Remembering Cheddi Jagan
DR. JAGAN – HIS LIFE AND WORK IN THE 1947 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
BY HON. CLEMENT J. ROHEE, M.P.
MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS
Comrades and Friends,
The year 2007 marked the 60th Anniversary of Dr. Jagan’s entry into the National Assembly of this country.
I chose to speak on the topic Dr. Jagan – His Life and Work in the 1947 Legislative Council” on this occasion for two reasons.
Firstly, because I did not contribute to the debate in the National Assembly when a Motion on this matter was debated there (in December 2007).
Secondly, having done some extensive research on the 1948 period of Dr. Jagan’s life and work in the Legislative Council as it was known at that time, I did not want that research to go wasted.
Comrades and Friends,
The Legislative Council that Dr. Jagan entered at that time was an institution dominated by the representatives of the Colonial power and the local elite; it was an institution of a class power combination with one sole purpose for its existence and that was; to perpetuate colonial rule and to make it more sophisticated and acceptable to the working people, the poor and the powerless in the Colony.
However, long before Dr. Jagan entered the hallowed Chambers of the foreign and local elite he knew very well what the situation was at that time in those Chambers.
In fact, it was because he chose to challenge the status quo and the powers that obtained at the time that he won the support of his constituents to represent them in belly of the monster.
I am convinced more than ever that were it not for men like Dr Jagan supported by ordinary working men and women, as well as the farmers the history of Guyana’s struggle for independence would have been quite different.
History is replete with examples across the world that demonstrate where men and in some cases, women, who chose to “storm the Bastille” as it were, rocked the foundations of the status quo and caused political tsunamis to wash away an already decaying colonial and imperialist rule thus opening up the way to the political independence of their countries.
Dr. Cheddi Jagan was one of such men.
It is important that we speak over and over again about the life and work of outstanding Leaders such as Dr. Jagan. If we, who are better acquainted with the facts, do not do so, the modern day revisionists of history together with those who, by way of their daily letters and columns, seek to create doubts in the minds of new generations about these worthy men’s contributions to the independence and post independence struggles for their country’s political, social and economic development, will eventually dominate contemporary philosophical and political thought in our country.
Even in his time, Dr. Jagan had cause to wage battle against such reactionary philosophical and political thinking though of different hues and shades. One such reactionary belief and practice at that time was that women should “know their place” and not seek to “step out of line” so to speak.’
Here is what Dr. Jagan had to say in the Legislative Council about the role and place of women in society way back in 1948.
“I think it is certainly a denial of rights to women in British Guiana, in not permitting them to take their place as jurors in the Colony. In most progressive countries in the world today women have been given the right to sit as jurors and I do not see why we should not give them the same right in British Guiana”.
Comrades and Friends,
About a month ago we approved the estimates and expenditure for the financial expenditures for financial year 2008 as presented in the 2008 Budget. Sixty years ago during consideration of the estimates for the financial year 1948 Dr. Jagan had cause to demonstrate his principled but flexible stand on certain issues;
Here’s what he said;
“I am a new Member of this Council and a lot of things might slip by now because, as the Hon, The First Nominated Member said, I am not properly informed, but I am going to make it my duty to get myself properly informed and if I find that these officers are not pulling their weight, I shall object very strongly to their appointment. Many of them are only pushing pens and the time has come when they must stop doing that. They are drawing tremendous salaries, compared with people working on roads and other places for an average of about $1 dollar per day. Only a few days ago some gangs working on the East Coast roads were reduced because there was not sufficient money to pay them. I will permit the estimates to be passed as they are now, but I want to see results in future.”
In a rather interesting exchange of views concerning the hours of work of the Legislative Council during the debate on the estimates, the various class interests of the Members were revealed. Here is a sampling of the said discussion;
MR FERNANDES: " I am sorry, I am going to oppose the holding of evening sessions, since I would like to get a certain amount of sleep. I work hard during the day and I would not like to come here and fall asleep. I would not like to hear that I was asleep when a particular thing was being discussed. I am quite willing to find the time to come during the day although I am always very busy. I am a racing man -- I have an interest in a horse which is running to-day – but yet I am here."
