Dear Editor,
Dr David Hinds writes a glowing tribute to his guru Mr Eusi Kwayana in the KN of 4-6-24 on his 99th birthday. Belated congratulations to the Buxton sage and may he reach 100 and beyond. Dr Hinds would however like us to believe that Mr Kwayana is without sin and is innocent in the race division problem which has plagued Guyana. Dr Hinds admits Mr Kwayana is controversial but excuses him as being misunderstood.
Why is Mr Kwayana controversial? Mr Kwayana has been an unapologetic champion of Afro Guyanese politics throughout his political life. Indo Guyanese have no similar advocate. In fact there is no Indian equal to the likes of Dr Hinds,Mr Eric Phillips, Dr Henry Jeffrey, Mr Lincoln Lewis, Mr Vincent Alexander or even Mr Hamilton Green.
If one is to believe that Mr Kwayana was a defender of Dr Cheddi Jagan during their early years one must sincerely commend him. But where is the proof as to what Dr Hinds claims?. What could later have so drastically changed Mr Kwayana that he became a lifelong bitter opponent of the Jagans and the PPP even up to this day?
Dr Hinds informs us that Mr Kwayana metamorphosed when the PPP refused to join Guyana into the West Indian Federation in 1956. The PPP actually had no political electoral mandate to join the Federation as Guyana was still a British colony. The PPP felt that since it was a socialist party then it would be subsumed in the Federation to the wider West Indies other capitalist parties. The PPP was proven right when the fledgling Federation collapsed..
Mr Kwayana was incensed about the PPP’s decision. He interpreted the PPP’s decision on the basis of race. He argued that since the PPP had majority support amongst Indo Guyanese the PPP was influenced by this fact. It marked the beginning of Mr Kwayana’s lifelong activities as a reactionary Afrocentric advocate.
Prior to the 1961 general elections the PNC’s Forbes Burnham had declared that the PNC would support the PPP to take Guyana into independence. Mr Kwayana bitterly denounced the PNC for this decision. He charged that the PNC was sacrificing Black people’s freedom under an Indian government and it would result in their enslavement. When the PPP won the 1961 election the PNC reneged on its pledge. Mr Kwayana who had earlier joined the PNC in 1957 was expelled.
Mr Kwayana’s new policy was to demand equality based on race. Based on the paramountcy of race he advocated that the country be divided into three parts ie Indian, African and mixed races.He failed to take into consideration the needs of Portuguese, Chinese and Amerindian citizens.
While Mr Kwayana detached himself from the PNC in 1971, he joined the WPA which was formed in 1974 and became an influential member who openly preached a race based solution to Guyana’s problems.The WPA was a coalition of Mr Moses Bhagwan’s Indian Political Revolutionary Associates (IPRA), ASCRIA which was headed by Mr Kwayana and Ratoon led by Dr Clive Thomas of UG.
WPA was left leaning but contradictions became obvious with the group. Mr Bhagwan’s IPRA had absolutely no support amongst Indo Guyanese.ASCRIA on the other hand was supported emotionally by Afro Guyanese. IPRA legitimized Mr Kwayana race-based approach to Guyanese politics but the group never never made inroads into the Indo Guyanese population. The WPA was to become a lopsided organization.
With the arrival in Guyana of avowed Marxist scholar Dr Walter Rodney the WPA made him their leader and the fortunes of the WPA improved. But Dr Hinds has admitted that “While Marxists generally avoided the issue of race and ethnicity, Kwayana did not. No public person since 1961 has written and spoken more on Guyana’s persistent ethnic problems”.
Dr Rodney on the other hand was a very charismatic figure and soon wooed Afro Guyanese support away from the PNC. His was a Marxist class based approach to politics unlike Mr Kwayana. Dr Rodney succesfully made inroads into the army. Indo Guyanese were told by the PPP to attend his meetings and Dr Rodney with his emphasis on class rather than race became accepted, admired and a hero to oust the PNC from power.
Did Dr Rodney trust those in the WPA? It was obvious that the security forces under control of the PNC Government had penetrated the new WPA rebels. IPRA’s Mr Bhagwan was a known Marxist even though he headed an Indocentric IPRA; Mr Kwayana on the other hand was a different kettle of fish. It was obvious after Dr Rodney death by a remote controlled bomb that he was inclined to use violence as a means to topple the PNC.
Obviously Dr Rodney did not trust Mr Kwayana as the latter was known to be against the use of revolutionary violence in Guyana’s politics. Dr Rodney headed the WPA committee tasked to acquire weapons. If Dr Rodney were to take Mr Kwayana into his confidence Mr Kwayana would be hard pressed to explain why weapons were to be used against Guyana’s predominantly Afro Guyanese armed forces! Mr Kwayana would find it difficult to endorse the possibility of WPA weapons being used to shoot Black people!
( In fact Mr Hubert Rodney younger brother of Dr Rodny said that Dr Rodney’s long term aim was to merge the WPA with the PPP Rodney would have merged WPA into the PPP in the long term – Kaieteur News
Mr Kwayana would certainly have been opposed to this merger.
Dr Hinds obviously misspoke when he wrote “ While Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham, the party’s primary leaders quickly became identified with the East Indian and African communities respectively, Kwayana an African was seen as (sic) neutral.”
That Mr Kwayana was “neutral” is farthest from the truth especially with his race based approach to Guyanese politics.
That Mr Kwayana approach is embedded in race was dramatically seen when Black Power advocate Mr Stokely Carmichael visited Guyana in 1970. The charismatic Black Power advocate wowed Afro Guyanese students at Queens College with his chanting of the Biblical phrase:“There can be no remission of sins without the shedding of blood”. Indo Guyanese students booed him when he advocated separate development in politics by race!
ASCRIA held a conky reception for him in Georgetown and Mr Carmichael endorsed the organization as necessary to work with if they accepted his policy of separate development of the races.
Dr Hinds ended the tribute to Mr Kwayana on a personal note. “In all of this, the persistent example of Eusi Kwayana has been pivotal. He is the finest human being I have encountered in my life’s journey”
Can Dr Hinds explain what the airport security personnel found in his luggage at Timehri airport when he was arrested and jailed if the influence of Mr Kwayana was pivotal? Dr.Hinds must also remind us of Mr. Kwayana knowledge of the Wismar and Buxton massacre in Guyana.
Sincerely,
Vassan Ramracha.
