Remembering Cheddi Jagan

 

"The Struggle He Started Goes On"

Eulogy by Feroze Mohamed, Minister of Home Affairs, at the State Funeral ceremony of H.E. Dr. Cheddi Jagan, late President of Guyana at Parliament Buildings, Georgetown, Guyana, on Monday, March 10, 1997.

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We are gathered here this morning to pay homage and final respects to Dr. Cheddi Jagan, a great man with an indomitable spirit. He was our President, Head of the PPP/Civic Government, General Secretary of the People’s Progressive. For many Guyanese, he was embraced as the father of the nation; others saw in him a teacher and a fighter of formidable strengths and abilities; for all of us, he was our leader. I feel especially honoured to be part of today’s proceedings to pay tribute to our leader, this distinguished son of the soil, this extraordinary figure who, for half a century, influenced the political life and developments of our country. For me, during this time, many things about Dr. Jagan come to mind. This is unavoidable not only because "Comrade Cheddi" as we would refer to him, has had a profound influence on my life but also because in my thirty-six years of association with him, accepting his guidance and leadership, I have learnt a great deal from his work, his teachings and from our interaction. Like tens of thousands of Guyanese I was alongside him in several battles. We shared many anxious moments and faced many trials; we were involved with other colleagues in numerous campaigns around one or another issue; we discussed collectively and, at times, seemingly interminably, various subjects to hammer our clear and correct positions. Whether we were engaged in practical political work or theoretical activities, or elaborating political tactics and strategy, what stood out in Comrade Cheddi were his unswerving commitment to principles, his foremost loyalty to the cause of the working people, his burning desire to bring about social and economic justice, his tremendous optimism even on occasions when the situation would appear grim.

Once in a while, history provides a people with a leader who is truly outstanding. Dr. Cheddi Jagan was such a leader. His role, his various contributions, accomplishments and struggles reverberate well beyond his homeland. What distinguished him from others was that special ability to understand the central contradiction of the times, to grasp the most critical question of the day and ably articulate them in a simple and understandable way. He was able, thus, to inspire and lead masses into struggle. Dr. Jagan has repeatedly demonstrated this quality and it was this, among others, that endeared him to his people and sustained his popularity among the masses for five decades.

Dr. Jagan was born in 1918. It was a time filled with significance. It was that juncture in mankind’s history that was a boundary between two epochs. By the time the Political Affairs Committee was formed in 1946 in which Dr. Jagan played a leading role, it was clear where he stood. He stood with the people, the labouring masses, the poverty-stricken and the oppressed. He sided with the progressive forces that advocated deep-going changes within society. He advocated the politics of inclusion and lifted aloft the banner of freedom.

The workers’ struggles at Plantation Enmore, which gave us the Enmore Martyrs, was a significant turning point in Dr. Jagan’s life. Less than 2 years after, in January 1950, the People’s Progressive Party was formed. As our subsequent history has shown, this was a landmark development for our country. With Dr. Jagan at its helm, the emergence of the Party transformed the perception of the role of politics in Guyana, and the meaning of national independence. It was not only a Party for the working people, it was a Party of the working people, a Party of true patriots committed to National Unity, the prosperity of our people and to social progress.

With its formation a new era was ushered in for Guyana. The struggles for independence and freedom heightened. These were fierce struggles, in the course of which Dr. Jagan, Mrs. Jagan and other top leaders were imprisoned or confined. But the colonialists failed to break their will or suppress their cause. Indeed, their cowardly actions only ignited new initiatives and fuelled the torch of freedom carried by our people, led by the People’s Progressive Party.

The anti-colonial struggles in which Dr. Jagan played a central role represents, undoubtedly, a glorious period of our history, in spite of many setbacks and repression. In many ways, it prepared the Party and schooled its members for the later battles to come – fighting authoritarian rule, fighting for free and fair elections, fighting for democracy and respect for human rights, for the all-round improvement of our people’s condition, in defence of workers and farmers, and many more other struggles.

For nearly three decades Dr. Jagan and his Party, cheated of office, continued undaunted and undefeated. His widely acknowledged tenacity and honesty of purpose, took us through difficult years.

Moreover, he imbued his Party with revolutionary theory, recognising that in the obtaining circumstances, without such a theory, neither victory not our objectives were attainable. His experiences during the anti-colonial struggles and his revolutionary philosophical outlook led him, inexorably, to advocate and embrace socialism. He passionately believed that exploitation of man-by-man, oppression and human degradation, a fair distribution of social wealth could be achieved not simply by superficial measures but through a deep-going transformation of the existing socio-economic order. These ideas were instilled in our minds. They served to fire the imagination of our people.

