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GUADELOUPE, FRANCE, January 23, 2005: Guadeloupe in the French West Indies brought a whole 2004 year of commemoration to the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first Indian indentured workers in 1854 to a close by inaugurating a First Day monument in the business capital, Pointe-a-Pitre, near the spot where the first Indians arrived between 1854 and 1889.



The plaque on the monument carries an eloquent and very pedagogical text, which is a must, considering that no mention of the history of the Indians and their contribution had been made so far in the (made in France) school textbooks.



The plaque reads: “On December 24, 1854, the sailing ship Aurelie, after a dreadful three-month passage, disembarked on this spot 314 East Indians, requested by the Colony to cope with the loss of labour resulting from the abolition of slavery in 1848. Thus began a long period of transplantation that brought 42,326 east Indians to Guadeloupe, among which 24,891 were to perish, particularly because of the ill-treatment they received, and 9.460 returned to India. In memory and homage to the contribution of those from India who founded the multicultural Guadeloupe of yesterday and today, the Regional Council, the General Council, the City of Pointe-a-Pitre, in accord with the Bharat-a-Gua Federation, have erected this First Day monument, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first Indians in Guadeloupe.”



The work of Indrajeet Sahadev, an Indian-born sculptor residing in France where the work was done, the more than 600-kilogram bronze monument is a combination of symbolic representations of the long Kalapani journey, a boat with Ganesha’s figure at the prow, masts with Siva’s trident and damaru, obliquely sectioned at the top into the form of a golden OM. The art piece has a circular lotus mandala as the base, the whole block resting on a marble yantra. On the four sides of the rectangular base block are figured a conch, a golden sun with the date 1854 in the middle, and sugar cane shoots – the bitter reason that brought the Indians to the island. The auspicious Indian symbol for water turns out to be also the letter G, representing the universal master, Ganesha, as well as the initial of Guadeloupe, formely named Kalaoukera, island of beautiful waters, by the original, now decimated, Amerindian inhabitants.



As Dr. Henry Bangou, mayor of the city and a historian, and the other official speakers said, the Indians’ contribution to the evolution of Guadeloupe and its whole population is incalculable, and today they are to be found in all sectors of activity, from agriculture to politics. Their painful integration, in spite of all the hardships and persecutions, is considered today a success, due to their non-violent attitudes and determination at work. But it was achieved at great expense – the loss of their original languages from South and North India to French and Creole, the forced abandon of their religion to Catholicism, and of their culture to Europeanization. However, they have influenced the local cuisine, costume and folklore. Many cultural associations, under the federative banner of Bharat-a-Gua (“from India to Guadeloupe”) are reawakening the Indian awareness and the rituals kept in clandestinity across time are revived, and scholarly research documents the past. Curiously enough, people of all, Indian, or mixed ethnic backgrounds are attracted and participate in the activities.



Scheduled for December 23rd, 2004, the inauguration took place on January 23rd, 2005, due to an earthquake in Guadeloupe. After the official discourses and the unveiling of the monument at the sound of the “tapu” (a flat indian tambourine drum), flower petals were thrown by everyone present, Indian or mixed or not, at the nearby sea with moving prayers that the offering may reach the ancestors, across the sea of time. Pictures and text of the event can be seen on the blog of our friend Sharad JS Sahai at “source.” Visitors are kindly requested to please leave their comments!

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