Protection of Traditional Knowledge

Indian Arrival Day commemorative magazine 2002

Indo-Caribbean Cultural Council (ICC) is pleased to announce the publication and sale of its latest magazine commemorating Indian Heritage Month (May 2002). The theme of the magazine marking the arrival of Indians from India to Trinidad during Indentureship (1845-1917) is Protection of Traditional Knowledge. Descendants of these immigrants now comprise about half the population of multi-ethnic Trinidad and Tobago (1.3million).

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) defines traditional knowledge as information in a community that is transmitted orally from generation to generation that has not been documented. The custodians of this traditional knowledge are often our elders, and when they pass on, their wealth of knowledge perishes with them. For the Indian community, the oral tradition is a part of their daily lives, even in this electronic age. Without this tradition, they would be set adrift in a perilous sea of foreign airwaves.

June 2002

11 x 8 ½ inches

58 pages with advertisements and articles

ISSN 1683-4143

Glossy pages and cover

The oral tradition of Indians in the Caribbean [editorial] By Dr Kumar Mahabir
Messages from Government Ministers - Prime Minister, Minister of Culture, Minister of Community Development
What is Traditional Knowledge? By Professor Michael Blakeney
India Came to the Caribbean By Aleena Ali
Indian Arrival Day- A Journey to Tomorrow By Wendy Ramkerrysingh
Crossing the kala paani [dark waters] to the Caribbean By Lena Chandool
Indians and Africans came on the same ship By Kathryn L. Beard
Want to trace your roots to India? By Desh Deepak Verma
Will Indian Arrival Day ever be a holiday in Guyana? By Ravi Dev
Similarities between Indians in Trinidad and Fiji By Dr. Beatrice Boufoy-Bastick
Celebrating 50 years of Maha Sabha progress By D. Parsuram Maharaj
The failure of Indian leadership in the Caribbean By Vishnu Bissram
Early Indians in law By Atta K.O. Kujifi
The Hosay massacre in Trinidadian 1884 By Dr. Neil A. Sookdeo
Creating a catalogue of Indo-Caribbean Writers By Gary Girdhari
Finding a Place - the Indo-Trinidadian Contribution to Literature, 1850-1950 By Dr. Kris Rampersad
Sundar Popo - a true true Trinidadian By Chandra Juppy
In the defence of daal [spli tpeas] By Kamla Williams
"Becoming More Indian" By Bunny Rambhajan
The Struggle [poem] By Cindy Ramsagar
Indian Woman [poem] By Renatta Tulsie
In Honour of East Indian Arrival Day [poem] By Cynthia Hinkson
The way we were [short story] By Father Michael Makhan
Indian culture in architecture By Dr. Carolyn V. Prorok
Radha gets ready for high school [short story] By Sonah Nagassar
The medicinal uses of katahar/ kowa/ jack fruit By Dr Kumar Mahabir
Space for all in the media By Anand Ramlogan

Kumar Mahabir

is a full-time anthropologist at the University of Guyana (UG) and Fellow of The Eccles Centre for American Studies, British Library (2022-23). He is a former Assistant Professor at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT). He obtained his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Florida (UF). As a doctoral student, he won a Florida Caribbean Institute Award, an A. Curtis Wilgus Grant, and an Organization of American States (OAS) Fellowship.
Mahabir received a National Award (Hummingbird Silver Medal) for his contribution to education in his country in 2011. He was among 50 recipients who received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the UWI Alumni Association.
Mahabir is the author of 12 books to date.