What exactly were Jagan’s ideals?

Feb 08, 2011 Letters

---

DEAR EDITOR,
I respond to the letter, captioned, “It is a problem of democracy and ignorance, not fear,” by Mr Gowkarran Sukdeo, (Kaieteur News 02-04-11).
Mr Sukdeo’s argument is that Indians do not really vote for the PPP out of purely racial concerns but rather “they vote for the democratic principles that Cheddi Jagan stood for; and until they are educated that the present PPP has vastly deviated from these principles, they will continue to vote subjectively.”
He also wrote, “Democracy, which was restored in 1992, was stifled in its infancy when Cheddi Jagan died and his party degenerated into a sophisticated form of oligarchy.” His argument is premised on the belief that Dr Jagan was a champion of democratic values. I will show that this notion is false by briefly stating some historical facts about the manner in which Dr Jagan conducted the affairs of the PPP and what he actually did upon taking office in 1992. But first it is important that I make the following point.
Many Indians, especially Hindus, make the mistake of totally ignoring Dr Jagan’s fanatical commitment to Communism. Instead they focus solely on his good characteristics such as him being simple, humble, and charismatic. They like to portray him as a virtuous man and in so doing they propagate the belief that he was an advocate of true democracy. The irony is that Dr Jagan was not a practicing Hindu, nor did he espouse the democratic cultures of the USA, Canada, and the UK. Instead he was a self-avowed communist who always promoted the dictatorial political systems of the communist bloc led by the Soviet Union. And it is his Marxist Leninist ideology that shaped his politics.
Indeed the PPP was by 1969 organised like a typical communist party. It therefore could not have been a democratic organisation. It was so structured that the top echelons always perpetuated themselves and by means of democratic centralism they dictated decisions to the membership. Dr Jagan could not have been practicing democracy in his little communist environment that he created. As a matter of fact the PPP in 1950 was set up like a regular democratic party and it is rather instructive to see to how Dr Jagan operated in such an organisation.
In the aftermath of the 1953 suspension of the constitution there was disaffection with the communist leadership of the PPP and at the congress of 1955 a no confidence motion was moved against the party executive. Dr Jagan objected to the motion being tabled, but Mr. Burnham who was chairing the session allowed it. Rather than defend his leadership and allow the members to vote on the motion in keeping with democratic norms, Dr Jagan along with the communists, walked out of the congress. The membership then elected a new executive that included Dr Jagan, albeit as a Senior Vice Chairman.
He refused to accept the results of democratic procedure and abide by the wishes of the membership. This caused the PPP to split into two factions and set the stage for racial divisions. Dr Jagan was again faced with a challenge to his communist control of the PPP when at the 1962 congress the believer in western democracy, the devout, virtuous, and charismatic Hindu leader Balram Singh Rai contested the post of chairmanship of the party. Dr Jagan responded by padding the voters list and rigging the elections to ensure that Brindley Benn retained the post. Dr Jagan was thus the first political leader in Guyana to rig his party elections.
These two episodes of Dr Jagan’s career certainly negate any belief that he was democratic. What might also confuse some supporters is that Dr Jagan ostensibly fought for fair and free elections and so they view him as a champion of democracy. However, free and fair elections were just the means for him to win political power.
When in opposition Dr Jagan on a daily basis sang the virtues of communist Russia and Cuba and called on the PNCR to implement socialism in Guyana. Russia and Cuba did not have elections because under socialism elections are not part of that system. However, Dr Jagan wanted elections held in Guyana! Can one of his admirers explain this intellectual anomaly? Off course Dr Jagan wanted elections because that was the means to obtaining office. This is very evident in his actions after he finally got into power in 1992.
In opposition he proposed to form a National Front Government with all the parties but in power he shunned all the parties and proceeded to reverse some of the democratic gains achieved by the Hoyte Presidency.
Had he been sincere in his call for a unity government he would have readily formed one when he became President. Ms Janet Jagan protégé Ralph Ramkarran in a blog in SN stated that there was no need for a coalition government since the PPP won the elections by a majority!! This statement by the Speaker of the House confirms that for Jagan and the PPP, elections were just a means to get power. They were never really interested in democracy and racial harmony.
I have refuted Mr. Sukdeo’s premise that Dr Jagan “stood for democratic principles” and therefore his whole argument that Indians “vote for the democratic principles that Jagan stood for” falls apart. Indians indeed vote out of racial considerations. This is how Dr Jagan and the PPP conditioned them for five decades. Off course some of the unpopular policies of Burnham’s PNC complemented the PPP’s stranglehold on Indians. Some PNC supporters created fear in Indians when they resorted to violence and arson against Indians. The PPP took advantage of such fears. Over the decades the PPP took complete control of all Indian based organisations. Sugar workers were controlled by GAWU, rice farmers by RPA, provision farmers by GAPA, cane farmers by GCFA, and Hindus by the Dharmic Sabha. There was even an association for the Muslims. No other party sought and got such control over one race group. The PPP at the bottom houses, rum shops, and mandirs, demonized Burnham, the PNC, and Afro Guyanese thereby cementing racial fears. Indians were thus conditioned by the PPP to be a PPP vote bank. Mr Sukdeo’s argument can be further repudiated.
Dr Jagan and the PPP taught Marxism Leninism and held up the Soviet Union and Cuba as model societies. But Indians were not communists and never became ideologically indoctrinated. Indians did not emigrate to the USSR or Cuba. They fled to the “bastion of capitalism” the USA, and also Canada and the UK. As a matter of fact Dr Jagan did not send his children to the communist countries to be educated. He sent them to the USA and Canada. What hypocrisy!
Even Ms Jagan “blue eyed party children” turned out to be bourgeoisie as was evident when they tasted power in 1992 and proceeded to amass land, mansions and fortunes. Some today are moving out of Prdaoville 1 and into Prdaoville 2. So Indians did not support the PPP on ideological grounds. Nor did they support the PPP because of religion. Indians supported the PPP because of race, and the actions of some PNC supporters helped to reinforce Indian support for the PPP.
It does not help the cause of the Africans nor the PNC when violence is unleashed on Indians as in Wismar in May 1964 and in Georgetown in the latter 1990’s and on the East Demerara in 2001 to 2005. Such actions only cause Indians to cling to the PPP. Such actions only help the PPP and not the PNC nor Africans. The PPP is the principal beneficiary of beatings, robbery, and arson against Indians. That is why it has done nothing to protect Indians. In 1964 the incompetent Home Affairs Minister Ms Jagan shed crocodile tears for the Wismar burnings. For 28 years the PPP demanded that the UN be called in to reform the security forces. The PPP has been in power for 19 years, during which Indians have been subjected to violence as stated above, yet the regime has refused to invite the UN to reform the forces.
In fact the PPP has blatantly refused help from the British to improve our police force. Perhaps some PPP supporter can explain the PPP’s reluctance to reform the security forces so that not only Indians but all Guyanese can be protected.
Malcolm Harripaul

---

---