DR JAGAN: "All of us are not businessmen; some of us are professional men and work by appointment. I have already made my appointments for tomorrow and some for other days. Some of us have to make a living and we are quite willing to devote our time to the work of this Council if it would be also convenient for us to serve ourselves and the people outside. I therefore support the suggestion that we should meet in the evening in view of the fact that we have cricket and horse-racing on.”
Comrades and Friends,
Dr. Jagan had no doubt in his mind about the need to prioritize developmental issues within a National Budget.
He insisted in medical and educational matters being given priority and when the Colonial authorities through the Colonial Treasurer sought to remove a large sum of money that was allocated for Adult Education Dr. Jagan opposed the move stating:
DR JAGAN: "In referring to the question of Magistrates a few minutes ago, Your Excellency stressed the fact that we did not have sufficient money to appoint another at present, as we have to look into the question of additional expenditure. It is for that reason, I take exception to the establishment of a Volunteer Corps at a cost of $28,488 as proposed here. I am of the opinion that we in British Guiana do not need such a Corps because the British West Indian Colonies are outposts of the American Empire and there is no need for Great Britain to police the world, especially if the United States has the atom bomb and things of that kind”
When pressed by the local bourgeoisie in the House to explain his statement that the British West Indian Colonies are “outposts of the American Empire” .Dr. Jagan maintained his view stating;
“I say we should do first things first, but if we have a lot of money to waste by all means waste it, but we have other necessary things to do. I feel that I must support the Hon. Member for Essequibo River (Mr. Lee) in his suggestion that technical training of our young people is more important than mere physical exercises and discipline. Members are aware of the fact that children leaving school to-day cannot find employment. It is not discipline they want but jobs – something to do with their hands. It is the responsibility of Government to provide the wherewithal. I am not objecting just for the sake of objecting; I am objecting to this sum being spent because I feel it is unnecessary.”
Comrades, Dr. Jagan’s life work as a member of the Legislative Council was always under scrutiny by the suspicious elite and ruling classes in the Colony who came prepared to “shoot down” any suggestion they perceived as radical and contrary to their bourgeois class interest and philosophical outlook.
Listen to the words of the Colonial Treasurer:
The COLONIAL TREASURER: “ Sir, the Hon. Member has his own peculiar philosophy of life, which I now begin to appreciate and which prevents him from seeing or hearing or knowing any good about any of the things which are accepted by us in this Colony as the basis of our life.”
Now let me read to you an excerpt of Dr. Jagan’s response to this classical colonial approach to life and the livelihood of its subjects;
“My philosophy was questioned a few moments ago. The question is whether our philosophy of the present day is any better than that of the Indians. It is true that the Indians live in a primitive set-up in the sense that they do not produce as much, but I want to say that they have nothing to learn from our present day philosophy. What we need to do is to accept the philosophy of the Indians, the philosophy of Communism and living together and co-operating to the “extent of increased production”. What are we doing? We are taking our cut-throat philosophy to the Indians (laughter). Some of us may pat ourselves on the shoulder and say that we are doing marvelous work. Others may question my philosophy of life, but I want to know whether our philosophy of life is any better than the primitive philosophy of the Indians. I have grave doubts about it”.
That Dr. Jagan was concerned about the welfare and well-being of the small man and sought to use the Parliament as a forum to advance their interests was reflected in a debate on the subject of Pensions and Gratuities in 1947 in the Legislative Council.
