Disgraced High Commissioner to India, Charrandass Persaud yesterday apologised for verbally abusing a female animal rights activist and in a farewell event his remarks deepened the view that he was not recalled from his station but allowed to return to Guyana with the approval of President Irfaan Ali.
The correspondence to Persaud on the end of his tenure in New Delhi has not been released by Takuba Lodge.
In a Christmas Day farewell which he said that he had asked to be videoed, Persaud described what he was going to say as “a confession, it is an admission and it is an apology”.
Decked out in an Indian-style orange tunic with a sleeveless black coat, Persaud gave his version of the events which had created revulsion in Georgetown and led to calls for his immediate recall. Though the incident occurred in August of 2021 – just months after he had taken up his position – it remained undisclosed until a video of part of the confrontation with the woman, Sonya Ghosh, 63, was released online in October this year.
Speaking in front of a poster with his image, Persaud said that Ghosh, an English professor, had had a licence or court order to feed around 60 stray dogs and one of them had frequently entered his yard, waking him up at night and upturning the contents of his garbage bins. He acknowledged that he had ordered that the dog be strayed away.
“I had two of the malis (gardeners) with me and my driver. We packed the dog and I told them to take the dog far away. The took the dog to Gurgaon (a city south west of New Delhi) so the dog can’t come back”, he said.
With dozens of persons in the audience including diplomats, Persaud said the episode was why he was leaving India on short notice or after a short time.
“The lady (Ghosh) came to the security and asked about the dog and the security told her that we took the dog away. She came the next day and the security opened the gate to come in and get me. This lady barged in behind the security right up to my door and banged on the door. The security finally got her back out of the yard and I came out. When I came out I asked her what she was doing in my yard. She said she is here looking for a dog…I said I don’t have a dog in here…
“You would not believe, I was surprised at the expletives she handed me ..I have to admit that I responded in kind. So I believe women, all of you women here, would love to be deemed equal to men. You have equal facilities and everything…well if you are in a fight and you pick a fight with a man he should say ‘no you are a woman I am not going to fight with you?’ You want equality let’s go to the fight and see what happens,” he related.
“I did what I did out of anger…and I‘ll say this now as High Commissioner I represent a nation…I represent a people. The President of my country Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali and (Indian) Prime Minister Modi had to approve of my presence … I was granted such approval”, he said.
In the backdrop of cheering from supporters, Persaud said “What I did as High Commissioner was wrong…. I owe my friends, my colleagues an apology for behaving in a manner not becoming of a diplomat. I was angry I did not exercise diplomacy and so I spoke to the President – that video surfaced in October of 2022 just recently in Guyana. And instead of the President taking the flak, I told him I say ‘Look don’t worry about this. I will leave India and that will bring an end to the whole story …that is why I am leaving”, he told his audience which included Indian cricket great Kapil Dev who Persaud described as his friend.
Persaud then said: “I apologize to the people of India, to the Prime Minister (of India), to my colleagues who are all diplomats …to my government and the President in particular. He (Ali) said ‘Are you sure you want to return to Guyana?’ I said ‘Yes, because the people from various walks of life will literally take the hair off of your head and if he was bald it would have been ok but he is not, he has a lot of hair”.
No apology was offered at the event by Persaud to Ghosh.
“Again I would like to offer an apology but as Charrandass Persaud an individual I strongly stand up equal to any woman…if you want to fight, if you want to curse if you want to dance, I am ready…I did in fact hurl abuses after she abused me because I believe in equality…. But as High Commissioner it should not have happened”, he said.
He felicitated friends at event and added: “The wrong that I may have done is done, we can’t undo that but I do know that it will not happen again, that’s for sure as I will never be a diplomat again…and so as a non-diplomat I can get into fights. I do not believe in farewell I do not believe in goodbye they are too final. How do you say it in Hindi… phir milenge ..we will meet again…
Crucial vote
Persaud had cast the crucial vote in the December 21, 2018 motion of no-confidence which brought down the APNU+AFC government he had represented in Parliament. His posting to New Delhi had been seen as a recognition by the PPP/C of his vote.
On October 26 this year, Ali said that Persaud had agreed to return home following the furore generated by the video in which he was seen cursing the woman and using sexually suggestive gestures.
In a three-minute video address to the nation, Ali did not issue a reprimand to Persaud or say explicitly that he had been recalled. The President characterised the return as if it had been by mutual agreement and for the need to always show behaviour of the highest order.
The President shed no light on why this incident had not been made known when it occurred and action taken immediately.
After he saw the video he said he called Persaud who stated that the video was not a complete recording of the events and that he had been cleared in the investigation that had been done.
The President said that notwithstanding all of this, it was agreed between the two that in keeping with the interests of Guyana, Persaud would return to the country and that he accepted full responsibility for his actions.
“Last night after having a chance to review the video I called High Commissioner Charrandass. During our conversation he related to me that this is an incident that occurred sometime in August last year, and the video is not a full reflection of what took place. Per a matter of fact he informed that the video was not complete in demonstrating what took place,” the president said in the statement.
Ali said he explained to Persaud that representatives of Guyana must on every occasion conduct themselves in the highest order and regard.
“Mr. Charrandass then communicated to me that this matter was dealt with by the relevant agencies and authorities in India and that there was no evidence of any misconduct and for a matter of fact he was cleared of any accusation of sexual harassment. He also shared with me the letter that substantiated this statement.”
It was at this point, the president said, that Persaud agreed “…with me that in keeping with the best interest of Guyana and the image of Guyana that he would return home from his posting in India.”
In a criminal complaint Ghosh disclosed that she is an Associate Professor in the Department of English, CVS, Delhi University. She said that the incident occurred while she was looking for a stray dog to feed it.
In the 32-second video, while the woman’s words were mostly inaudible as she was wearing a mask, Persaud can be clearly heard hurling profanities at the woman.
“No, I don’t need a dog in my yard, okay? You want a dog, take it, put it between your legs. You probably want the dog to [expletive] you, that’s what you want,” Persaud is heard saying to the woman who was also speaking.
“I don’t care, I don’t care who you are,” he added and later screamed “I don’t know who the hell you are!”
“[Expletive] you!” he further shouted at the woman who continued to speak.
He then turned and walked away but quickly returned talking to a man, who was close to him, and pointing his fingers. He said “Listen to me, don’t let any woman come in my yard,”
“Hello, you like the camera”, he then said indicating he knew he was being filmed. A man with him however held his hand up as if to tell the person to stop filming and shortly after the video ended.
According to Ghosh’s criminal complaint, she has been feeding over 250 dogs daily in the area where the incident occurred. She explained that this was done in keeping with the regulatory guidelines of the country and that the homeless dogs have been sterilized and vaccinated on an annual basis at her expense. It was also done under the guidance of Member of Parliament, Maneka Gandhi, to whom she also copied her complaint.