PRESIDENT, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, during a recent address at the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre to mark the 26th death anniversary of former President, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, lauded his contributions to Guyana and said ‘the ink of history will forever be fresh with his ideas, contributions, and sacrifices for freedom, democracy, equality, unity, fairness and upliftment of all of humanity’.
These observations were made against the background of some elements in our society who are seeking to downplay, if not denigrate Dr. Jagan ‘s stellar contributions to a free, democratic and prosperous Guyana, to which he dedicated his entire adult life.
According to President Ali, Dr. Jagan was a man of great principles, vision and courage. He was not a reactionary force, he was a thinking force.
As observed by President Ali, ‘he lived ahead of his time; comrade Cheddi was not a reactionary force, he was a thinking force so he was always ahead of his time. If you read the depth of some of the things he wrote, you will see how far in advance of society and thinking he was. Importantly, in his death, his teachings remain constant with reality. That is why his life is still applicable to the social, political and economic transformation of Guyana and the region’.
Similar observations were made by former President and current Vice-President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo who described Dr. Jagan as ‘a freedom fighter, a visionary and a revolutionary’. He lauded Dr. Jagan’s deep interest and commitment to Guyana and the world. His call for a New Global Human Order has vindicated himself over those who look at the world with a narrow view. In fact, Dr. Jagan was awarded the Order of Liberation on December 18, 2007, at a ceremony on the lawns of State House.
The Order of Liberation is the foremost highest national award that can be presented upon any individual who, by a lifetime of honourable achievements, dedicated his/her life to the improvement of fellow humankind.
Without a doubt, Dr. Jagan was a visionary. Vision, it is said, is that ability to see things not as they are but as they will be. It was that visionary thinking that led him to establish, in the then colony of British Guiana, the country’s first and only national university, the Bank of Guyana and the Guyana School of Agriculture among several other institutions and developmental projects. Dr. Jagan was a strong advocate for debt relief for Guyana and several other highly-indebted nations which he saw as ‘millstones’ that impeded economic growth and development.
His call for a new global human order, world peace and cuts in military continue to resonate with people across the globe.
It was Dr. Jagan, it will be recalled, who called on the industrialised countries to compensate Guyana for the preservation of its standing forests, something that has now become a reality under the current PPP/C administration.
But it was his tenacity and indomitable struggle against colonial rule and later on PNC dictatorial rule that stood out as a defining character of his long and glorious struggle to the cause of a better Guyana. That struggle culminated in his election on October 5, 1992 as the country’s first democratically elected Executive President of Guyana after nearly three decades of PNC dictatorial rule.
As noted by President Ali, Dr. Jagan’s legacy is an inspiration to all those who believe in the power of democracy, social justice and human rights. He was indeed a leader who inspired others to follow in his footsteps and someone who remains a symbol of hope for the oppressed and the marginalised.
