Dr Vishnu Bisram is Guyanese born (1960) who received his primary (Anglican) and secondary (Chandisingh Corentyne High) education in Guyana and tertiary education (City University and NYU with teachers training licensing requirements at Columbia, Pace, and other universities) in the US and India.
Vishnu is a fourth generation Indian. His great grandparents from both his mother and father’s sides were born in India — Gurbatore from Ghaizpur, Amru from Azamgarh, Sau from Chapra, Mangri from Mau, Bhuri and Bhura Singh from Bharatpur, among others. They all came at different times to then British Guiana (1880s and 1890s) to work on sugar plantations as indentured laborers. After serving ten years, they were freed laborers. They purchased land. They remained on the colony rather than returned to India, married and had children. They used the savings from indentureship to purchase landholdings to cement their ties to their adopted land. They were not given free land and did not receive the promised return passage. Very few Indians received land in lieu of the passage.
Vishnu Bisram is ninth of twelve children of Gladys and Baldat, rural farmers; she also was a seamstress and he a taylor, and they attended to a kitchen garden as well.
Vishnu attended the St Joseph Anglican (called English) primary school from 1966 to 1972. In 1972, he passed the annual nationwide Common Entrance exam winning a scholarship place to attend the government Berbice High School in New Amsterdam, some 17 miles from his home village of Ankerville, Port Mourant. He declined the placement scholarship and opted instead for the private Chandisingh High School to which his family paid a tuition. He entered for eight subjects at the Cambridge University Exam in 1977.
Vishnu migrated to the USA in 1977 to further his studies. He enrolled at the City College of City University of New York September that year at age 17, studying Bio-Chemistry and also completing a major in Political Science. After his BSc in Bio-Chem, he continued his studies in Political Science. In 1982, he pursued graduate studies in International Relations earning a MA. He went on to complete multiple post graduate degrees including doctorates in Economics, Sociology, History, Political Science and Educational Administration.
Dr Bisram taught for over forty years in various subjects in the US. He also served as a newspaper reporter and columnist for over four decades. He is a well-known pollster in the Caribbean region, conducting surveys regularly in Guyana and Trinidad. He also conducted polls in Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St Kitts, Aruba, and elsewhere. He also conducted polls in India and informal polls in and political analyses of elections in Fiji and Mauritius. He also partook in election campaigns in India in 1998, 1999, 2004, and every election thereafter. He volunteered for candidates in several elections. He was in India in February 2024 conducting surveys and will return to India in mid April for additional surveys regarding the general election. He volunteered for elections in USA in 1988 onwards working on the campaigns for Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, among others. He also volunteered on the campaigns of Governors, Senators, Congress persons, Mayors, NYS legislatures, and City Councils.
Vishnu is a research specialist on the Indian diaspora traveling extensively around the globe to research and write about Indian communities. He published countless articles on various subjects in the mass media, journals, and books. He also organized international conferences on the Indian diaspora and presented papers at many conferences. He was a guest lecturer at universities in Mauritius, India, Fiji, South Africa, Guyana, Trinidad, Suriname, USA, and other countries.
Dr Bisram is a well regarded political analyst on American and Caribbean politics. He makes him home in Guyana, Trinidad, and America and travels frequently to India.