Dear Editor,
Without taking away from the recognition granted to Mr Ashok Ramsaran by the Government of India (Gov’t of India honours… SN, Jan 10), I wish to note that there are several prominent Guyanese Americans who are far more deserving of the Pravasi Award based on their long-standing service to the Guyanese, Caribbean and Indian diasporas as well as building relations with their ancestral homeland of India.
Messrs Ramesh Kalicharran, Pandit Ramlall, Ralph Tamesh, Pandit Satesh and Vishnu Bisram, among others, come to mind. These individuals are deeply rooted in community affairs engaging in daily activities to benefit Guyanese and the Indian diaspora. It was they who stood up for the diaspora when they were under attack physically and it is they who organize activities to benefit the diaspora. Something must be wrong with the way awardees are chosen for the prestigious Pravasi honour, because these gentlemen should have been chosen for the award long ago. In no way am I suggesting that Mr Ramsaran is not deserving of the award. But Mr Ramsaran’s involvement in Guyanese, Caribbean and Indian diaspora activities, pale in comparison with so many other outstanding individuals of the Guyanese diaspora. They have served Guyanese for as long as memory allows, exceeding 30 years in various facets of life – advocating the restoration of democracy in Guyana, propagating culture in America, assisting Guyanese immigrants, lobbying government for benefits to the community, Phagwah and Diwali recognition in New York, organizing Indian Arrival Day in the city, campaigning for the election of politicians, etc. Mr Ramsaran has only been active in community affairs for the last 10 years and he is not known to socialize among the Caribbean or Guyanese community. I hardly ever saw him at community events. And if you ask any Guyanese in the community, they would tell you they never heard of Mr Ramsaran. But community advocates like Ralph, Kali, Pandit Ramlall, Pandit Satesh, Vishnu, and others are known on a first name basis in the community.
I do wish to applaud Mr Ramsaran and others for their role in establishing the Kolkota Memorial. It is long overdue. I remember since the early 1990s, at meetings in New York with officials from the then Indian opposition BJP, that requests were made for an indentured monument, the tracing of roots, and the recognition of outstanding overseas PIOs who were promoting India. It was the BJP that started the Pravasi awards at the suggestion of prominent Guyanese in New York.
I hope Mr Ramsaran will now advocate that others who are deserving of the award become recipients.
Yours faithfully,
Suresh Singh
NY
