Yesterday marked the anniversary of the landing of the first people from the Asian subcontinent in Guyana. It was historical. Guyanese are familiar with the names Whitby and Hesperus. Those were the boats that brought the first East Indians to Guyana.
They came as indentured labourers but in the end many chose to stay. Today, Guyana boasts Brahmins who are the priests and some who claim that they are descendants of the warrior class.
Indian immigrants who came to Guyana between 1838 and 1917 were predominantly lower-caste rural labourers (Girmitiyas) fleeing poverty and famine, primarily from North India (Uttar Pradesh/Bihar).
That would explain why some Indians are fair complexioned. Priests would not have travelled on the same boat with the others. The caste system was rigid so no Brahmins came on those ships. The pandits come from the Brahmin class.
Certainly, when these immigrants landed they wanted to become new persons so they shunned their lower caste status. They adopted the behaviour of the higher caste and mimicked their actions.
Be that as it may they made a significant contribution to Guyana through music, food and other cultural traits. The records show that a mere five women came on the first boat. There was therefore cross socialization that continues to this day.
There is one issue that remains prominent. It is the dislike for people of the darker hue. It is so entrenched that except where there is a preponderance of dark skinned people as is the case in the Caribbean islands there is a marked division.
So entrenched is this dislike that some who migrated to the United States from Guyana refused to vote for Barack Obama and Kamala Harris merely because they were not white. Donald Trump has knocked some sense into some of their heads despite their blind support. The evidence is in their involuntary return to Guyana.
Yesterday was also historic in that it saw the accession to high office of one of Guyana’s talented jurists. Justice Yonette Cummings took the oath of office of Chief Justice of the Turks and Caicos Islands. That is the highest judicial office in that country.
The event was broadcast so many had the opportunity to witness the occasion. The speeches made many realise that Guyana lost a most efficient jurist. One presenter described Justice Cummings as a jurist with spine.
Another described her judgements as studied and reasoned. Her decisions were never overturned by the Caribbean Court of Justice. One example comes readily to mind.
The late Dr Walter Ramsahoye had sued Kaieteur News for defamation. The matter was heard by Justice Rishi Persaud who awarded damages to the tune of $4 million. Ramsahoye was dissatisfied so he appealed.
The appellate panel comprised Justice B.S. Roy, Justice Yonette Cummings and remigrant Judge Rabi Sukul. Justice Sukul was later replaced on the panel. At the time it was clear that the government was unhappy with Kaieteur News.
The new judge voted with Justice B.S. Roy to increase the judgement awarded by Justice Rishi Persaud. They hiked the award to $14.5 million. Justice Yonette Cummings issued a dissenting judgement. It was this judgement that Kaieteur News took to the Caribbean Court of Justice.
Attorney Sanjeev Datadin represented Kaieteur News. He relied exclusively on the judgement by Justice Cummings. The Caribbean Court of Justice upheld her decision.
She was to hand down other decisions that did not find favour with the PPP government and this had consequences. Despite the agreement of the Leader of the Opposition, the government refused to confirm her as Chancellor, the highest Judicial office in the land.
The message was clear. The government did not want her.
She proceeded on leave and returned to find that she was effectively barred from returning to her position. Two days later the government announced that she had taken early retirement.
She never offered any explanation but before long she was appointed Chief Justice of the Turks and Caicos Islands. And that is the highest judicial office in the rest of the Caribbean. She will be there when her Guyanese Chancellor attends the next Conference of Chief Justices. No other country in the region has a chancellor.
Her reputation for sound decisions was highlighted at her swearing in on Tuesday. Guyana had lost an excellent jurist. It was happy with mediocrity.
She was not the only one to suffer for ruling against the government. Justice Sandil Kissoon ruled twice against the government and saw the government refusing to accede to his ruling. One decision was in favour of the Guyana Teachers Union. The other was against ExxonMobil.
Cases are assigned to judges by the Chief Justice. The government has moved to have an amenable Chief Justice. It actually superseded more senior judges to place a judge in this position.
Justice Jainarayan Singh was another who suffered at the hand of the PPP government. He was an acting Puisne Judge when he did so. The government argued against paying him as a Puisne judge when he retired. And won.
However, it was a proud moment for upstanding jurists in Guyana. The accolades to Justice Cummings made many proud. The reality is that she will be serving the region despite being shunned by Guyana. Many of her decisions will find themselves into the law volumes. These will be quoted by lawyers in other cases.Â
