Indo-Caribbeans in the United States - Written by Karna Bahadur Singh
After the abolition of African slavery in 1836, Asian Indians were brought to work as indentured laborers on European-owned colonial sugar plantations in Caribbean islands, such as Trinidad and Jamaica, and South American mainland countries, Guyana and Suriname. Their descendants, called Indo-Caribbeans, make up the majority populations in Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad. Since the 1960s, in a second wave of migration due to economic and political upheavals, many people fled to the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands and Canada.
Migration, economic and political turmoil, poverty and exploitation have deeply scarred the Indo-Caribbean experience and ways of life. All things “coolie”, from food to spirituality, were scorned for generations by colonial and neo-colonial establishments; there was no interest or effort to understand the millennia of human experience and wisdom that created East Indian ways of life.
Rich varieties of culture and arts were brought to the New World from India by the indentured laborers. The majority of them came from the Hindi and Bhojpuri language region of northern India, modern Bihar and Uttar Pradesh; a much smaller group were from the Madras Tamil language region of southern India, modern Tamil Nadu. East Indians of Suriname continue to speak Hindi in everyday life, while in Trinidad and Guyana an English Creole vernacular with a strong Indic vocabulary replaced ancestral languages.
While absorbing diverse non-Indian influences in the social and cultural matrix of the region – European, African, popular American – the Indo-Caribbean people continue to cherish and nurture expressions of their ancestral heritage. The end of colonialism, the recession of an aggressive Eurocentricism, and a growing awareness of the global value of the cultural heritage have created a more nourishing environment for Indo-Caribbeans to preserve and share their traditions.
In the United States, Asian Indians from the South American/Caribbean region are called Indo-Caribbeans. Most of them live in the New York metropolitan and Tri-state area, with the highest concentration in the South Queens District (Richmond Hill, Ozone Park/Jamaica) and the Bronx (Grand Concourse/Castlehill districts). More recently, the Indo-Caribbean immigrant community in the U.S. has overcome the initial phase of disruption caused by immigration, and is rejuvenating its cultural and artistic life.
After the abolition of African slavery in 1836, Asian Indians were brought to work as indentured laborers on European-owned colonial sugar plantations in Caribbean islands, such as Trinidad and Jamaica, and South American mainland countries, Guyana and Suriname. Their descendants, called Indo-Caribbeans, make up the majority populations in Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad. Since the 1960s, in a second wave of migration due to economic and political upheavals, many people fled to the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands and Canada.
Migration, economic and political turmoil, poverty and exploitation have deeply scarred the Indo-Caribbean experience and ways of life. All things “coolie”, from food to spirituality, were scorned for generations by colonial and neo-colonial establishments; there was no interest or effort to understand the millennia of human experience and wisdom that created East Indian ways of life.
Rich varieties of culture and arts were brought to the New World from India by the indentured laborers. The majority of them came from the Hindi and Bhojpuri language region of northern India, modern Bihar and Uttar Pradesh; a much smaller group were from the Madras Tamil language region of southern India, modern Tamil Nadu. East Indians of Suriname continue to speak Hindi in everyday life, while in Trinidad and Guyana an English Creole vernacular with a strong Indic vocabulary replaced ancestral languages.
While absorbing diverse non-Indian influences in the social and cultural matrix of the region – European, African, popular American – the Indo-Caribbean people continue to cherish and nurture expressions of their ancestral heritage. The end of colonialism, the recession of an aggressive Eurocentricism, and a growing awareness of the global value of the cultural heritage have created a more nourishing environment for Indo-Caribbeans to preserve and share their traditions.
In the United States, Asian Indians from the South American/Caribbean region are called Indo-Caribbeans. Most of them live in the New York metropolitan and Tri-state area, with the highest concentration in the South Queens District (Richmond Hill, Ozone Park/Jamaica) and the Bronx (Grand Concourse/Castlehill districts). More recently, the Indo-Caribbean immigrant community in the U.S. has overcome the initial phase of disruption caused by immigration, and is rejuvenating its cultural and artistic life.
* U.S. Census Bureau: South Asian Population:
STILL WAITING FOR THE 2010 RESULTS
A report released in 2003 by the U.S. Census Bureau shows the South Asian population increased by 106% in the U.S. from 1990 to 2000. Asian Indians more than doubled - from 815,447 in 1990 to 1,678,765 - ten years later. The Bangladeshi population rose about two and a half times from 11,838 to 41,280, while the Pakistani population increased from 81,371 to 153,533 in the decade. Sri Lankans went from 10,970 in 1990 to 20,145 in 2000. The Indo-Caribbean population of Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and other CaribbeanIslands represents 20% of US Census Bureau Total South Asian Population.
*Statistics: Permanent and Undocumented Residents, and U.S. Citizens listed as “Other”, not include.
*Statistics: Permanent and Undocumented Residents, and U.S. Citizens listed as “Other”, not include.