Once again, as we plan to celebrate October 2, the birthday of one of the greatest souls of the 20th century, some are questioning the relevance of this old man with a walking stick who wanted the sun to set on the British Empire. Yet there are too many others who know little or nothing about him.
Indentureship
All indentured servants and independent nations of the commonwealth are indebted to him and can still learn from his life. Born in Asia, educated in Europe, and matured in Africa, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi never touched the soil of the Americas yet his influence was global and even reached tiny faraway British Guiana, where about 238,900 indentured labourers were sent from 1838 to 1917.
“My life is my message” stated the Mahatma and even though he was never willing to leave India during its lengthy struggle for freedom from the masters that ruled the waves, he had observed and experienced the discriminatory laws of indentured servants in South Africa. When he returned to India in 1915, one of his missions with his political guru Gopal Krishna Gokhale, and other Congress leaders was to end this new form of slavery. But his was not a simple task as they had to find evidence to change the policy from one of benevolent neutrality. A 1914 deputation visited British Guiana, Suriname Trinidad and Fiji but returned with a conclusion that indentureship should continue as there were more benefits than disadvantages. This incensed not only Gandhi but also his trusted friend Rev Charlie Freer Andrews. This English-born missionary had studied the conditions in Fiji and his detailed report exposed the evils of the practice and persuaded Lord Hardinge, Viceroy of India, to suspend the system in 1917 by the passage of the Defence of India Act and then finally ended it in 1920.
The effect on the plantations again experienced labour shortages, similar to what happened after slaves were freed. Deputations were sent to India, in 1919 and again in 1923 headed by Attorney General J J Nunan and lawyer J A Luckoo, proposing a colonisation scheme. This was rejected even though it painted a picture of equality and prosperity for Indians in the colony. Their report was in stark contrast with the assessment of Gandhi’s Emissary Reverend Charlie Freer Andrews following his visit to Guiana for three months in 1929.
Charlie was sent to India about 1904 to propagate the gospel but soon found himself immersed with the freedom struggle after he witnessed the arrogance and discrimination of English policies and practices. In 1913 he was sent by Gokhale to South Africa to assist Gandhi in confronting the dehumanising laws against Indians there. Described as Gandhi’s adopted brother with the name Deana Bandhu (friend of the poor) and the man who aside from Gandhi was most respected by Indians, Charlie, as a guest of British Guiana East Indian Association, (BGEIA) spent three months across the coastland observing firsthand the conditions of the children of Bharat. On his return to India, it was his assessment that influenced Gandhi and Congress not to approve the colonisation scheme. That is only one of the countless reasons why the descendants of Indentured servants all over the world should honour and remember them.
Charlie’s report is summarised here for the reader, who is asked to compare the conditions in 1929 to those today even though Guyana became Independent in 1966. He had similar concerns about those in Natal, Fiji and to some extent even India.
They include child marriages, illiteracy, non-registration of religious marriages resulting in children deemed illegitimate; nominal priests not qualified to raise the moral standards of the society leading to gross superstitions and demoralisation; religious conversion, Government encouraging missionary work instead of practicing religious neutrality; absence of Indians on the police forces who did not speak or understand Indian language or customs; buildings unfit for human habitation; overcrowded classrooms with few girls; Hindu and Muslim children compelled to say Christian prayers in government-aided schools; few Indian teachers in Christian-run schools since many refused to change their religion in order to be employed; excessive alcohol consumption unlike the lifestyle of Indians from northern India; non-registration of voters particularly East Indian women who could not read or write the English form; poor race relations which if ignored could create tensions that could escalate anytime.
A few of the current challenges are canvassed below.