Dr. Jagan opposed the use of public funds as contributions to certain upper class institutions which he felt made no contribution whatsoever to National Development and proposed that the said funds be used to increase the wages for lower paid workers. This is how he put it;
“I desire to draw attention to item 50 – Grant in aid to Local Forces Rifle Club, $480; item 52 –Grant to West India Committee, $51; and item 54 – Contribution towards British Society, Haiti, $24. I agree that these items are small, but from the point of view of principle, I would like to object to them because I am taking up the cause of persons who are receiving very small salaries in this Colony. In going through the Estimates I notice that persons like messengers, janitors and others are only receiving between $24 to $28 per month. Yesterday I had to take up the case of the Collecting Officers under the heading of Magistrates”
Comrades and Friends,
On the subject of Education, the Hansard of the Legislative Council reflect very lively and fierce debates between Dr. Jagan and the upholders of the Colonial status quo as the latter fought on the one hand to maintain and consolidate a system that was aimed at preserving certain values and beliefs imported from the Colonial metropolis whereas the former sought to challenge the status quo and open up new vistas in education for the younger generation. This is how Dr. Jagan put it;
“We find, however, hundreds of students always taking the Junior or Senior Cambridge examination which in the end does not mean anything to them except giving them certificates, which they could hang on the walls of their homes. I attended Queen’s College as a boy and I can say that when I left there I hardly knew anything which would have enabled me to earn a decent livelihood. In fact, I can go so far as to say that when I left there all I wanted was to get a clerical job. That is the orientation in British Guiana – to get a clerical job, or something of the kind, but we all know that clerical jobs are limited in number – and Government should see to it that this state of affairs be not allowed to continue – permitting students to take examinations only to find at the end of their studies that there are no jobs to be obtained. These poor people are spending about $20,000 yearly to take these examinations and I think the time has come when we must stop this drain on the income of the Colony”.
Dr. Jagan went on;
“I am very skeptical of the curriculum of the secondary schools because I do not feel it is laying a foundation which would tend towards independence of mind of the individual acquiring that education. I repeat, Government should take steps to see that more emphasis is laid in future on the technical and the practical sides of education. There should be more emphasis on agriculture as the Hon. Member for Georgetown North has said, and it should have preference over things that are purely cultural”.
On lighter note, during a debate on the Bill proposing increases in taxes, the debate had to do with the merits and demerits of taxation on rum.
This is what Dr. Jagan had to say;
“ I am in general agreement with what the Hon. Member has just said. My fear about these tax proposals is that they will be borne primarily by the small man.
My argument is that Government has chosen to impose further taxation on the small man while the big man who can afford to pay more at this time has been left out.
When I referred to rum as being the poor man’s drink, I was referring to the question of what he can afford to buy. The Hon. Member who has just taken his seat can afford to buy whisky and gin and other things”.
Comrades,
Now, between March 12 and 17, 1947 a marathon debate took place in the Legislative Council on the subject of closer association of the British West Indian Colonies, what was popularly referred to in those days as Federation. In winding up his lengthy contribution to the debate, this is how Dr. Jagan concluded;
“But nevertheless as a British Guianese and one interested in the welfare of the masses in British Guiana, I must speak first in the interest of the people here even if it may affect in some way the interest of the people of Great Britain, I may also state that I am not in agreement with the proposed federation – closer union or closer association – as enunciated by the vested interests. That would merely mean the pooling of a few services and leaving the Colonies to be the swimming pool of outside capital. My view of federation is that we should have a strong federal body which would have certain powers delegated to it by the several units – a strong federal body having that power with Dominion status, and with each of the units having internal self-government. That is the federation with which I am in agreement”.
Among other issues debated in the Legislative Council at that time were, developing Hydro-electric power in British Guiana, conducting Hydro-electricity surveys, land settlement and land settlement allowances for converting cane lands into rice lands as well as the Cooperative Societies Bill.
In all these debates, Dr. Jagan made lucid and sterling contributions.
Last but not least I refer to an exciting and exhaustive debate on the question of Adult Suffrage.
