Dear Editor,
I refer to two letters published in the Guyana Chronicle by ghost writers about Navin Chandarpal. One of them was supposed to have been written by the wife of his former driver, but in a letter published in the SN (‘Not the writer of the letter about Navin Chandarpal,’ Feb 2), she came forward to say she had authored no such letter. The correspondence which appeared in the GC contained unfair and irresponsible statements, and conveyed an incorrect impression of a decent party comrade.
I have had the honour and privilege on many occasions to meet and talk with comrades Navin and Indra Chandarpal. I was always moved and deeply touched by the sincere way in which they expressed their beliefs, whether they were discussing political issues or government issues that impacted on the working man and woman.
They are being severely harassed by those who are bolstering their own aggrandizement, and encouraging divisions in the party and country, but they know where the blame lies and hold no rancour against these men and women. Looking back over those decades, I have never regretted accepting the Chandarpals’ camaraderie and friendship. What I learnt in those decades from both of them can never be erased, even as circumstances change.
They were probably the most active members of the party mentally, physically and emotionally; they were stimulating people to be around – not hyperactive, but just full of vitality and zest for party life. This quality was infectious, and it transmitted to others around them. Navin and Indra admired and worked along with every man and woman in the party, but later became disillusioned with some in that organization for it demonstrated a failure to be a militant instrument to fight for the rights of the stalwarts and the sugar workers. All that I have said before was to demonstrate their consistency over the years for the party and government. They never departed from this conviction that everything must be done to advance the interests of the ordinary working man and woman if Guyana was to progress economically and otherwise.
My first immediate contact with Navin and Indra had occurred as a very young PYO activist; we had engaged in a lot of discussions at that time on the basis of friendship which lasted until today.
We had a bond which I felt was very important to my own personal development and we talked about a lot of things. The subjects were several – the struggle for free and fair elections, etc. No one can dispute that Navin and Indra Chandarpal made an enormous contribution to the struggles of Guyana. The people who critiqued and attacked them are opportunists who seek to facilitate their appointment to a position rather than act on principle, unlike some of us who fought the dictatorship.
I believe the Chandarpals deserve the highest praise and accolades.
Yours faithfully,
Mohamed Khan
