The face of ethnic chauvinism

Nov 01, 2015 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

Dr. Baytoram Ramharack wrote the following in a June 10, 2015 letter to the Stabroek News; “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” (end of quote).
Ramharack’s statement is pregnant with instincts of ethnic chauvinism and amazingly, Ramharack used the racist imprints of bigoted people to condemn me. He employs a perspective that carries with it a crude and superficial understanding of how culture and socialization work. Ramharack is insulting to humans who see people as people and not racial species. He descends to the level whereby he judges other people of being devoid of cultural essence if other humans speak up in defence of another culture
First, Ramharack cites statements of others who accused me of being a self-hating Indian. This is funny because Mandela retained as his confidential secretary a white woman who was the secretary of the apartheid president and never touched white ownership and businesses when he was president yet I have never seen a statement by any Black citizen in this world who accused Mandela of being a self-hating African. Let us break down Ramharack’s words. Who are the people that referred to me as a self-hating Indian? Do you think it was just an omission that Ramharack didn’t cite even one name?
He couldn’t cite even one name because all of them are frenetic, Indian defenders of the ethnic status quo when the PPP ruled. If it wasn’t such a serious discourse of the Guyana tragedy we could have referred to Ramharack’s adumbration as a cartoon rather than a letter to a newspaper. Imagine I am being accused of being a self-hating Indian by people who are so racially prejudiced that you earn their wrath if you speak up in defence of other ethnic communities. I did my research painstakingly before I penned this column. The self-hating Indian accusations can be found in the letter pages of the Guyana Chronicle under Mark Ramotar editorship and the Guyana Times. Ramotar is still at the Chronicle.
Every one of those missives had bogus names as signatures. No doubt they came from PPP leaders and the people employed by GINA to write letters denigrating PPP critics. And of course the mill of so-called Indian-rights activists, some very rabidly racist and one of whom is now a powerhouse at the Guyana Times. So we come back to the question – who are the people that have labeled me a self-hating Indian? Are they friends and colleagues of Ramharack?
Secondly, my de-cultured life, as Ramharack puts it. For emphasis let us quote Ramharack again on my background; “… 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 occasions, he proudly revealed to us that ‘I am not an East Indian’.” It would be nice if Ramharack could tell us what is a rich cultural background? Any school boy muchless a sociologist can easily define a rich cultural background and I doubt it would meet with acceptance by Ramharack
You see for Ramharack a rich cultural background means immersion in one’s own ethnic culture with little admiration for other cultures. Ramharack would deny that a rich cultural background is one in which the individual’s life has been permeated by many other ethnic influences and cultural strands. A Guyanese who grew up in Hindu culture and practiced that culture and its religion has to be a better person and more culturally oriented than a Guyanese who has a Hindu background but was also exposed extensively to African Guyanese, their culture and religion and Portuguese Guyanese and their culture and religion.
There are no ifs and buts about it. For Ramharack, an Indian like me who was born into Hindu culture growing up in Wortmanville cannot be a pure Indian because I was tainted by other types of cultures. Ramharack in his letter was preaching not only sociological fictions but dangerous racial superiority doctrines. Once an Indian who is not a pure Hindu speaks out against discrimination of other races, we are either self-hating Indians or not cultured enough. Thank God, Ramharack’s friends are out of power in my country

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The face of ethnic chauvinism

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