Dear Editor,
I write to support Acting Commissioner Clifton Hicken’s declared mission to have ethnic balance in the Police Force. He was reported as saying, “that diversity will see an amalgamation of cultures from the six races.” (SN 6th April 2022). I trust that Bharrat Jagdeo and Irfaan Ali will publicly support Mr. Hicken who will need great support from not only the PPP leaders, but more importantly the Hindu leaders as well. If Hindus are not recruited and retained we can very well have an ethnically balanced force of all 6 peoples made up primarily of Muslims and Christians because Indians also belong to those 2 religions. So as much as Mr. Hicken will seek a balance of all races he must look at religious representation, and since Hindus comprise 30% of the population, they must also be adequately represented.
Recruiting and retaining Hindus will prove to be problematic due to the fact that they were conditioned pre 1992 to view the Police Force as “PNC”. Post 1992 Hindus were actively discouraged by both PPP and Hindu leaders from enlisting in the Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force. Over the past 6 years whenever I addressed Hindus and urged them to serve in the Police and Army I was met with resentment from Hindu mothers who did not want children to be “beaten” “hollered upon,” and “line up for food,” etc, etc. Just over 1 year ago the GDF held recruitment drives in Indian areas all over Guyana and only succeeded in recruiting one Indian who was Christian and who was one of my relatives from Leguan.
So it is crucial for Acting Commissioner Hicken to actively seek assistance from Hindu organisations. He should meet publicly with them all over Guyana and listen to their concerns. I must say though that I am against the lowering of standards to accommodate Hindus. There must be no compromise on standards. Mr. Hicken must remind Hindu leaders that Lords Rama and Krishna were soldiers and that all of Hindu historiography is about soldiers and armies. That should be used to encourage Hindus to serve the Police and Army. There are numerous Hindu organisations and pandits all over Guyana and they should be given recruitment quotas. Pandits can be offered cash encouragement to help the Police Force recruit Hindus. Crucial also is for the PPP leaders to give Hindus permission to serve.
Sincerely,
Malcolm Harripaul
