Dear Editor,
After reading Colin Bascom’s letter, “Our relations with India should not be at the expense of our core values as a nation” (SN 17-01-07), I had to re-check the meaning of the word “justice”. I found that there were tens of meaning to the word, but none of it could fit within the purview of that letter.
Instead of parading under the heading of a generic organization like The Campaign for Justice in Guyana, the association should have been blunt and forthright, like Eric Phillips about his pro-African agenda, and label his movement something like Campaign for Africans in Guyana.
Mr Bascom needs to take off his coloured glasses and then perhaps he will see the situation in its proper perspective. He insinuates that the strengthening of relations between Guyana and India hinges on the fact that there are a significant number of people of Indian descent in Guyana. Well, perhaps Mr. Bascom could tell us why more and more African countries are garnering greater ties with India – including Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Madagascar. Madagascar has been cajoling Indian farmers to go and help in the cultivation of their farms.
There are increasing economic and cultural ties between South Africa and India. As a matter of fact, many countries (developing and developed) have been turning towards India (and China) because of its mind-boggling economic progress.
Just a few days ago, UK Chancellor Gordon Brown, who is expected to replace Tony Blair as Prime Minister, visited India with the express purpose to forge stronger cultural and economic ties, and strongly supports India’s bid for a permanent place in the Security Council. (What if President Bharrat Jagdeo had made similar poignant statements!)
Mr. Bascom chided President Jagdeo for ties with India, a country “that is still to effectively address caste discrimination, child slavery, and female abuse.” These are only some of the problems that face India, Bascom. Others include environmental degradation, corruption, and communal strife. That Mr Bascom thinks that India is not doing anything about these and other problems exposes his gross ignorance about that country. I perhaps would address this question at a later time.
Mr. Bascom’s resorting to quotations of letter writers in this epistle is pathetic. He failed to give the reader the benefit of the context; this smacks of a Kean Gibson in waiting, who tried to get away with the same idea, but fortunately, did not get very far.
Guyana is not the only Caribbean country to strengthen relationships with India. Jamaica has upped the ante, and recently opened a tourism office in the country. Trinidad also has a vibrant High Commission in New Delhi.
It is prudent to forge greater ties with India, as many African students know. There are hundreds (thousands?) of African students who are either recipients of Indian scholarships, or are studying in various educational institutions. Some of my closest friends in India are Africans who reside in the International Hostel at a world renowned university where I currently reside.
If there is an African country that Guyana could benefit from by garnering similar economic, scientific and cultural relations, then perhaps the government should certainly go that route. Perhaps Mr. Bascom could suggest a few, for starters.
Yours faithfully,
Devanand Bhagwan
India
