Devant Maharaj - Background

Background

Maharaj background includes Indo-Trinidadian writer, cultural, social and political activist whose ancestors came from Uttar Pradesh, India in the 1870s to work on the sugar plantations of Trinidad and Tobago as indentured servants. Devant Maharaj is an Executive Member of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha Inc. (SDMS) - the largest Hindu body in Trinidad and Tobago and as such has been primarily associated with Indian and Hindu activity associated with the SDMS led by Satnarayan Maharaj. He was the youngest member of the SDMS when he was appointed in 1996.In 2000 his wife gave birth to a son they named Savitur Maharaj.

In 1996 Devant along with the Trinidad Express Columnist Kamal Persad began the first Indian oriented radio talk show in Trinidad called "The Hindu View Point" which ran for 2 years on 91.1 FM. This was the forerunner to many Indian talk shows that later evolved on the island nation.

Maharaj was subsequently a weekly columnist with the Trinidad Newsday from 1997-2005 but he has also been published in the Trinidad Guardian. A prolific writer on Indo-Caribbean issues Maharaj has also been published in several regional and international newspapers including The Jamaica Gleaner, The Barbados Nation, The St. Lucia Star, India Post, Asian Age, BJP Today, Hinduism Today, Indian Express, India Abroad, to name a few.

In 2002 Maharaj was appointed the SDMS Delegate to the Inter-Religious Organization (IRO) of Trinidad & Tobago and was again the youngest member of the IRO. The Inter Religious Organization formed in the 1970s brings all major religious groupings on the island for regular discussions so to build greater religious understanding. Maharaj held this position in the IRO until 2006.

In 2005 Maharaj was appointed by the SDMS as Chairman of the Indian Caribbean Museum of Trinidad and Tobago. Located in Waterloo, Carapichaima, this body was established to collect artifacts on the Indo-Trinidadian presence in Trinidad and Tobago. The Museum has since grown attracting visitors locally and internationally.

In August 2006 he left the public service to assume the position of Chief Executive Officer of SDMS’s Radio Jaagriti 102.7 FM . It is the only Hindu Radio Station in the Western Hemisphere. Maharaj has presented many papers at a variety of forums on Indian and Hindu issues within Trinidad & Tobago. Maharaj is also the co-editor of the book "Hostile & Recalcitrant" and has also self published booklets titled "The Persistence of the Indian Identity" and "Clash of Cultures: Indian African Clash".

In November 2007 Devant Maharaj unsuccessfully contested the Couva South constituency for the newly formed Congress of the People led by Winston Dookeran in the General Elections.