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 in spite 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 PanditPatesriTewarie left Prattapur in present day Siddharth Nagar UP close to the end of indentureship in 1906. My Father ShankaracharyaPandit 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 after PanditPatesrieTewarie left his home in India.