THE appointment of Moses Nagamootoo as Prime Minister of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana is not only being celebrated by APNU+AFC supporters but also the folks in his Motherland, India, more particularly in the state Tamil Nadu.Nagamootoo’s ascension to the high office is seen as a great achievement of a son in the Indian diaspora.
The Madrassi Guyanese politician of Tamil Nadu, South India origin, is the most popular and persuasive politicians among the grassroots Indians in Guyana.

As the Prime Ministerial candidate of the APNU+AFC coalition, Nagamootoo, a dedicated ‘Jaganite’, also enjoyed wide support of the Afro-Guyanese segment of the population during the recent General and Regional Elections campaign.
In its May 19 issue, popular Tamil daily Dinamalar notes the new Prime Minister’s origin and celebrates his achievement.
“The Tamil communities from all over the world are congratulating Mr. Moses Veerasammy Nagamootoo, who won as Prime Minister with the support of Guyana citizens,” the newspaper stated.
Nagamootoo, a former Executive of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C), who had parted way with the party after years of being sidelined, was on Wednesday sworn in as Prime Minister of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana.
Also an author, Attorney-at-Law and distinguished journalist, Nagamootoo on taking the Oath of Office, promised to bring about Constitutional Reform.
He said a start will be made on “humbling the powers of the President, the excessive powers of the Executive, and to see how we could bring about greater inclusion within the governing system”.
This will enable Guyana to ascend new heights of democracy, as the coalition seeks to build a strong, prosperous and united country.
According to Wikipedia, between 1838 and 1917, over 500 ship voyages with 238,909 Indentured Indian immigrants came to Guyana, while 75,898 of them or their children returned to India.
VAST MAJORITY
The vast majority of the Indian immigrants that came were from the Hindustani (or Hindi)-speaking areas of North India. The most popular Hindustani dialect spoken among these immigrants was Bhojpuri (spoken in east Uttar Pradesh and west Bihar), followed by Awadhi (spoken in central Uttar Pradesh).
Sixty-two per cent of the Indian immigrants to Guyana came from districts that are now part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh; 21% from districts that are now part of Bihar State; 6% were from pre-partioned Bengal; 3% from what are today Orissa and Jharkhand States; 3% from what is today Tamil Nadu State; 3% from Central India: 1% from pre-partioned Punjab; and the remaining 1% from the rest of India.
Some 96.8% of all the Indian immigrants to Guyana left from the port of Calcutta in North India, and 3.2% from the port of Madras in South India.
They came to work on the sugar plantation as indentured servants and when their tenure came to an end, a large number chose to remain in Guyana. Indians have been successful in practically every sphere of life in Guyana be it from politics to entrepreneurship.
Venkatavaravan Kalyanaam, a former Secretary of the great freedom fighter and peace icon Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, speaking from India, expressed congratulations to new Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and President David Granger on being victorious at the May 11 polls.
Kalyanaam, 94, also congratulates Guyana which on May 26 will be celebrating 49 years as an Independent nation. He told the Chronicle that Guyana is a blessed country and all should strive to ensure it continues to develop and remains a peaceful nation.
His adopted son, Durai Vaiyapuri, an Organic Research Scientist and Sugarcane Expert who has been working in Guyana since 2010 on a number of research projects, including sugarcane, compost, soil, sandalwood and neem medicinal benefits, also echoed similar sentiments.
He said it is time all Guyanese work together and work hard so that Guyana continues to grow and flourish.

By Tajeram Mohabir