The Indian High Commission here has postponed its ‘Indian Diaspora Day’ after the event clashed with the national observance of Emancipation Day on August 1 and had generated much criticism from the general public.
‘The Open House has been rescheduled to August 8 in view of August 1 being a public holiday,’ the Indian High Commission said in a post on its official Facebook page in which it had urged members of the ‘Indian community and diaspora’ to attend.
Former tourism minister Randall Mitchell in a letter sent to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, called for ‘an immediate review of the conduct’ of the High Commissioner of India to Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Pradeep Singh Rajpurohit, as Trinidad and Tobago citizens took to the airwaves and social media to vent their ‘outrage’ at the original staging of the event coinciding with the universal day set aside for the emancipation of African slaves.
‘That invitation is disrespectful to the African community and that date is totally inappropriate…also the open house is closed to other races,’ one person wrote on the Facebook page of a popular radio station here, while another wrote ‘We are now in the 21st century and the Indian High Commission has existed in T and T since the 20th century; why is it only now that they choose to celebrate that so-called important event on the 1st August of all days. Why not the 15th August which is India’s Independence Day?’
Another suggested that the Indian High Commissioner should ‘check out’ the Emancipation Village wth another reminding the Indian diplomat that ‘May 30 is Indian Arrival Day’ in Trinidad and Tobago.
In his letter to the Indian Prime Minister, Mitchell said that the Indian High Commissioner has been here ‘long enough’ to know that August 1 is ‘African Emancipation Day’ even as he thanked the diplomat ‘for rescheduling and deleting your offensive post’.
Mitchell said he was writing Prime Minister Modi as a citizen of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and as a former government minister to ‘express my profound disappointment ‘ regarding the Open House that had been scheduled for August 1.
‘This is not an ordinary national public holiday,’ Mitchell wrote, noting that African Emancipation Day marks the abolition of slavery and the liberation of hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans whose forced labour helped build this nation.
He said the day ‘commemorates one of the darkest chapters in human history and honours the struggle, sacrifice and resilience of generations of people who were denied their freedom.
‘Diplomatic missions are expected to understand and respect the history, traditions and national commemorations of the countries to which they are accredited. That expectation is fundamental to diplomacy.’
He said that the issue was not the High Commission’s wish to engage members of the Indian diaspora, since ‘every diplomatic mission has that right and responsibility’ but ‘the concern is that the event was scheduled on the one national holiday that carries unique historical and emotional significance for a large segment of the Trinidad and Tobago population.
‘There were 364 other days on which such an event could have been held without creating the appearance that the significance of African Emancipation Day was being overlooked or diminished.
‘Whether intentional or not, the decision demonstrates a serious lack of cultural awareness and sensitivity toward the host nation,’ Michell wrote, adding ‘more troubling is the wider consequence that decisions such as this can have in a multicultural society like Trinidad and Tobago.
‘Our nation has worked for generations to build mutual respect and understanding among people of African, Indian, Indigenous, Chinese, European, Syrian-Lebanese and other backgrounds. That harmony cannot be taken for granted. It must be protected through sensitivity, respect and good judgment-particularly by foreign diplomatic missions.’
Mitchell said ‘African Emancipation Day is one of the few national observances that calls upon all citizens to reflect on the enduring legacy of slavery and the importance of unity, dignity and justice.
‘ By choosing to host an official diaspora event on this solemn national day, the High Commission has unnecessarily introduced a source of division where there should have been national reflection,’ Michell said, adding that diplomats have a duty not only to represent their own country but also to exercise sound judgment and respect for the history and sensitivities of the nation in which they serve.
‘This decision falls well below that standard and risks undermining social cohesion in a multicultural society where racial harmony must never be taken for granted. It is precisely because of the seriousness of that risk that I believe this matter warrants immediate intervention by the Government of India,’ Mitchell wrote.