One of the main organizers of the event, Christelle Gourdine-Mandjiny’s ancestors had gone to Guadeloupe as indentured workers. Now settled in Puducherry and dividing her time between Puducherry and France, Christelle feels a strong connection with Puducherry and its history as the place of departure of Indian emigrants. She was keen to mark the 160th anniversary of the departure of Indian workers to the French island territory.

Muruganandam Mandjiny and Christelle Gourdine-Mandjiny at the Indian Workers memorial in Puducherry

“It was a simple ceremony and our chief guests were Mannar Mannan and G. Bharaty, (son and grandson of the well known Tamil poet Bharatidasan, who opposed the French colonial administration in Pondicherry). The students of Bless Boarding School, who are children of migrant workers from Andhra Pradesh lit candles and sang songs. We explained the story of migration to the audience,” Christelle explained.

“Our association goals are to commemorate each year our ancestors’ departure from Puducherry, Karikal or Kolkata, to create awareness about this history among the French and Indian people and to promote the local culture: poetry, folk music and dance, etc.”

Guadeloupe is a group of tiny islands in the western Caribbean and is an overseas territory of France. As one of the 26 regions of France, Guadeloupe is part of the European Union. The Indian community forms just over 10 per cent of the population of Guadeloupe. From 1854 to 1889, 93 ships sailed from Indian ports carrying 42326 Indian workers to Guadeloupe. According to Christelle, while indentured workers in the British Caribbean colonies had the right to return to India after five years, it was practically impossible to return from Guadeloupe. The French authorities used various means to prevent their return as it was too expensive. Indians were forced to give up their culture, tradition, language as well as their religion. Some people tried to maintain their rituals and traditions in secret.

In the past few years there has been a revival of the old religious traditions and Indian culture of songs and dance; most of which have a strong similarity with the songs and dance traditions in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu. “I decided to organise the commemoration of the departure from India with the participation of the local people as it’s their history too. Some people know about the emigration to Mauritius and Reunion Island but very few are aware about the West Indies,” Christelle said. She hopes to make it an annual remembrance of a migration that links the people of Guadeloupe and Puducherry.

—Courtesy: www.theindiandiaspora.com