by
Mohan K. Gautam
Part III
IV Phase 1945 -
1990 (and onwards)
This phase has been the landmark in promotion and propagation of
Hindi and its developed form of Sarnami Hindustani in Surinam. There have been so many
reasons responsible for this development. Politically speaking, during the Second World
War Indians were completely exposed to the decision making apparatus of Surinam. It was
further facilitated by their urban migration , their involvement in a new type of business
activities and in the agricultural sector. Now Hindi was not a rural phenomenon but with
the migration to the city of Paramaribo Hindi acquired a status of an urban - national
phenomenon. Suddenly a new type of ethnicity emerged which was not based on religious
background but in a wider sense on the survival of the cultural heritage including
religion, language and culture.
After the end of Second World War Indians in Surinam witnessed a few
very unusual movements. With the policies of Governor Kielstra the Creole got an
impression that Surinam will become an Asian colony and the Creole will be an outcaste.
They became alarmed. With the demographical growth of Indians, the fear of Indian
domination became visible. In order to combat this fear the Creole established an elite
cultural organisation "Unie Suriname" (US, the Union of Surinam). In the
beginning the Board of the Committee had two members from the Indian community, one from
the Chinese community and one from the Javanese community. The organisation advocated
autonomy of Surinam and indirectly warned Creole people from the possible domination of
Asians.
The slogan of the society was "baas in eigen huis" (boss
in one's own house) with an idea not to grant a universal suffrage to Asians. In 1946 the
US was given the name as the National Party of Surinam (NPS) of which J. Pengal in 50s and
60s became the leader. In reaction to the manifesto of the US, Asians also started forming
their political parties. The conflict which was latent during the plantation period became
an open challenge and the political apparatus was used to express power of the group. In
1946 under the guidance of an Indian notary clerk Asgar Karamat Ali, a Muslim Party (MP)
was created. Similarly under the leadership of J. Luchmon a joint party of the Hindustanis
(Indians) and the Javanese was formed and was known as Hindustani-Javanese Central Council
(HJCC). In response to the US it demanded more civil jobs, the removal of the derogatory
term koeli, more agricultural lands, roads, credits, agricultural extension programmes and
asked for a more sympathetic treatment towards Asians. The Creoles opposed the Asian
parties (Azimullah, 1986).
In the same year a retired Hindu policeman Mr. J.D. Ponit founded an
Orange Hindu Religious Organisation (OHRO) and asked for the universal suffrage for all
Surinamis. However, he did not press for the autonomy of Surinam. At the same time a
Catholic priest Father Weidman set up a Progressive Surinam's Peoples Party (PSV). Seeing
the political developments Asians jointly formed their own Hindustani-Javanese Political
Party (H.J.P.P.) and J. Luchmon became its President.
When in 1948 the law on universal suffrage was passed by the Dutch
government, the number of the electorate increased from 3000 to 90000 voters. But since
the proportional representation was rejected by the new law, in 1949 all three parties of
the Asians merged into a single political party which was known as the Verenigd Hindustans
Party, "The United Indians Party" (VHP). Jagarnath Luchmon held the
Chairmanship while the Vice Chairman was Asgar Karamat Ali and Sri
Misier its Secretary. The party's new slogan was:
Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Isai
Saba haim bhai bhai,
Bharat mata saba ki mai.
Hindi was used not only for slogans but also for graffities,
canvassing, socio-cultural and religious activities. The elections took place in the years
of 1949 and in 1951. The tactics of the canvassing were based on cultural and linguistic
lines. This encouraged the ethnic clusters and divided the Surinamese people on racial
lines. The development has advantages as well as disadvantages for both people, Creole and
Asian. Advantages for Asians were that they became conscious about their cultural identity
and became determined to protect it by all possible means. Disadvantages were that from
now onward a rift between Indians and Creoles emerged, which in later years developed into
a racial hate. One could say that the people of Surinam were divided on ethnic lines. It
also developed many stereotype images and the social distance between them became even
wider. In an example Simon Sanches, the leader of the Creole Army Veterans openly stated
in 1947,
"We Surinamese aren't advancing, the number of Chinese and
British Indians is greater than the number of Creoles...No longer must we tolerate this.
