TODAY marks the 17th death anniversary of the Liberator of Guyana and Father of the Nation, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, and the Chronicle reflects, in a brief way, on the life and times of Dr. Jagan, and his vehicle for achieving freedom for Guyana: the PPP.

In December 2010, the PPP brought to an end its year-long celebratory activities to mark its 60 years of existence, and in retrospect, and of primary importance, homage must also be paid to the people whose lives were martyred in the struggle for dignity and freedom for the working-class people of Guyana, especially the Enmore Martyrs, whose death so moved a young and idealistic Cheddi Jagan, that he vowed to dedicate his entire life to “the cause of the struggle of the Guyanese people against bondage and exploitation.”
The legacy of care and love for Guyana and the Guyanese people was entrusted by the Jagans to an equally dynamic and visionary young man, Bharrat Jagdeo, whose potential for magnificent leadership they had the vision and foresight to recognise.
And while there was vehement opposition to their choice on many fronts then, today, the world has taken cognizance of their perspicacity at placing into the hands of a then very untested and untried young man all they aspired for this country.
Thus, while they gracefully bowed to their own mortality, they did not abandon their cause to the fates or destiny, but continued to guide and nurture the welfare of the nation to which they had dedicated their entire adult lives through the strong and visionary leadership of Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, who has achieved international recognition for Guyana, thereby eradicating the dark image of Jonestown from the silhouette of this nation’s identity within the international consciousness as a passionate advocate of humanity and the Earth, for which he was presented with the Champion of the Earth Award in 2010 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Former President Jagdeo has said that we have to forget the past that has caused this nation much pain, grief, and developmental retrogression, and endeavour to carve a better country for future generations, because the past should only be used for analytic purposes.
But when Guyana’s past and present are being re-written to make villains into heroes, and vice versa, by those with vested interests, then, for the edification of posterity, it is incumbent upon propagators of truth to put the dynamics into perspective, and let the readers judge for themselves, instead of having persons with agendas restructure the landscape of this nation’s history, to the detriment of future generations.
The PPP’s battle song, “O Fighting Men” is as relevant now as it was then, because the struggle continues, and the PPP and its affiliate arms, the Women’s Progressive Organisation (WPO) and the Progressive Youth Organisation (PYO), have no dearth of the fighting spirit that has kept the PPP unwaveringly and unerringly on the path carved in the footsteps of the Father of the Guyanese Nation and spiritual head of the PPP, Dr. Cheddi Jagan.
The governing party has been integral to carving an identity and a future for Guyana and its once very suppressed people who did not achieve independence even after having been granted the instruments of independence by Britain, until October 5, 1992, rightfully hailed as “The Dawn of a New Era”.
The story of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is the saga of the amazing journey of Dr. Cheddi and Mrs. Janet Jagan, two dynamic and visionary persons from very diverse cultures, who merged their lives and efforts to carve, through the grindstone of adversity, a future of promise and hope for the long-suffering Guyanese people, and the men and women who joined with them at different stages of the eventful journey that is slowly but surely fructifying into making that future one of Peace, Progress, and Prosperity (PPP).