Cheddi Jagan

His Excellency Cheddi Jagan
Jagan in 1962
4th President of Guyana
In office 9 October 1992 – 6 March 1997
Prime Minister (also First Vice President)	Sam Hinds
Preceded by	Desmond Hoyte
Succeeded by	Sam Hinds
1st Premier of British Guiana
In office 5 September 1961 – 12 December 1964
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	Inaugural holder
Succeeded by	Forbes Burnham
1st Chief Minister of British Guiana
In office 30 May 1953 – 9 October 1953
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	Inaugural holder
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Personal details
Born	Cheddi Berret Jagan (1918-03-22)22 March 1918 Ankerville, Port Mourant, Berbice, British Guiana (present-day East Berbice-Corentyne, Guyana)
Died	6 March 1997(1997-03-06) (aged 78) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party	People's Progressive Party (after 1950)
Other political affiliations	Manpower Citizens' Association (1945-1946) Political Affairs Committee (1946-1950)
Spouse	Janet Rosenberg ​ (m. 1943)​
Children	Cheddi "Joey" Jagan Jr. Nadira Jagan-Brancier
Relatives	Derek Chunilall Jagan (brother)
Alma mater	Howard University Northwestern University
Occupation	Dentist and Politician
Signature

Cheddi Berret Jagan (22 March 1918 – 6 March 1997) was a Guyanese politician and dentist who was first elected Chief Minister in 1953 and later Premier of British Guiana from 1961 to 1964. He later served as President of Guyana from 1992 to his death in 1997. Jagan is widely regarded in Guyana as the Father of the Nation. In 1953, he became the first Hindu and person of Indian descent to be a head of government outside of the Indian subcontinent.

Early life

Cheddi Berret (Bharat) Jagan was born on 22 March 1918 in Ankerville, Port Mourant, a rural village in the county of Berbice (present-day East Berbice-Corentyne). He was the eldest of 11 children. His parents were Indians who were Kurmi Hindus that emigrated from British India to British Guiana as indentured labourers. They were both from the Basti district in the then North-Western Provinces in the Awadh and Bhojpuri regions of the Hindi Belt in North India (in present-day Uttar Pradesh, India). His mother Bachaoni came to British Guiana as a child with her mother, while his father Jagan also came as a child with his mother and brother. Both his mother's and father's family immigrated to British Guiana aboard the Elbe in 1901; his father being 2 years old and his mother 18 months when they arrived. His father's family were indentured to Albion Estate and his mother's family was indentured to Port Mourant Estate.

The Jagan family lived in rural poverty, working in the cane fields to support themselves. His mother had worked on the estate till Jagan was nine years old. His father had worked his way up to become head driver on the estate, but it didn't amount to much change in pay, and he had to retire at fifty due to his health. When Jagan was fifteen years old, his father sent him to Queen's College in the capital city of Georgetown (about 160 kilometres (100 mi) away) for the next three years. In Georgetown, Jagan saw life differently, as he came from a different background than that of his schoolmates. After he graduated from high school, Jagan realized that finding a non-agriculture job would be impossible. Finally, his father sent him to the United States to study dentistry with $500, the family's life savings.

Education and early career (1935-1946)

Jagan left for the United States in September 1935 with two friends, and did not return to British Guiana until October 1943. He lived in Washington, D.C. for two years, enrolled in a pre-dental course at Howard University. To cover his expenses, Jagan took a job as an elevator operator. During the summers, he worked in New York City as a door-to-door salesman. Jagan's performance helped him to win a scholarship for his second year at Howard. In 1938, he was admitted to the four-year dental program at Northwestern University in Chicago.

After returning to British Guiana, Jagan established a practice in Georgetown. During this time, he began to become politically engaged, and became involved with trade unions in the sugar industry. In 1945 he was made the treasurer of the ManPower Citizen's Association, though he was removed after a year after objecting to union policy.