Though it costs us our lives, it has to happen. As long as no blood is shed in Surinam no
change shall come" (Mitrasingh,1959:72).
Such statements were also answered by East Indians. When in the 1949
election NPS appealed that racial or religious ideologies be avoided in the election
campaign, Adhin rebuked it by saying:
"Why not be sentimental about India? Why not form our own
party? Has the Creole group ever thought of voting for a Hindustani? Have the Hindustani
ever found cooperation among the Creoles?" (Dew, 1978:75).
The formation of the political parties on ethnic lines created
certain fixed images about each group the Indians image about the Creole was that they
have "aggressive behaviour" and are "authoritarian , lazy and parasitic
dependent people", while the attitude of the Creole towards the Indians was that they
are "economically offensive and refuse to assimilate" into the mainstream of
Surinam (Speckmann, 1963; Renselaar, 1963). Such attitudes also entered and spread in the
Netherlands.
In 1950 a society wie egie sani (our own things) was created by Eddy
Bruma, an intellectual student in Amsterdam who advocated the Creole cultural aspirations
of Surinam and declared that the Indians should not involve themselves with the politics
of Surinam. In the decade of 50s the decolonization was a new wind in the society which
inspired the Creole intellectuals to emphasize the value of Creole culture in Surinam.
Suddenly Sranan Tongo became the communicative language and was given the status of the
national language of Surinam. In 1959 on the national level in Surinam a few members of
the society created another society a National Movement of Surinam (NMS) which after two
years was changed into a new name, the Party of National Republic (PNR). PNR was inspired
by the revolution of Fiedel Castro of Cuba. It was not only nationalistic but also
anti-imperial and anti-colonial. Reaction to the PNR's political activities was the
establishment of an Action Group (AG) of Indians which openly stated that if independence
is procured the Creole will govern and dominate the country and impose their own ways on
the Indian culture. During the years of 1959 and 1961 a survey disclosed that 63% of the
East Indians were negative to Creoles while 83% of Creoles were negative towards Indians.
The positive attitude of Indians was 9.5% while 3% was of Creoles (Bakker, Dalhuisen,
Hasankhan and Steegh, 1994:137). To some extent the racial conflicts in Guyana were also
responsible for such negative attitudes. These attitudes in fact divided Indians and
Creoles and thereby a distance in their social relations grew constantly and in the 70s
and 80s it developed into an open racial conflicts.
During the period of 1957 and 1967 due to the alliances between
Indians (VHP) and Creoles (PNP) Surinam to some extent enjoyed a normal life. There was
the coalition government. Several issues were solved such as the national holidays, coat
of arms, national insignia, national flag and the national anthem. This was the period of
verbroedering (brotherhood) where both parties not only shared power but also thought for
a future of Surinam. The Indian community widely used Hindi and Hindustani in their
day-to-day conversation and in political dialogues. In one of the political events when
the Indian leaders delivered their speeches in Dutch and in Sranan Tongo, the crowed
resented and demanded from their political leaders to give speeches only in Hindi (Dew
op.cit.:129). Hindi, actually became an instrument for the Indian nationalism.
Again in the 1967 election East Indians demanded the proportional
representation. In the mean time the VHP changed its name but kept the same abbreviations.
It was known as Vatan Hitkari Party (VHP, Party for the Social Welfare of the country).
