Indian Arrival in Jamaica

THE GLEANER, FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2021 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | A7 INDIAN ARRIVAL DAY FEATURE I NDIAN PROFESSIONALS started coming to Jamaica in numbers in the 1970s in what is commonly considered to be the third wave of Indian migration to Jamaica following the indentured labourers starting in 1845 and waning in the early 1900s, and the Sindhi Hindu traders starting just before the Second World War and continuing to this day with their dominance of the white goods and jewellery sectors. With its waning attraction for British, Canadian and American professionals and having had its own outward migration in the 1970s, Jamaica went out to recruit doctors, accountants, IT professionals, actuaries and academics from across the Commonwealth to fill its professional needs. Most stayed for a few years and mostly moved on or returned to India in time. But some, like me, stayed. INDIAN ACCOUNTANTS When I arrived in Jamaica, as a young accountant from India, in January 1987 following in the footsteps of an uncle, I was largely unaware that in the decades to follow, I was embarking on a professional journey of accomplishment defined by Jamaicans’ openness to forging business and personal relationships with outsiders, and more importantly, allowing them to make a positive contribution to the business and academic landscape of the island. This was grounded in the recognition and acceptance of our Indian professional qualifications, with an openness to let us accredit ourselves further and the facility of a common language. In my profession, Indian accountants have gone on to reach the executive suites of organisations like KPMG, PwC, ICWI, ICD, Jamaica National, National Commercial Bank, Guardsman, Seprod, Petrojam, HDHopwood, to name a few. Mostly, we all found the one thing that really defines Jamaica – a high level of tolerance for diversity – works all the way to the top of professions, where merit, competency and humility are the only things that count. The wider business environment also provided fertile ground to broaden their activities in a host of areas, including the provision of security services, business process services and even pharmaceutical supplies, all of which have, in turn, provided significant employment across the island, and added to the tapestry of economic activity. A young accountant, Kenneth Benjamin, pioneered the provision of security services in Jamaica on a commercial scale. Today, Kenny’s Guardsman Group comprises 13 companies providing the full range of security services and has now expanded into tourism, landscaping, and pest control services. The growth of this group speaks to the application of business insight and the potential to be found in Jamaica. Along the way, Kenny has found time to lead the Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (JSPCA), contribute to King’s House, resuscitate and relaunch the Hope Zoo into a truly world- class small zoo that serves as a head-start site for the Jamaica Iguana conservation project, and serve as the chairman of the Bustamante Hospital for Children. Kenny was honoured by the Government of India with the Overseas Indian Honour (Pravasi Bharatiya Samman) in 2007, multiple other honours across the Jamaica spectrum, but most notably the Order of Jamaica in 2013. INDIAN DOCTORS Which brings us to the Indian doctors of Jamaica: from the teaching and research faculties of The University Hospital of the West Indies, the trauma wings of the Kingston Public and the Cornwall Regional hospitals, the forensic pathologists in the Kingston morgues, right across the public sector medical infrastructure, Indian medical professionals are ubiquitous. Several go on to set up in private practice, and so comprehensively has the Indian doctor penetrated the Jamaican psyche that many Indians, particularly those who wear white shirts like me, find it rather disconcerting to be referred to as ‘Doc!’ Jamaica’s medical connection and the relative ease of doing business, as compared to other Caricom countries, has made Jamaica the headquarters in the Caribbean for the great Indian pharmaceutical companies – Dr Reddy’s, Cipla, Glenmark, to name a few. One of those doctors who came to work in Jamaica’s medical service had an entrepreneurial eye: Dr Guna Muppuri and his wife, Vishnu, promoted the Bioprist group of companies, anchored in Indies Pharma, another pharmaceutical importer, which recently listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange as yet another Indo-Jamaican success story. Guna was honoured by the Government of India with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman honour in 2019. There’s also the Dean of The University of the West Indies’ Faculty of Sport, Dr Akshai Mansingh, whose parents brought him to Jamaica as a young child and who has also served as a lecturer in the Department of Surgery, Sports Medicine in Radiology, Anaesthetics and Intensive Care, and as the Programme Director for the MSc Sports Medicine degrees (for Physicians and Physiotherapists). Dr Mansingh’s involvement with cricket is equally important, as he has not only served as a cricket commentator but is a former director of the Jamaica Cricket Association and is currently a member of the Cricket West Indies board and its Medical Advisory Committee. He is emblematic of the integrated role played by members of the Indian community in Jamaica. INDIAN ACADEMICS I am going to tread some pretty difficult ground now, not because the role of Indian academics in Jamaica is undeniable but as to who I should mention. So, I will take the easy road and focus on the seminal work done by Professor Ajai Mansingh and Mrs Laxmi Mansingh, whose non-fiction publication, Home Away fromHome , documents 150 years of the Indian presence in Jamaica from 1845 to 1995. This history seamlessly records the travails of the early migrants and their determination to forge life in this new country. Their resilience and humanity laid the foundation for the arrival of later migrants and for their success. Taken together, the Indian presence, across all walks of life, reflects the journey from a subcontinent to an island and the aspirational aspects of that journey. For those of us who have stayed and made Kingston our home, the Mansingh family ethos of welcoming all with respect without consideration of caste, creed or class, exemplifies the aspirations of Indians who left their home, came to Jamaica and just want to be judged for what they have become. However, an Indian legend in the West should not be missed – Theresa Cherian, latterly principal of Mount Alvernia Preparatory School and formerly principal of Mount Alvernia High School and vice-principal of Montego Bay High School. Ms Cherian is legendary and a believer in Jamaica … and discipline. As she told The Gleaner some years ago: “Our Jamaican children are very intelligent ... . I would push them and push them.” And because of that push, her former students have (success) stories to tell. Some of the narratives are about the good grades that they have got through her guidance. Today, all three schools are the better for Ms Cherian’s influence over 35 years of school cohorts and those confident young people who have made Jamaica proud. In closing, I would like to thank the High Commission of India for allowing me this opportunity to share some thoughts on the contribution of Indian professionals to Jamaica; and for those many persons whose names have not been documented notwithstanding their remarkable contributions, please appreciate the constraints of space for this article. And to those who have been named, your contribution has been recognised, as together we have worked to achieve individual goals of professional accomplishment, while enhancing the Jamaican community with the experience of the positive Indian! R. Tarun Handa is the managing partner at KPMG Jamaica. He has combined public accounting experience in Jamaica and India exceeding 30 years. Indian professionals in Jamaica R. Tarun Handa