The massacre of Indians in the 1884 Hosay

Indian Arrival Day commemorative magazine 2004

On October 30, 1884, 22 Indians were killed and over 100 were injured in a hail of police bullets fired at a Hosay procession in San Fernando, Trinidad. The nation was stunned in disbelief. This tragedy 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/Muharram 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.

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May 2004
11 x 8 ½ inches
84 pages with advertisements and articles
ISSN 1683-4143
Glossy pages and cover

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • The 1884 massacre of Indians [editorial]
  • Greetings from the Prime Minister By the Honourable Patrick Manning
  • Greetings from the Minister of Community Development, Culture and Gender Affairs By the Honourable Joan Yuille-Williams
  • Greetings from his The High Commissioner of India By Excellency Virendra Gupta
  • The Hosay massacre - commemorating Indian martyrdom By Dr. Kumar Mahabir
  • Testimonies from court records of the 1884 Hosay massacre [Colonial court transcripts]
  • The Hosay massacre in Trinidad in 1884 By Dr. Neil A. Sookdeo
  • Protesting Indentured Indian women By Moses Seenarine
  • Simboonath Capildeo [New book release]
  • Indians in football By Satnarayan Jaggernauth H.B.M
  • Discover your Indian roots By Satish Rai
  • I dream't of Caroni [poem] By Khem Harrinarine
  • Bombay goes to Broadway [Associated Press Release]
  • The Islamic realities of the Muharram Massacre of 1884 By Daurius Figueira
  • The clash of cultures in Trinidad By Parsuram Maharaj
  • Make May Indian History Month By Ravi ji
  • MAI [poem] By Jacqulin Suepaul
  • The first potter of Chase Village By Dr. Harold Harrinarine
  • The need for a Jahaji Massacre memorial By Devant Maharaj
  • Mere Desh in Trinidad [Festival announcement]
  • Hindi words in Trini English By John Mendes
  • A new way of looking at Caribbean history By Dr. Baytoram Ramharack
  • Lowkee/Bottle Gourd Talkari [recipe]
  • Info Tool - All-In-One Business Reference [New book release] By Vijay Luthra
  • Labour disturbances during Indentureship in Guyana By Dr. Basdeo Mangru
  • Strikes and protest action by indentured labourers By Dr. Ron Ramdin
  • Ancient Indian Ayurvedic Medicine Protected [Brief news item]
  • Indians take over Queens [Brief news item]
  • The persistence of Indian culture in Trinidad By Dr. Gita Bajpai
  • The Indian family in transition By Dr. Simboonath Singh
  • Being Indian in the Caribbean By Ryhaan Shah
  • From Caste to Class [book review] By Rosabelle Seesaran
  • Naipaul and Bissoondath reflect on Indentureship By Dr. John Persaud Rampaul
  • The Panchayat [village court] system in Trinidad By Dr. Harry Ramnath
  • Colonial newspaper articles on the 1884 Hosay massacre [Newspaper items]
  • Anthropologists find ancient habitation in India [Brief news item]
  • Britons getting a curried cheddar [Brief news item]
  • The need for scholarly discussion By Rajiv Malhotra
  • Spicing-up the English Language By Vijay Dutt
  • The medicinal uses of chalta/elephant apple By Dr. Kumar Mahabir
  • Heart to heart [short story] By Kamla Williams