Two days ago, the Director of Public Prosecutions Shalimar Ali-Hack discontinued the private criminal charge that was brought against attorney-at-law, Nirvan Singh. Nirvan was in May accused of spitting on and hurling racist and disrespectful statements against the officer who was tasked with securing the residence of his father, Justice Carl Singh. No reason was given for the discontinuance by the DPP, but the decision was honestly not that surprising. There have always been different standards of accountability for those who have economic privileges, and this privilege only grows in the face of other factors such as ethnic and social status.
In a previous column on the incident, I wrote about the double standards of accountability and the way in which persons such as Nirvan are repeatedly able to get away from prosecution compared to those who are less able to navigate society with such impunity. With the alleged victim of the crime being a working-class Black woman serving in the role of an employee of people such as Nirvan and his father, it was evident from the beginning where the matter would end up. Nirvan’s alleged actions demonstrated the reasoning of a person who is very aware that he will face very few repercussions for his actions. There is recognition in the fact that society as a whole places very little value on women. This value rapidly declines when factors such as Blackness and economic vulnerabilities are placed into the mix. For those who have had the privilege of “coming from money” they recognize that their circle protects, resulting in a certain hypocrisy that extends to those that use their power to get away with violence.
We cannot neglect to pay attention to the potential race biases within this decision for a discontinuance. There are those who will be quick to say that the “race card” cannot be used in what is clearly a class (socioeconomic) issue. These persons would think you are encouraging divisiveness in a society that is doing its best to move toward a mythic colour blind future. It will always bear repeating that our class issues are solidly intertwined with our ethnic ones and cannot be removed from each other. These intersections contribute to the feelings of hostility, superiority and disenfranchisement amongst our local Afro, Indo and Indigenous groups. Weeks after reports of the incident went public, Nirvan broke his silence by writing a letter that basically said nothing. What was gathered from the letter was that he did not believe himself to hold a philosophy of racism, but those who are often accused of racism rarely see themselves in that light, because they believe their thoughts, actions and responses are normal and justified.
There is also something to be said about our justice system and the veil of impartiality that is often placed upon it. Lady Justice has never been a blind hand of fairness, she is burdened by Guyana’s notorious “links” system, and rife with the biases of its implementing partners. It is why the police were said to be reluctant to take details on the case, and why there has still been no investigation of the matter, which is a requirement to assess whether a crime, in their eyes, has been committed or not. It is reasons such as these that our prison system largely remains overrun with those who are poor and socially marginalized, while those who are well off are able to continue unhindered. It is curious as to why no reason was given for the discontinuance of the case, but it is likely that none will be forthcoming, at least none that will be plausible enough to warrant the ad hoc manner in which it was dismissed.
