Another call to replace Trinity Cross

PUNDIT Deokienanan Shar-ma, president of the National Council of Indian Culture (NCIC), feels that the Trinity Cross as the nation’s highest award, should be replaced by a symbol that truly  represents the plural society of the country.  He said that was one of the reasons “why the NCIC has not been recommending anyone for national awards.”

He was speaking at the Indian Arrival Day celebrations of the NCIC, on Friday evening, which was well-supported by the New India Assurance Company Limited, at the Divali Nagar Site, and in the presence of Prime Minister Patrick Manning when he made the point forcefully. He noted that the Trinity Cross had a Christian connotation and that it was not truly representative of the population of the country and he could not understand why the powers that be were so reluctant in changing it. It was damaging to the country where  people of various races and religions have been living together for many years, he said.

Pundit Sharma also called for a review of the allocation of State resources for East Indian cultural groups across the country, in relation to what others receive, and said that Indo-Trinidadians constitute a substantial portion of the citizenry and the time had come for a more equitable distribution of funds to assist the growth and development of East Indian cultural heritage in Trinidad and Tobago. Virendra Gupta, Indian High Commissioner, said that India and Trinidad and Tobago had a long, rich history of cultural and economic exchanges and he was optimistic that the bonds of friendship between the two countries would grow stronger in years to come.