By Ryhaan Shah
It is not that Nicolette Henry, Minister of Education, is not a “chatree”, but that she can never hope to attain such high status.
The caste system is outlawed in India, and Indian indentured labourers lost caste by crossing the kalapani; but kshatriyas are still remembered for being warriors and rulers who were known for their bravery and rectitude, for their educated status and for their justness as political leaders.
Since Henry and her Government colleagues are totally lacking in these characteristics, her declaration was quite correct.
That a grown woman has neither the grace nor humility to own to her mistake of mixing up two major Hindu festivals exposes an arrogance of ignorance that is quite disturbing. That she occupies an official position that puts her in charge of our children’s education – and thus of our country’s future – is untenable.
She proves yet again that she is unfit to hold any high office. But Granger will not fire her. She will likely be rewarded, just as he rewarded Lloyda Nicholas-Garrett, a press officer within the Ministry of the Presidency, who “won” herself a trip to Manhattan and the UN for her perfectly contextual use of the “coolie” pejorative.
Head of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, Dr Vindya Persaud, responded to Henry’s comment in a social media post: “That a senior functionary in charge of the education of the young people in Guyana would arrogantly condone her lack of knowledge about our national Hindu festivals, when the youngest Guyanese child learns about this in school; and worse, in a secular Guyana where cohesion is being touted, she blatantly dismisses a major section of the population, is disgusting and unacceptable.”
Dr Persaud added that “using the Sanskrit word Kshatriya [popularly known as Chatree in Guyana], which means warrior, as part of a disrespectful statement shows how belittling she is of Hindus, their faith, and culture. She has totally disregarded the respect for each other’s faith and culture, and continues to show she has no remorse.”
The “coolie” and “chatree” utterances expose the prejudices that shape the Granger Government’s racist policies, which have serious and widespread consequences for Indian Guyanese in particular. The continued dismissal of sugar workers – even as Christmas approaches – shows the cold, vicious and unchristian attitude that sits at the very heart of this Government.
That they do not display any of the charity and compassion entreated by Christianity suggests that they are not bound or inspired by any of the teachings and values of any religious faith, including their own; and many would hold that a Godless government can never be a good government.
There is no redemption to be gained here, unless Henry is fired; and since that will not happen, this is yet another instance that marks Guyana’s decline and its return to the dreaded Burnhamist past.
It is ironic that it was Burnham who instituted the national holidays that celebrate the three major faiths of Hinduism, Islam and Christianity, which have since become showpieces of Guyana’s regard for its religious and ethnic diversity.
Establishing the holidays – which included Diwali and Phagwah – eroded none of Burnham’s corrupt hold on power while making him appear a fair-minded leader to the world. It was a masterly public relations move, and it cost him nothing.
Granger, however, appears to have no time for presenting a good image of his Government, and Henry’s utterances unmask the state’s social cohesion policy as the absolute fakery that it always was. There can no longer be any pretence that this Government has any respect for diversity, or wishes to heal the racial divide in order to build a healthy national consensus based on mutual respect.
Instead, there is the continued alienation of whole sections of the population, which will have disastrous consequences for the entire society and economy.
Firing thousands of sugar workers without any plans in place to retrain, retool, or reorganise them in order to ensure their future financial security impacts the national economy, which in turn impacts every citizen. That impact is currently negative.
When added to the social and cultural impact of a minister of government comfortably parading her ignorance and disrespect for a whole section of the population within the hallowed halls of the National Assembly, the country has definitely hit a new low.
The real fear is that the bar can go even lower, especially since the Granger Government displays none of the proud and noble qualities of those ancient warriors, the kshatriyas.
