Rai is living somewhere in England, I believe that he is still alive. I knew Ralph Chandisingh who died in London over 15 years ago, killed by his wife apparently.

Balram Singh Rai is about 94 years of age.

He nearin fo ketch up to you deh DG.

Perhaps, you are very close in age with Balram Singh Rai, Cain.

However, I am far much younger.

Dreeeeeammm dream dream dreeeeeam

Dreeee ee emmm dream dream dreammmmmm

Balram Singh Rai was Guyana's second Minister of Education [1957 - 1961] after Forbes Burnham [April - Oct 1953].

In September 1959, as Education Minister, Mr Rai formally opened the Mackenzie High School.

The high school at MacKenzie was established a very long time before 1959 and it was known as Echols High School, dating back to 1945.

When the school was moved to its current location, indeed it was renamed Mackenzie High School, with the then current Principal D. D Sim.

Thanks, D_G, I should have stipulated that Mr Rai formally opened the renamed high school.

I got the info here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M..._School_%28Guyana%29

Noted Gilbakka.

My father were friends with Mr. J. N. Fraser, the then General Manager of DEMBA, and Mr. D.D. Sim.

That was Black Friday!

irrelevant.

With such fond memories of Mr Rai, please tell us who he ran against in the 1957 elections.

* My dad always spoke highly of Balram Singh Rai. Had the Jagan listened to him Guyana's history would have been different. But the Jagans were insecure. They felt threatened by strong willed and strong-minded supporters and so Rai was pushed aside. The Jagan continued with their Marxism-Leninism nonsense and we know the rest. Burnham ran circles around Cheddi and the US kept him in opposition for 28 years.

Rev

I have no problem with BS Rai getting his pension and an award from the government.  I know how powerful and lasting the Jagan-Ramkarran-Benn historical negative and dirty smear can be. Particularly, to the uneducated. So it will be an uphill battle for his supporters to get him his pension and award. Nevertheless, they have persevered over the years and they should not stop until they get to their goal.

On a note ... Balram Singh Rai only had to contest the seat against Sydney King who was an independent candidate while Burnham's group presented no candidate.

Thank you DG. For the ill informed or the young ones, Sydney King is Eusi Kwayana. Most of you may not know it, but Eusi Kwayana was a founding member of the PPP. He even wrote the party song. He, LFS, Ashton Chase and others were all black people in the PPP in the 50's and on. Kwayana stood with the PPP in opposition to the British. Oh, and he was from BUXTON!!!

In spite of Kwayana's PPP support, the PPP chose not to support him in the 57 elections and supported Balram Singh Rai instead. You see, Singh was Indian. Kwayana contested as an independent as DG pointed out. It was after this 57 election I believe Kwayana saw the racism of the PPP and bolted the party. He was later in the WPA fiercely contesting Burnham policies.

Just food for thought from our history for those of you who think racism in Guyana began with the PNC rule. As Caribny and I pointed out earlier, this ethnic insecurity goes way back.

In fact all of these PPP and AFC Indos want to avoid discussion of the reality of the division.

Burnham did NOT set out to create an African PNC as the African vote was NOT large enough.  Most of the mixed, Chinese, Portuguese vote went to the UF, as did a few urban elite (Christian) Indians.

So Burnham could have only won an election by splitting the Indian vote.  He departed the PPP with Indians, who he had hoped would win in the predominantly Indians areas.  They lost, but the African candidates won.

The PPP could have won the election with only the Indian vote as the "winner take all" constituency system favored the PPP.  They didn't need the black vote, so gradually SQUEEZED OUT most of the blacks who remained in the PPP after Burnham left. 

It was the PPP which had incentive to introduce racial voting.  NOT the PNC.  This is why Eusi left the PPP.  He didn't initially join Burnham because he didn't trust him, and in fact didn't stay long in the PNC.

But the Jaganite worshippers would have one believe that the Jagans didn't have anything to do with race based voting.  Once Burnham left Cheddi and Janet realized the merits of racial voting, and embraced those who called for "apaan jhat".

That term apna jaat was used when LFS and Cheddie met the head of India. Was it Nehru? (not GNI's drunk of course). It means keep it in the family and legend has it that Nehru told Cheddie to "keep it in the family".

Wasn't Rai the faction of the PPP that called for apna jat? I've heard that but not sure. There must be an element of truth to it because our resident segregationist Prashad and like minded Indians hold Rai in high esteem.

Indeed, your statements and views are always irrelevant.

Yes.  It is not true that the Jagans coined that phrase, but it is true that they took full advantage of those sentiments.

In fact when the PPP won in 1961 their mainly Indian supporters drove through black villages on ECD hurling racist abuse with threats of sending blacks back into slavery. 

A black woman, who loved Cheddi, came on to support that motorcade, and was met by the same racist bile which they hurled at other blacks, who they presumed to be PNC supporters.

These facts are considered to be racist on GNI, with the majority of the posters (BOTH PPP and AFC) do NOT want this issue discussed.  But will talk at length about the Wismar massacres and the Burnham "Indian Holocaust".