The VHP with its new name and changed ideology warned the electorates that if the hands of
VHP are not strengthened the Creole will destroy the Indian culture. The temples will be
converted into grain warehouses and their daughters will be taken away by them. The ideas
were easy to grasp specially in Nickeri which had witnessed the drastic changes of their
neighbouring country Guyana. In the election of 1969 the VHP and PNP alliance got the
majority votes and were elected to share power in a coalition government. But with the
country-wide unrest in Surinam the government was fallen. In 1970 with the sudden demise
of the PNP leader Pengal the leadership was changed.
The new PNP leader was Henk Aron. In contrast to the statement of
Luchmon that at least for the coming 25 years Surinam should wait for independence, Henk
Aron made it clear that by 1974 Surinam should attain its freedom. This created a very
tense situation and distrust became an ongoing phenomenon. In 1973 election, NPK got
elected and the race tensions between Indians and Creoles reached its highest climax. The
rumours that hard times are coming which will destroy the Indian culture and language
spread like a forest fire (Gautam, 1979). In 1971, 62000 Surinamese including 32000
Creoles migrated to the Netherlands. The exodus continued. Luchmon in a meeting of 20000
Indians compared himself to Laksmana, the brother of Lord Rama, and openly took an oath to
protect Sita (country) from the destructive forces and to maintain Ramarajya (the ideal
kingdom of Lord Rama) in Surinam.
In the Hague a top meeting was called by the Dutch government to
discuss the issue of independence. Luchmon remained adamant of his policy of the VHP that
the independence issue should wait but the socialist government of Den Uyl (Prime
Minister) agreed to grant independence to Surinam. On 25 November 1975 Surinam became a
free country. By now almost 150000 Surinamese had already migrated to the Netherlands. The
majority of the Indians did not want to bargain with the Creole government about their
cultural heritage and language. Some of them found protection in the Netherlands while
others stayed in Surinam and did not leave any effort to see the survival of their
heritage. Hindi continued and also found a new place in the Netherlands.
In the 1977 elections again the NPK of Aron became the victorious
party. The PNR of Bruma did not get any seat. Together with KPTI (Javanese Party), NPK
formed the government. Surinam became the member state of the United States and also the
member of the Organisation of the American States. Although before independence the
Netherlands had promised an aid packet of f.3.5 milliard Guldens to Surinam which would be
spread over 10 to 15 years on the economic activities, this did not create any extra
fruitful results in Surinam. In the beginning the things were not visible but as the time
passed people felt the pinch of financial shortage. In reality Surinam imported more from
the Netherlands. It created an imbalance in the financial market. Seeing the difficulties
the KTPI withdrew its support from the coalition government and the NPK was left with only
one seat in majority. Aron declared a new date in March 1980 for a new election.
But before the election should have taken place on 25 February 1980,
the military coup overthrew the government. This coup was the result of the government
pressure on the Moederbond (National Mother Union of Surinam and on the army. During 1979
the army in Surinam had a non-recognised union (BOMIKA, Bond van Militair Kader). When the
army union tried to expend its pressure on the government Aron took action and disbanded
the union. Three of its leaders B. Sital, L.Neerde and R. Abrahams were arrested. Only one
person M. van Roy openly showed his sympathy with the army. The media discarded the acts
of army. Suddenly the name of Desi Bouterse appeared and together with 16 army officers he
created the coup. Most of the ministers were arrested but Aron escaped. During the years
of 1980 and 1987 the army could not improve the economic conditions of Surinam. In the
mean time the Netherlands stopped the aid to Surinam and demanded the democratic
government. When the economic conditions in Surinam became worse the army rule decided to
hold elections.
In 1987 the elections, all the three leaders Aron (NPK), Sumita
(KPTI) and Lachmon (VHP) joined their hands together in working for the restoration of
democracy in Surinam. In the new coalition government Mr. Ramsevak Shankar became
President and Aron became Prime Minister. But again in 1990, due to a certain unpleasant
event at the Amsterdam airport when Desi Bouterse was not given any recognition by the
Dutch government, a coup through telephone was created in Surinam. This time the military
rule did not last for a long time. In 1991 another election was held and democracy in
Surinam was restored. Since then Ronald Venetian is the President of the coalition
government. Since Hindi had been attached to the political party of the Indians it
continued as the source of inspiration to the political leaders and the people in their
formal and in informal roles. Hindi and Sarnami even flourished during these years due to
various unavoidable socio-political factors.