Political career

Early political career (1946-1953)

Jagan co-founded the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) in 1946 along with his wife, Janet, as well as H.J.M. Hubbard, and Ashton Chase. He was subsequently elected to the Legislative Council in November 1947 as an independent candidate from Central Demerara constituency. On 1 January 1950, the People's Progressive Party (PPP) was founded by a merger of the PAC and the British Guiana Labour Party (BGLP), with Jagan as its leader, former BGLP leader Forbes Burnham as its chairman and Jagan's wife Janet as secretary.

The PPP quickly gained a mass following when they organised protests against the colonial administration, following an incident where colonial police shot dead five workers at Enmore sugar plantation in 1948 when they were participating in strike action.

Chief Minister of British Guiana for 133 days (1953)

On 27 April 1953, Jagan won the 1953 British Guiana general election, with his PPP party winning 18 of 24 seats.

Jagan's government immediately dissented against British rule. Jagan encouraged strike action against important sugar company Booker, refused to send a delegation to the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, repealing a law on "undesirable publications" passed by the colonial government, and repealing another law banning immigration of politically left-leaning individuals from the West Indies.

Taking place in the middle of McCarthyism, Jagan's actions and policies led to British worries about a possible communist revolution in Guyana. Winston Churchill expressed fears that Jagan was a Marxist-Leninist, and claimed Jagan could allow the Soviet Union a foothold in South America, saying “(W)e ought surely to get American support in doing all we can to break the Communist teeth in British Guiana … (P)erhaps they would even send Senator McCarthy down there.” Declassified documents from MI5 show that the intelligence service concluded that the party were "not receiving any financial support from any communist organisation outside the country". However, Jagan's wife Janet may have been a member of the Young Communist League USA before she moved to Guyana.

On 8 October 1953, the PPP government passed the Labour Relations Act (modelled on the Wagner Act). The next day, on 9th October, the British administration suspended the constitution of British Guiana and troops were deployed. The queen had signed the order to dispatch troops on 4th October. On 9 October, a contingent of Royal Welsh Fusiliers arrived in Georgetown on HMS Superb, and Jagan was dismissed from his position and arrested. According to MI5, Jagan was unaware of the possibility of British intervention or of his arrest. Jagan appealed to British Labour leader Clement Attlee, who responded "Regret impossible to intervene." Jagan was forced to resign as Chief Minister after 133 days. Britain installed an interim government.

Interim Government (1953-1957)

After the suspension of the constitution, Jagan departed for London with Forbes Burnham on 19 October 1953 to protest the suspension and attended the debate in the House of Commons on 21 October. During his time in the United Kingdom, both Jagan and Burnham were subject to covert surveillance by British intelligence services. He would subsequently arrive in India with Burnham on November 20 1953 and meet Jawaharlal Nehru in an attempt to garner support.

Jagan's movements were restricted to Georgetown from 1954 to 1957, and both him and his wife were closely monitored and kept under house arrest. During this period of time, colonial police would routinely raid the residences of senior members of the party to seize subversive literature. In 1954, Jagan was sentenced to 6 months in prison with hard labour for violating a restriction on his movement, travelling to the countryside and as a result leaving Georgetown. In court, Jagan likened British Guiana to a "vast prison".

Senior member of the party Forbes Burnham split with Jagan politically in 1955, seperating the PPP into two seperate factions named "Burnhamite" and "Jaganite". These two factions in the PPP would both go on to contest the 1957 Guyanese election as PPP candidates. Burnham as a candidate was generally further to the right of the political spectrum. Support for the two factions followed mostly racial lines, as Burnham was the leading Afro-Guyanese figure in the PPP. However, the split was not entirely racial; prominent Afro-Guyanese politician Sydney King remained in the Jaganite faction, and Indo-Guyanese J.B. Lachmansingh supported Burnham. However, Sydney King and Afro-Guyanese Martin Carter and Rory Westmaas would both leave the party one year later due to being "ultra-leftist". Clem Seecharan made the claim that they left because they believed that Jagan was comprimising Marxist ideals for racial pragmatism (i.e., supporting Indo-Guyanese policies to appeal to his support base). This further reduced the number of active Afro-Guyanese politicians within the PPP.

