Freddie right on Colour and Power

Jan 26, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor,

Freddie is spot on in his analyses of colour, class, and race in Guyana (Jan 25 and earlier dates). Several scholars who did survey research penned that their findings showed that the mulatto or coloured class felt they were the natural inheritors of power from the British and thus resented Indians. Fernando Enriques, David Lowenthal, and other sociologist did seminal studies decades earlier throughout the Caribbean (including Guyana) on the topic and penned same conclusions as Freddie.
The Coloureds did not feel the Africans or Indians were deserving or qualified for governance because they lacked the civilising characteristics of light colour, spoken English, and Christianity. The mulattoes (who had their own political party led by John Carter and others) were even opposed to Burnham. The party was eventually dissolved into Burnham’s PNC to strengthen Burnham’s hands with the sole objective of keeping Indians at political bay. Carter became Ambassador to UK and was knighted for empowering Burnham. Many Hindus and Muslims converted to Christianity with the expectation that they would be accepted by the dominant mulatto and White class. But the Coloureds and Whites (Portuguese) had contempt for Indians; religion did not matter how the Coloureds viewed Indians. Burnham coopted the Coloureds and some wealthy Indians, allowing the Coloureds to enjoy the good feeling of being in power for a while. When he gained total control of the country, Burnham moved against the Coloureds and the Whites as well as rich Indians – nationalising their assets and running many of them out of the country.
The Coloureds did not forgive Burnham and recruited others to oppose him beginning with the WPA and later AFC. Of course they preferred Burnham and the authoritarian PNC over Jagan and the PPP. They never embraced Jagan because they viewed Indians and the PPP as beneath them (having come from the estate fields) and because of his communism. As Freddie stated, the Coloureds feel they must be the ruling class and are determined to exercise power. Thus, they did not vehemently oppose the 2020 rigging. The mulatto class can’t exercise power through the PPP. So they tried other forces and will continue to experiment with others to do their bidding.
Freddie rightly stated that the Coloureds are not comfortable with Aubrey Norton because he is grass roots and not from the middle class. They would want a middle class person leading the PNC – perhaps someone like Forde and in the same mold as Granger, Corbin, and Hoyte. But it would be difficult to keep out Aubrey Norton who won the leadership. PNC supporters historically wanted someone from the middle class to lead them. But it would be almost impossible to keep Norton out of parliament, and once there he will become Opposition Leader. That is inevitable. Norton will have to take steps to make the Creole class comfortable with his leadership.

Yours truly,
Vishnu Bisram

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