Seems the man who shook up Guyana’s politics in the closing days of 2018 – Mr “no…no…no” Charrandas – is back from his truncated stint as Guyana’s High Commissioner to India. Much of the contradictions in Guyana’s politics can be gleaned in the meteoric rise of the fella and his subsequent fall. Local politicians are blamed for playing on racial sentiments – but Charrandas hitched his star to the self-proclaimed “multiracial” AFC – not the “Indian” PPP. Trotman and Ramjattan were gonna repeat the glorious moment in 1953 by Burnham and Jagan – but with 20/20 hindsight, would avoid their missteps!! His choice should’ve earned him some political brownie points, no??
But from what he’s reported following his historic “no…no…no…” No Confidence Vote, it’s clear that the fellas (and felines) in the AFC top bracket were oblivious to the lessons of history – and wilfully so!! They fully well knew that the PNC wasn’t to be trusted. After all, their guiding light is Machiavelli, whose fundamental principle is that politics is all about power. Which is to be possessed in its totality – by any means necessary. Charrandas clearly couldn’t believe that Ramjattan would allow the PNC to cut off the AFC’s Indo-Guyanese supporters – who had put the PNC over the electoral hump and into power – at the knees!!
So, this is the first revealed contradiction we should appreciate: the PNC just can’t help itself when it comes to sharing power. It’s a no-no from the word go!! Power is an end for itself. So now, dear reader, you know why Moses couldn’t be allowed to even CHAIR Cabinet meetings – like he was promised in black and white through the Cummingsburg Accord. Or Ramjattan neutered in his miniaturised Ministry. And if the PNC can’t share power with the AFC top leaders, can you imagine how second-tier fellas like Charrandas were treated??
The other takeaway from “Le affaire Charrandas” is that when it comes to politics, the PNC just gotta settle scores with Indian Guyanese. THEY voted for the PPP and denied them what they consider to be their God-given right to govern Guyana!! What else could explain PNC Granger’s unilaterally disregarding the recommendations of his own CoI into the sugar industry and firing 7000 workers?? They always claim that “sugar workers” sabotaged the industry by burning canes – which, if true, was more than 50 years ago!!
And lastly, extrapolating from the craven behaviour of Nagamootoo and Ramjattan – the PNC can’t conceive that Charrandas could have the moral integrity to stand up for his sugar workers’ constituents of Rose Hall. Even though the estate provided economic sustenance for the entire Canje area.
Yes…Charrandas committed a flagrant sexist faux pas. But he shed light on the local politics.
…of the native son
Well, Pres Ali’s really revelling in his return to his ancestral land. He took every opportunity to make his links to India as explicit as possible. To the delight of his host on the English-medium platform – beamed to India’s elite – he regaled them with examples of his connections. His favourite Bollywood stars?? Kajol, Aishwarya Rai, and Shahrukh Khan!! Singers? His relatives vie when getting down to prove whether the better singer is Mukesh or Rafi!! Not to mention that his grandmother would regularly take in a “triple” – three three-hour Indian movies viewed in succession!! Now that’s movie binging when folks didn’t even know the word “Binge”!!
But he didn’t just talk about pop culture, he emphasised the importance of the retention of culture by the Indian Indentured Labourers. He revealed that Indian visitors and their diplomatic representatives are astounded at that retention – even when some of those customs have been lost in India!!
Evidently, his father’s roots were traced to his village in India.
…to sender
This song’s certainly moot in the age of social media: I gave a letter to the postman/ He put it in his sack/ Bright early next morning/ He brought my letter back/ Return to sender, address unknown…
