The ongoing controversy between Dr Roodal Moonilal and the Secretary General of the Maha Sabha, Vijay Maharaj, is both hilarious and cause for concern. It is hilarious because it is a non-issue and it is cause for concern because this behavior is synonymous with the Hindu community. The best conclusion I can use to sum up this scenario is the expression -when goat ass fat it chews wood.
The Hindu community is idle. Most of its leaders are people who have very little personal achievements under their belts. I would like to eliminate Pandit Dr Rampersad Parasram who had a distinguished career in the medical field and also as a public figure. Most would recall that Panditji was Chairman of the newly formed CLUB 88 that later morphed into the United National Congress. In 1995 when the UNC came to power, I do not recall Dr Parasram serving as a cabinet minister which I would think was secondary to him.
Pandit Dr. Parasram was also head of the Indian Diaspora Council of Trinidad that went on to host several international conferences to commemorate the 100th anniversary commemoration of the termination of Indian Indenture (1917-2017).
Unfortunately, though being Dharmacharya of the Maha Sabha, executive power resides with the Secretary General who is like a Prime Minister in the Westminster system while the Dharmachaya is like our ceremonial President. I must congratulate Panditji for biting his tongue while he serves the throne of Hastinapur. He is undoubtedly cast in the role of a Bhisma Pitama!
Dr Roodal Moonilal is an academic in his own right. He holds a doctorate in labor studies which he attained at the Hague in the Netherlands. Dr Moonilal could have proceeded like Basdeo Panday to a post as a lecturer in a university in any part of the world but opted to enter politics to improve the lives of citizens.
No one can doubt the debating skills of Dr Roodal Moonilal. He is the best I have heard and whenever I congratulate him on his excellence as a debater his response is “I learn from the best- the Bas.” Dr Moonilal continues to keep the government on its toes and no one can deny that if the opposition is doing a good job in parliament to keep our democracy alive, it is heavily dependent on the contribution of Dr Moonilal who is like Virat Kohli in the Indian cricket team.
Morality and good conduct are not the only attributes of workers in the religious field but also a head with a brain. Without a doubt we have dynamic leaders who are well qualified but live in fear of attracting bright minds around them. These leaders have the weakness to attract the ambitious with limited abilities. One leader who was able to attract abled aides around him was Basdeo Panday. This was best demonstrated in the choice of people he selected to serve in his government of 1995-2001. No wonder his government of 1995-2001 is still touted as the best government in the history of Trinidad and Tobago!
Social skills are definitely required by practitioners in the religious field. Most of our renowned pandits had little or no academic qualifications but had social skills which helped them to interact positively with everyone they came into contact with. Doon Pandit who initiated the Pandit Parishad of today, had limited education but was able to unite the Sanatanist Hindus along with Bhadase Maharaj and Chanka Maharaj. While Bhadase had a few years of education at the secondary level, Chanka Maharaj was not so fortunate. Despite this, Chanka would go down in history as one of the finest representatives of the people. Chanka did not have to behave like a hog to attract the attention of the public. Instead, he opted to serve the people. Pandit Lutchmee Persad, a founder member of the Maha Sabha and head of the Pandit Parishad recalled a van load of ladies arriving at his him one early morning. Coming all the way from Cedros they wanted Chanka’s intervention to get their husbands who were fishermen out of the jails in Venezuela. Chanka welcomed the ladies, listened to their complaints and proceeded to serve them breakfasts. The very day Chanka took a boat and was in Venezuela where he successfully negotiated the release of the fishermen.
I know that Dr. Moonilal knows himself well and would exercise caution in his way forward. While Dr Moonilal identifies with the character of the lion, I want to suggest to him that he leaves the bakri alone. Some battles are like hitting one head against a wall, that is, with nothing to gain except a ‘bust head.’