These were the neutrality of the Indian leaders towards the military
rule, their non-involvement in the army affairs, the model of Guyana's race relations, the
cry of the Dutch and western powers for the restoration of democracy, the unity among the
Indian people for a common goal, "the preservation of Indian culture, language,
identity, and cultural heritage", opening of the Indian Culture Centre by the Indian
government, the support by the divided Indian families from the Netherlands and finally
the ongoing conflict between Desi Bouterse and the Jungle Commander Ronie Bruinswijk, who
declared himself as the leader of the Eastern region of Surinam. In 1992 a peace treaty
between Bruinswijk and the government of Surinam was signed. However, with the restoration
of democracy the economic climate in Surinam did not change , rather it became worse. The
strong Surinamese Gulden which in 80s used to fetch f.2,- Dutch Guldens for 1 Surinamese
Gulden, became extremely weak. It resulted in a sort of economic stagnation. Inflation
rose and the prices shoot up and the commodities became scarce and expensive in the
country. The hope of getting the remaining 1.3 milliard Dutch Gulden as an aid which was
promised by the Dutch government during the independence negotiations at The Hague became
a dream. The Dutch did not resume the aid though they gave humanitarian help in the form
of medicines and necessary commodities. The social distrust and racial tensions continued.
The Indians became rich due to their grasp on the agriculture sector and other related
business activities. While the Creoles became poor due to their limited salaries specially
when the value of the Surinamese Gulden dropped to its lowest point.
Though Surinamese Indians were divided and dispersed in the
Netherlands and Surinam they consciously helped each other and gave moral support by using
Hindi and Sarnami. Suddenly Hindi and Sarnami became more religious. The increasing
contacts with India strengthened the linguistic ties with the Indian counter- part regions
in North India. Hindi helped the Indians in forming and preserving their identity. In
Surinam a mushroom growth of schools appeared where Hindi became its central point of
teaching. In 1961 the Indian Council of Cultural Relations opened an Indian Culture Centre
in Paramaribo which attracted many Indians and helped them to revive their culture and to
brush their Hindi. In 1964 Adhin called Hindi, the Sarnami Hindustani.
The works of Rahman Khan (1953; 1954), Shrinivasi (in 60s) and Adhin
(in 60s) inspired the young writers of Surinam. Consequently in 1974 Surinam Hindi
Parishad was established and was recognized by the Indian government and the Wardha Board
of Examinations (India). In 1975 when the First International Hindi Conference at Nagpur
in India was organised it was participated by a strong Surinamese delegation (Biere, 1985;
Singh, 1976).
In 1979 Surinam Hindi Parishad organised its first Hindi Conference
and honoured many Hindi scholars living and posthumous ones. Again in 1982 a Second Hindi
Conference was organised by SHP. In both the conferences importance to Hindi was given as
the vehicle of Indian culture. In the meantime with the nomination of a Hindi scholar Sri
B. P. Sinha as the ambassador of India in the Indian Embassy at Paramaribo, Hindi
seedlings were planted all over Surinam and they started growing. The propagation and
promotion of Hindi was further facilitated by the Hindi press, Hindi magazines, Hindi
films , Hindi music and Hindi literary and religious books. During the Third International
Hindi Conference in New Delhi a big delegation participated in the celebrations.