While his main efforts were devoted to the larger political issues, he found the energies to champion simultaneously, the rights of workers, farmers and youth. He had firm groundings, with and struck deep roots among, the working class and farmers. His life is inextricably linked to the struggles and sacrifices of workers in the sugar industry who historically challenged the plantocracy, a vivid symbol of colonial oppression. Likewise, he championed the rights of farmers, advocating an end to rapacious landlordism and land to be given to the tillers. And with respect to youth, while he urged them into political activities, at the same time, he articulated their concerns and argued for a strategy that would assure them opportunities to learn, to provide them jobs and a secure future. Without question, Dr. Jagan was a man completely devoted to his people. He utilised his many skills to bring improvement and betterment to their lives.

The out-pouring of national grief we see all around us now demonstrates the love of his people for him and the high esteem in which Dr. Jagan is held. But, an overseas presence at this time, also demonstrates the recognition he has earned beyond our shores.

Dr. Jagan was an internationalist and a figure of international stature and prestige. His was a global and dialectical outlook that linked our own many-sided concerns to the multi-faceted struggles, and trends taking place globally. He was certainly not a passive observer but an active participant in various events and actions at this level.

Possibly, his greatest attention was focused on events unfolding in the Caribbean and Latin America. His book Caribbean – Whose Backyard? brings this out. And, his interests found new expressions and emphases in his contributions to meetings of Heads of States of Caricom.

Dr. Jagan’s internationalism was also manifested in his tireless fight for world peace. He was resolutely opposed to nuclear arms and other weapons of mass destruction. His contribution to the world-wide peace struggles brought him recognition and from the Vice-President position of the World Peace Council, to which he was elected, he pursued such struggles selflessly.

Dr. Jagan’s internationalism was further exemplified by his unrelenting stand against colonialism, imperialism, militarism and apartheid; by his unflagging support for national liberation movements and all democratic forces. He easily identified with freedom fighters in all corners of the globe and espoused their individual causes as his own.

In these later years, he saw not a resolution but an aggravation of the human condition. This was unacceptable. He took up the challenge to do something to change the harsh conditions of life to which millions were subjected. Were we to follow his thoughts and works over fifty years, then this was an instinctive reaction to the growing poverty and human suffering he was seeking to alleviate. His resounding call for a New Global Human Order represents therefore a revitalised approach, in a changed context, to grapple with these problems of poverty, underdevelopment, famine and the various scourges that afflict mankind in our times. Of all the positive qualities embodied in our leader’s personality, his boundless humanity was constant.

The final four years of Dr. Jagan’s dynamic life, I believe, were the most satisfying, politically. Despite the brief span, as Head of the PPP/Civic Government, he had an opportunity to make some of his dreams come true. The challenges were enormous, the tasks were demanding, but from the first days, Dr. Jagan was fully absorbed in the full purpose of his eventful life and work. In his first address to the National Assembly on becoming President, he indicated Guyana’s course will be one of National Democracy. He steered Guyana undeviatingly in this direction, encouraging consultative and participatory democracy and consensus. His Government’s poverty alleviation programme, its land and house-lots distribution process, its struggle for debt relief, the special attention given to Amerindian affairs and setting in motion the mechanisms to give land titles to them, his insistence on trade union rights, were all manifestations of his larger, life-long commitment to his people and country.

During his years as President, he tried to give concrete expression to all the hopes and aspirations of those on whose behalf he devoted his life. Today, I can say with confidence, that due to his guidance and direction there is progress on all fronts in our land.

The temptation to enumerate the numerous and significant achievements of Comrade Cheddi is strong at this moment. However, I leave that for later. We are well aware of his rich legacy to this nation and to his people. He is referred to as an institution, for sound reasons. This is no idle characterisation, and no one disputes it.

However, the heart of this great man has been stilled; it throbs no more. Our nation is engulfed with grief, the atmosphere is heavy with sorrow, the pain over this loss goes deep. As he departs physically from our midst, Nicolai Ostrovsky’s appropriate words come to mind. He said and I quote:

"Man’s dearest possession is life. It is given to him but once, and he must live it so that he feels no remorse for years lived to no purpose, be not seared by shame for a mean and trivial past, so that dying he might say: all my life and strength have been devoted to the finest cause in the world – the struggle for the liberation of mankind."

If Dr. Jagan’s death releases the well-springs of our emotions, let us remember that in his lifetime he taught us to overcome difficult times and adversities; he taught us not to succumb to despair but to go forward with courage. For all of us, I am sure that he will live on in our memories, he will be with us through his works, his writings, his vision of Guyana’s future, the policies he elaborated and approved.

I know Comrade Cheddi would have liked us to continue along the trail he blazed. I know he would have liked us to preserve unity of the Party he pioneered, nurtured and gave content to. I know he would have liked us to expand on his achievements, and build on the foundations he laid. We pledge to pursue all this.

Let us learn from him. Let us take heart and together, unitedly, as One people, constituting One Nation with One Destiny, realise his dream for Guyana and actualise his vision for our people. Let his memory and our love for him impel us to make possible through out efforts, that for which he lived and died.

We are saying our final farewell to our dear leader. And, we do so fully conscious that the struggle he started goes on.

 

© 1999 Cheddi Jagan Research Centre.  All rights reserved.