WHILE I remain generally impressed by Freddie Kissoon’s brave and rather unusual writings against the many instances of missteps, misrule and misery in our dear land of Guyana, I find it increasingly difficult to understand or accept his vitriolic vituperations against the venerable Swami Aksharananda (ref.his KN column of 4/4/17: “Aksharananda gets a taste of his own medicine”). Such ad hominem attacks unnecessarily detract from the many serious core issues affecting our small society.
Freddie Kissoon takes umbrage against Swami Ji’s rightful admonition of the Principal of Central High School allowing Pastor Anderson to sermonize the ‘innocent minds’ of young students attending a ‘public school’ in Guyana, which is legally a secular state and which our current Government has formally acknowledged “social cohesion” as a major pillar of its governance. (In this context I vividly recall, ironically, the then colonial British Guiana, when as the Head Teacher of the Hindu College at Cove & John, a secondary school run under the auspices of a Hindu religious order, we catered for the separate religious needs of the various students, so much so, that in the absence of a ’Muslim’ teacher, I, a staunch Hindu, assumed the role of a Muslim teacher in leading the daily prayers for the few Muslim students).
How can any right-minded Guyanese tolerate the reported Pastor Anderson-type of Christian proselytizing in a public school in our secular and independent Guyana, let alone someone of the stature of Professor Kissoon.
Freddie’s column elaborates on a series of racial and political occurrences over the years in a manner that appears to suggest that he equates ‘racism’ with ‘religiosity.’ With all due respect, I wish to suggest that he and our fellow Guyanese desist from this; we have far too many cases of Indo-Guyanese being Christians, Muslims and Hindus, while similarly being of varying political persuasions to indulge in stereotyping. Please, please let’s deal with substantive issues without being personally abusive.
Regards
Nowrang Persaud