During the military rule Hindi continued but on a low profile. The
Indian Culture Centre helped the activities of the SHP. After 1987 when the political
climate changed the SHP organised two more Hindi Conferences, one in 1991 and the other in
1993. During this period the Sarnami sympathizers also organised a Sarnami Conference in
Paramaribo. It can be said that during the 70s Hindi and Sarnami gradually developed into
two different languages based on the different roles which the speakers played in various
befitting situations. Shrinivasi was the first poet who composed his poems not only in
Dutch and Hindi but also in Sarnami (1964, 1968, 1970). Jit Narain and other writers
followed the trends (Damsteegt, 1988, 1990, 1993). In working out the Sarnami grammar the
first thesis was written by Sahtoe-Bainath Sah (1975) and was followed by Marhe (1985).
Both were the students of Leiden university and wrote their thesises as a part of their
Master's degree programme under the guidance of Dr. Schokker and Dr. Gautam. In 1978
Surinam also saw a publication of an audio-visual Sarnami course ( Huiskamp, 1978) In the
Netherlands also a grammar was published (Damsteegt and Jit Narain, 1987). With the
gradual publications in Sarnami Hindi was not disrupted. Publications on other areas were
published in Surinam, India and in the Netherlands (Gautam, 1975; Birja and others, 1994).
In the last Fourth Hindi Conference which was held in Paramaribo
Sarnami was given an equal status. However, due to certain emotional reasons some
misunderstanding on the status of Hindi and Sarnami emerged. The proponents of Sarnami
stated openly that Hindi has nothing to do with Sarnami as it is a foreign language in
Surinam. It is true that Sarnami had developed its own literature but in the minds of its
speakers it has always been part of their Hindi which their forefathers had brought it
from the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. To state openly that Hindi is a foreign
language in Surinam is an exaggeration and one-sided view. The majority of the Indians
still think that Hindi is not a foreign language but it is their language.
CONCLUSION
During the immigration period, together with Hindi as part of the
cultural heritage, a Koinezation process in the form of a rudimentary Sarnami tookplace in
Surinam. In the initial years of 1873 and 74 due to very unfortunate factors almost 20% of
Indians died. The Indians on the plantations were completely ignored and were treated
alike the earlier slaves. No grievances were heard. No medical facilities were provided.
No social care was given. The worst was that there was a big communication gap as there
were no interpreters. In despair, considering the Surinami period as only a temporary one,
Indians silently concentrated all their energy on their cultural heritage which they
brought themselves from India. Hindi was used to express sorrows and it became a vehicle
for their escape from the Surinamese miseries. Religion became the centre of their
thoughts. Ramayana was recited in the evenings and in get-togethers. During the
International Exhibition of 1888 in Amsterdam, Dutch Colonial cultures and objects were
exhibited. From Surinam 28 Surinamers were brought in the exhibition and were shown to
Dutch people. In that group there were also Indians who spoke Hindi among themselves. But
as it is reported by the Indians in Surinam (I had my earlier interviews with Hindu Muslim
leaders in 1960's) even in the Netherlands they were labeled as the "coolie"
people.
In 1890s coolie schools taught Hindi to the children of the Indian
labourers. But somehow or other these schools were closed down. Later on some other
schools started where together with Hindi, Dutch was also imparted. Hindi remained as the
first language but a shift towards Dutch and the Neger English (Creole's Sranan Tongo) was
also noticed. In the same period the visit of Dr.Comins pursued the Dutch government to
grant the status of "free colonists" rights to those Indians who wanted to stay
in Surinam after the completion of their indenture period. Then in 1910 there was the
famous petition handed over to the visiting delegation from India. It was meant to have
recognition and legitimization to their traditions which were already reconstructed.
In 1916 when the emigration was terminated the last batch of Indians
had an option in 1921 either to go back to India or to stay in Surinam. For those who
opted to stay in Surinam the notion of going back to India became a myth. But this myth
remained always active in the minds of Indians . Most of them always thought to go back to
India when they had collected sufficient money. In a way this notion became an inspiration
of Indian ideology. In 1920s Indians consciously tried to preserve their cultural heritage
through the functional use of religious organisations, such as Arya Samaj, Sanatan Dharm
Sabha, the Kabirpanthi and the Muslim Associations.
