emerged in poetry and plays, none has published a novel
of experience and survival of Indian women of Guyana during the
periods of post-indenture and post-independence. It was only until
recently, scholars have produced some work. Professor, artist and
writer, Arnold Itwaru examined the Indian woman's strength and
resistance in her plantation world in his novel, Shanti. Sasenarine
Persaud's Dear Death touches upon a mother's relationship with her son
and in recent times, and refreshingly, Professor Moses Seenarine has
written extensively and produced a doctoral thesis on the indentured
woman's experience in Guyana. His comprehensive research and scholarly
work invites new insights into the Indo-Guyanese female experience.
Although a number of Indian women in the rural areas might have had
limited education or were even uneducated at the time, they knew their
cultural activities and values to heart. Yet, the middle class who
were predominantly in the city core did not fully reach out to the
working class Indians and this may be due to the `class' consciousness
imposed by the European colonial influence. However, the middle class
Indians were instrumental in maintaining some cultural awareness
through the establishment or Indian cultural organizations, including
the establishment of the Maha Sabha.
Indo-Caribbean women's writing is still sparse. Guyanese Indian women
writers are few and have emerged at a slow pace. As Ramabai Espinet
states, "the silence of the Indo-Caribbean woman needs much fuller
investigation." Further, much more investigation is need in the areas
of Indian women as professionals � teachers, professors, doctors,
lawyers, scientists, technologists, professors, civil servants.
Indian Cultural Retention
the British Guiana East Indian Association (BGEIA) was instrumental in
promoting Indian culture. Its elected all-male representation was
common of the times. It served to bring Indian women into a public
forum through the production of plays and other cultural activities.
Yet, by 1967, the powerful and European-oriented National History and
Arts Council began to omit Indian culture from the national identity.
They sought only to promote Indian culture through frivolous
depictions of having young Indian girls dancing with sexual gyrations.
By 1969, Indian artists in general either went underground or left the
country. Musicians such as Sonny Deen, Ramdhanie, Tilak, Latiff,
Sumiran, Gobin Ram, Ramakrishna and many others were easily forgotten.
In the 1960's during the Indian Immigration Celebrations in Guyana,
Cheddi Jagan and the PPP were accused of showing no interest in Indian
cultural awareness in spite of its annual commemoration, but many did
not realize that Cheddi Jagan was fighting against a class-conscious
British colonial order as well as fighting against Burnham's PNC
African consciousness movement. He did not want to create a
segregationist objective and, in his push for unity of all, there were
misunderstandings that he did not demonstrate an `Indian'
consciousness. Yet, he was one of the few bold Indians who
courageously "fought almost single-handedly against the oppression of
the working poor, the majority of whom were Indians, in the local
legislature against foreign rule." Although he formed the PPP
political party in the early 1950 together with a few others, and
became the leader, during this period, very few Indian women were in
any position of public recognition. However, Indian women joined the
later formed the Women Progressive Organization (WPO), an arm of the
PPP which was led by Janet Jagan and included Winifred Gaskin and
Frances Stafford61 to address women's concerns. However, there were no
Indian women in their circle. Indian women did not emerge in
leadership role in a political party, as they were culturally and
socially groomed to fulfill a gender constructed role. Women in
Georgetown or those among the upper-middle class were homemakers or
businessmen's wives and did not participate in political activities,
but maintained business relations in social circles.
Although the PPP was elected in 1953 and 1961, they were robbed in
1964 by a US-UK influence and the PNC formed the Government.62 Out of
being left on the sidelines, some Indians joined the PNC in the late
70s and 80's, as well as the Working People's Allisance (WPA). There
are allegations by people who speak quietly that Indians girls were
raped in National Service but there have been no investigation or
report of disclosure. In spite of the participation of women in
National Service, and the military training they received, none
emerged in political activism. It is only fitting to observe that both
Black and Indian women suffered in what many note was a very bad
decision by the PNC regime.
Many Indians opposed the PNC's introduction of the compulsory Guyana
National Service in 1973. When the lists for compulsory induction were
published at the University of Guyana they contained "53 Indo-Guyanese
of the 63 persons listed, and that of the 25 women listed, 90% were
Indian. This meant only one thing to the majority of Indians. Many
Indian girls were reported to have dropped their university applications."