Here are Dr. Jagan’s views in summary;
“The situation remains the same today even though we find that in England and other progressive countries, because of the advance of democracy and democratic principles, the people have been given universal adult suffrage. The situation remains the same in British Guiana so far as income and property qualifications are concerned, but the time has arrived when, if we are to carry out the tenets of Democracy, I feel the people of this Colony should be given the right to vote when they reach the responsible age which is said to be 21 years. In certain countries I know that period of 21 years is highly contested. In the Soviet Union the age of voting is 18 years. I also have information that our neighbours in Venezuela have also fixed the age of 18 years for the exercise of the franchise. I remember when I was in the Untied States during the war there was a hue and cry for voting at the age of 18 years. The slogan was “If you can fight at 18 you can vote at 18” I certainly feel that in British Guiana we can do no less than to give the people the right to vote when they have reached the age of 21 years”.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
At this point of my presentation, I am sure you will agree with me that from all I have said so far about Dr. Jagan’s life and work in the 1947 Legislative Council it is now necessary that I draw certain conclusions and seek to establish the relevance of those conclusions in the context of present day social, economic and political realities obtaining in our country today.
The first conclusion I would like to draw is that Dr. Jagan’s contribution to the Legislative Council in those days impacted significantly on awakening the political consciousness of the Guyanese working people across the country.
Secondly, it was the first time ever that the poor and oppressed had a voice in the hallowed chambers of the Legislative Council to represent them in such an articulate and authoritative manner.
Thirdly, even though the colonial powers controlled the majority of seats in the Legislative Council and at most sittings voted down Dr. Jagan’s motions and/or amendments to motions moved by others, what mattered most to the people was not so much how the majority of votes were cast, but the force of argument and the effective use of the Legislative Council as a people’s tribune for exposing the class nature of the colonial policies and its machinations to keep the people in colonial bondage.
Fourthly, from my research it is noteworthy to learn how Dr. Jagan won tremendous support for the many enlightened positions he took to the Legislative Council and how in turn he lent support to motions tabled by representatives from other Constituencies as a means of building alliances on an issue by issue basis.
Fifthly, it is clear from Dr. Jagan’s contributions that he was a fierce defender and champion of the working people. In fact, he was extremely biased in this respect so much so that he attracted equally biased criticism and hostility from those who defended the status quo and their colonial masters.
This brings us to the sixth conclusion which is that the Legislative Council in those days had become another forum from where the class struggle and the battle of ideas were to be fought.
The point however is that these features were not only characteristic of Dr. Jagan’s life and work in the 1947 Legislative Council, in fact they were characteristic of his life and work way beyond that period up to the time of his death.
This is a very important lesson for our young people to bear in mind. That is, to always be consistent in your beliefs and to ensure that they are well grounded in the people whom you look to for support.
As we reflect on the life and work of Dr. Jagan in the 1947 Legislative Council, it is important that we consider where we are today in light of the ideological philosophical and political foundations he laid down during the halcyon days of the struggle against colonial domination.
Nowadays, it is not unusual to read and hear comments about how our Party has moved away from what Dr Jagan stood for.
The “PPP watchers” and “Freedom Houseologists” pin various labels on the Party and its Leaders to make us appear to be what they would like us to be
And it is interesting to note that they are divided in their opinion. Some think that we are no longer what we used to be while Dr. Jagan was alive. Others claim that we haven’t changed at all and that we are still the same. What is the truth?
Sometime after assuming Office Dr. Jagan had pointed out that the Government and ruling PPP must walk carefully and skillfully between compromise and transformation. That is to say; to conform with the conditionalities of the donor community but at the sametime to transform the country taking into consideration what we inherited from the PNC when we took over.
The difficult task of transforming while conforming is reflected in the Minister of Finance’ Budget Speeches. For example in 2007 the Theme of the Budget Speech was “Transforming Guyana Through Modernization and Partnership”, while this year the Theme was; “Staying the Course - Advancing the Transformation Agenda”.
But let us return to the search for the truth; Have we changed or not?
