Dear Editor,
The unthinkable expropriation of the Indian Immigration Fund (INIMF) by the government in 1971 has incurred the resentment of Indo-Guyanese leaders who described that callous act against Indian immigrants and their descendants as unconscionable and insensitive. The Indian Immigration Fund was established by Labor Ordinance, Chapter 104 in 1864. The purpose of the INIMF was to facilitate the recruitment of Indian immigrants to work on sugar plantations and to provide for their repatriation at the end of indenture. Notwithstanding the clear objectives of the INIMF, as well as the fact that the Special Immigration Fund Committee (SIFC) set up by the government in 1965, had unanimously agreed that the fund be dedicated to the Indian community for educational and cultural projects, the government rejected the SIFC’s recommendation and unilaterally diverted the funds towards the building of the National Culture Center in preparation for CARIFESTA 1972. At the onset, it is vital that a few conceptual issues be clarified.
While 238,909 Indian immigrants landed in Guyana between 1838 and 1917, less then 1/3 (N=75,898 or 31.8%) of them returned to India. Most immigrants (68.2%) chose to make Guyana their home. Contrary to the view expressed by critics, Professor Lomarsh Roopnarine states that only 3.2% of Indian immigrants received land in lieu of return passages. And Indo-Guyanese have not been opposed to CARIFESTA nor the building of a National Culture Center (NCC), but they insisted that funds for NCC must come from general revenues and not from INMIF. While Indo-Guyanese have been demanding restorative justice to atone for a grievous historical wrong perpetrated against their fore-parents and their descendants, not many Guyanese are aware of this struggle. A major reason is that most Guyanese (at least 8 in every 10) who reside in Guyana, are not aware of the seizure of the dedicated INIMF because they were not yet born. The current administration must address this burning issue; bring it to closure; and thus end this unhappy chapter of Indian immigration and indentureship.
Sincerely,
Dr Tara Singh