Not anti-Jagan

Mar 11, 2024 Letters

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Dear Editor,

This is a response to Dr. Joey Jagan accusing me and Ravi Dev of being anti-Jagan (KN Mar 7). We are pro-Jagan but not Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist-Communist. The fact that we opposed Communist does not make us anti-Jagan. I am pro-USA. For American policymakers, there is no distinction between, communism, Marxism, socialism, democratic socialism, Fabianism, Gramcianism, and other left isms. All are considered as threat to American national security and grouped as one. And anyone associated with those ‘isms’, except Fidel Castro, was removed from office or undermined. Far from being anti-Jagan, I promoted Cheddi and wrote positively on him, and I did everything possible to get him elected.

I am not a member of a gang that is anti-Jagan and or anti-democracy. I know of no such anti-Jagan groups other than political nemesis. His opponents ‘loved’ him as Cheddi’s anti-Americanism, ‘anti-Westism’ helped to secure their political control in Guyana.

Jagan’s contributions to and role in Guyana’s politics and development are etched in the history books and can never be undermined. His character and integrity can never be impugned. And the love of the Indian people for Jagan can never be diminished. But Indians did not embrace or love communism. They loved Jagan and still do. He “ah abie mattie’, and we supported him for that reason not because he was a communist.

Jagan was the beneficiary of my decades’ long activism in Guyana and in the diaspora. I appealed to him to move away from communism. He rebuffed me as he did so many others. I spent twenty-five years as part of a movement advocating and lobbying for free and fair elections (FFE) in Guyana, pioneering a free and fair election movement in NY and Trinidad. I traveled internationally on my own expense seeking support for FFE.  I made financial contributions to Jagan’s PPP and urged others, including family members, to do same. I attended Jagan fundraisers in America and Guyana. I joined Pandit Ramlall, Karshan, Ramesh Kalicharran, and Jass Persaud to organize a fundraiser for Jagan in 1992. I succeeded in getting Members of Congress to pen letters that benefited Jagan.  I piloted ‘motions’ for sponsorship of lectures and seminars at City College when I was in student government (at both the undergraduate and graduate levels) from 1978 thru the 1980s. Dr. Joey and Dr. Ralph Gonsalves spoke at one lecture series on Jagan at CCNY at the Finley Students Center that was sponsored by my government. Joey’s brother-in-law, Chuck Mohan organized several seminars and lectures of Cheddi and Janet Jagan and of other freedom fighters at CCNY and elsewhere; Student Government occasionally provided funding for these activities.  I penned countless positive articles going back to 1976 on PPP and Jagan. I lobbied the Americans to help restore democracy in Guyana. I wrote letters to the leaders of Canada, USA, Britain, India, Trinidad, Jamaica, Barbados, and others seeking their assistance for FFE in Guyana. I appealed to American Ambassadors Theresa Anne Tull and Dennis Hays to support FFE in Guyana. I penned a public appeal carried in the international media, including SN, NY Caribbean Daylight, NY CIA News, News India, India Abroad, etc. in 1992 pleading on the Americans to give Jagan a chance. I was criticized for it by both the left and the right.  I appealed to my Professor Arthur Schlesinger (JFK’s Advisor) to reconsider his views on Jagan, resulting in a favourable article in the liberal Nation Magazine.

When there was an effort to derail Jagan’s victory in 1992, I appealed to the US Administration and Members of Congress to pressure Hoyte to accept the will of the voters. After Jagan became President, I met Ambassador George Fleming Jones, appealing for increased aid for Guyana. I repeated the appeal at a media conference on Robb Street to launch Ram Jodha’s newspaper where Ambassador Jones was present and addressed the gathering. I engaged Amb. Charge Hugh Simon on same objective after David Hobbs was recalled as Ambassador. Vishnu Bandhu was with me at an invite at Charge Simon’s residence for a private reception. When Jagan suffered a massive heart attack, an appeal was made to Charge Simon and to the Clinton Administration (for which I campaigned) for US medical assistance. The Americans airlifted him to Panama and thence to Washington at Walter Reed hospital that is reserved for eminent American politicians.  I wrote several news releases carried in Indian and Caribbean publications on Jagan’s heart attack. I left for my research sabbatical to the Philippines. As news came that Jagan’s medical condition was deteriorating, I cut short my stay in the Philippines and flew back to New York. Mike Persaud and I monitored Jagan’s medical condition. Mike and I agreed to alert the New York Times of Jagan’s medical condition. He spoke with the news editor to carry a story on Jagan. The news editor informed him that they were on top of the story and that an obituary was already prepared should be passed on. And when Jagan passed on a day later, NYT carried a gracious tribute. I helped to organized tributes and memorials for Jagan at mandirs and halls. And years later, I did same for Janet when she died.

I flew down to Guyana for Cheddi’s funeral. Did the communists fly down from Russia and the former Soviet satellite states to attend the funeral? I met Basdeo Panday, Randy Depoo, Raj Singh, Arjune Karshan, Chuck Mohan, Mel Carpen and host of other ACG boys at the funeral. I reported on the funeral for the media in New York and India. I was at Albion and also attended the night wake at the Ankerville home of Jagan’s parents where Cheddi was born. Vishnu Bandhu, Roy Ramsaran, Ramko Kalicharran, and several other New Yorkers were there with me.

Ralph Ramkarran gave one of best tributes to Jagan at Babu Jahan. When the funeral pyre was lit by Joey and Nadira, the party comrades left in a hurry and rushed to cross the river with ferry back to town. The Jagan’s family, including Joey and his son, Uncle Suchit and Aunty Janey stayed behind as did I and Roy Ramsaran and other true Jaganites to watch the last embers of the cremation. Who displayed more love for Jagan?

Joey and others blamed America for toppling Jagan. America acted in what it thought was in its national interests. At the height of the cold war, you don’t defy Washington.

Guyanese couldn’t migrate to Soviet bloc countries. Today, more Guyanese, including Joey, live in USA than in Guyana and almost every Guyanese at home seeks to migrate to USA. A communist wrote that the working class of Guyana has been impoverished. I invited the working class to my pujas and assisted as much as I could with financial assistance. Do the wealthy communists share their loot?

Yours truly,

Dr. Vishnu Bisram

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• Basdeo Panday, Chuck Mohan, Joey Jagan, Vishnu Bisram

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