The first truth is that the majority of Guyanese agree with our policies. This was reflected in the number of votes we received at General and Regional elections. In 1992 we won 54% of the votes. In 1997 we won 55.4% of the votes and in 2006, we won 56.9% of the votes. Further, these results show that contrary to what our detractors say the PPP is a truly national party and not an Indian Party.
Some years ago Dr. Jagan pointed out that Indians in Guyana did not support him because he was Indian, rather they supported him because he fought for those who were oppressed and exploited.
Following its formation in 1950, the PPP fought against the local landlords, money lenders, shopkeepers and rice millers most of whom were Indians. The Party also associated itself with the sugar workers and fought against their exploitation by the sugar barons which exploded from time to time and in a fundamental way in 1947 with the Enmore Martyrs.
Thus the question can very well be asked why didn’t the Indian population at the time support the Luckhoo’s, the Jainarine Singh’s, the Latchmansingh”s and Balram Singh Rai most of whom were already famous long before Dr. Jagan returned to Guyana in 1943. Nobody knew Dr. Jagan when he returned. These persons came from prestigious families but did not support the ordinary working people.
Thus to say that the PPP is an Indian Party is a total falsehood. In fact, the then British and the American Administrations did not remove the PPP and install the PNC because of race, it was never a question of race. What they did was to use race to conceal their ideological and cold war objectives.
In Epilogue III to the West on Trial Dr. Jagan pointed out:
“We do not share the view that politics in Guyana is cast in rigid racial/ethnic compartments and that allegiances would never change”
He went on to add;
" It is this false assumption that led to the prediction that we could not win a majority at the 1992 elections. Had race/ethnicity been the only factor, the PPP would not have polled 54 percent of the votes."
This view proved to be true in the 1997 elections when Janet Jagan won 55.4% of the votes and in 2001 when Bharrat Jagdeo won 56.9% of the votes
Why was this so?
Firstly, this is so because our policies and programmes have made a significant impact at improving the standard of living of the working people of Guyana.
Secondly, as a Party of the working people we continue to ensure that our ideology is translated into actionable projects to bring immense benefits to our people particularly in the social sector, such as in the health, education, housing and the water sectors.
These are the very objectives that Dr. Jagan fought for in his time but it is only now with his Party in power for the longest period ever in its history that his dreams are close to reality the tremendous odds notwithstanding.
Side by side with the successful realization of these programmes the PPP true to the beliefs of Dr. Jagan, continue to exert every effort to consolidate democracy in Guyana and to ensure that the major tenets of good governance are upheld as part and parcel of the democratic process.
One of the overriding factors that must be taken into account as we assess where we are now, and how we come to be at this juncture of our country’s history is the fact that as a Party we still maintain a mass style of work.
Such a style of work is indispensable because we are a mass Party with mass support.
Moreover, we are a Party with majority ideas – a true reflection of the type of Party Dr. Jagan always wanted.
The PPP has come a far way since Dr. Jagan’s time in 1947. Three years before he and his colleagues established the Party.
Since then to now the Party has been in office for four and a half months in 1953; then for a period of seven years from 1957 to 1964. And now for fourteen years - the longest period ever in its history.
While in the opposition, the Party has been subjected to witch-hunting, floor-crossings, betrayals, harassment, attempts at liquidation, etc both at the national and international levels.
But by April 1990, the intellectual author who master-minded the machinations and manoeuvres to oust Dr. Jagan from office was bold and mature enough to say he was sorry for what he did to Dr. Jagan in 1947 to keep him out of office.
To this day, the PNC, the principal beneficiary from these machinations and manoeuvres has not seen the wisdom as yet to apologize for all the wrong doings they did to keep the PPP out of office since 1964. But this should come as no surprise since it is not their nature to do so.
Today, we still have in our midst certain elements who, for self serving reasons talk about “discrimination” and “marginalization” of Afro-Guyanese – a myth which flies in the face of the Guyanese reality.