National Representation
in exploring the area of national representation, while Indians were
marginalized during indentureship, Indian women were not seen in
public organizations advancing the cause of independence in the 1950s.
Even among the middle class, they were still functioning as wives or
political agitators or were restricted to religious and social
responsibilities. Thus when the International Commission of Jurists
investigated racial imbalances in the public services they found
Indians seriously under-represented. The report recorded, but did not
comment on, the even more dramatic under-representation of Indian
women. For instance, "at a time when Indians were 50% of the
population, in 1965, Indian women comprised only 2.85% of all
employees and only 13.5% of female employees on the staffs of all the
Government ministries." Further, during the PNC era up to 1992, Indian
women rarely held Government positions unless they carried a PNC card.
While a few were actively involved in the trade union movement, a few
others were politically active.
The formation of trade unions and political organizers became a forum
for women to advocate for issues of concerns, as in the 1930s to early
1940s with the formation of the Manpower Citizens' Association. Nelly
Sudeen, its first Indian female and co-founder who came from a very
poor family, was never married and had no children. As a political
leader across the country, she represented the MPCA and spoke out
against Indian men sending their women folk to work in the fields and
against child labor (10 to 12 years of age) on sugar plantations.
Sudeen and many other East Indian women who were against "upper
caste/class, patriarchal and racial constructions of Indian political
discourse, were purged from Indian political, religious, cultural, and
even women's organizations." After she exposed the corruption of the
MPCA, its patriarchal leadership shut her out of office and after
retiring around 1944, she never re-entered politics. The MPCA aligned
itself with the plantation owners and lost the support of Indian
workers. Other Indian women in the early 60s, such as Sandra Butchey,
Amina Sankar and Shirin Edun became highly trained in England, the
latter two were the first Indian women lawyers, and held top
professional positions, yet little or nothing is recorded of their
place in Guyana's history for the progress of women, particularly
Indo-Guyanese women.
During the PNC era, Indian women have been invisible in political
life, and very few occupy important positions in the Government.
Although Jean Maitland Singh was a senior member in Viola Burnham's
Young Socialist Movement, it was not a recognized position of any
value and it can be construed that this may have been a token `Indian'
presence in the PNC fold, as her husband worked in the Ministry of
National Development and reported to Ptolemy Reid and Forbes Burnham.
Still, very little is written or known of her contribution in the PNC
political movement. Further, a few Indian women whose families had
joined the PNC also held positions. Some of these women included
Sattie Jaishree Singh, Latchmee Narayan, Rabbia Alli Khan and Amna
Alli, (currently active), but still very little is known about them.
It was not until 1992, with the return of the democratically elected
PPP regime and the ousting of the PNC, that Indians (though in small
numbers) were recognized in public life. One of the first Indian
women, Indra Chanderpal, made it to a Ministerial position, and
recently Bibi Shadeek as Minister of Human Services, Social Security
and Labour. The fact that the PNC regime dominated the Public Service
with Afro-Guyanese, even with the return of the PPP, Indians are still
underrepresented in the Public Administration. During the 28 years of
PNC dictatorship, Indians were subjected to racial and cultural
discrimination and exclusion from national life. However, in recent
years, women's issues with respect to access to public life
participation have been addressed through committees' presentation on
discrimination against women. Now that Indian women are beginning to
participate in social and cultural formations, they are still absent
in the political stage to effect change and progress.
However, it is recognized that many Indians have immigrated to places
such as England, Canada and the U.S. and this paper is not extended to
capture the development of Indian women who have left the shores of
Guyana and found other freedoms in the diaspora. Further, while this
essay offers room for ongoing examination of the development of Indian
women of Guyana, it provides some insights into their experiences �
from the women who courageously traveled across the treacherous ocean
(the kala pani) to Guyana as laborers on sugar plantations to those
striving for higher education and participation in national life. They
formed roots in another land, raised their children under harsh
colonial conditions and post independence turmoil, and made sacrifices
to give their children a better education. Their daughters continue to
face many challenges where their womanhood is still under scrutiny.
References
Birbalsingh, F. (Ed.), From Pillar to Post. The Indo-Caribbean
Diaspora. TSAR, 1997.
