Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani – Pandit Maniedeo Persad Managing Director ieTV Trinidad. High Commissioner of Trinidad and Tobago to India 2003-2010
Many Trinidadians of Indian Origin hold India in high esteem and feel a sense of belonging and deep kinship even in cases where there are no traceable family connections.
As India celebrates its Independence day 2021 inspite of the setbacks and challenges presented by the COVID Pandemic India continues to hold a special place in the heart of many. The donation of vaccines earlier by the Modi Government to Trinidad and Tobago was a gesture of friendship that our country appreciates.
We join in applauding India on its continued development.
I wish to just focus on a cultural and emotional angle rather than economic at this time. The system of immigration to the Caribbean has been written on extensively and there are many examples of Trinidadians tracing their villages of origin and also connecting with their Indian families in India. In my own case it was quite an emotional moment. My grandfather Pandit Patesri Tewarie left Prattapur in present day Siddharth Nagar UP close to the end of indentureship in 1906. My Father Shankaracharya Pandit Hari Prasad and I were born in Trinidad . As fate would have it my son Kavish was born in New Delhi in 2006 , while my family lived there during my tenure as Trinidad and Tobago High Commissioner , 100 hundred years afterafter Pandit Patesrie Tewarie left his home in India.
Former Prime Ministers Basdeo Panday, Mrs Kamla Persad Bissessar, prominent Businessman Balliram Maharaj and a number of other nationals of Trinidad and Tobago have connected with their Indian families. But the majority of Indian origin persons today have not been able or have not tried to connect with their Indian family. Yet in their hearts love for Varansi, Rameshwaram, Ganga , Ayodhya Mathura and other sites in India hold special attraction. The Ramayan, Bhagwad Gita, Bollywood and Indian culture and traditions remain ingrained.
While Trinidadian, fully patriotic to our country, we have a deep abiding love, respect and yearning for the traditions and values that have been transmitted through generations that connect us with India.
Colonialisation has destroyed facets of our being, for example we are now English speaking even in our homes, but I believe indentureship has created the unintended consequence of spreading Indian Culture and values wherever people went.
With every achievement of India, we feel joy and we are also pained by the challenges and it is not fueled by personal family connections in most cases but by a connection in our hearts and being that has been preserved. That link with India for many is deep and abiding through generations.
On behalf of all of us in Trinidad we look forward to continued growth and development in the relations between both our Countries.
Happy 75th Independence to the Government and People of India.
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