Minister of Trade and Industry (1957-1961)

Cheddi Jagan meeting with Levi Eshkol during a visit to Israel in 1961

Jaganites won a majority of seats in the 1957 British Guiana general election winning 9 seats to the Burnhamite 3, and 2 seats for other parties. Following this outcome, the Burnhamite faction split entirely from the PPP, and Burnham founded the People's National Congress (PNC). Jagan became minister of trade and industry, remained as PPP leader and was a member of the cabinet. He did not become Prime Minister during this time- there was no such position. The PPP government did not have possession of the Ministries of Finance, Foreign Affairs or Administration, and power resided mostly with the Governor, Ralph Grey.

During the lead-up and aftermath of the 1957 elections, Guyanese politics began to strongly follow racial lines. Jagan's faction was majority Indo-Guayanese, and advocated for policies that would benefit mainly Indo-Guyanese, such as an increase in land for rice production and sugar industry reform through increased union powers. Jagan's veto of West Indies Federation membership further alienated Afro-Guyanese voters- the Federation was majority Afro-West Indian. Similarly, Burnham merged the PNC with the United Democratic Party to consolidate his grip on middle class Afro-Guyanese support.

Premier of British Guiana (1961-1964)

After a PPP victory in the August 1961 elections, Jagan became Premier, serving for three years. The elections were held as first-past-the-post, with 35 members of the Legislative assembly; the PPP won 20 seats, almost twice the number won by Burnham's PNC, and 10 seats in the 13-seat senate, which led to mass demonstrations led by the PNC, a general strike and racially motivated violence. This violence would peak in early 1962, after Jagan's government proposed what became known as the "Kaldor Budget". Advised by economist Nicholas Kaldor, on 31 January 1962 the PPP government proposed an increase in tax and import duty which was opposed by opposition parties. The budget imposed austerity, the tax increases would have significantly impacted the Afro-Guyanese community, and the opposition was not consulted. However, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. expressed the opinion that the tax scheme was entirely orthodox and suitable for Britain, and the budget was praised by both the New York Times and the London Times. Following the budget, action was taken against the government, which culminated on 16 February 1962 in the destruction of 56 businesses, 87 businesses damaged by fire and 66 looted. One Police Superintendent was killed and 39 injured, Four looters shot and 41 injured. The rioters also attacked the Electricity Plant, the Water Works, Parliament, and Jagan’s residence. The British response was to send two warships, HMS Troubridge (R00) and HMS Wizard (R72), to stop the violence.

Following the 1961 elections, Jagan met John F. Kennedy in person in Washington D.C. on October 25, and on December 18 he addressed the United Nations calling for a date for Independence from the United Kingdom.

The lead-up to the 1964 elections included a concerted effort by officials from the United States to ensure that Jagan did not win the election, due to fears about Jagan installing a pro-communist government. A March 1961 CIA estimate opined that Jagan's wife, Janet, was a communist, and that Jagan was under communist influence. The United Kingdom and United States differed on their opinions of how to solve the situation, with the British suggestion being that Jagan should be educated rather than removed from power. Jagan's meeting with Kennedy in 1961 did not significantly change the American opinion of his political leanings. The Americans decided that Burnham's policies were preferable to those of Jagan, and began to take actions against Jagan, including delaying independence from Britain, advocating a proportional representation electoral system which would be to the detriment of Jagan's electoral chances, and providing support for strike action. These actions continued despite Jagan contacting Kennedy to protest his case.

Jagan agreed to elections in 1964 under proportional representation, but John Prados posits that this was only because he received assurances from Forbes Burnham that a coalition between the two parties would be acceptable. The Guiana United Muslim Party and Justice Party were both set up with the assistance of the CIA to split the Indo-Guyanese voting bloc, and the United States funded Burnham's campaign activites against Jagan's party.

