Trace your roots in India

Indian Heritage Month – May – sees an increased interest in the national discussion, especially within the Indo-Trinidadian community, in the ancestral homeland of Indo-Trinidadians - India. In particular the aspect of Indian Genealogy within the Caribbean context is often discussed. Shamushu Deen’s Solving East Indian Roots in Trinidad (1994) put in print a comprehensive methodology in genealogical research of indentured Indian immigrants between 1845-1917. This book provides an effective guide to tracing Indian ancestry within Trinidad. Deen clearly points in the texts the relevant Registers (Ship, Estate, General) as well as other volumes available in the National Archives that can assist tremendously in locating an ancestor. To arrive at the stage of the National Archives however requires before hand a considerable amount of preliminary research within your personal family.

Kierkergaard who wrote, “It is only by looking to the past that we can hope to understand the future”, perhaps best describes the importance of Genealogy. Genealogy is something that each Trinidadian regardless of ethnicity should consider undertaking. Getting started in genealogy, that is searching your family tree, actually begins with understanding your present family better. Most genealogist agree that the first thing you need to do, to start searching your family tree, is to talk to your family. Ask your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, anyone who is willing to share with you.

Generally genealogists agree steps that need to be asked are: 1. When they were born and where, 2. Where did they grow up, 3. When and where they were married, 4. What were their parents names 5. When did their parents marry and where, 6. Where are their parents buried and when did they pass away (name of cemetery), 7. Are there any other family members buried there or close by, 8. Who were their Aunts and Uncles, 9. Do they know when/where they were born, married, lived, buried, 10. Ask them who their oldest living relative is, 11. Make plans to visit this person as soon as possible!

This is probably the most important thing you can do. We need to treasure our old people, for they leave us too fast. I have heard many times, “I always meant to go see her but never got around to it.” When you go carry a notebook, pencil, tape recorder (with fresh batteries), lots of blank tapes, and a camera. Having too many tapes is better than hearing a great story and having the tape run out half way through. Or what if you find out there is a great Aunt living close by and have run out of tapes? You can never have enough. When you go to visit, tell the person you are going to record it and place it close. One tape, we have, has some great stories on it but the sound quality is poor and you can barely make out the words.

It is important to ask about all the dates and places but don’t forget to ask for the stories. Write everything down. Even if it seems trivial. That trivial piece of information may just be the clue you need 6 months down the line. Date when and where you got your information. The last first step you will need to do is to transfer all of this information onto family history or pedigree charts or Family Tree software. Also you can begin grouping them by family. It is important to do this as later when you have tons of info you will not have to spend hours looking for where you put a certain record. Organisation is a good thing. There is a substantial number of overseas Indians or descendants of the Indians who left Indian Shores in the early decades of 20th century to such places as the Caribbean, African continent, Mauritius, Fiji etc.

The present day generation in the Diaspora nurture a deep urge to know their ancestral roots in India for sentimental reasons. Some of them also wish to contribute to the development of the village and town of their forefathers as a symbol of their sentiments. Efforts have been made in the past by members of the Diaspora to establish the identity of their ancestral villages and to re-establish the social link that was snapped in the distant past. However such endeavours yielded limited results. As such the Government of India has made a tangible step in the form of an interactive website to assist every member of the Indian Diaspora to locate their roots within India if they are interested. This website [http://www.indian-roots.nic.in/] is designed to address the queries from the members of the Indian Diaspora on their ancestral roots in India in a systematic manner, in an interactive mode by developing a database through a questionnaire, transmission of the data to the administrative unit in the relevant district in India.

Contents on this website are provided by Ministry of External Affairs <http://meadev.nic.in> of the Government of India. Port of Embarkation, Ship Name, Place, Date, No in Register, Name, Father’s Name, Age, Caste, Name of Next of Kin, If married, name of wife/husband, District Village or Town and Mohalla. Further the Department of Asia, Pacific & Africa Collections is the focus within the British Library for collecting and providing access to material relating to all the cultures of the regions within Asia including India. This includes all records of Indians who served officials during the British occupation of India.

This provides another excellent source of genealogical information.. Apart from its vast library collections, the department also houses the archives of the India Office Library and Records, which reflect the territorial interests and activities of the East India Company and the India Office, and include literature and documents on India, Pakistan, Burma, Bangladesh and neighbouring countries, Iran and the Gulf states, South Africa, St Helena, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, China and Japan.