Keith Rowley recently visited India as part of a Parliamentary delegation from Trinidad and Tobago and had tea with Indian President Pratiba Patil.
If media reports on his visit are accurate, the Opposition Leader also bowed to Indian dignitaries. Yes, Rowley bowed.
Why is this important?
Well it was Rowley who made a fuss about our Prime Minister showing respect for the Indian President and bowing to her in Janaury.
She insisted that her action was a demonstration of her respect for her elders and that she did nothing for which she had to apologise. And JYOTI supported her.
So it is interesting that Rowley found it necessary to bow to Indian dignitaries yet found nothing offensive about it. It's amazing how time and circumstance changed the PNM leader's perspective.
If media reports on his visit are accurate, the Opposition Leader also bowed to Indian dignitaries. Yes, Rowley bowed.
Why is this important?
Well it was Rowley who made a fuss about our Prime Minister showing respect for the Indian President and bowing to her in Janaury.
Rowley of course didn't see it that way and stated that Kamla was not representing herself or her religion but the people of Trinidad & Tobago and it was demeaning for her to bow to another head of state.
She insisted that her action was a demonstration of her respect for her elders and that she did nothing for which she had to apologise. And JYOTI supported her.
So it is interesting that Rowley found it necessary to bow to Indian dignitaries yet found nothing offensive about it. It's amazing how time and circumstance changed the PNM leader's perspective.
What it demonstrates is that Rowley saw a political opportunity to score points and ended up with some political egg on his face.
Local media also reported that Rowley remarked that he was surprised to see an absence of jhandis outside of people’s homes, compared to what obtains in Trinidad.
I am no expert in antropology but perhaps through my personal research and experience as a person who was born in a Hindu family (my father was a respected Pandit and community leader) and lived in rural Trinidad in a predominately Hindu community, I could offer an explanation about the absence of jhandis.
Local media also reported that Rowley remarked that he was surprised to see an absence of jhandis outside of people’s homes, compared to what obtains in Trinidad.
I am no expert in antropology but perhaps through my personal research and experience as a person who was born in a Hindu family (my father was a respected Pandit and community leader) and lived in rural Trinidad in a predominately Hindu community, I could offer an explanation about the absence of jhandis.
The jhandi is a flag hung on a bamboo pole and buried outside the homes of Hindus to signify that the people at that home offered prayers to a particular Hindu deity. The flags also marked Hindu homes.
The jhandi formed an integral part of Hindu prayers and can be found at the alter whenever prayers are offered. In India, people generally visit temples for prayers and do not plant jhandis at their homes.
The jhandi formed an integral part of Hindu prayers and can be found at the alter whenever prayers are offered. In India, people generally visit temples for prayers and do not plant jhandis at their homes.
However, when they came to Trinidad as the flotsam of society, living in abject poverty in the most dehumanising conditions, Indians only solace was in their religion.
Their meagre earnings were barely enough to afford food so they were unable to erect temples for prayers. Instead their humble homes became the temples and the Pandits like my father went from home to home and performed "pooja".
Their meagre earnings were barely enough to afford food so they were unable to erect temples for prayers. Instead their humble homes became the temples and the Pandits like my father went from home to home and performed "pooja".
The rites included the planting of jhandis to represent two things - the recognition of the deity and a proud marker to say this is the home of a Hindu where prayers have been offered.
Later on, Hindus built temples and planted jhandis there too, but the tradition of placing them outside of their homes remain today. Even here in Canada, you will find many Hindus keeping jhandis in small pots outside of their homes.
Later on, Hindus built temples and planted jhandis there too, but the tradition of placing them outside of their homes remain today. Even here in Canada, you will find many Hindus keeping jhandis in small pots outside of their homes.
When Basdeo Panday was Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago he performed pooja at the official PM's residence and placed jhandis in the yard. When Patrick Manning replaced Panday, Manning promptly removed the jhandis.
There was a controversy as well during the Panday administration about the planting of jhandis on the compound of the state petroleum company, Petrotrin. The Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) objected on the grounds that a Hindu symbol should not stand on state property. The union, however, did not have a problem with churches on Petrotrin's property.
The jhandi is a Hindu symbol but it is also a traditional part of Trinidad & Tobago's national landscape. When it is recognised as such by everyone in Trinidad & Tobago then we can say we have matured as a multi-cultural society where each of us is equal.
Jai Parasram | Toronto 30 March 2012
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