I recently dealt with this matter in a letter I wrote to the daily news papers.
Dr. Jagan and the PPP had their detractors, critics and cynics in his time.
Today, a new generation of critics and cynics have emerged they infest the print and electronic media and use it to belch their propaganda of hate, prejudice and race, principally against the PPP and its present crop of Leaders – followers of Dr. Jagan. One of those critics was bold enough to say that he will continue to fight the PPP from his dying bed.
From such hostile elements we in the PPP cannot and should not expect otherwise. In the circumstances, ours is the task to continue the struggle on all fronts in and out of Government, in and out of Parliament, from the highways and the byways, in every street, every neighbourhood, every village, every community in every Region throughout Guyana. The voice of the PPP must be heard. And not just heard, it must be heard loud and clear as Dr. Jagan’s was during his time in the 1947 Legislative Council.
In this regard, I believe the best tribute we can pay to the memory and the legacy of Dr. Jagan is to do the following.
First, to keep working hard to advance national cohesion, racial and working peoples’ unity. The objective is to create a National Democratic State for the purpose of preserving the interests of the Nation, to save it from marginalization as a consequence of increasing trade liberalization and globalization.
Second, we must continue the fight against the pernicious and hostile propaganda being peddled by certain anti-PPP elements, politicians, social activists, and newspaper columnists who continue to push the myth that Afro Guyanese are being “marginalized” and “discriminated” against, it is nothing but a blatant lie that is being repeated over and over again, and that is why we can never stop exposing it for what it is worth, a mere fallacy.
In this respect I close by quoting from a speech by Dr. Jagan at an activity in Toronto, Canada on October 30, 1996
“So I said, "You in the opposition now have rights we never had." The PNC Government did not sign the Optional Protocol to the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Without signing that Protocol we did not have the right, I say "we", meaning individuals or organizations in Guyana, whatever they may be, to go to the UN Commission on Human Rights to put any case of discrimination, or to invite them to Guyana to investigate it. But we signed it. If we had skeletons in the cupboard, why would we sign it? Or, if we want to practice discrimination, why would we sign it? We signed it and I said, "Don't make propaganda. Go to the UN;; invite them to come; put your case to them! The OAS too, has a Human Rights Committee; go to them and ask them to come and investigate!"
I say this because as we see it, we cannot go down the road of discrimination because all we will be doing is sowing seeds of discord. You cannot marginalize any section of a country. If you do it, it is going to explode some time or the other”.
Comrades and Friends,
We all know that it is against the PPP’s ideological and philosophical convictions to consciously discriminate and marginalize any section of the Guyanese society.
The PPP/C Administration has never and will never engage in such malpractices.
If this is not so then why and how come this lie has become a reality for some so much so that it has now been elevated to a “cause” for which some are said to be pursuing by force of arms,.
The first point we need to note is that it was the PNC who started this campaign during the time of Desmond Hoyte. Thus it first begun as a political ploy used to leverage concessions from the Government.
The second point we need to note is that like every political ploy used by the PNC, this one had racial connotations; i.e. the Indian PPP/C Administration “discriminating” and “marginalizing” the Afro-Guyanese. It was an appeal to ethnic and racial insecurity as well as a call to ethnocentrism which is to view one’s own group as the center of everything. That ‘they the Indians are taking away and depriving “us” of the right to exist and therefore the frustration/ aggression syndrome which if skillfully and politically exploited could be a useful weapon in the hands of politicians who see no other means of achieving political power other than using such situations to their advantage.
Comrades and Friends,
This analysis can go on and on, but I wouldn’t. The most I can ask you to do is to stay tuned.
The political, ideological and philosophical convictions on which Dr Jagan started out in 1947 are still valid in today’s context. We can do him no greater service but to cherish his convictions and beliefs and to work hard to make them more and more relevant to our day to day activities.
Long live the Memory, the Life and Work of Cheddi Jagan.
I thank you!