Espinet, R. Representation and the Indo-Caribbean Woman in Trinidad
and Tobago, Indo-Caribbean Resistance.
Espinet, R. A Sense of Constant Dialogue, Writing, Woman and
Indo-Caribbean Culture. The Other Woman. Ed. Makeda Silvera. Ramabai
Talks to Elaine Savory. Toronto: Sister Vision, 1994.
Jagan, C. The West on Trial, The Fight for Guyana's Freedom. Michael
Joseph Ltd., London, 1966.
Mangru, B. Benevolent Neutrality: Indian Government Policy and Labour
Migration to British Guiana 1854-1884. London: Hansib Publications
Limited. 1987.
Mangru, B. "The Sex Ratio Disparity and its Consequences Under the
Indenture in British Guiana," in David Dabydeen and Brinsley Samaroo
(eds.), India in the Caribbean, London: Hansib Publications Limited. 1987.
Mangru, B. Indenture and Abolition. Sacrifice and Survival on the
Guyanese Sugar Plantations. Toronto: TSAR Publications, 1993.
Mangru, B. Indians in Guyana. A concise history from their arrival to
the present. Adams Press, Chicago, Illinois, USA. 1999.
Mohammed, P. From Myth to Symbolism: the Construction of Indian
Femininity and Masculinity in Post-Indentured Trinidad. Matikor.
(Prototext)
Moore, B.L. Cultural Power, Resistance and Pluralism, Colonial Guyana,
1838-1900. McGill Queen's University Press, 1995.
Poynting, J. "East Indian Women in the Caribbean: Experience and
Voice," in David Dabydeen and Brinsley Samaroo (eds.), India in the
Caribbean. London: Hansib Publications Limited. 1987.
Reddock, R. "Freedom Denied: Indian Women and Indentureship in
Trinidad & Tobago: 1898-1960." Economic and Political Weekly: Review
of Women's Studies, 20, no. 43. (1984)
Roopnarine, L. East Indian Women and Labor in Guyana.
http://www.saxakali.com/indocarib/lroopnarine.htm
Ruhomon, P. History of the East Indians of British Guiana 1838-1938.
Government House, Georgetown, Demerara, British Guiana, October 1946.
Reprinted by the East Indian 150th Anniversary committee, Georgetown
Guyana. April, 1998.
Seecharan, C. India and the Shaping of the Indo-Guyanese Imagination
1890-1920. University of Warwick. England: Peepal Tree Press. 1993.
Seenarine, M. Indentured Indian Women in Colonial Guyana: Recruitment,
Migration, Labor and Caste.
http://www.saxakali.com/indocarib/sojourner3.htm
Tinker H. A New System of Slavery: The Export of Indian Labour
Overseas 1830-1920. Oxford University Press 1974. Reprinted by Hansib
Publishing Limited, 1993.
Additional Sources:
Chelema, Naidu. Indian woman of Guyana, 80 years of age, living in
Canada. Toronto. December, 2002.
Girdhari, Gary. New York, 2004
Rayman, Evelyn. Toronto. April, 2003
Tiwari, Rampersaud. Toronto. April, 2003
[Editor's Note: All credits goes to the author and the Guyana Journal,
in which it was published. We reproduce their note regarding this
article here:This paper does not cover contemporary Indian women. This
is only because of the limited available information. Many are
excelling in the Arts and Culture, Science and Medicine, Law, Academe,
Literature and other areas. Further, the Guyanese diaspora is far and
wide, and empirical studies will have to elaborate this.]
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Has someone you know been affected by illness or disease?
Network for Good is THE place to support health awareness efforts!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/rkgkPB/UOnJAA/Zx0JAA/uTGrlB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
��������������������������������������������������������
This is ZESTGlobal. Post articles on international affairs to
[email protected]
If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTGlobal by sending a blank
mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTGlobal/join
==theZESTcommunity======================================
[1] ZESTCurrent: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCurrent/
[2] ZESTEconomics: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTEconomics/
[3] ZESTGlobal: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTGlobal/
[4] ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/
[5] ZESTPoets: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTPoets/
[6] ZESTCaste: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/
[7] ZESTAlternative: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTAlternative/
[8] TalkZEST: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TalkZEST/
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTGlobal/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
