Dear Editor,
Bonita Harris’s letter (‘Addressing assumptions about the Swami’ SN, June 4) came as a breath of fresh air. It was timely, coming after the May elections, as political sentiments are soothing in Guyana. In her letter, Ms Harris made reference, among other things, to the important work that Swami Aksharananda has produced in Guyana at the school he founded, the Saraswati Vidya Niketan in Cornelia Ida. She questioned the “charges of racism made against Swami Aksharananda.” Readers may remember that the charges of racism were made by Frederick Kissoon, who had written four missives, to which Aksharananda has not penned any direct response. In those letters, Mr Kissoon, who has access to several media platforms, liberally used language and labels uncharacteristic of that of a seasoned academic (“barefaced”, “poisonous”, “Indian supremacist”, etc). A friend, Malcolm Harripaul, noted that perhaps the narrative found in Mr Kissoon’s letters did more to keep some Indians in the PPP camp rather than moving them closer to the coalition. In the same letters, Kissoon made reference to novelist Ryhaan Shah, founder of ROAR Ravi Dev, and myself. I wish to offer the following remarks for the benefit of interested readers:
One, Kissoon’s narrative communicates the impression that there was a collaborative conspiracy of sorts among Ryhaan Shah, Swami Aksharananda and myself to advocate on behalf of the PPP. For the record, such presumed conspiracy is a figment of his imagination. This is not our forte. Ryhaan Shah was addressing the issue of “Indianness” and Aksharananda was addressing the attacks against those who readily branded Indians as racists because they expressed support for the PPP.
Two, as if to further tarnish the reputation of the Swami, Kissoon wrote, with absolute certitude, that Swami Aksharananda was a founding father of ROAR. For the record, Aksharananda was never a co-founder of ROAR, overtly or covertly.
Three, the verbal attacks against the Swami on his way to Georgetown at Vreed-en-Hoop following the election were not necessarily coincidental. Elections do evoke the passion in us. I rather suspect that Mr Kissoon has contributed to the creation of an environment with his vitriolic narrative that led to the verbal attacks on Swami Aksharananda. Not being a psychologist or psychiatrist, I would not venture so far as to convene on Kissoon the label of a self-hating Indian, as some have done, but I am more inclined to believe that perhaps Mr Kissoon lacks an understanding of a rich cultural tradition or that he may have rejected an important element of himself that defines his cultural background. After all, on more than one occasion, he proudly revealed to us that “I am not an East Indian.”
Four, a few years ago, following the launching of my book in Guyana, Against the Grain, I was accosted by Raphael Trotman in the lobby of Hotel Tower. My memory fails me a bit as I cannot recall for sure if Khemraj Ramjattan was present, but there were several others who accompanied Mr Trotman, all dressed in impressive attire. Trotman, the former Speaker of the National Assembly and now Minister of Governance within the Ministry of the Presidency of the coalition government led the discussion. He impressed upon me to encourage Ravi Dev to join the AFC. I agreed to convey the message to Mr Dev, but I cautioned Raphael that Dev may have retired from active politics. He then asked me if Ryhaan Shah (who had graciously facilitated and chaired the book launching) would be interested. I assured him I will convey the message to Ms Shah as well. The resume of Kissoon’s “Indian supremacists” were well known in Guyanese political circles, but I suppose their record was not enough to deter others from enlisting their support on their political bandwagon.
Finally, Mr Kissoon is known to me for many years, ever since my initial correspondence with him dating back to the 1980s. He has metamorphosed over the decades, as we all have. He had been helpful to me at one time and I wish to now publicly thank him for the assistance he provided.
Yours faithfully,
Baytoram Ramharack
