SM Jaleel and Company Ltd, Sacha Cosmetics and Charran’s are businesses with which many Trinidadians are familiar.
While their history might be documented on websites and in books, these were all built by Indo-Trinidadian families.
This is told in business consultant Hemraj Ramdath’s new book: Beyond Indentureship: Indo-Trinidadian Entrepreneurs.
The book was launched earlier in May, but Ramdath also spoke about it at the launch of the National Library and Information System Authority’s (Nalis) exhibition Dharma re-enacted: Ramleela in Trinidad and Tobago on May 25.
Ramdath began working on the book in 2021, although he had planned to do it before the start of the covid19 pandemic.
As TT observes Indian Arrival Day, he felt it was important to highlight the contributions of Indo-Trinidadian businesses. Indian Arrival Day is observed on May 30 each year.
He called some of the 33 businesses featured in the book “legacy companies,” as some were formed during the period of indentureship. Indian Indentureship in TT took place from 1845-1917.
Ramdath said though some of these companies’ founders came as labourers, today, they were now the some of the largest employers, particularly in the service sector.
In the book’s dedication, to Ramdath’s maternal grandparents, he said, “My grandfather was born aboard the SS Avon on December 17, 1904, the 20th day of the ship’s voyage from Calcutta to Trinidad.
“As a newborn, he would survive 69 days under unimaginable sea and ship conditions.” His grandfather’s name was Rampersad.
He said his grandmother, Ramkaliah, was a market vendor for more than 30 years and, without formal education, taught him everything is possible with hard work, faith and determination.
In the book’s preface he said, “The role of the Indian indentured workers and their offspring during the Indentureship period of 1845-1920 (sic) in rescuing the threatened collapse of the plantation economy of Trinidad is well known and acknowledged.
“However, little detail has been given or written about the Indo-Trinidadian spirit of enterprise, Indo-Trinidadians’ incredible transition out of extreme poverty, their igniting of economic activities, their establishment of thriving communities and transforming rural villages into commercial-industrial centres with sustainable businesses.”
Some of these local brands such as Sacha Cosmetics are internationally known and operate in 30, 40 and even up to 100 countries, he said.
He said SM Jaleel products, Karibbean Flavours, Chatak Food Products are in at least 25-60 countries.
“These are all brands, made in TT, developed in TT and are global.
“They developed products in the family and entered all those markets.”
Ramdath asked how one put this into context when 145,000 East Indian indentured labourers came to TT. Caribbean-Atlas.com says between 1845 and 1917, a total of 143,939 Indians migrated to Trinidad under the system of indentureship.
He asked how was it possible that people who lived in barracks were able to transform their lives, esp
