Today marks Guyana’s 44th Independence anniversary and all patriotic Guyanese should feel a sense of pride of being liberated from the shackles of colonialism which saw our country being buried in a sea of foreign domination and our destiny largely determined by a colonial master.
In our case, we became a colony of Britain which formed the largest colonial empire having countries from the Caribbean, Asia, Africa and North America under its subjugation, however, a few countries such as the USA and Canada were able to achieve their independence very early and no doubt their advanced political, economic and technological development is a manifestation of their early break from the colonial yoke.
But the countries of the Caribbean, Asia and Africa remained under colonial rule for a very long time and it was not until the independence movement of India led by Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, triumphed in 1948, that the independence movements of the countries in the British Empire gain momentum. And shortly afterwards many countries in Africa and Asia were able to get their independence followed by countries in the Caribbean including Guyana.
Our political agitation began in the 1920s into the 1930s with leaders like our National Hero Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow but the first truly organised and crystallised political movement emerged in the late 1940s with the return of Dr. Cheddi Jagan and his wife Mrs. Janet Jagan who later teamed with Ashton Chase and Jocelyn Hubbard to form the Political Affairs Committee which was the forerunner of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) formed in January 1950. During this period also saw the return from the UK of a charismatic lawyer, Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham who became the chairman of the PPP.
It was from this period that a united political mass movement emerged and the real struggle for independence began and one of the major victories that was one in the process of the larger independence was Universal Adult Suffrage and the formation of an internal self government in 1953 through elections held for the first time under the one man one vote system.
The PPP won an overwhelming majority and Dr. Jagan became the first Premier of this country. However, Britain and its western allies became paranoid because of the pro-labour and left leaning policies of the government. As such they sought to destroy the PPP and their first step in this direction was the removal of the government after only 133 days in office by suspending the constitution and landing British troops and warships.
This period perhaps was the greatest setback to Guyana’s national and racial unity and political and economic advancement. Being the height of the Cold War, Britain and its western allies were totally intolerant of political movements which they felt were a threat to their interests. This triggered well planned political intrigues under the commonly used “communist bogey” which was used throughout the colonial empire to silence and demolish independence movements.
The political conditions at the time also provided fertile grounds for opportunists and those who had lust for power and this proved a major factor in the political events that followed. Eventually, Burnham demanded the leadership of the PPP but failed in his ambition and this led to his withdrawal from the PPP and forming initially another PPP faction which became the People’s National Congress (PNC). This split was a terrible blow to Guyana as it was along racial and political lines and the unity of 1953 was ruptured. From thereon the PPP continued to convincingly win the 1957, 1961 and 1964 elections, albeit in the latter one it did not win an overall majority. This was due to a change in the electoral system in which the British imposed the Proportional Representation (PR) and through manipulations and internal strife fuelled by Anglo-American designed plots, a coalition government between the PNC and the United Force (UF), and with the PPP out of the way, independence was granted on May 26, 1966.
But it should be noted that the period between 1962 and 1964 was one of the darkest periods in our history characterised by violence and terror masterminded through the infamous X-13 plan and directed foreign intelligence and executed by local agents of the foreign masters. All of this was aimed at destabilising and overthrow of the PPP government. And when it failed it was decided by the British and Americans that the electoral system must be changed to PR.
From 1964 we had a long reign of 28 years of undemocratic rule characterised by rigged elections, a plummeting economy, assassination and harassment of political opponents, shortages of every conceivable item including fuel, food and toilet paper and a huge international debt etc.
With the restoration of democracy in October 1992 the rebuilding process began slowly but surely.
And after 44 years of independence are we better off? The answer is yes, despite the challenges and difficulties today we have better infrastructure, a growing economy, self sufficiency in food, better schools and hospitals and a higher standard of living.
Of course we could have been better off had it not been for the unfortunate political events in our history but as a people we cannot cry over spilt milk. Instead we have to put our shoulders together in the spirit of patriotic fervor and consolidate the gains we have made as an independent nation and work patiently, persistently and dedicatedly towards achieving prosperity and the aims of our national motto: One People; One Nation; One Destiny.