However, we have one consolation in that even though, Cheddi Jagan departed physically, his teachings, principles, practices, morality, sacrifices, and voluminous and relentless struggles against injustice of the poor and down-trodden are indelibly written in the annals of our history.

Guyana is so fortunate to have had a father figure like him, if only it could follow in his footsteps.

I fondly recall his last visit to the Rupununi in September 1996, on which I was fortunate to be and was his roommate for one night in a simple Amerindian hut. This was indeed a true demonstration of his humility and simplicity - a President sleeping in such humble quarters. But that was the humility of the man Cheddi Jagan - a man of the people.

During that rigorous trip at age 78, he travelled more than 300 miles in south Rupununi to more than 10 villages, each scores of miles apart, across creeks and bumpy trails, holding public meetings in each village and speaking for over two hours at each meeting, after which he listened to villagers’ problems with utmost patience - like the true father figure he was. And he did that for seven consecutive days, amidst the broiling temperatures of the Rupununi.

But unlike most, he was propelled by a sincerity of purpose and a genuine and burning desire to alleviate the suffering of the poor and down-trodden, rather than self -aggrandisement.

Growing up in the logies on the sugar plantation at Port Mourant, and studying in America in the 1940s when the contradictions of the uneven distribution of wealth were very evident, were significant factors that shaped his political outlook. In addition, he was very much influenced by the struggle in India for independence, which at the time was at its peak under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.

On his return to Guyana, he immediately began to pay an interest in local politics, even though, he was a practicing Dental Surgeon, a lucrative profession. He even got into conflict with the local dental association who complained that his fees were too low. But he argued that he did not see why he should charge poor people exorbitant fees.

However, one tragic episode in Guyana’s political and industrial history detonated his inner burning desire to end injustice and exploitation of man by man. And that episode was the shooting to death by colonial police of five sugar workers at Enmore who were protesting against the poor working and living conditions in the sugar industry.

In his autobiography, `The West On Trial’ he wrote, “At their graveside, with great effort I restrained my tears, and there and then I made a silent pledge that I will dedicate my entire life to the struggle against injustice and bondage.”

Professor James Rose, reflecting on the life of Dr. Jagan said: “On careful reflection, it can be said that the political career of Dr. Jagan spanned three distinct periods. Firstly, from the 1940s to 1964, when he was a fearless anti-colonial firebrand, nationalist, and liberator. Secondly, the period between 1964 and 1992, when he struggled against the notorious tyranny of the PNC dictatorship, attempting time and again to mould a truly broad-based opposition against the precursor of all forms of democratic manifestations at home. And finally, the all too brief post 1992 period when, having triumphed over the mindless tyranny of the PNC, he began the process of community and healing and national reconstruction.”

However, over the five decades of political life, he remained committed to the search for national unity and was relentless in this respect because he always believed that national unity was the prerequisite to Guyana achieving peace, progress and prosperity.

It is for this reason that he never became associated with any race-based political groupings when he returned from the US, and throughout his political career - at the time the two major groupings being the League of Coloured Peoples and the British Guiana East Indian Association each representing the interests of the main ethnic groups. Instead, he formed the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) which reflected a wide cross-section of the society and was the forerunner to the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) which was formed in 1950 with Forbes Burnham eventually becoming Chairman of the party. Founder member Ashton Chase should have become Chairman, but he gave way to Burnham. Many have contended that had Chase accepted the Chairmanship of the party, the political history of Guyana perhaps would have been different. But that is all history now.

Unfortunately, after having led the PPP to victory in 1953 under the first elections held under Universal Adult Suffrage, which he almost single handedly struggled for, his government lasted only 133 days in office. The British government sent troops and gunboats to forcibly remove his government and replacing it with an interim one.

In subsequent elections in 1957 and 1961, the PPP emerged victorious. However, between 1953 and 1957 the political and racial unity that was forged was fractured due to opportunism at the local level combined with Cold War machinations by the British and Americans who perceived the PPP to be a threat to their interests in this hemisphere, because of its leftist orientation.

