Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Trinidad and Tobago tonight in the second leg of his five-nation visit. Mr. Modi will hold talks with the President of Trinidad and Tobago, Christine Carla Kangaloo, and Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, and discuss further strengthening of bilateral relations in Port of Spain. During his visit, Prime Minister Modi is expected to address a Joint Session of Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago and also scheduled to address the India Diaspora.
Let’s look into the deep and historic relations between India and Trinidad and Tobago. The relationship between the two countries started way back in 1845, when the first ship, Fatal Razack, carrying 225 Indian indentured workers or what we call Girmitya, reached the shores of Trinidad, a British Colony at that time.
Akashvani Correspondent reports that the descendants of the Girmit workers, now the 5th, 6th generations, form nearly 42% of the total population of Trinidad & Tobago today. They constitute an integral part of the economic, political and social fabric of the country. It is worth noting that the Prime Minister and President of Trinidad & Tobago both associate themselves as Indian descendants. Senator to T&T and President to National Council for Indian Culture, Sh Deorrrp Teemal, during a talk with Akashvani, mentioned that around 145 thousand workers from India came to T&T under the Girmit system.
This historical connection between the generations has been kept alive through the cultural and traditional link between the nations. From the bustling Divali Nagar celebrations to the scent of curry drifting through Chaguanas markets, Indian culture is vibrantly woven into the national fabric. Bollywood music plays on the radio. Hindi words mix with Creole. And Ramleela lights up villages during the festival season. High Commission of India to T&T calls it heartening to see the scale of celebration of major Indian festivals in T&T.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit will lay the foundation for greater cooperation in terms of trade, defence, and digital transformation. It is also an occasion to rejuvenate the spiritual connection that Trinidadians feel with India. In other words, like Senator Deoroop Teemal’s emphasis that T&T is their motherland but Bharat is his PunyaBhoomi.
As India and Trinidad & Tobago reconnect through this long-awaited high-level visit, the Indian diaspora here remains a living bridge, rooted in memory, spirituality, values and way of life.
