THE Government of Guyana has decided to remove the words ‘Negro’ and ‘East Indian’ as a form of identification. This is a commendable initiative on the part of the PPP/C administration especially in the context of the country’s evolution to a One Guyana vision.
The use of the terms ‘Negro’ and ‘East Indian’ had its origin in the early period of our colonial history. It was introduced in the colony’s vernacular by the then-colonial administration as a form of identification to distinguish one ethnic group from the others.
For decades these descriptions were, by and large, a part of the Guyanese vernacular until recently when some persons opportunistically decided to capitalise on the issue out of narrow partisan considerations.
As pointed out by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Ms. Gail Teixeira, the Government of Guyana, with immediate effect ordered a ban on the usage of the words ‘Negro’ and ‘Indian’ by the Guyana Police Force and public health institutions when referencing Guyana’s main ethnic groups.
These will henceforth be ‘Guyanese of African descent’ and ‘Guyanese of Indian descent respectively.’ Similar referencing words are to be used for other ethnicities as well.
In a recent statement, Minister Teixeira disclosed that the decision was made by Cabinet in recognition of the fact that a significant number of Guyanese found the words ‘offensive’.
It is worth noting that these words were used as a tool of identification since the pre and post-colonial years. Yet it took a recent case involving a Guyanese of African descent charged by the police with inciting violence against leading functionaries of the State including the President and other functionaries for the issue to be brought to the attention of the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC). For the record, the ERC was established in the year 2000 by the PPP/C administration, the first of its kind in the Caribbean.
In a letter to the Commission, prominent Attorney and opposition activist Nigel Hughes claimed that the use of the word ‘Negro’ by the Police Force is a violation of Article 149 of the Guyana Constitution and several other pieces of legislation which commit to equality and non-discrimination and mandates that all citizens be treated with respect and fairness.
Although in principle there is nothing inherently wrong in the merits of the argument, it boggles the mind that it took the arrest of a known opposition social media activist who was charged with violating the Cybercrime Act after a caller to his Facebook programme allegedly advocated the killing of the President and four government ministers.
But, as pointed out by Vice-President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, the then PNC regime which ruled Guyana, albeit undemocratically, for twenty-eight years from 1964 to 1992 and again from 2015 to 2020, a total of 33 years never saw it fit to correct this seemingly aberration but become, as it were, conveniently awoken from its slumber and make it a national issue, which could easily be corrected administratively as was done by the PPP/C Cabinet.
Nor did others in positions of authority ever make any mention of the ‘offensive’ nature of the words until the recent case of alleged violation of the Cybercrime Act by a known opposition social media activist.
The above notwithstanding, the PPP/C administration must be commended for the prompt action it has taken to put the issue to rest. This fully accords with the One Guyana vision as articulated by President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali and the desire of the current administration to build a tolerant and cohesive Guyana where every citizen, regardless of ethnicity or colour, is equal before the law and is treated in a fair and dignified manner.
