| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 7,000-8,000 [1] (January 2016, est.) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Toledo District · Corozal District · Belize City | |
| Languages | |
| Standard Hindustani (Hindi–Urdu) · Sindhi · Punjabi · Gujarati · Kutchi · Bengali · Tamil · Telugu (spoken by more recent immigrants and their descendants, either Belizean-born or Belizean-naturalized) Kriol · English · Spanish (common languages spoken in Belize) ContentsCaribbean Hindustani (spoken by the original Indian indentured immigrants and to a lesser extent spoken by their descendants) | |
| Religion | |
| Hinduism · Christianity · Sikhism · Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Indo-Caribbeans · Indian people · Indian diaspora |
Indo-Belizeans, also known as East Indian Belizeans, are citizens of Belize of Indian ancestry. The community made up 3.9% of the population of Belize in 2010. [2] They are part of the wider Indo-Caribbean community, which itself is a part of the global Indian diaspora.
Indians began arriving in Belize after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, with the first ship with Indians arriving in 1858 as part of the Indian indenture system set up by the British government after slavery was abolished. [3] Initially coming in as indentured, many of them stayed on to work the sugar plantations and were joined by other Indian immigrants. Indians are spread out over many villages and towns primarily in the Corozal and Toledo districts and live in reasonably compact rural communities. Today, while there are few descendants of the original Indian indentured immigrants who are of full Indian descent, many of their descendants have intermarried with other ethnic groups in Belize, notably the Creoles and Mestizos. However, they are still identifiable through their physiognomy and are known as 'Hindus' or 'East Indians'. [4] These set of Indians were almost entirely composed of people from the Bhojpur region, Awadh region, and other places in the Hindustani Belt in North India. A minority of indentured laborers were from South India and other regions throughout South Asia. Later on in the 1870s-90s Indian coffee workers from Guatemala and Indian sugar workers from Jamaica immigrated to Belize and in the 1950s-90s Indians from Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago emigrated. [5] [6] [7] Their ancestors were also indentured immigrants and come from the same regions in India. It is from the original Indian indentured immigrants and the later group of Indian immigrants from other parts of the Caribbean that contributed to the Indian aspect of Belizean cuisine with foods such as roti (especially paratha, dhalpuri, and sada), wrap rotis, dhal bhat (dhal and rice), pholourie, bara, chokhas such as baigan chokha, khichiri, and tarcaris and curries such as curry chicken and curry goat. [8]
After India gained independence in 1947 up to present-day, many Indians further migrated to Belize as businessmen, entrepreneurs, doctors, and other professionals. However, they were not from the same regions of India as the original Indian indentured immigrant were from, they were mostly Sindhis and Punjabis, with some Gujaratis, Kutchis, Bengalis, Tamils, and Telugus. Most Hindus in Belize today are Sindhi Hindus with few of the original descendants of the Indian indentured laborers retaining Hinduism and Islam. [9]
In 1907, the Canadian Government made an unsuccessful attempt to transfer Indian independence activists residing in the province of British Columbia to Belize (then known as British Honduras). A Canadian delegation led by the chief clerk of the Canadian Ministry of the Interior Harkin, and a small Indian delegation including Teja Singh traveled to British Honduras in November 1907 to determine if conditions were suitable for the move. Upon his return to Canada, Teja Singh stated that Indians were being sent to Honduras for slave-labour and claimed that Canadian officials had attempted to bribe the Indian delegation to secure a positive report. The Canadian government blamed Teja Singh's statements for the failure of the proposed transfer. [10]
Roti is a round flatbread native to the Indian subcontinent. It is commonly consumed in many South Asian countries.
Hinduism is a minority religion in South America, which is followed by even less than 1% of the total continent's population. Hinduism is found in several countries, but is strongest in the Indo-Caribbean populations of Guyana and Suriname. There are about 320,000 Hindus in South America, chiefly the descendants of Indian indentured laborers in the Guianas. There are about 185,000 Hindus in Guyana, 120,000 in Suriname, and some others in French Guiana. In Guyana and Suriname, Hindus form the second largest religion and in some regions and districts, Hindus form the majority. Though in recent times, due to influence of Hindu culture the number of Hindus converts have increased in other countries in South America, including Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and others.
Indo-Caribbeans or Indian-Caribbeans are people in the Caribbean who are descendants of the Jahaji indentured laborers from India and the wider subcontinent, who were brought by the British, Dutch, and French during the colonial era from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century. A minority of them are descendants from people who immigrated as entrepreneurs, businesspeople, merchants, engineers, doctors, religious leaders and other professional occupations beginning in the mid-20th century.
Indo-Trinidadians and Tobagonians or Indian-Trinidadians and Tobagonians are people of Indian origin who are nationals of Trinidad and Tobago whose ancestors came from India and the wider subcontinent beginning in 1845 during the period of colonization.
Hinduism is the leading single religion of the Indo-Caribbean communities of the West Indies. Hindus are particularly well represented in Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. The Cayman Islands also hosts a sizable Hindu population, with 2.4 percent of the country affiliating with the religion. Smaller groups of Indo-Caribbeans live elsewhere in the Caribbean, especially Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Belize, Barbados, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, and Bahamas.
