Dear Editor,
A Street in Richmond Hill, Queens, will be co-named after famous Guyanese son, Pandit Ramlall, who passed away just over two years ago. Ramlall-ji, who hailed from Skeldon and taught at Tagore Memorial School, was born in 1928; he joined Dr. Jagan in the struggle for Guy-ana’s political freedom. He was arrested and kept in confinement at Sibley Hall for a few years for his dissension against colonial rule. He self-taught and passed exams. He studied Hindi in India under a Government of India scholarship in 1974 and returned to Guyana to teach Hindi in Guyana. Pandit Ramlall migrated to the US in 1979 and pursued further education. He is the holder BA and a DipEd. He joined the movement for restoration of democracy in Guyana. Guyanese Ameri-cans, Ashook Ramsaran and Narro Bali, presented a convincing case why a street should be named after him. They note that he was a priest, scholar, political community activist, freedom fighter, religious icon, Indo-Caribbean and Guyanese cultural pioneer, and community advocate. He had earned the respect and admiration of politicians and the Guyanese and Indo-Caribbean communities in Queens. Coun-cil woman Adrienne Adams of Richmond Hill piloted a bill to have a street named after the Pandit and won approval. The unveiling of Pandit Ramlall Way at 133rd Street, off Liberty, just in front of Sybil’s Restaurant, will take place on Sunday June 27th at 1:00 PM. It will be preceded by speeches and a cultural program at the Dr. Cheddi Jagan Square, a vacant lot owned by the Arya Samaj Spiritual Center just half black away, from 11:30 AM. The public is invited.
Sincerely,
Vishnu Bisram
