Historically, the lay Hindus celebrated their festivals- Ramleela, Naw Ratri, Phagwa etc. – without the inputs of the established organizations. Long before many of those organized Hindu bodies came into existence, Hindu families and communities were engaged in these celebrations.
I learned from the elders that during indentureship Divali and Phagwa were celebrated in the barracks. When villages came into existence, almost every village hosted Ramleela. The villagers came together and prepared the venue, the costume and the cast to execute the Ramleela. The pandit in the community was always present to guide the enthusiastic villagers through these programs. The best example of this is seen in Dow Village, California where Ramleela has been celebrated without interruption for more than 100 years. Again, in Puzzle Island, Penal, the villagers have been celebrating Ganesh Utsav for more than 100 years.
Until the 1950s, the ladies of the village took the lead in the celebration of Durga Puja. This was an opportunity to address diseases which was a common threat to all households as small pox and measles were common.
In the 1940s and 1950s a few Hindu organizations were registered to build schools to educate Hindu boys and girls. Here was a problem and these leaders put their heads together to address it. Today education is a big success in the Hindu/Indian community thanks to the vision of those leaders.
In the mid-1940s the colonial government proposed universal adult suffrage. However, those averse to the Indian community connived with the Governor to deny Indians the franchise on the ground that an eligible elector must be able to read and write in the English Language. This was a dagger aimed at the heart of the community as the majority of Indians were illiterate in English and would be automatically disqualified to exercise their franchise.
It was in this social environment that Adrian Cola Rienzi rose to the challenge. Other leaders stepped forward and joint resistance was offered against the draconian plot. Labor leaders saw through the diabolical plot and joined hands with Rienzi. Fortunately, the Governor allowed reason to prevail and the proposed Literacy Test was dropped.
When mas men were planning on masquerading Hindu deities on the streets for Carnival, Bhadase Sagan Maraj, President of the Maha Sabha, rose to the challenge. The mas band leaders were approached and asked to refrain from their proposed action. Thankfully, Prime Minister Dr Eric Williams intervened and put an end to what might have been a violent confrontation.
In the mid-1970s the Hindu Jawaan Sangh joined hands with the Maha Sabha to revive Phagwa and Chowtal. In the 1980s the Indian Revival and Reform Association led by Ramdath Jagessar teamed up with the Maha Sabha and later with the Hindu Seva Sangh to commemorate Indian Arrival Day (May 30) celebrations which led to the declaration of a public holiday in 1995.
The leadership of the Maha Sabha under Sat Maharaj witnessed several battles fought for social justice. In addition to the struggle for a broadcast license to operate a media outfit, the Maha Sabha fought to have the Trinity Cross, a Christian symbol, removed as the highest national award of the land. The matter was fought in the courts all the way to the Privy Council in London until the ruling against the State.
Congratulations to Rana Mohip, Dr Shivanand Maharaj and Sandra Sookdeo for the projects they have undertaken to develop the arts. Special thanks to UTT and UWI for including India Music and Ramleela Arts and Indian Cinema in their curriculum.
Much needs to be done to not only document but also to archive our history. These are specialized areas of work that need to be pursued with much vigor and support from the major organizations. Another area should be the training of young minds for public service including social work and politics. However, these needs are generally overlooked as we waste our energies on projects that were traditionally executed by villagers.
The training of our pandits and the learning of Sanskrit continues to be elusive. While a few programs are in operation, there still remains the need for a dedicated school in these fields to train our pandits who are the backbone of our Dharma. Having a dedicated institution teaching these subject areas would be better than sending a few to India to engage in six-week crash courses which truly amounts to nothing.
Nevertheless, the achievements of SVN in Guyana headed by Swami Aksharananda and the Chinmaya Mission headed by Swami Prakashananda offer hope and a glimpse of the future that awaits to welcome us. The effort of ICDN, an online newspaper, must also be commended for providing a forum for news on activities in the diaspora to be highlighted. If these programs were not in operation, it would have been Ramleela en masse – Ravana and Soupnakya running havoc across the land.