I have seen countless comments of a real political nature coming from the pen of Mr Vishnu Bisram in both newspapers (Stabroek and Kaieteur), comments so political that he takes it upon himself to actually criticize President Cheddi under the pretence of ‘correcting’ Freddie Kissoon. Why is Mr Bisram out to become a political commentator when he claims to be a pollster with legitimacy? Pollsters worldwide never get involved in political viewpoints because it is a matter of principle and professional decorum that they refrain from such actions in order to provide an unbiased poll. I once met Mr Bisram and advised him to desist from squabbles with others in the letter sections of SN and KN and concentrate on polling, but he obviously failed to listen to good advice; we need proper polling in this country, not biased polling, and Mr Bisram, to my mind, has failed miserably to keep an open mind and an open spirit of independence from political positions which are so essential to good polling.
Mr Bisram has the nerve to criticize President Cheddi’s political positions during the colonial and neo-colonial period, even going so far as to propose that Jagan should have done something alien to his nature, by appeasing the imperialist policies of the USA and England, which were wrong for colonial peoples everywhere; socialism/ communism and capitalism/ imperialism were in a state of permanent conflict, with each camp fighting it out worldwide and forcing leaders like President Cheddi to choose sides. Mr Bisram should read Dr Eric Williams’s book, Capitalism and Slavery, his seminal work, and his other book, From Columbus to Castro and he might learn something to enhance his limited knowledge about the way young leaders like Jagan made decisions during that particular historic period.
Whatever positions Jagan took, it was in the interests of an independent, prosperous and progressive Guyana and it was not to promote his own self-interests. The West on Trial, contrary to what Kissoon, Bisram and others say, is the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and will always be a reference for Guyanese to look back to understand the complexities of political life in our country at that time.
And for all those who view Balram Singh Rai as some kind of hero or important personage of colonial Guyana – wake up ! Rai was a back-stabber and a traitor to the aspirations of those he allied himself with (Jagan); his self-imposed exile in London resulted in a general amnesia (among the population) concerning his name in Guyanese politics to this day; those who are trying to refurbish Rai are beating a dead horse.
Editor, how can a person who claims to be a pollster be so politically biased and how do these views affect his attitude in polling? Can we trust the results of Mr Bisram’s poll, or do we need comparisons – experienced pollsters to give a second insight into his poll? Does he (Bisram) manipulate the results of a particular poll the way he manipulates history to embellish his own views? Can we trust a pollster who does not live in this country and obviously needs to educate himself more on the views of our people?
Mr Bisram’s letters give us answers to all the questions above; here is a person who is combative instead of accommodative, opinionated instead of reflective, and boastful instead of unobtrusive.
No, Editor, I would not put much credence on any poll Mr Bisram does in the future, because polling is a very important aspect of modern politics and we have already seen the evidence of staged polling when Dick Morris came here and announced a ‘poll’ showing the AFC with a lot more votes than they got in the 2006 elections! So, polling has to be scientific and precise in its presentation and effect; polling has to be undertaken by persons qualified in that field. Mr Bisram, I am convinced, is a waste of time as a credible pollster because an interviewee could be influenced by his rather grandiloquent style.
Yours faithfully,
Cheddi (Joey) Jagan (Jr)
