In this article, we will explore the impact of Dougla people on different aspects of today's society. Dougla people has become a topic of interest and debate in recent years, generating conflicting opinions and provoking various reactions in public opinion. Through in-depth analysis, we will examine how Dougla people has influenced culture, economics, politics, and other relevant fields. Additionally, we will discuss the short- and long-term implications of Dougla people, as well as possible prospects for the future. This article aims to provide a comprehensive and detailed view on Dougla people, highlighting its relevance in contemporary society.
Caribbean people of mixed African and Indian descent
Dougla people (plural Douglas) are Caribbean people who are of mixedAfrican and Indian descent. The word Dougla (also Dugla or Dogla) is used throughout the Dutch and English-speaking Caribbean.
Definition
The word Dougla originated from dogala (दोगला), which is a Caribbean Hindustani word that literally means "two-necks" and may mean "many", "much" or "a mix". Its etymological roots are cognate with the Hindi "do" meaning "two" and "gala", which means "throat". Within the West Indies context, the word is used only for one type of mixed race people: Afro-Indians.
The 2012 Guyana census identified 29.25% of the population as Afro-Guyanese, 39.83% as Indo-Guyanese, and 19.88% as "mixed," recognized as mostly representing the offspring of the former two groups.
There are sporadic records of Indo-Euro interracial relationships, both consensual and nonconsensual, before any ethnic mixing of the African and Indian variety.
In 1961, the calypsonian musician Mighty Dougla (born Cletus Ali) described the predicament of Douglas:
If they sending Indians to India,
And Africans back to Africa,
Well, somebody please just tell me,
Where they sending poor me,
I am neither one nor the other,
Six of one, half dozen of the other,
So if they sending all these people back home for true,
They got to split me in two
— Split Me in Two
Notable Douglas
Cletus Ali, Trinidadian musician, better known as Mighty Dougla
Barratt, Sue A, and Aleah N. Ranjitsingh. Dougla in the Twenty-First Century: Adding to the Mix. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2021. ISBN9781496833709. See also CUNY Asian and Asian American Research Institute author interview on 19 November 2021.