Hindus urged to apply to SWMCOL

SWMCOL/CEPEP strong man Executive Chairman Ray Brathwaite revealed after the debacle at Crowne Plaza on Friday March 26 involving the unwarranted treatment of members of the Shouter Baptist faith that SWMCOL had paid for the event. This is indeed laudable action by SWMCOL. Many in the field of Indian culture were however very surprised that SWMCOL engages in such acts of charity to cultural and religious groups. SWMCOL as a supporter of religious and cultural organisations is perhaps the best kept secret in the nation. One can only now wonder what other State agencies have been providing similar support in secret. Perhaps we can soon also discover that NEDCO, the Board of Inland Revenue, WASA and other such agencies supporting particular religious and cultural expressions in a similar clandestine manner.

It is unlikely that any Indian or Hindu event has ever been similarly sponsored by SWMCOL. Indeed now that SWMCOL has been exposed via this unfortunate act, all Hindu groups and Indian cultural groups must now begin to apply to SWMCOL for consideration for funding of their projects. Many within the Indian community now suspect that such support as evidenced by SWMCOL is nothing but another in the political arsenal to secure support for the ruling administration as is the case with CEPEP and other such government projects.

Many State agencies present to the Indian cultural expression a virtual brick wall with little or often no funding support. Sri Satnarayan Maharaj Secretary General of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha has made this assertion about the lack of support for Indian culture in Trinidad and Tobago over the past two decades. The SDMS has been the most vocal and stood alone on this issue, however within recent times other Indian groups have joined the SDMS bandwagon.

In the recent years the leadership of Divali Nagar and the Kendra has also began to complain publicly about being excluded from receiving state resources to promote Indian culture. The Indian community has long felt that their contributions via taxation are not properly reflected in the State allocation for Indian culture. The Ministry of Culture is viewed as a Ministry that promotes only Afro-Trinidadian culture. Many State agencies, and private corporations have taken their cue from what is considered as the official and national culture that excludes Indian culture or at best minimises it. Yet despite the ignoring of Indian culture by the State, Indian culture has persisted in Trinidad due to the support by the Indian community.

This however does not absolve the State to its obligation to the majority of the population of Trinidad who are Indo-Trinidadians. This abandonment by the State to address Indian cultural development in an equitable manner has contributed significantly towards the Indian community developing strong feelings of alienation and marginalisation. Under the second Manning Administration the Ministry of Culture influenced by Senator Satish Ramroop, Minister Pennelope Beckles, and Minister Eudine Job-Davis, Indian culture was at least receiving some minimal degree of attention. However in the recent times support for Indian culture appears to be have dissipated within the Ministry of Culture.

It has been articulated in some quarters that if there were to be a violent confrontation in Trinidad and Tobago it will not be over education, race, religion, discrimination or jobs but in fact over culture. Indeed Professor Samuel Huntington’s “Clash of Civilisations” (Simon and Schuster, 1998) will be played out in Trinidad. Many plural nations across the globe have recognised this and have taken the required steps to ensure that the various communities within its national borders feel they belong to one nation. The time has come for Trinidad and Tobago to seriously consider disbanding the divisive Ministry of Culture and consider a Ministry of Multiculturalism.

There are many models of Multiculturalism practiced in many plural societies that Trinidad and Tobago can study and adapt. One such model that is worth considering is the Canadian model of multiculturalism. In 1971, Canada was the first country in the world to adopt multiculturalism as an official policy. By so doing, Canada affirmed the value and dignity of all Canadian citizens regardless of their racial or ethnic origins, their language, or their religious affiliation. Canadian multiculturalism is fundamental to the Canadian belief that all citizens are equal.

Multiculturalism attempts to ensure that all citizens can keep their identities, can take pride in their ancestry and have a sense of belonging. Acceptance gives Canadians a feeling of security and self-confidence, making them more open to, and accepting of, diverse cultures. The Canadian experience has shown that multiculturalism encourages racial and ethnic harmony and cross-cultural understanding, and discourages ghettoisation, hatred, discrimination and violence. Through multiculturalism, Canada recognises the potential of all Canadians, encouraging them to integrate into their society and take an active part in its social, cultural, economic and political affairs.

The Canadian Multiculturalism Act RS, 1985, c. 24 (4th Supp.) preamble states that it is an “Act for the preservation and enhancement of multiculturalism in Canada” and “the Constitution of Canada recognises the importance of preserving and enhancing the multicultural heritage of Canadians” The Canadian Human Rights Act further “provides that every individual should have an equal opportunity with other individuals to make the life that the individual is able and wishes to have, consistent with the duties and obligations of that individual as a member of society, and, in order to secure that opportunity, establishes the Canadian Human Rights Commission to redress any proscribed discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of race, national or ethnic origin or colour.”

Canada is also party to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which Convention recognises that all human beings are equal before the law and are entitled to equal protection of the law against any discrimination and against any incitement to discrimination, and to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Covenant provides that persons belonging to ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities shall not be denied the right to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion or to use their own language.