Indian Arrival Day
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Indian Arrival Day is a holiday celebrated on May 30 in Trinidad and Tobago. It commemorates the arrival of the first Indentured labourers from India to Trinidad, in May 1845, on the ship Fatel Razack. It was first celebrated (under the name Indian Emigration Day) in 1945 in conjunction with the hundredth anniversary of Indian arrival. During the 1970s it was celebrated annually on a small scale by various religious and cultural organisations with the first national observance taking place in 1979. In conjunction with the 150th anniversary of Indian arrival, then Prime Minister Patrick Manning declared it a national holiday in 1994. Originally given the name Arrival Day, it was re-named Indian Arrival Day in 1995. This entailed some controversy, with opponents of the name-change claiming that holidays should not be restricted to a single ethnic group. However, supporters of the change pointed out that the day was meant to celebrate Indian arrival, and had existed long before government intervened to proclaim it a national holiday.
Since its establishment in Trinidad, Indian Arrival Day has given rise to similar celebrations in Guyana, Jamaica, Britain, the United States, Canada, and Australia.
The importation of Indians as indentured labourers spanned the period 1845-1917. During this period over 140,000 people were transported to Trinidad, generally in cramped conditions in small ships. They served a 5-7 year indenture, after which they were promised passage back to India. Those who remained in Trinidad are the ancestors of the Indo-Trinidadian community (40.3% of the population; 1990 census) and a substantial (but unquantified) portion of the mixed-race population (18.4% of the population).