Dear Editor,
Then Prime Minister of Guyana, Mr LFS Burnham, appointed Pt. Gowkarran Sharma to his cabinet. I was young then and not politically nor socially aware at that time; but I cannot recall persons like Mr Clarence Ellis protesting this appointment. More to the point – could they have protested, even if they wanted to? Pt. Sharma was a highly-respected Hindu leader, so what is so radically different between his appointment and that of Pt. Gossai’s?
Mr Burnham was astute and many charges can justifiably be levelled against him, but I would take issue with anyone who calls him racist; not on the basis of Pt. Sharma’s appointment, but as a young woman I had many conversations with him. I think there are more hypocrites and petty-minded bigots in the PPP Government’s cabinet than Burnham ever was but, having said that, I would quote from the Son of God himself, who said “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.” Certain appointments, by virtue of the Government’s mandate, are theirs to make. If there are credible grounds – such as criminality, for protesting such appointments, then fine. This is a democracy – but religion and race should not be the bases for such protest. That is all I am contending. Get to know the person before adjudicating on the issue. MPs from every political party comprise parliamentary committees and they have developed better understanding of each other to the extent that some once-bitter enemies have now become friends as they grapple with national issues together. When consensus cannot be reached the disagreements are most often resolved in an amicable manner. Even in parliamentary debates that sharp edge of animosity that once prevailed is noticeably missing in most instances.
I hold in contempt Mr Ellis’s contention that my letter gives bias to East Indian primacy. It is such skewed thinking that creates racial conflicts in the world. I would degrade my own children if I thought like that. I formulated an analysis within a relevant context based on historical facts; and to constrain Mahatma Gandhi’s great ideals, philosophies and absolute humanism within the boundaries of racist polemics, as Mr Ellis seeks to do, is an indictment of Mr. Ellis himself.
There are those better-informed than I am on Hindu theology who could more effectively discourse on the philosophies of this ancient religion but, subject to correction, I do not think casteism is part of its doctrines but more of societal mores – man-driven and informed – and as long as civilization as we know it exists, there will always be situational and societal norms that degrade the human spirit and condition. Harijans are of the mind. We are all God’s people, but many of us fall prey to the devil through the choices we make. If a leader tells a young man to take a cutlass and farm his land, rather than to take a gun and kill someone for wealth accrued through farming, everybody would win. His leadership skills could be displayed in lobbying for markets, explorations and expansions of product lines, etc. Universally-beloved and admired Oprah Winfrey does not preach racism. She is a humanist, but she uses strategies to empower members of her own race without compromising her own basic humanity and integrity.
And I agree that the President is president to all the races and not just to East Indians. That is why he appointed Bishop Juan Edgehill to head the Ethnic Relations Commission; not because of the ancestry or religion of the latter, but because of his supposed competence and qualifications. But even the Bishop is coming under fire; so what inference should be drawn here? I am not defending President Jagdeo here, because I am a Hindu Indo/Chinese Guyanese single-mother who can write a book on persecution by the PPP Government (as I plan to do someday), but we need to stop the divisiveness and start the healing process somewhere, and intelligent persons like Mr. Ellis can very well initiate programmes toward this eventuality, otherwise we will subsume and consume ourselves in the purgatory of hatred and intolerance.
I have an African Guyanese friend whom I love like a brother. He is close to many Hindu families and is one of the most brilliant persons I know. He nurtured me when I was young, idealistic, naive, and very passionate about the things I believe in. We share a common love of literature and the arts.
One day I happened upon an article he wrote in a New York-based newspaper where, in support of Kean Gibson’s book, he lashed out at Hindus and Hinduism in such a vitriolic way that made me want to crawl into a dark corner and nurse my soul, because I felt something of beauty that I cherished had become tainted. Do I still love him? Yes, I do; because the history we share is very real and the affection between us is very sincere. When I next see him I would still want to walk into his arms and hug and be hugged by him; but the respect I once accorded him as an exceptional human being is gone.
Bigotry is as much a disease as is alcoholism, and it has the same universal composition and elements. Some can be cured, others cannot be because, first of all, the one suffering from such a disease must want to be cured. They cannot see the wider spectrum spanning humanity because their vision is severely constrained within the narrow parameters of their skewed perspectives. I do hope Mr Ellis is not psychologically-challenged in such a manner.
This would be my only response on this subject.
Yours faithfully,
Parvati Persaud-Edwards