Alcohol abuse
Alcohol-related issues including domestic violence are worse today. As recent as 2019, Fred Stella of the Hindu American Foundation (hafsite.org) visited Guyana on a fact-finding trip as this advocacy group was persuaded that they should assist the Hindus in Guyana. In fact, they wrote to the US Secretary of State about the 2020 election and the impact general sanctions may have on the vulnerable and innocent. Fred was invited to speak at a wake in Region Five, where he was heckled by a drunk for interrupting the party of card/domino players and a few consumers of rum. This seems to be a common scene at too many events including funerals. Fred was shocked and had to be consoled by reference to the treatment of Charlie Andrews, friend of the Mahatma who had suffered the same embarrassment at meetings in 1929 that were organised by priests in several locations across the country. 
This is so serious a problem that many religious and other community leaders are convinced that it cannot stop. Those priests and others who insist that they will not take part in a wedding or other religious events where alcohol is consumed must be congratulated for their courage. For those who think that this cannot even be reduced in a country with less than one million should again look to the influence of the Mahatma. Gujarat, with a population of about 64 million, once had serious problems with alcohol consumption, a problem that still bedevils other States. However, since May 1, 1960, out of respect for the Mahatma, it has been illegal to manufacture, store, sell or consume alcohol. This law is strictly enforced not only by the State but by every person in the form of social pressure. Arranged or even love marriages may not happen if one of the parties is seen imbibing. Violence against women has also reduced as a result. One has to wonder why the courage to make this change happen in Guyana, a land rife with domestic violence and alcohol-related crimes including public drunkenness, is lacking. Even if the entire country cannot be an alcohol-free zone, certainly some regions or even some villages may want to experiment with the idea and see the positive changes that may result in more people moving to that area to live in peace.
Independence movements
The road to Indian Independence was a long one and if there is one incident that showed that the British were not invincible, it was the Salt March to Dandi Beach in 1930. The beatings of nonviolent protesters at Dharsana salt mines enabled the world to witness the injustice and brutality and even the Times magazine named Gandhi “Man of the Year”. Once the world knew that the invincibility of the British was giving way to the immovable force of Satyagraha, many colonies across the globe, not just those governed by the British, began to form organisations to rid themselves of their European masters.
While Cheddi Jagan was still studying and working in the USA in 1943, he identified with the movement and considered freedom as indivisible and needed in Guiana also. He was exposed to the “mystique of Gandhi” and on his return quickly got involved in labour struggles and was a founding member of PAC (Political Action Committee) and then the current PPP.
However, even before that, Jung Bahadur Singh led the British Guiana East Indian Association, formed since 1916 with similar political aims as the Congress Party in India. Later, the Gandhi Youth Organisation took up the challenge in the 1950s… John Peters, now residing in Canada, was once an assistant secretary and confirmed that the GYO taught Bapuji’s life and philosophy. Books on Indian independence movement were shipped free of cost from the Bhavan HQ in Mumbai. Lectures were frequent, Hindi, music, and classical dancing were taught. Numerous cultural activities made Oct 2 a very colourful day in the entire country.
Even in his death, Gandhi’s influence could be felt across the seas. Cremation was illegal in Guiana until a bill introduced by Dr Singh made this possible in 1956. However, he died before it became law, so special exemption had to be sought before he became the first person to be cremated at Ogle foreshore.
Peaceful disobedience is here to stay as violence and force are not the ways of a civilised society. There is still a lot that can be learnt from the life and message of the Mahatma even if a few still see only his foibles as a human being. A few admirers making short speeches on his birthday are not enough to challenge the prediction of Einstein as mankind has now a duty to prove the greatest scientist wrong. We can only do this by teaching and persuading future generations that indeed the Mahatma in flesh and blood walked upon this earth. His messages of truth and nonviolence, even though as old as the hills, will always be relevant for all mankind. The world should be eternally grateful that he lived and encourage studies and scholarships in his name.
How difficult would it be to name a few streets after him starting with one near the monument of the Jahajis in Region Six?
Could this area also be the first alcohol-free zone?
By Ramnarine Sahadeo: Author of Mohandas. K. Gandhi, Thoughts, Words, Deeds. Initiated Gandhi Scholarship at McMaster, University, Ontario, Canada
