WITHOUT any intention whatsoever of being disrespectful, this is my response to a question raised as to who will speak for the Indians in Guyana. I can only speak for myself and this is my truth.Prior to 1992, this Hindu woman felt as if she did not belong in the country of her birth. When Dr Jagan was President, I had some hope, even though I never saw or felt that he cared for me as a Hindu in particular and I will explain now why those hopes were shattered.

I was asked to help out at the then GTV, as the then General Manager felt that their programmes should reflect on/appeal to the general population and he felt that there were very few programmes for Indians, especially Hindus.
So we started several programmes to address that issue. One day, said manager and Milton Drepaul were very upset and they related that they received a call from Dr. Jagan asking them if they think they are running a Hindu station and that they should cut that out. Mr Taylor and Mr Drepaul both migrated to Suriname soon afterwards. (Dr Jagan had requested Mr Taylor to return home and serve his country after he became President.)

Dr Jagan loved my music and encouraged me at every time he met me; but as for Hinduness…. I never felt his interest. I can remember when my dad hosted a reception at our home to celebrate Dr Jagan’s 40th year in Parliament…in his speech, he made a reference to his mother being a devout Hindu and that she influenced him. Afterwards, I heard Uncle Chach Rambarran saying to my dad, and Pandit Reep, and others, that it was the first time that he has ever heard Dr Jagan refer to his Hindu roots.

After his death, I lost all hope. Neither Mrs Jagan, Mr Jagdeo nor Mr Ramotar used a Gita at their swearing in ceremonies whilst Mr Hinds did not have a problem using his Bible.

Throughout my life in the Dharmic Sabha….prior to 1992, Dr and Mrs Jagan only attended the big functions…Holi especially and sometimes the senior PPP members would turn up at the stage programmes at either Queen’s College, St. Rose’s or Farnum Ground….at cultural programmes; never at the religious ones.

I know for a fact that the Dharmic Sabha was the instrument to keep Hindus within the PPP, as the Hindus were not pleased that Dr Jagan did not identify himself as Hindu. I can attest to this again…a cultural programme was also organised to observe Dr Jagan’s 40th year as a parliamentarian. My father organised it and held it at the LBI mandir. The business community were not interested in participating, only the Communist diplomats attended, the only Indian professionals that came were Uncle Prem Persaud and his brother, Uncle
Vidyanand Persaud.
The temples on the East Coast attended because they were all under my father’s chairmanship. I can remember people did not even want to sing for the programme and I just told my dad…don’t worry if no one shows up, I alone can and will sing for the whole programme. The Indian representatives said they will not attend and the teachers at the Indian
Cultural Centre were not allowed to perform either. However, because of my dad’s close relationship with the dance teacher, he sent his daughter to dance.

During the rulership of the supposedly Indian Government, I felt extremely unsafe, unprotected and neglected. It is because of them I came to the stark realisation that not because they look like me  means that they will automatically represent me. There are so many, many incidents that will fill a booklet should I start writing now.

I do know who will represent me and my welfare in this present Government, and his name is Mr Raphael Trotman. I listened to him and watched him after he and Mr Ramjattan formed the AFC. It was just before Raksha Bandhan and when this day came, I went and tied a Rakhi and did the ceremony with him in the AFC’s office. I explained why I came to him…that I felt no one in the Government cared about my safety and welfare.

Safety and protection are two of the most essential necessities in the life of a Hindu woman. And under the PPP Government, we were subjected to some of the most atrocious and acrimonious crimes. I sat with Swami Aksharananda Ji several times, outside Parliament, when he was on his hunger fast protesting against the PPP. I was also there at the programme that GIHA organised at Lusignan, for the people who were butchered, and I stood beside him when he performed a cremation at the said programme.

This was an Indian Government in power when GIFT documented the crimes committed against people of Indian descent on January 12th, 1998, after the elections for Mrs Jagan. They presented their findings at a function at the Pegasus Hotel. The then Prime Minister said he was unaware of those incidents. Swami Aksharnanda Ji was one of the persons who did the documentation.

I have learnt the hard way that I do not need someone looking like me to represent me. And that all that is needed is goodness, honesty and integrity. I have learnt that being Hindu in particular and Indian in general does not automatically make one a good or better person. I have learnt that race and ethnicity have no copyright on goodness and integrity.

From the moment I tied a Rakhi on Mr Trotman’s wrist, I had another loving caring brother. When our youngest sibling passed away, he was there for our family and on the day of the cremation, he hugged each of us and reassured us to never hesitate to call on him. And he kept his word in so many ways. This is what I and anyone should want from our leaders; reassurance that they will be there for us, that they care and they will protect us.

N. SAHADEO
Queens, New York