Local business owners of Indian descent express interest in dual citizenship

Some business owners of East Indian descent in Trinidad and Tobago hope to apply for dual citizenship in their ancestral homeland, after an offer from India’s government, a local community leader  said yesterday. “The main desire of the businessmen is to be in an advantageous position to do business with India,” said Deokinanan Sharma, president of the National Council of Indian Culture. Sharma, a Hindu pundit, said some “may want the dual citizenship out of a sense of cultural affinity with the ancestral home, but it’s really Indian businessmen who want to trade with India and feel the dual citizenship will help.”

The government of India is offering citizenship to people of Indian origin in 16 countries, including the United States, Canada, Britain and several European countries, according to RS Rawad, Information Officer for India’s High Commission in Port-of-Spain. East Indians first arrived in Trinidad in 1845 as indentured labourers on sugar plantations. They now comprise about 40 percent of the population of more than 1.2 million, while those of African descent make up a similar number and those of mixed heritage make up much of the remainder.