Posted June 26th. 2009

This article first appeared in the September 18, 1994 edition of the Caribbean Daylight newspaper

I write this open letter to you, Dr. Jagan, out of my concern for the future of Guyana in general, and race relations between Indians and Africans in particular. I believe that of all the Guyanese politicians, you are the one best placed at this particular historical juncture to influence at least one section of the community to accept power-sharing as an initial solution to Guyana's problems.

Your recent proposal for power sharing in the Georgetown City Council surprised me. Even more surprising was your intimation that such a model could be a starting point for real unity at the national level. I am sure I speak for many Guyanese when I say that you have finally admitted to yourself that the only way forward is a power-sharing formula among the political parties with some degree of representation.

You have always denied that there is a race problem in Guyana; a problem that some people have said could be minimized only by a Government of National Unity. You repeatedly scoffed at the WPA's calls for such a government. But now you have seen the light, it is time to act before it is too late. The ethnic problem in Guyana is almost at boiling point.

I think the place to begin is in your own constituency. My view has always been that the Guyanese people, despite their history of racial defensiveness, will rise to the call for racial unity if responsible leaders convince them that they, the leaders, are for it. You, Dr. Jagan did that in the Indian community and Sydney King and Burnham did it in the African community during the 1950's. Later on Walter Rodney did it in both communities.

It is, however, clear that since 1992 Indians and Africans have returned to their racial prisons. You alone have the keys to the Indian prison, given the fact that you have treated Indians as your personal property. For years you have hidden behind Marxism/Leninism while you have benefited from the racial division and the works of "racial dividers."

This letter is to urge you to turn a new leaf, but because it's an open letter, I must say something about your past behavior. Since you arrived on Guyana's political scene in the 1940's, most Indo-Guyanese, including those who have been disturbed by your Marxist-Leninist devotion, have looked to you for leadership. Even Indians who contend that you have never enthusiastically embraced Indian cultural values recognize you as their chief spokesperson. Consequently, you have had more access to that community than any other leader of Indian descent.

It is that high standing in the Indian community that has permitted you over the years to stave off any leader of Indian descent who challenged your hegemony or sought to rally Indo-Guyanese out of the state of racial defensiveness. The cases of Balram Singh Rai, Moses Bhagwan, and most recently Rupert Roopnarine spring to mind. You and your party, the PPP, have branded such leaders "betrayers" and "traitors." These men have consequently been politically marginalized in the Indian community. Such is your influence among Indo-Guyanese.

But please remember that when you arrived on the scene in the 1940s you fired the imagination of large sections of both race groups. Your victory in 1947 was the result of the multiracial vote of the Kitty-Buxton constituency on the East Coast of Demerara. You have acknowledged that Sydney King, who you later opposed, was most instrumental in your triumph. Your leadership of the working class during the period 1947-1953 cannot be denied. Yours was the lone voice in the National Assembly that cried out for justice for the poor and the powerless, and your pioneering work in the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) laid the foundation for the emergence of the PPP.

However, Dr. Jagan you lost your way after 1953. The multiracial base that you helped to create was undermined, and you could not meet the challenges of the new situation. You did not invent racial competition in Guyana's political culture; it was alive when you arrived on the political scene. To your eternal credit, you helped to briefly put a check on it. But once the breach was reopened, you went along with the flow. Your party quickly became a symbol of Indian domination and racism in much the same way that Burnham's PNC came to symbolize African racism. So, to both Africans and Indians your name became associated with Apan Jhat, even though you never used the term.

Many PPP supporters believe that you personally have had nothing to do with this negative image of the party. They argue that you are not a racist; that you are unaware of the racial politics practiced by some of your supporters. Many are convinced that you really mean well when you speak of racial unity. A sizable number of Indians support the PPP mainly because they believe you are sincere.

On the other hand, Dr. Jagan, you are perceived differently in the African Guyanese community. While there has been a lot of respect for your contributions over the years, most African-Guyanese believe that you are hand-in-glove with the Indian triumphalists in the PPP. Your name excites tremendous suspicion in the African communities. Yet, since you assumed office in 1992, Africans have given you a chance to govern and to demonstrate that your promise to build a united Guyana is genuine. But, the witch hunting of some of your supporters is puzzling, and your silence is even more puzzling.

You see Dr. Jagan, although you may have never publicly shown any openly racist sentiments during your long career, your record is not unblemished on this score. You have never ever come out publicly against those in the PPP who spout Indian racism and use Indianism to maintain PPP political control of Indians. In fact you have skillfully used that tendency to maintain your own power within the PPP and to achieve power at the national level. Your refusal to take a stand against racial politics at PPP bottom house meetings must be seen as tacit approval of this politics of division.

Let me remind you of a few instances when you could have made a difference. As far back as 1953 you refused to speak up when some Indian supporters questioned what they saw as a disproportionate number of Africans on the PPP's 1953 election slate. Your answer was simply words to the effect that "they support me so they are okay." In your 1956 Congress paper you reported that Indian comrades were saying that Africans in the party were not willing to make sacrifices, but you did not point out that this was simply not true. You knew very well that African leaders of the party had gone to prison after the suspension of the constitution.

Dr. Jagan, you must be aware of the numerous instances of slander against WPA leaders at PPP bottom house meetings whenever the WPA has been perceived as making inroads into the Indian community. WPA Blacks have been labeled as racists and the Indians as "confused" and "sell-outs." Further, you are yet to publicly condemn those PPP members and supporters who since the PPP's victory in 1992 have openly called for revenge against Blacks. These supporters condemn the entire African-Guyanese community for the atrocities of the PNC and they wave democracy as the new symbol of Indian domination. Black people are reminded daily of the possibility of perpetual shut out from government. Yet, Dr. Jagan, you have remained silent. Why?

I believe that your 1992 electoral victory has put you in a position of responsibility with which you are yet to come to grips. You have the opportunity to reach out to Blacks in a genuine way, but all you have done is to appoint a few Blacks to your cabinet. You must know by now that your appointment of Sam Hinds as Prime Minister and a few other Blacks to high positions is not enough. These men are hardly known in the Black community.

But, it's not too late to begin moving towards a truly national government. You recognize the need for power sharing in the Georgetown City Council but you are in a weak position to initiate it. Since you have the power to do so at the national level, why not do it there? You must stop this "convenient unity" nonsense and move to real unity. Stop talking and act. I know that in order to do so you need to fight the Indian triumphalists in the PPP. But you have the power and influence to wage a successful battle.

Dr. Jagan, you need to publicly condemn those PPP members who oppose power sharing on the grounds that now is "Indian time." Use your unmistakably good standing in the Indian community to bring the Indian masses under the multiracial banner. You may lose the extremists votes, but you will earn the eternal gratitude of the overwhelming majority of Guyanese. It will take some courage on your part, but in taking this revolutionary step you will rehabilitate your own career while at the same time save Guyana from further agony.

David Hinds lectures in Caribbean and African Diaspora Studies at Arizona State University in the USA. His writings on Politics in Guyana and the Caribbean can be found on his GuyanaCaribbeanPolitics.com website.