 ug to host virtual symposium commemorating 184 years of the arrival of east indians in guyana contributions of lesserknown indoguyanese to be this year s focus ug to host virtual symposium commemorating 184 years of the arrival of east indians in guyana contributions of lesserknown indoguyanese to be this year s focus andydindial tue 5032022 912 the university of guyana will be hosting a threehourlong symposium on may 4th 2022 to commemorate the 184th anniversary of the arrival of east indians in guyana the symposium which will be held virtually from 1700 hrs to 2000 hrs will focus on lesserknown and lessercelebrated east indians who have made significant contributions to the development of guyana among those scheduled to make remarks are the high commissioner of india to guyana he dr kj srinivasa university of guyana s vicechancellor ix prof paloma mohamed martin dean of the faculty of education and humanities feh dr roslin khan lecturer in the feh alim hosein head of the department of language and cultural studies feh andrew kendall among others leading academics will make presentations on several of these lesserknown but outstanding guyanese prof baytoram ramharack will present on jung bahadur singh balram singh rai dr seeta shah roath will present on esther mahadeo prof somdat mahabir will present on nutan bishun and premsukh poonai while cliff rajkumar will present on pam harry harrack the presentations will be followed by discussion sessions the symposium will also feature cultural presentations and readings from the works of indoguyanese writers by present and past students of the university of guyana including awardwinning poet gabrielle mohamed another feature of the symposium will be a spotlight on guyanese poet mahadai das and her artistic focus on another group of undersung persons of indian heritage women in celebrating lesserknown historic and contemporary east indians who helped to develop guyana and also looking forward to contemporary and future development of indoguyanese culture and scholarship in guyana the symposium will widen the thinking on the indoguyanese contributions and presence in guyana the declaration of may 5th as arrival day followed the passage on april 14th 2003 in the national assembly of resolution no 12 of 2003 it celebrates the contributions to the national development of our african indian chinese portuguese and european ancestors and their descendants arrival day challenges us to appreciate our diverse peoples and their cultures and encourages us to strive for a society in which the contributions of every ethnic group are recognised respected and rewarded may 5th also marks indian arrival day the first set of east indians arrived in guyana on may 5 1838 as part of a scheme of indentureship or contracted labour devised by the planters to obtain labour for the sugar estates after the end of slavery in 1834 between 1838 and 1917 when indentureship ended an estimated 240000 indians were brought to guyana the university of guyana press will also host the virtual book launch of kiskadee days by gaitri pagrachchandra later in may to continue the month of commemoration of indian arrival and their contributions to guyana the university will also host similar events for emancipation day and indigenous peoples month on these commemorative days later this year    ug in brief the university of guyana is the 59th year state university of guyana it offers 150 programmes in over 60 disciplines online and facetoface on 8 campuses across guyana with a student population of now 10000 ug has provided education learning and research for over 50000 alumni the mission of the university is to discover generate disseminate and apply knowledge of the highest standard for the service of the community the nation and of all mankind within an atmosphere of academic freedom that allows for free and critical inquiry ug s forwardthinking blueprint 2040 is currently setting the course for the university s future design and institutional response to the changing needs of guyana  contact   ms krest cummings public relations officer department of events conferences and communications decc 5926235104 ug to host virtual symposium commemorating 184 years of the arrival of east indians in guyana contributions of lesserknown indoguyanese to be this year s focus  