Dornald Lenroy Thomas

Stories from our Indian Elders Dornald Lenroy Thomas

Your choices now and in the future are guided by the past.

Tap into the resources and experiences of our Elders today!




The Indians who travelled to St. Vincent over a hundred years ago demonstrated how human beings can adapt to deal with difficult situations. In the face of dire economic conditions and famines in India many of them showed bravery by travelling abroad. Their lives and that of their descendants over the years show how they survived and became successful. In this book you will be captivated by the Elders' stories of hardship, risk-taking, struggle, adaptation, assimilation, strategy, identity, resilience, progress, strength and success. The book is a collection of eight fascinating interviews followed by thematic analyses and commentaries.




The stories are preceded with a background of the historical situation that existed both in India and St. Vincent before the Indians embarked on their journeys to the Caribbean. They are followed by a periodic review of the narratives and a consideration of available records while also looking at the current situation in St. Vincent and India and future relationship possibilities.




"This work by Lenroy Thomas is a compelling read. Although it is dedicated to Indo-Vincentians in SVG and in the diaspora, it is really for all Vincentians since the Indian population is a significant part of the nation and has made valuable contributions to overall national development... I congratulate Lenroy Thomas on this piece of work and was pleased that he used oral history as a tool for developing the story of his people." Dr. Adrian Fraser, Retired Head of the University of the West Indies Open Campus.




?This book by Lenroy Thomas is a rich, multi-layered and multi-faceted resource. It contains the historical background of Indians in SVG, transcribed interviews with elders, and rare photographs. The value of this book resides in its worth as a source of secondary and primary data. The analysis of the interviews themselves can be the material for another book.

- Dr. Kumar Mahabir, Anthropologist, University of Guyana