Indo-Guyanese

Indo-Guyanese or Guyanese Indian are people in Guyana of Indian ancestry, primarily descended from indentured laborers brought from India to British Guiana (modern-day Guyana) during the 19th and early 20th centuries. They represent the largest ethnic group in Guyana, accounting for around 40% of the population, according to the 2012 census. The vast majority of indentured labourers in Guyana came from North India, most notably the Bhojpur and Awadh regions in the Hindi Belt of the present-day states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. A significant minority also came from South India, notably Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Among the immigrants, there were also labourers from other parts of South Asia. The vast majority of Indians came as contract labourers during the 19th century, spurred on by political upheaval, the ramifications of the Mutiny of 1857 and famine. Others of higher social status arrived as merchants, landowners and farmers pushed out of India by many of the same factors. A large Indo-Guyanese diaspora is also found in countries such as the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.