for

INDO-CARIBBEAN

CULTURAL

Swami Avenue

Don Miguel Road , San Juan

Trinidad and Tobago , West Indies

Tel: (868) 674-6008  Tel/fax: (868) 675-7707

April 14, 2004

On October 30, 1884 , 16 Indians were killed and over 100 were injured in a hail of police bullets fired at a Hosay procession in San Fernando , Trinidad . Among the casualties were women and children in the religious procession.

The nation was stunned in disbelief. The Colonial Office scrambled to prevent British India from learning the gory details of this vicious attack. 

This tragedy is known historically as the The Muharram Massacre of 1884 and is described by historian Dr. Kelvin Singh as the bloodiest event of British rule in colonial Trinidad .

In the wake of industrial strikes in Trinidad in the 1880s, the colonial authorities had set about to prevent the continuance of Hosay as a grand, island-wide multi-racial procession led by Indians.

The latest petition restricting the staging of Hosay was met with dismay and indignation. Armed with courage and determination, indentured Indian celebrants ignored the ban and took to the streets in their annual religious procession.

Their resistance was met with batons and bullets from British soldiers and marines.

Older Indo-Trinidadians still re-live the trauma of that tragedy in their memory.

The Indo-Caribbean Cultural Council (ICC) is inviting writers to submit their work for publication in its Indian Arrival Day 2004 magazine.

This Indian heritage day, which commemorates the arrival of indentured labourers from India to Trinidad and Tobago (1845-1917), will be observed as a national holiday on Friday Sunday 30, 2004.

The theme of the magazine is protests and other forms of resistance during Indentureship.

This year’s (2004) magazine seeks to commemorate the 120^th anniversary of the 1884 Hosay massacre.

Writers who wish to express their views on cultural topics, socio-political issues, current events, or any other subject relevant to the historical theme of this magazine are asked to submit their material in the form of articles, reviews, short stories and poems.

The deadline for submission of original articles not exceeding 1,000 words is April 30, 2004 .

Writers can e-mail their submissions to mahab@tstt.net.tt or post them in a hardcopy format to ICC, Swami Avenue , Don Miguel Road , San Juan , Trinidad and Tobago , West Indies .

Submissions should contain a suggested title and a short biography of the author(s).

Pieces should be written for a general audience.

Writers will be paid for each item published.

The copyright of each item belongs to the individual author(s).

Writers should state that they have given permission to ICC to reproduce their material for the Indian Arrival Day magazine.

The editor reserves the right to edit submissions for clarity, length and libel.
 
Writers who wish to advertise their books, businesses or other services should ask for additional information.

ICC is an educational non-profit organization dedicated to publishing a bi-annual magazine on issues, events and experiences affecting the lives of Hindus and Indians in the Caribbean .

Sincerely,

……………………………………….

Dr Kumar Mahabir (Editor)

Tel (868) 675-7707. Tel/fax 674-6008. Cellular 756-4961.

E-mail: mahab@tstt.net.tt