This fracture, perhaps, was the greatest political setback to beset Guyana, having deep and far-reaching consequences on national unity and political stability.

But this did not deter Cheddi Jagan, in fact, it gave him greater resolve to continue the quest for national unity.

He exerted great care in ensuring that protests remained peaceful, because of his recognition that should they get out of hand it can jeopardise the quest for national unity. Many critics even accused him of not wanting to confront the dictatorial PNC. What they did not understand was that he had a revulsion for violence and bloodshed, which only result in the loss of innocent lives. At the same time, he recognised that such a situation would have ripped this country apart, maybe permanently. And so, in reference to the many provocations by the PNC, he used to remark, “Many times we have had to watch the situation and bite our lips.” This was, of course, one of his remarkable characteristics, having seemingly infinite patience.

In the end, his patience and determination triumphed, with many persons who used to say that Cheddi Jagan would never return to government, accepting they were wrong in their assessment.

Political Adviser to US President John F. Kennedy in 1961, Arthur Schleisenger publicly apologised for his role in ousting Cheddi Jagan from government. He had advised the then US President John F. Kennedy to support Burnham, whom he described as “the lesser of the two evils.” After which British and American intelligence worked collaboratively to undermine and remove the PPP government.

In 1992, when Cheddi Jagan was elected President, Schleisenger, remarked, “I am sorry for the grave injustice I did to Dr. Jagan and the Guyanese people.”

During his unfortunate shortened term as President, he worked tirelessly to rebuild the physical and social infrastructure of a society that was battered by 28 years of dictatorship and economic mismanagement. One of his first declarations was “no retribution, no witch hunting” characteristic of his abhorrence of victimisation and hatred for his fellow human beings.

But apart from working to restore the fundamentals of existence, he became immersed in the broader issues of society. He used his birthdays as occasions for fund-raisers for uplifting the welfare of the children of the deprived sections of society and began articulating his international struggle for a New Human Global Order.

He always firmly believed that there is a “dialectical interconnection between the international and local struggles.”

In one of his speeches which he did not deliver, he said: “While all our countries are individually searching for more aggressive and innovative ways to cope with the growing inter-dependence and globalisation taking place, there are fundamental issues which can be addressed only by new global initiatives. It is clear that if present worldwide trends continue, tensions, conflicts and disorders of potentially disastrous consequences could become the order of the day.”

Visionary words, indeed. He added: “We also need to establish new global institutions to respond to the global dimension of the existing human society. The UN itself has to play a more central role in global economic management and should have access to larger financial resources - the possible source of which we have already identified. The Bretton Woods Institutions - the World Bank and the IMF-have moved away from their original mandate and have to be brought back to doing what was originally intended. They need to concentrate on human development as distinct from means of development. They have to be more concerned with social and human factors than with statistics of growth. We need structural adjustment with a human face.”

It is not surprising that his proposed New Human Global Order became a focus of discussions at the UN and other international fora.”

Perhaps, his widow and former President, Mrs. Janet Jagan best sums up the five decades of an illustrious political career, during one of her speeches on the life of Cheddi Jagan.

She said: “Cheddi’s long march from Port Mourant, a small rural village in the eastern part of Guyana, to become the first freely elected President of Guyana, until his return to Port Mourant, where he was cremated, spanned half of a century. During that time, he did what few men have done in a lifetime: he committed himself to a single goal of freedom for his country and people and never, even for once, wavered. In many ways, his struggles and his accomplishments are so intertwined with the history of this country that sometimes it is difficult to study one without the other. Having dominated so much of Guyana’s post World War 11 history, he perhaps contradicted his own view that history is not made by individuals but by the people.”

But after such an illustrious contribution to this country, what has he left with us? He has left “the only recipe for survival and progress” former Minister of Information Moses Nagamootoo says and adds that this recipe is reflected in one of Cheddi Jagan’s parting speeches in which he said, “…Let us not refresh our spirit with hatred, but with one heart, let us unite Guyana. Let us join hands across the land and reach out to those in the deep past who helped to mould this great El Dorado.

Let us stand strong as Mount Roraima and powerful as the majestic Kaieteur.