Janet Jagan.....Freedom Fighter

      I want to pay homage to a great fighter for freedom and human dignity, someone who made many sacrifices, for the sake of a cause and a down-trodden people. Janet Rosenberg, who was born to Jewish parents in Chicago in 1920, gave up family and her job as a nurse and a good life, in that city, to join her husband, Dr. Cheddi Jagan in the fight for the independence of British Guiana from British rule. This was in 1943, and for the next 66 years, she dedicated herself unselfishly to the cause. She did not hesitate or look back, even when she was arrested, harassed and  imprisoned on many occasions. She fought the good fight, especially after the Constitution of the colony was suspended in 1953, martial law was imposed, the People's Progressive Party( which she had co-founded with her husband and others) was declared illegal, the elections results ( the Party had won an overwhelming victory) was set aside and she and many others were arrested and imprisoned.

      I was attending Central High School in 1954, when I first met her. I remember that she was gracious, always smiling and never too busy to say hello. I was living at 199 Charlotte Street, Georgetown, and Dr. Jagan( he was a dentist), had his practice at the same address ansd so I was very fortunate to spend much time there, where I was able to read the many foreign newspapers that he had in his office as well as the many books that he allowed me to borrow. I can say that my love for Politics and interest in Political Science( which I have have taught for nearly 40 years) was greatly influenced and enhanced by their presence and the reading materials.

      Janet Jagan was inspirational and humble. I remember her meeting the women in the estates and villages and sitting down on the ground with them, talking to them trying to understand what they were saying (most of these women were uneducated, spoke the Guyanese dialect and the only"white" person they had seen were the " white overseers" who ordered them around and with whom there was no contact ( except with those women who were sexually exploited by these "overseers"). These ordinary women adopted her as their " boughie"( sister-in law), and she reciprocated in kind. What a remarkable woman. 

      After being released from prison, Mrs. Jagan continued her work, She travelled with her husband wherever he went, even to India, where they were welcomed by Prime Minister Nehru. Together they continued the fight. In 1957, when new elections was called, there was a split in the P.P.P.( an African party led by former co-leader L.F.S. Burnham was created with the help of the British and Americans, who were afraid of another victory by the P.P.P., which would mean even more demands for independence.....this was  the heated period of the Cold War......Soviet actions in Hungary and Poland and Egypt's Pres.Nasser's nationalising of the Suez Canal, C.I.A. actions in Iran and Guatemala and Castro's fight in Cuba). ( By 1964 two other parties were formed.  One was led by Peter D'Aiguar, a white businessman, was meant to appeal to the  middle class/ business Indian vote, as well as to the European/Portugeese voters. The other led by an Indian lawyer, Balram Singh Rai was supposed to siphon Indian votes from the Jagan-led P.P.P. The result was that the country became polarised along racial lines, and even though the P.P.P. won in 1957, it was by a slim majority. Janet and Dr. Jagan did not play the race card and throughout their lifetime, they did not play the race card but Burnham and others had sown the seed of hatred and tried to exploit it.

      The next years was filled with racial tension, which culminated with attacks on the Indian population.....burning, looting, killing and raping. The British, under the orders of their American masters now turned to another tactic to defeat the P.P.P.The Jagans were branded as communists and the electoral system was changed from " first past the post....single- member constituency by plurality to Proportional Representation. This will further drive a wedge between the two major ethnic groups.....the Indians and the Africans. In the meantime, Pres. Kennedy, fresh from his humilation at the Bay of Pigs refused to meet with Dr. Jagan when he visited Washington. In the elections of 1964, P.R. worked. The vote splintered. No political party won a majority. This led to a Coalition government between Burnham and D'Aiguar. They were summoned to London to discuss independence. It was granted. The P.P.P. was isolated in the opposition and yet the Jagans did not play the race card (I remember this well. I was a member of the executive of the youth wing of the P.P.P....the P.Y.O. and Dr. Jagan made it clear to us "hotheads"that he wanted no racial response. He even threatened to report us to the police if we acted violently and racially. I resigned my position and went home.. In 1968, I met Dr Jagan at Sir George Williams University in Montreal ( he was travelling abroad to get support against the arbitrary actions of the Burnham government as well as the rigged elections), and he asked me smilingly whether I thought violence was the answer and I agreed that it was not.).

      Guyana was to go through a terrible period of economic and political decline. Thousands left the country for Canada, England and United States. Those who could or would not leave, bore the brunt of this decline. The Jagans continue to fight for the rights of all Guyanese( the country had adopted the name Guyana after independence), even though they were constantly in danger. They persisted. They would not be cowed. They sacrificed a lot......wealth, health, freedom and family. Their two children saw little of them as they were growing up. They could have made a tremendous amount of money if they had worked in their other professions ( I remember his very lucrative dental practice. I used to hel;p collect the payments). They spent  a lot of time in prison or under house arrest. His health was direly affected and he died much too soon

      In 1992, the P.P.P.was finally able to win an election. This was made possible by the fact that the Cold War was over and so free and fair elections could be held, which could be monitored by independent observers, including former president Jimmy Carter. Janet and  Dr. Jagan was vindicated. Race politics is destructive and unproductive and they did not play that game. He was a Guyanese first and foremost, not an Indian Guyanese. Janet Jagan could have abondoned ship. She did not. She stayed and fought and while it took almost twenty-five years, she did not deviate. That is strenght of character. That is integrity. That is love for a people, strange and strangers at first but family ever after. She gave her all to Guyana and now she is gone but she will always be remembered for her sacrifice, her kindness, her humility and her humanity.

      Mahatma Gandhi had said that we should be the change we want. Janet Rosenberg Jagan  was...........Goodbye and our eternal gratitude.

                                     Ishwar Prashad........retiredprof.com                 
                                      i.prashad@videotron.ca.