By the end of 20s the first book of Hindi grammar was published by
Karsten (1930), who was a Moravian missionary in Surinam. During 1930s the policies of
Kielstra gave a psychological confidence to Asians when their marriages were legitimised
by the Dutch law. By discarding the earlier "assimilation" policy of the
colonial government Kielstra encouraged Indians that they should be proud of their
culture. Those Indians who had opted to stay in Surinam worked hard, reclaimed the marsh
land and became the owners of their lands. They obtained their freedom. The agriculture
sector made them rich. While the Creole consciously opted for the Dutch model of European
life style, Christianity and the white colour bureaucratic jobs in the government. They
remained for their life time the regular salary earners. From 1940s onwards the relations
between the Creole and the Indian deteriorated and took the form of racial hate and
tensions.
In 1948 the Dutch government granted universal suffrage to the
Surinamese people. Since the demographic birth rate among the Indians was increasing the
fear of Indian domination lingered on in the minds of the Creole. In 1950 after the
independence of India, the appeal of Nehru to the Overseas Indians that 'they should
identify themselves with the urges and aspirations of the country of adoption' made
Indians aware of their status in Surinam. With the political participation in the decision
making apparatus in the Surinamese Parliament Hindi continued to play a vital role in the
formal behaviour patterns of the Indians. Now Hindi was not a rural phenomenon, but it
became an urban as well as national phenomenon. Hindi created a sort of sub-nationalism in
the form of an emerging Indian identity. This was further promoted by the various
institutions, specially by the VHP. In later years it became an ethnic issue. Indians by
now became proud of their Surinamese Indian identity. This proudness was defined by the
Creole as the racial attitude of the Indians towards the Creoles. They continued to call
them coolies and immigrants. In contrast to such remarks the Indians gave all their energy
to preserve their culture and maintained the cultural boundary within the geographical
boundaries of Surinam. Now Surinam was their mother country but India remained a
grandmother to them. In 1970s during the sudden exodus to the Netherlands the cultural
boundary of the Indians was further extended to the Netherlands. This event divided the
Indian families.
In the retention of the traditional institutions, religious values
and Hindi and Sarnami, the socio-linguistic and the psycho-linguistic factors have played
the vital roles. The roles were befitted according to time, situation and functions. In
the cognition the Indian informal behaviour has always been expressed in family and
emotional circles while the formal behaviour has been expressedin the avenues of
political, religious and educational institutions. Since Indians have been conscious in
their role selection, they only selected those functional parameters which were useful to
them. The bilingualism has been an asset to them in their role playing. In reality a
multitude of the factors have been responsible for the maintenance of language and
culture. Hindi has always been a language of religious norms and values.
Historical factor. Historically the situation of Hindi for the
emigrants in North India and Surinam was the same. They have always considered Hindi as
the own language of their forefathers and of their religion and culture. Only after their
getting settled in Surinam the koinezation process started. One should not forget that the
Indian emigrant community in Surinam was not at all a homogeneous group. Since they were
in a situation where other Indians were also in the similar situation the koinezation
gradually created a homogeneity in their group and the distance between the regions
diminished. It became necessary to develop a single Indian language. Moreover, the threat
from Creolization and Christianity forced the Indian community to internalise the cultural
heritage. In the internalisation a rudimentary form of Sarnamization gradually developed
which had in majority the norms and structures of Avadhi in the Nickeri region and the
Bhojpuri in Paramaribo surroundings. This language became inevitable for communication and
participation in each others' sorrows and joys. However Hindi continued in the formal
roles. Of course, one should not forget that this process was already started during the
first five years of the indentured system (1873-78).
Demographical factor. With the demographical growth of the Indian
population Hindi acquired the status of a majority speech. During the 1970s it got the
second position after Dutch (Singh, 1976). Dutch was spoken by 37.2% and Hindi by 31.6%.
