Indian Arrival Day is a national public holiday in Trinidad and Tobago to commemorate the arrival of the first Indian indentured laborers to the country in 1845. It honors the contributions, culture, and resilience of the Indo-Trinidadian community, whose ancestors came from India to work on sugar plantations after slavery was abolished.

When is Indian Arrival Day?

Indian Arrival Day is celebrated on May 30 each year.

The following is the list of Indian Arrival Day from 2020 to 2049.

The History of Indian Arrival Day?

In 1834, slavery was abolished across the British Empire.

In 1838, full emancipation took effect in Trinidad and Tobago.

With the end of slavery, plantation owners faced a major labor shortage, especially for sugarcane harvesting. The British colonial authorities turned to India for a new labor source under a system called indentureship.

On May 30, 1845, the ship Fatel Razack arrived in Trinidad, carrying 225 Indian indentured laborers from Calcutta (now Kolkata). This was the first official arrival of Indians to Trinidad, marking the start of a major demographic and cultural shift.

Between 1845 and 1917, over 147,000 Indians were brought to Trinidad to work on plantations under five-year contracts. Many chose to stay after their contracts, forming what is now the Indo-Trinidadian community.

In 1995, under Prime Minister Patrick Manning, the government declared May 30 as Indian Arrival Day, a national public holiday to mark the 150th anniversary of the Fatel Razack's landing.