The architect of Guyana’s Independence
Guyana Chronicle
March 23, 2007
THE month of March is the time when Guyana recalls with fondness the birth anniversary of the country’s late Executive President, Dr. Cheddi Jagan.
Had he been alive he would have celebrated his eighty-ninth birthday yesterday.
Heralded as the Father of the Nation for catalysing the fight for our country’s independence and his lifelong commitment in the struggle for democracy, the month of March is a time when his party, his supporters and the nation as whole recall a life dedicated to the people of Guyana.
This month also marks the tenth year since his death. Interestingly enough instead of continuing to sing his praises, those observing his death anniversary have been placed on the defensive following some attempts at political revisionism concerning Dr. Jagan’s political contributions. At the annual commemoration exercise of his death held earlier this month, President Bharrat Jagdeo noted the attempts being made to distort the struggle of this great patriot of this soil.
The campaign has continued with a new attempt to deny the critical role Dr. Jagan played in the struggle for independence of our country. Few objective observers - having an appreciation of the history of this country - would deny to the late General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party the title of architect of Guyana’s independence.
Following his victory as a candidate in the 1947 elections, he said, “We the people have won. Now the struggle will begin.” That struggle was of course the struggle for the independence of Guyana. While he was not Premier of Guyana when Independence came in 1966, history will record that it was Dr. Jagan and the party that he formed, the People’s Progressive Party that galvanised local and international support against colonial rule.
The event that however spurred Dr. Jagan’s dedication to the cause of freedom was the slaughter of the five sugar workers - later immortalised as the Enmore Martyrs - on June 16, 1948. At the funeral of the five sugar workers, Dr. Jagan made a solemn pledge to dedicate his entire life to the cause of the struggle of the Guyanese people against bondage and exploitation.
In paying tribute to the late Dr. Jagan, his political rival Mr. Hugh Desmond Hoyte - who once proclaimed that he had dedicated his life to ensuring that Dr. Jagan never returned to office - had this to say about him, "Dr. Jagan was undoubtedly one of the outstanding people in our history. He dedicated his life to furtherance of the political and national interests of this country and in pursuance of the ideals which he embraced with such fervour." He went on to note that Jagan’s contribution assured him a place in our country’s history.
Cheddi Jagan has made a significant contribution to the liberation of the Guyanese people from colonialism. Eight years after his death, the South African government bestowed posthumously to Dr. Jagan, the Order of Companions of O. R. Tambo in Gold, the highest award given to foreigners by South Africa.
The President this year announced that Dr. Jagan would be conferred with the Order of Liberation. While he certainly does not need any medal of liberation to vindicate this selfless service, it is nonetheless fitting that the government has agreed to bestow on this outstanding son of our soil a special national award -- the Order of Liberation.
Political figures will always attract controversy and there will always be those who have differences with specific assessments about those who in public life have towered over others. In this respect, one expects that there will always be flattering as well as unflattering opinions about the late Executive President of Guyana, Dr. Cheddi Jagan.
That notwithstanding, it is difficult to comprehend how anyone can question this patriot’s role in the advancing the struggle for our country’s independence.