Indo-Guyanese or Indian-Guyanese, are Guyanese nationals of Indian origin who trace their ancestry to India and the wider subcontinent. They are the descendants of indentured servants and settlers who migrated from India beginning in 1838, and continuing during the British Raj.
Indo-Caribbean Americans or Indian-Caribbean Americans, are Americans who trace their ancestry ultimately to India, though whose recent ancestors lived in the Caribbean, where they migrated beginning in 1838 as indentured laborers. There are large populations of Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonians and Indo-Guyanese along with a smaller population of Indo-Surinamese, Indo-Jamaicans and other Indo-Caribbeans in the United States, especially in the New York metropolitan area and Florida. The Washington metropolitan area, Texas, and Minnesota also have small numbers of Indo-Guyanese and Indo-Trinidadians. Indo-Caribbean Americans are a subgroup of Caribbean Americans as well as Indian Americans, which are a subgroup of South Asian Americans, which itself is a subgroup of Asian Americans.
Caribbean Chinese cuisine is a style of food resulting from a fusion of Chinese and West Indian cuisines. The Chinese influence is predominantly Cantonese, the main source of Chinese immigrants to the West Indies. West Indian food is itself a mixture of African, British, Indian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Middle Eastern, Afghan and Indigenous cooking styles.
Hinduism is practised throughout South Africa, but primarily in KwaZulu-Natal. Approximately 1.1% of the South African population professed to be Hindu, according to the 2011 census. This is down from the 1.4% based on the 1996 census. The 2016 General Household Survey measured a further decline to 0.9%.
Indo-Mauritians are Mauritians who trace their ethnic ancestry to the Republic of India or other parts of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia.
Caribbean Hindustani is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by Indo-Caribbeans and the Indo-Caribbean diaspora. It is a koiné language mainly based on the Bhojpuri and Awadhi dialects. These Hindustani dialects were the most spoken dialects by the Indians who came as immigrants to the Caribbean from India as indentured laborers. It is closely related to Fiji Hindi and the Bhojpuri-Hindustani spoken in Mauritius and South Africa.
Indo-Jamaicans are the descendants of people who came from the Indian subcontinent to Jamaica. Indians form the third largest ethnic group in Jamaica after Africans and Multiracials.
Indo-Guadeloupeans are mostly descended from indentured workers who came mostly from South India in the late 19th century. There are currently about 35,617 people of Indian origin living in Guadeloupe, making it home to one of the largest South Indian populations in the Caribbean.
Baigan (बैगन) bharta or Baigan Chokha is an Indian dish prepared by mincing grilled eggplant (baigan) and mixing it with tomato, onion, herbs and spices. Grilling the eggplant over charcoal or direct fire infuses the dish with a smoky flavour. Mashed eggplant is then mixed with cooked chopped tomato, browned onion, ginger, garlic, cumin, fresh cilantro, chili pepper, and mustard oil or a neutral vegetable oil. Traditionally, the dish is often eaten with flatbread and is also served with rice or raita, a yogurt salad. In Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, it is served hot with litti or baati.
Indo-Fijians, also known as Indian Fijians, are Fijian citizens of Indian descent, and include people who trace their ancestry to various regions of India and the Indian subcontinent. Although Indo-Fijians constituted a majority of Fiji's population from 1956 through the late 1980s, discrimination and the resulting brain drain resulted in them numbering 313,798 (37.6%) out of a total of 827,900 people living in Fiji as of 2007.
Overseas Indians, officially Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and People of Indian Origin (PIOs) are Indians who reside or originate outside of India. According to the Government of India, Non-Resident Indians are citizens of India who currently are not living in India, while the term People of Indian Origin refers to people of Indian birth or ancestry who are citizens of countries other than India. Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) is given to People of Indian Origin and to persons who are not People of Indian Origin but married to People of Indian Origin. Persons with OCI status are known as Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs). The OCI status is a permanent visa for visiting India with a foreign passport.
Indo-Martiniquais are an ethnic group of Martinique, compromising approximately 10% of the population of the island. The Indo-Martiniquais are descendants of indentured labourers of the nineteenth century from India of primarily Tamil and Telugu descent as well as other Indian peoples. They are primarily most concentrated in the northern communes of Martinique, where the main plantations are located. The Indo-Martiniquais speak Antillean a French-based creole.
India–Saint Vincent and the Grenadines relations refers to the international relations that exist between India and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The Embassy of India in Paramaribo, Suriname is concurrently accredited to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
The Indian community in Saint Kitts and Nevis is made up of Indo-Kittitians, Indo-Nevisians, non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin. Indo-Kittitians and Indo-Nevisians are nationals of Saint Kitts and Nevis whose ancestry lies within the country of India. The community originated from the Indian indentured workers brought to Saint Kitts and Nevis by the British in 1861 and 1874 respectively. By 1884, most of the community had emigrated to Caribbean nations with larger Indian populations such as Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname.
Hinduism is the religion of about 31% of the population of Guyana in 2020. This makes Guyana the country with the highest percentage of Hindu residents in the Western Hemisphere.
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