Dear Editor,
I will be grateful if you permit me some space in your valued letter columns to reply to Devika Persaud’s letter in your 4th June edition in order to correct what she wrote and in the sole interest of historical accuracy. All of this of course emanating from an error in the obituary on Ayube Hamid in SN (mentioning him as a founder of GYO) causing me to write your newspaper to set things right.
Unfortunately, this virus-like error wormed its way into a plaque put up by the Indian Commemoration Trust at the Monument Gardens to honour Ayube Hamid, and also into a magazine distributed by this same body in celebration of the 175th Anniversary of the Arrival of East Indians to Guyana. I understand, however, that the ICT is taking corrective action.
The Mahatma Gandhiji Organization was registered on November 5th, 1953 and celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. It underwent some name changes for reasons of which I am not exactly aware. It is because of this important milestone in particular that I decided to do a riposte to Ms Persaud’s letter a lady whose name does not ring a bell despite my 40-plus years of being involved with the GYO. Ms Persaud referred to my letter as having mentioned Dr Balwant Singh in the context of him being a life member of the GYO, hence making her first error due to careless reading of my first contribution. She then conspired to make a second error in her short letter saying that Dr B Singh served as General Secretary up to a few years before his death circa 2002. This statement is absolutely incorrect; as a matter of fact Dr Balwant Singh Sr “handed over” the organisation’s management to a committee led by Pandit Ramkissoon Maharaj (Attorney-at-Law) around 1990-91, after which Yamona K Hiralall became the General Secretary, and subsequent to this handover, Dr Singh was rarely seen at the GYO.
I wish to point out that Shriman Dr Balwant Singh Ji Sr was associated with the Maha Sabha as President (according to my information) before demitting office. This may have had to do with a perceived conflict of interest, given that he was also head of the Public Service Union which had supported a national strike in 1963.
After this saga, Dr Balwant Singh sought a new avenue to express his love for Hinduism and Indian culture and found a welcoming ‘home’ at Gandhi Bhavan, Woolford Avenue, Thomas Lands around 1963-4. Therefore, he could not have been a founder of the MGO/GYO using the Oxford dictionary meaning person “establishing an organisation.” The office operated from the Bhavan at Woolford Avenue and subsequently at the Crown and Peter Rose Streets property, due primarily to space constraints.
I have already alluded to those who could be identified as having conceptualised and established the MGO in my letter to Stabroek dated May 28th, 2013. I also wish to add that the Late Harry Singh (former Director Guyana Stores Ltd Services Division and son-in-law of founder Raghunandan Misir served as General Secretary for a period during the formative years (information provided by Purshotam Shivraj).
During the pre-cremation ceremony (I was there) of the late Dharma Acharya Pandit S P Sharma at the residence of his son, Dr Deendyal Sharma, Dr Balwant Singh was asked to make some remarks and one of the things he said was, “I came and met S P Sharma at Gandhi Bhavan,” that is, the organisation was already up and running. I hope I can now say this is quod erat demonstrandum, ie Dr Balwant Singh could not be a founder based on the definition above. So I have dealt with Ms Persaud’s third and more fundamental error. Dr Singh, however, would have been very influential in the nurturing of the Youth Arm thereafter which later became synonymous with the name Gandhi Youth Organisation, and this may well have been the seed that sowed confusion in the minds of some. He was also instrumental in encouraging many youngsters such as Omkar Persaud, Yogendra Parsnauth and others to take leading roles in various activities.
Editor, it would be remiss of me, however, if I did not take the opportunity to mention some facts about Dr Balwant Singh Sr who was my late mother’s eldest Mamoo (mother’s brother).
His presence at the GYO as General Secretary (akin to the CEO of a company) afforded him the opportunity to energetically and dynamically move the GYO to greater heights, and during the two decade period of the late 1950s to the late 1970s, the halcyon days, GYO was indisputably the leading Hindu organisation in the country. Gandhi Bhavan’s Sunday Satsang was a ‘sold out’ until the mid to late 1970s, when significant migration rates inter alia took their toll. It is important to note that many professionals and middle class persons gravitated to the MGO and so this exodus left the organisation largely bereft of quality leaders.
Some of the main accomplishments for which a lot of credit must surely be given to Dr Singh were the famous Diwali fairs, free from alcohol and the vulgarities of modern vintage. Many affiliates and linkages to other temples in various parts of the country were set in motion. There was an aggressive outreach programme in the country areas ably assisted by the likes of Darshanand ji, ShriPrakash Gossai Ji, Jeevan Chowtie Ji, Bahen Deokie Ji, et al, and the establishing of a girls’ hostel, an orphanage in Queenstown and a library at Gandhi Bhavan. Dr Singh was also instrumental in introducing ‘Rama Khan’ day to observe Indian Immigration Day which was commemorated at Gandhi Bhavan for many years during his tenure. Gandhi Jayanti was ‘religiously’ observed during this period and was arguably the main observation in the country prior to the one the Indian High Commission organised yearly.
An interesting situation developed after the departure of Pandit SP Sharma (Pandit Inderpaul Tiwari, Pt Purnadatt and others assisted for a while) when Sanaatanist pandits were scarce. Dr Singh used his resourcefulness and pragmatic qualities to enlist the help of a leading Arya Samaj pandit, Chandra Sama Persaud and his protégé Pandit D J Rambharose who conducted satsangs for a few years. Many swamis and yoga professionals came to Gandhi Bhavan to give lectures during Dr Singh’s tenure.
It should be noted that Dr Singh was foremost among those who protested then President Burnham’s decision to use monies from the Indian Immigration Fund to construct the National Cultural Centre, and indeed called for Indians to boycott the NCC.
The Indian Commemoration Trust led By Sri Yesu Persaud Ji quite fittingly honoured Dr Balwant Singh Sr, though unfortunately posthumously, for years of dedicated service to Hinduism and Indian culture in general.
However Gandhi Youth was not only about being a Hindu religious and cultural body, its objectives called for the active promotion of sports and in this regard the GYO cricket club was established and played an integral role in raising the profile of the parent body. Permit me to mention some prominent names associated with the cricket club: Bisnauth Singh (maybe first club captain); Frederick Ramprashad (late distinguished Senior Counsel) who was largely credited for the club’s progress; Bertram Bowman (former Chief Statistician); Deonarine Biscessar (retired Judge); Purshotam Shivraj (former Head of State Audit); and Anand Goolsarran (former Auditor General) all of whom played very important roles as president and/or cricket captain at different times. The club participated in the Frank, Raja, Northcote and Case Cup competitions, among others (information provided by P P Shivraj who joined the organisation around 1958).
(NB: I served as treasurer of the GYO cricket club for two years.)
I close by saying that the inspiration for the establishment of the Mahatma Gandhi Organization came from the Mahatma Bapuji, and the Bhavan adopted many of his ideals and tried to promote and propagate his twin principles of Ahimsa and Satyagraha. The leaders of Gandhi Youth also emphasized that the GYO must be free of political influence which had turned out to be the bane of some leading Hindu institutions and indeed other social and cultural bodies.
Yours faithfully,
Christopher Mahendranauth Persaud
Former Senior Vice
President GYO
