(Trinidad Guardian) Historian, author, academic, former government minister, and Professor Emeritus at the University of the West Indies Dr Brinsley Samaroo died at the age of 84 yesterday.
Dr Samaroo was hospitalised in critical condition at a private hospital a week ago after suffering a brain aneurysm. His family said he died peacefully after a brief illness.
After obtaining his Bachelor of Arts and MA in History from Delhi University in India, and then his PhD from the University of London, he taught New World and South Asian History at the University of the West Indies.
He rose up the ranks at UWI to become the head of the History department.
He was also later appointed a senior research fellow at the University of Trinidad and Tobago.
Dr Samaroo published many books and scholarly articles on Indo-Caribbean history, as well as the history of T&T’s working class movement, and political and institutional development.
Among his books were: India in the Caribbean; The Art of Garnet Ifill: Glimpses of the Sugar Industry; Adrian Cola Rienzi: The Life and Times of an Indo-Caribbean Progressive; and The Price of Conscience: Howard Noel Nankivell and Labour Unrest in the British Caribbean in 1937 and 1938. Samaroo was also a former politician. Between 1982 to 1986, he served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate.
Between 1986 to 1991, he served as the MP for Nariva and also served as the minister of food production in the National Alliance for Reconstruction government.
Over the years, Dr Samaroo shared his perspective on social issues facing the country.
As recently as three weeks ago, he called on the nation to educate youths—especially those vulnerable to lives of crime—about the culture and lives of their ancestors.
“The nation should involve itself in the study of the life and culture of all our peoples. That is quite absent in schools.
“The Hindu and the Muslim communities have understood this and so they have many radio stations and television stories that talk about their ancestry.
“As a long-standing politician, I was fortunate enough to interact quite often with young people and these young people in society are not foolish.
“When you think about the way in which they plan a robbery, plan a heist, and how carefully they do it, it shows they have sense.
“But the rest of the country has decided to fight these bright, young people of the criminal element,” he said at the inaugural Adrian “Cola” Rienzi Memorial Forum Award.
Dr Samaroo leaves behind his wife, Joan, and daughter, Kavita.
