Shekhawat hails Cheddi Jagan’s contributions
Guyana Chronicle
November 8, 2006
VISITING Indian Vice-President, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat has hailed Guyana’s late President Cheddi Jagan as a leader who was loved and respected not only in the Caribbean but also across the globe.
He paid the tribute during a visit to the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre (CJRC) in Kingston, Georgetown yesterday when he and his large entourage were briefed on the operations of the centre, and inspected some of the works of Dr. Jagan on display.
“I feel honoured to visit this research centre established to perpetuate the memory of Dr. Cheddi Jagan, a great son of Guyana, and leader of towering stature who was loved and respected by the people of not only the Caribbean islands but also by the people of other countries. We in India greatly admire him for the sacrifices made by him for the independence of Guyana and his tremendous contribution towards socio-economic development of the Guyanese people. We fondly remember his two visits to India, the land of his ancestors in 1953 and 1993, which contributed immensely in strengthening close ties between the two countries,” Mr. Shekhawat declared.
Mrs. Janet Jagan, widow of Dr. Jagan, and a former President of Guyana, presented the visiting statesman with a copy each of Dr. Jagan’s most famous book “The West On Trial”, and “Cheddi Jagan, My Fight For Guyana” compiled by their daughter, Ms. Nadira Jagan-Brancier, and a portrait of Dr. Jagan.
Mrs. Jagan also drew the attention of Shekhawat to a piece of art which was given to Dr. Jagan on his visit to India in 1993 in his capacity as President of Guyana.
She also informed the Indian delegation that Dr. Jagan in his New Global Human Order, sought to present a solution to the suffering of millions of people throughout the world, and expressed the hope that the visit would help deepen the ties between India and Guyana as they both seek to help fashion a better world for all.
Curator of the CJRC, Mr Dudley Kissoore, informed the Indian delegation that the building that houses the centre is more than 100 years old and is one of Guyana’s designated heritage sites.
He said the centre houses a voluminous amount of papers written by Dr. Jagan who was a prolific writer, and a treasured piece that has been preserved is a poem written by him on toilet paper during his term of imprisonment.
He also disclosed that the centre is in the process of digitising many of the papers presented by Dr. Jagan as well converting audio tapes into CDs and VCR tapes into DVDs bearing his life and works. (CHAMANLALL NAIPAUL)