Perhaps, perhaps not.

Now, this all preceded Burnham, who incidentally was also a PPP man under Jagan. So here we have Indians calling for apna jat (keep it in the family). I do not in any way excuse Burnham's racism, but does it not give one reason to ponder why the PNC was racist toward Indians? Afro Guyanese were the minority and here the other side is telling them that they intend to "keep it in the family" (Indians). There is fear on both sides, much of it justified.

Again, the narrative being peddled that racism started with Burnham is pure hogwash. We and our young ones need to understand the history of our country and the insecurities that lie on both sides if we are to move forward.

Agreed.  But expect that you will be called a racist for not peddling the usual "black brute savaging defenseless Indians" narrative.

What people need to learn is the fact that a variety of narratives exist and that we will never moved forward unless and until we respect this fact.

I say this, and now Kari calls this cultist and laughs at the notion that Indian racism=black racism.

Don't care what anyone says here. We have clowns screaming apan jat here, yet they don't even know what the word cunumunu means, much less anything of Guyanese history. Failure to speak allows these frauds to perpetuate the lies of their masters.

I am not sure if Mr. Rai had any involvement with the apna jat movement. There are posters here who know of that period in our history and I hope they opine.

have not heard that word in a long time,paging Cain

one more new word for you.

You can thank Nehru for that one. At least he knows our unique creole/ Guyanses culture.

Bai, I was in Georgetown that day and was able to see what was happening. Rai did what he had to do to save Guyana. He was not a racial man but he stood up for the truth -Satyameywa Jayati.

With a combined hundreds of years of guyana history on this board, no one care to share on the roots of apna jat? No one willing to share more on Mr. Rai and his role? The silence is deafening. I reference my earlier post above.

I have provided information on this item a few times.

Succinctly ...

APAN Jat or apna jat ... was indeed used for the first time and perpetuated by the PPP in the early 1950's.

Note however ...

In those days there was the PPP-Jaganite and the PPP-Burnhamite.

It was known quite clearly that ...

It was NOT - repeat - NOT - started by the PPP-Jaganite.

Note also ...

It was after the 1957 elections that the PPP-Burnhamite was changed to the PNC.

Thanks DG. So you confirm that apna jat (or apan jaat, not sure which is correct) which essentially means "keep it in the family" was perpetuated by the PPP. If it wasn't Jagan who advocated apna jat then who was it? It could not have been Burnham, as he would have known nothing of this Indian term and its practice though I do believe he found out later what it meant, hence the 1957 split.

Who was the leader of the PPP-Burnhamite??

Check also on information on Daniel Debedin of the United Workers and Farmers Party - UFWP.

The term used is Apan Jhaat.

https://books.google.com/books...%20guyana&f=true

Check this link some info here on appan jaat it was

also used in Trinidad and Surinam.

Oi man, read that thingy and break it down to one line for me nuh man.

I can't copy and paste

On my way out now, but I think I know where you're coming from. There was a Jai Singh or Jung Singh who was the head of the Burnham faction. The name Debedin rings a bell. Was he the guy who went to meetings and told Indians to vote race (apan jhaat) in 53/57? I will research more tomorrow as well as speak with my uncle who remembers this period well.

Anyway, what is clear to me and what I've known since childhood is that racism did not begin with LFS and the PNC. It was used well before 1964 by Indians in the colonial period. Thanks again for the info.

Here is the gist of apan jhaat as practiced in Guyana in the 50's way before Burnham, as DG confirmed above and pointed out some of the personalities involved.

1. Apan jhaat means to vote for your own or keep it in the family. In a political sense - Indians only.

2. In the 50's before independence and the PNC, the PPP consisted of both Burnham and Jagan and also Mr. Rai.

3. There was a faction of PPP Indians who advocated apan jhaat and did not see black folks having any place in government or even in Guyana. Personally, I do not believe Dr. Jagan was one of those but he had to deal with elements in his party who advocated apan jhaat. Was Mr. Rai one of them? I don't know. Furthermore, remember that his wife Janet came from the US where segregation against black folks was common place. What was her feeling about blacks?

4. Forbes got wind of this apan jhaat talk. It was going on at bottom house meetings, screamed loudly that Indians were to vote for Indians only. DG listed some of the names in his earlier post. What effect did calls for apan jhaat  have on black people and Forbes?

5. But why Apan Jhaat? Why Indians only when BOTH races struggled against colonialism and massa's whip? It is my opinion that Indian castism brought from India was at the root of it, where the dark skinned (dalits) were considered sub human. The black man, because of his complexion fell into this category. In the view of those who practiced castism, he was a subhuman not worthy to have any role in government or in the country and certainly inferior to the light skinned chatree / rajput Indians who were peddling apan jhaat and wanted to subjugate the black man.

6. The average Indian followed along. In that era many people (blacks and Indians) were uneducated and did as they were told. The Indian laborer class followed their light skinned chatree/rajput leaders.

