Dear Editor,

The appointment of Pandit Gossai could not have been based on his suitability to serve the cultural needs of the Guyanese people so diverse in religious beliefs, customs and traditions, nor the personal needs of the President’s soul. As so many have emphasised, Gossai is simply a devout Hindu who has popularised himself among people of his own religion moreso with the melody of his Bhajans.

And Hindus so love to listen to a good “sing man/ woman”.

His appointment as special assistant to the President, instead, should be seen as a shrewd political strategy by the President and the PPP/C to bolster the seemingly waning support of the “Indians”. You see, despite the “landslide” victory of the PPP/C in the last National Elections, the statistics clearly showed that a significant number of the voting Indian population did not turn out to vote, presumably in disgust at the performance of the PPP/C government.

And presumably, those people are predominantly Hindus, given the country’s demographics. What better way to bring them back to the fold – to have their own man as a “hot line” to Almighty God and to the almighty President.

What did Karl Marx say? “Religion is the opiate of the people”. Who would have thought that this socialist president and this socialist party would use religion, a devout Hindu and his deeply religious followers in this way. But then again, “the end justifies the means”. And the PPP/C cannot risk not winning the next election with a decisive majority. It’s nothing religious, just politics.

Yours faithfully,

Shawn Mangru