Dear Editor,

I wish to write regarding an article entitled, ‘Church services raise curtain on Prison Week,’ which was carried in the Guyana Chronicle on Sunday, September 30.

My concern here is the influence of the ‘church’ in state enterprises. Since only the Baptist Church was mentioned, I assume there was no space in this event for Hindus or Muslims or people of other faiths, and this begs the question, why? I understand the history of the public service in Guyana being pro-Christian since the days of colonialism, when only Christians were allowed, for instance, to teach in the schools. But we have long done away with those days and it is high time either the public service is wrestled free from such encroachment by Christianity, or that other faiths are also given equal space.

In the last census taken, 33% (the largest number for a single religion) of people in Guyana said they were Hindu. The time has come for Guyana to reflect its ethnic and racial reality in events such as Prison Week.

Yours faithfully,

Mohan Singh