7. This Indian only, apan jhaat mentality is what gave rise to the PNC. Burnham, realizing that blacks were outnumbered and would become an underclass in Indian rule, formed coalitions with the UF to gain power. I believe the apan jhaat of the Indians never left his psyche. No excuse for the racism Burnham practiced against Indians, but he experienced their racism first hand.

8. The PNC ruled for 28 years. You know the history.

So pre dating Burnham was this mindset among the chatree / rajput Indians that they were superior to black people. They and only they deserved to rule and black folks were to survive at their mercy. I concur with Redux when he says this racism among some of these Indians runs deep and has NOTHING to do with Burnham. It all pre dated Burnham!!!!

This mindset is still with us today and the reason for this post. As long as we have the basemans, shaitaans, cobras, ramas, skeldon man, sachins, prashads, yugis, revs and sadly now Seignet who feel that black people are an inferior class to them then there will always be another Burnham.

The medium has changed from bottom houses to the internet. And the cry has changed from Apan Jhaat to "daag fuh daaag". Guyanese - take note of the fruits of the racist operators in the 50's because they are still with us today. And their fruits will be just the same. End the vicious cycle of apan jhaat and racism toward blacks just as I implore blacks to abandon any racism against Indians.

Vote for race is a faction in both camps and for the same reason, fear of the other side.

You might be correct about the fears of LFSB which led to the 1960s conflagration.  Then the 28 years of PNC injustice helped perpetuate the mindset as reflected in the 1992 vote.  Corruption and ineptness frustrated many many Indians leading some to defect in 2015 putting the "PNC" over the top.

This small shift could become a sea change if handled well by Granger and the new Govt.  Many Indians did not feel much benefits of the PPP in power so the opportunity is there for the PNC to make a positive mark.  I hope in future, Afros are willing to give the PNC a chuck should they become lazy and lethargic.   Of course, the PPP has to reform and broaden it base and attract Afros.  PPP should actually change its name.

look, race voting by Black and Indian is tribal, period! . . . very little to do with caste and Hinduism, especially in the Guyana context

let us not overthink this and fall into the Kean-Gibson trap

people are constantly defining and re-defining themselves, shaping the categories to suit perceived self-interest

Janet Jagan and Cheddi Jagan come out of the post-WWII 'progressive' Communist movement in the USA . . . Chicago then was not Birmingham, Ala.

Guyana and the imperatives of its ethnic power politics likely bent and distorted the best of intentions in both Burnham and the Jagans

just off the top of my head . . . will return to this important topic when i free up some time later

"very little to do with caste and Hinduism, especially in the Guyana context"

agreed

The PPP has to do what the PNC just did, and that is preach national unity, which allowed it to attract a sliver of an Indian vote, combined with a massive African/mixed turn out.

The PPP will NOT get the Amerindian vote next time, as they play patronage politics.  They vote for who offers them goodies and the PPP will have none to offer.  So unless the PPP makes inroads into the African/mixed vote, their

continued defeat is assured.

And the PPP needs to find an African with the credibility among non Indians that Nagamootoo enjoys among a decent swath of Indians (even though he didn't get their votes because of ethnic fear). 

in colonial Guyana there was absolutely no way that Burnham could have won, based on a racial vote.  Africans were a mere 33%.  British Guiana was an ethnic pyramid with whites at the top, Portuguese just below, with the mulattos and Chinese being the sub elites. 

All of these groups had disdain for Africans who were at the base, and East Indians, who were viewed even more unfavorably due to their "pagan" habits.  It is only fear of communism, and their limited numbers which allowed an alliance with an African led party.  But Burnham had to woo them, and playing the "African race card" wouldn't have worked.

Now let us look at Cheddi.  Weakened by the departure of Burnham who, contrary to popular belief, left with not only most URBAN blacks, but also some Indians (probably Christian/Muslim). 

The whole thrust of the PPP being the "working class" party was over, with the loss of the African working class, who considered Burnham a hero because of his involvement with trade unions in G/town and MacKenzie.  So he got supported from the more right wing groups like the BGEIA.  He didn't coin the phrase "apaan jhat".  It was coined by these more Indo centered groups who thought that an independent Guyana should be Indo dominated.   Making note that a racial vote did favor the PPP, Cheddi acquiesced to those groups, thereby losing the RURAL AFRICAN voters who didn't trust Burnham,  Eusi is an example of this.

Seeing the blatant "Indianism" of the PPP through apaan jhat, and fearing that Indians are more ethnically cohesive than are Africans (severely divided by social class, skin color, being more ambivalent to their African heritage, etc),  a "kith & kin" belief structure begun.  The mulattos gradually shifted to the PNC out of a need for survival, notwithstanding their strong reservations about blacks. 

So cease your nonsense that the PNC started race voting.  That would have been a very quick path to defeat. 

The PPP will have to put aside its heritage as an "Indian party" and seek to attract non Indians who have credibility and a support base.  They need to abandon the notion that light weights like Elizabeth Harper will win them black support.  They see her for watch she was.  A soup licking stooge.