President Anthony Carmona has appealed to citizens to follow the indentureship system of panchayat to bring about amicable redress in society.
As citizens of the country continue to live in trying times, burdened by intolerance, indiscipline, conflict and a depreciation of the sanctity of life, Carmona said we need a change in that eternal fight against man’s inhumanity to man.
“Because of indentureship, a traditional method of amicable redress is available to us in the form of the ‘panchayat’ system. The ‘panchayat’ system is one of the earliest manifestations of mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution. It represents a cultural solution to resolving conflict in our communities. The ‘panchayat’ was indeed a forerunner that actualised a restorative justice that can ameliorate individuals or a community enveloped in conflict and burdened by discord. The ‘panchayat’ system, one of the hallmarks of indentureship, is a way of resolving social conflict through the power of mediation and alternative dispute resolution.”
This was the message Carmona relayed in a press release issued yesterday on the occasion of Indian Arrival Day.
With fervent hope, tremendous uncertainty and unbridled enthusiasm, Carmona said Indentured labourers from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal and Madras crossed the ‘Kala Pani’ on board the ‘Fatel Razack’ 172 years ago and did not look back.
Carmona said the emphasis and care traditionally placed on the environment and “Dharti Mata” (Mother Earth) in the East Indian way of life, should be mirrored and pursued aggressively within our nation.
“It will help us, if we are to adequately and proactively address the ravages of climate change and environmental degradation. Small Island Developing States like T&T and the rest of the Caribbean are at phenomenal risk. There is a clear and present danger. So important is this working philosophy of “Dharti Mata” in East Indian culture, that even some plants and animals are revered, protected and treated as genuine manifestations of a living God,” Carmona said.
He said the Indian diaspora places great emphasis on respect for parents, elders and also nurtures in all the need for hard work, sacrifice and a sound education.
“At the end of indentureship, education became the vehicle of social mobility and change eradicating poverty and garnering respect through sustainable, economically viable and satisfying careers and we all must learn and be guided by this. Through the power of education, East Indians have been able to reach the highest heights in various fields locally, regionally and internationally. The indentured left a veritable generational legacy that hard work, sacrifice and the pursuit of education can bring progress,” Carmona said.
Through indentureship, he said, we are now able to embrace the positives of East Indian culture.
“It is noteworthy that some of the very solutions that we seek can be sourced from traditional philosophies and practices that can guide us.”
Carmona said philosophies of food sustainability and food security are increasingly pertinent in this time of economic uncertainty and financial downturn.
“That philosophy of self-sustainability and that buzz expression, food security may well have emanated from the planting culture of the East Indians, involved in sugar, rice and cocoa production.”
