...is what many in T&T want to do.
Indian Arrival Day was celebrated long before it was designated a National holiday;
Indian Arrival Day was celebrated without miserly funding from the State;
INDIAN ARRIVAL DAY WILL ALWAYS BE CELEBRATED WHETHER THEY TAKE THE WORD
"INDIAN" from "INDIAN ARRIVAL DAY" or whether they take away the holiday or
leave as is; or whether they provide grants or not...
WHO ELSE ARRIVED ON MAY 30th? Why is the Prime Minister praising Indians in T&T yet in the next paragraph of this speech he wants "Arrival Day", not "Indian Arrival Day"? doublespeak...confused people...
What is it with the word "Indian" that bothers them?
Here are two excellent articles on this topic.
Sunday Newsday Editor, Vashty Maharaj:
"....I would suggest to Mr Manning that if he designates a thanksgiving day he can then let go of his reluctance to utter and accept the use of the word “Indian” in Indian Arrival Day. He can then find a way to learn to accept that Indian Arrival Day is a reality and will exist for some time in the future, long after he has died and gone to his heaven, or his hell, depending on how good a boy he has been in this life...
The worst thing the Government could do is to attempt to turn back the clock and return to the original “Arrival Day”. There is a reason that Indo-Trinidadians fought long and hard for a day dedicated to their presence and it has nothing to do with ego or racism or even being race-proud. It has instead, to do with a cry from the heart for acceptance, a reaching out to the wider society and saying “see us, hear us, accept us and allow us to honour our forefathers and foremothers for what they brought to this country that we happily call home.”
Andre Bagoo in Sunday Newsday:
But, a supporter of “Indian Arrival Day” would say, if we were to remove the “Indian” on the basis of living in a multi-cultural society, then by the same token, we should remove all religious holidays. The supporter would have a good point. Why should there be so many Christian holidays like Corpus Christi, for instance, when the majority of the population have no idea what they signify?
An opponent of “Indian Arrival Day” might be reluctantly swayed by this and concede that if the “Indian” goes then so too must most of the religious holidays.
