Indo-Guyanese

Indo-Guyanese are nationals of Guyana with Indian or other South Asian ancestry. Linguistically they are collectively known as the speakers of the Indo-Aryan Hindustani languages such as Hindi and Urdu. Ethnically, originated from different parts of India, they were a more specifically known as the Indians or Hindi people (People of Hind) ethno/linguistic groups coming primarily from the north-central Indian region of Hind which is located in the Gangetic Plain of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers in North India, between the Himalayas and the Vindhyas. Indo-Guyanese are the largest ethnic group in Guyana identified by the official census, making up 43.45% of the population in 2002.

History

On May 5, 1838, the year of finalized abolition slave emancipation in the British West Indies and the beginning of the indentured labor system, 396 Indian immigrants popularly known as the 'Gladstone Coolies' landed in British Guiana (now Guyana) from Calcutta (now Kolkata). This was the beginning of the indenture system which was to continue for over three-quarters of a century and whose essential features were very reminiscent of slavery. Within a decade Indian immigration was largely responsible for changing the fortunes of the sugar industry, the mainstay of the economy, from the predicted 'ruin' to prosperity.