Basdeo Panday prepared the land and sowed the seeds and he reaped bounteous harvests.
His struggles with the sugar workers won him political dividends. Had he not known what it was to walk the ground, the sugar workers would not have followed him.
If today there is a UNC it is mainly because of the work of Panday. In 2007 when the COP steered voters away from the UNC, Panday’s leadership was still able to retain its base. It was upon such a base, that the UNC rose to power in 2010.
Politics today is not about servicing the base. It is about loyalty to the political leader while the people veer away to their safe havens to leave those political opportunists to themselves.
We cannot forget the classes Panday organized in the 1970s at Esperance for the children of sugar workers with help from trainee teachers at the Naparima Teachers’ College.
Basdeo Panday walked many Sundays in Dow Village, California, Windsor Park, Esperanza, Phoenix Park etc to consolidate his leadership of the sugar union.
Panday’s oratorical skill and diction have enriched the English language much to the delight and joy of all. His speeches were not only well delivered but also edifying with data and anecdotes to connect with all.
Today, political aspiration is no longer about struggle and ability but loyalty to a political leader. Maybe it was always so but never so obvious and naked, almost bordering on obscenity.