The reason for this growth was the very high birth-rate among the Indian community.
Moreover, it was encouraged by their improved economic status. The Indian population
remained endogamous and that became their maximum boundary of recruitment. It was in the
same period when the racial tensions increased and the Creoles did not want to give the
proportional election rights to Indians. The Indian population has already surpassed the
Creole population. They were in the majority, in numbers.
Geographical Factor. During the migration period the stay in Surinam
was always considered as a temporary period. The ultimate aim was to earn money and return
to India. But when the Indians got the status of free colonists by acquiring land, they
developed their own infra-structure and settlements. In a way they transplanted an
miniature India in Surinam and their settlement became the Indian areas with Indian names
of the streets and localities.
With the development of religious, cultural and educational
organisations, temples and mosques became the centres of their net-work relations. Since
the mother Ganges was far away from Surinam they made their sea the mother Ganges. In
Nickeri the Corontine river is considered as the mother Ganges . Recently a very
attractive temple has been constructed in the Corontine polder locality which is along the
Corontine river. Hindi echoes and flourishes within the new geographical boundaries. In
reality the geographical boundaries have become the cultural boundaries. Hindi has become
a national, cultural and geographical phenomenon cutting through the neutral, sacral and
political layers of the Indian society.
Institutional Factor. Since the Indian group was accepted by the
Dutch masters and the plantation owners as a unique community, Indians were free to
observe their socio-cultural and religious institutions. Hindi played a unique role in its
formal capacity while Sarnami did not remain behind and covered the emotional and informal
areas. With the growth of the Indian economy and the raised status of Indians in the eyes
of the Dutch officials their institutions continued . Now officially their festivals are
recognized as the national festivals. Through the process of the formation of religious ,
political, socio-cultural and oral institutions the culture has been maintained and with
that Hindi and Sarnami have become automatically the carriers of their cultural heritage.
Structural Factor. The Indian community in order to facilitate the
functioning of roles remained confined to their structural base in marriage alliances,
feasts, norms and values. The various castes which emigrated to Surinam bundled into a
class category (varna) but remained under the strict rules of endogamy and patrilineality.
It was due to the historical fact that in the beginning years of emigration there were
very few ladies (see the charts and tables related to the first two years of emigration).
Exogamy was used in marriage selection and in the preservation of the principle of
succession which was necessary to observe the funeral rites and maintaining the minimum
and maximum boundaries of their group. Inter-group marriages were rejected but when there
were the cases they were accommodated into the Indian model. Hindi and Sarnami
strengthened the boundary maintenance mechanism (Gautam, 1986).
Attitude Factor. In the initial years of emigration the attitude of
the Indian towards the Creole and the Dutch masters was of a different understanding. They
avoided the intra-group conflicts but tried to facilitate cooperation and open dialogues.
From India plurality was known to them. Tolerance and respect were the unique values they
maintained in Surinam. Except their own group other groups of Creoles and others were
impure and that is why there was no necessity to have contacts with them on an emotional
level. One of the most important emotional parametera was the marriage or the recruitment
pattern of their group. Though they had economic interdependence relations with other
groups, they consciously separated their spiritual and emotional aspects. That is why
during the emigration period Indians were not happy to send their children to Dutch and
Christian schools.
The education of girls was almost a taboo. It is only in 1950s that
the education of girls became imperative to them. The role of women was even more
important than those of men because they were the custodians of their cultural heritage .
Moreover the loss of respect not in the eyes of the Creole but in the eyes of the Indian
community was a living death to them. The fear that if the people in India will know then
what would they say. This made them aware of the saying barakkata apana pasina se ayala
(the respect and flourishing come only from one's own hard work). Without struggle there
was no joy and no satisfaction.
