British Asians

Between 2001 and 2006, ethnic tensions increased, and unless the governing party, the East Indian-based People's Progressive Party, accommodates the concerns of the Afro-Guyanese, tensions are likely to continue in the immediate future, leading to frequent outbreaks of street violence between East Indians and Afro-Guyanese. Despite this tension and violence, and perhaps fueling the tension, East Indians tend to be in a more advantaged position economically and politically. Racial politics have long been played in Guyana with the PPP generally favoring the East Indian community and the PNC generally favoring the Afro-Guyanese. However, this overlooks the intermarriages, religious conversions, and the adoption of one another's cultural traits by members of each group. Since independence, each ruling regime has identified strongly with one of the dominant ethnic groups. When the PPP is in power, Afro-Guyanese complain of discrimination; and when the PNC has control, Indo-Guyanese complain of discrimination. Though ethnic tensions seemed to decline slightly between the late 1980s and early 1990s, recent years have been marked by high political and ethnic tensions, including sometimes violent protests. The smaller ethnic communities do not appear to play a significant role in the country's politics. Coalitions with multi-ethnic leadership and support of the churches sprung up in the 1990s, but to date they have been unable to move the country along the path to racial harmony. The Caribbean Community continues to work to bridge the divide, including revision of the 1980 constitution, though progress has been irregular at best. Guyana experienced a negative growth rate in 1998 for the first time in the decade, and wages remain extremely low. Probably the only long term solution to Guyana's ethnic tensions is sustained economic growth and a power sharing system of government so neither group gets shut out from meaningful leadership. So long as these two elements elude the Guyana political and economic systems, ethnic tensions, distrust, and sporadic violence between the two groups will likely remain. Ethnicity has been a key factor in the political history of Guyana since before independence. Half of the current population is of East Indian origin, while 36 percent are Afro-Guyanese; the remainder are of European, other Asian (largely Chinese) or indigenous descent. African slaves were brought to Guyana to work on sugar plantations in the 1600s by the Dutch. The British later took over the colony; and when the British Empire abolished slavery in 1838, a labor shortage on the plantations led the British to import indentured servants from China and India. By the turn of the 20th century, East Indians were dominant in rice production and small trade; they eventually became the country's dominant group. While the Afro-Guyanese assimilated into the dominant European culture, the East Indians maintained their culture (CUSTOM = 0; BELIEF = 0). After a tense decade of unrest in the British Caribbean, the Moyen Commission of 1938 recommended that the Guyanese be given a greater say in government, as well as other economic, social and political reforms. The Guyanese formed the People's Progressive Party (PPP) following WWII. A power struggle with Indo-Guyanese members led the Afro-Guyanese to leave the party, eventually forming the People's National Congress (PNC). The leftist PPP controlled the government in the pre- and post-independence periods. The opposition undertook a destabilizing campaign that involved riots and demonstrations during 1961-64. More than 150 were killed and a thousand homes destroyed in early 1964. That year, the PPP lost its clear legislative majority. When the PNC formed a coalition with the United Front, they gained the majority and were able to choose a new Prime Minister. Forbes Burnham entered office in late 1964 and remained until his death in 1985, during a period of severe economic crisis. He was widely thoug