In the December 1964 elections, the PPP won a plurality of votes, but Burnham's party, the People's National Congress, and the conservative United Force held a majority of seats and were invited to form the government by Governor Richard Luyt. However, Jagan refused to resign, and had to be removed by Luyt. Having broken off links with Burnham, Jagan was active in the government as a labour activist and leader of the opposition.

Leader of the Opposition (1964-1992)

He was elected as Leader of the Opposition and Minority Leader 1966-1973 and 1976-1992.

President of Guyana (1992-1997)

Presidential Standard of Cheddi Jagan.

After 28 years in opposition, the PPP won the 5 October 1992 elections with about 54% of the vote, and Jagan became President. Contrary to earlier foreign fears, he governed as a democratic socialist and not a Marxist–Leninist.

Political Opinions

Jagan has been labelled as communist by many different sources. Clem Seecharan said that the Jagan couple were both communists, although Cheddi was more ideological. In a discussion with V.S. Naipaul, Jagan elaborated on his appreciation of Marxist literature. Jagan also had regular communication with communist Billy Strachan. Political rival Forbes Burnham in 1957 classified Jagan and his allies as "dogmatists whose aim is communism and who abuse everyone with whom they do not agree". In 1984, Jagan stated that "I am not only fighting for the people of Guyana. I am fighting for the people of the world. I am contributing to that struggle. That struggle is winning. That is why the United States is so hysterical at the moment, because of that very fact, that what I stand for is winning". Jagan also went on to claim in 1990 that it was socialism in Eastern Europe which was failing, rather than communism, and stated that "Communism, as a system, has not been tried in any country as yet, and remains a highly moralistic and humanistic ideal and destination."

Percy Hintzen stated that "characterization of Jagan as a communist misses the complexity of his political philosophy… if Jagan was indeed a communist, it was certainly not reflected in the policies and programs that his party attempted to implement while in office."

Personal life

After graduating from dental school in 1942, Jagan met Janet Rosenberg, a student nurse. They married in 1943, and had two children: Nadira and Cheddi Jr. (who in turn produced five grandchildren).

Janet Jagan followed her husband's footsteps and held the positions of prime minister and president in 1997 (succeeded as president by Bharrat Jagdeo in 1999).

Death and legacy

Cheddi Jagan in his later life

Jagan suffered a heart attack on 15 February 1997 and was taken to Georgetown Hospital before being flown by U.S. military aircraft then by U.S. Air Force helicopter from Andrews Air Force Base to Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C., later that day. He underwent heart surgery there and died in Washington on 6 March 1997, 16 days before his 79th birthday. Prime Minister Sam Hinds succeeded him as President and declared six days of mourning, describing Jagan as the "greatest son and patriot that has ever walked this land".

The Cheddi Jagan Research Centre in Georgetown celebrates his life and work, complete with a replication of his office. The centre is located in the Red House which served as Jagan's official residence from 1961 to 1964. The Cheddi Jagan International Airport, the largest and primary international airport of the country, has been renamed after Jagan.

Selected publications

Jagan was also an important political author and speechwriter, and his publications include:

• Forbidden Freedom: The Story of British Guiana (Hansib, 1954)
• The West On Trial: My Fight for Guyana's Freedom (Harpy, 1966)
• The Caribbean Revolution (1979)
• The Caribbean: Whose Backyard? (1984)
• Selected Speeches 1992–1994 (Hansib, 1995)
• The USA in South America (Hansib, 1998)
• A New Global Human Order (Harpy, 1999)
• Selected Correspondences 1953–1965 (Dido Press, 2004)

See also

• Cheddi Jagan Bio Diversity Park
• Cheddi Jagan International Airport

External links

• Cheddi Jagan Research Centre, an informational site maintained by Jagan's daughter, Nadira Jagan-Brancier.
• Cheddi Jagan Archive at marxists.org
• Cheddi Jagan Timeline Posted at Center for Cooperative Research
• "An Appreciation of Dr. Cheddi Jagan". Indo Caribbean World, 12 March 1997.