Their known plural character made them to accommodate in Surinam but
not on the terms of the Creoles or other groups. Biligualism continued but not on the
expenses of their own language. In the solution to conflicts which arose due to the
misunderstanding and weak communication code switching was used to enrich the
understanding but not the language shift. The attitude towards other groups was not only
negative but non-concerned. After all structurally the other groups were not part of the
Indian system. 'Be united and remain united' in Surinam were their ideas which the Indian
community very nicely fulfilled by maintaining their language and preserving their
cultural heritage. During 1960s when suddenly Creolization appeared in Caribbean, Indian
reacted and Hindization was felicitated not only in Surinam but also in the Netherlands
through the formation of their own organisation. In 1970s the Hindization was changed into
Sarnamization. Sarnami became a rival group to Sranan Tongo which the Creole political
leaders wanted to make as the language of Surinam. Retention of Sarnami became a 'must'
concept in the minds of Indians. It led to migration to the Netherlands with a hope that
the culture and the language of Indians would not be dominated by the Creole political
climate in Surinam.
Hindi and Sarnami as we have seen in historical perspectives have
worked not in isolation or in polarization but in a complementary position. They have
served as the core value of identity of the community ( Smolich, 1980; Extra, 1993). The
biligualism in the form of a code switching did not result in the loss of their language
but has enriched the vocabulary of Hindi. It has facilitated the communicative process for
the inter-group relations, specially in economic and political areas. The code switching
has played an important role not only to preserve the structures of Hindi and Sarnami but
also in language accommodation. Hindi and Sarnami have remained the languages of roles and
dignity and has preserved their identity as the Indian group. Together with the material
symbols and objects, such as the tharia and lota (plate and the aer jug), Hanuman jhandis
(flags of identity) without which the identity can not be thought, Hindi and Sarnami have
played the similar functional roles in formal and informal verbal behaviour in their
structure and in the various institutions (Misra, 1993). The survival of Hindi and Sarnami
is reflected in socio- and psycho-linguistic patterns which provide to the Indian
community inspirations as well as aspirations.
It is a fact that the koinezation or as it is also called the
Sarnamization has only been possible with the ongoing help of Hindi which in reality has
provided a homogeneity or bundled the Indian castes into the broader classes and their
various institutions into an Indian ethnic group. As someone told to me 'Sarnami is the
essence of feelings but Hindi is the basis of the feelings. After all they both are
inevitable for our unity, identity and for our own self. Our language has been an
inspiration to us by which we have been able to fight against the derogatory notions where
we were looked down upon like a jungli (uncivilized people). The thoughts of India of our
aja-ajis (grand and great grand parents) were to preserve the notions of apan log (our
people of Indian community), apan jati (our caste group for life crises ceremonies), apan
mulk ( our country India which we have transplanted in Surinam) and apan dharma-samskriti
(our religious values and culture). In a way one can say that the historical process of
the establishment of the Indians in Surinam has not been an easy task. They not only
unchained the derogatory addresses which were often used by the other groups but also
reconstructed a new image as respectful citizens of Surinam.
Still for many Indians who remigrated to the Netherlands India and
Surinam have become their two hands. India is considered as a land of their original
religion and culture ( Dharma-samskriti bhumi ), Surinam as a land of struggle to preserve
and maintain the culture (Karma-yuddha bhumi) and the Netherlands as a land of bridge
(setu) between India and Surinam. But today if our forefathers would not have brought
Hindi/Urdu/Hindustani and preserved by all means then we would have been deprived of our
mother language as we nowadays say "Sarnami". To maintain our Indian identity
Hindi and Sarnami have been to us like the Ganges and Jamuna rivers which have enriched
the Indo -Gangtic plain by making it fertile. This Indo Gangetic plain to us was Surinam
where our Indian culture was transplanted, developed and became a tree which would give
the ideals of humanity in its shadow to the coming generations irrespective of their
creed, class, gender, professions and cultures.
Note: This paper has been a revised part of an earlier research
paper submitted in a CIIL conference in in 1994 (Jan 5-9)
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