“I am not Indian” – Nagamootoo

… “worrying” – ACDA;  “unacceptable” – IAC; “hypocritical” – PPP/C

By Michael Younge

Prime Ministerial Candidate for the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR)-led A Partnership for Unity (APNU) and Alliance for Change (AFC) coalition, Moses Nagamootoo insists that  he is not Indian but rather Guyanese.
Nagamootoo while speaking at a meeting held in New York to raise funds for the Opposition coalition group ahead of the May 11 election invoked a trip he made to India to receive a prestigious award where he claimed to have first made the declaration.

Neaz Suban, IAC Chairman

He was honoured in 2008 by the Global Organisation of the People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) and presented with a community award which is generally given to “People of Indian Origin” recognised for their work among the Diaspora.

Nagamootoo insisted that that he did not see himself by being defined by his ethnicity but rather geography, explaining that he came to the conclusion after a process of introspection and searching for his identity. The organisation that was honouring him, specifically did so for his “community work as a Person of Indian Origin” and not that he was an “Indian National”. Nagamootoo accepted the award  which is mentioned on every web page established by him, or about him.
On the campaign trail in New York, Nagamootoo once again took pains to point out “I have Indianess in me because of my ancestry but I had been born in Pakistan looking the way I look then I would have been a Pakistani….I wasn’t born in India, I was born in Guyana and I am a Guyanese.”
The statement came at an awakard moment in his speech and appeared unrelated to the theme of his address which dealt with moving Guyana forward and appealing to Guyanese to forget their past which was dominated by riggings, injustices and wrongs committed by the PNC, while it was in office. Most of the members of the audience at Nerissa Place in Queens listening to Nagamootoo were Indian Guyanese.

His statements obviously caused some uneasiness among Guyanese here and abroad who interpreted his declaration as denying his ethnic identity, background and original ancestry.
But when Guyana Times contacted Nagamootoo for a clarification as to why he felt it necessary to make such a statement at the meeting in New York, he declined to comment.

Dr Eric Phillips, ACDA Executive Director

Asked too to offer clarifications on statements he made and whether he saw any potential impact on his promise to deliver Indian votes to the PNC-led APNU/AFC coalition, he declined to comment and hung up the phone.
But the Indian Arrival Committee’s Chairman Neaz Suban said it appeared that the politician was denying his ethnicity and ancestry for political reasons.
“This is unacceptable”, Suban said as he explaining that any move to deny one’s ancestry is similar to demonstrating a lack of respect, appreciation and acceptance of one’s culture.
Suban argued that Guyana is now a multiethnic society made up of six races and there is absolutely nothing wrong with any of the races promoting their cultures, traditions or identity.
“If we fail to accept that we are Indian, African, Amerindian, Portuguese or Chinese, in many ways, we are denying the diversity that makes us strong”, he reasoned while explaining that being Guyanese cannot remove genetics.
Meanwhile, Executive Member of the African Cultural Developmental Association (ACDA), Dr Eric Phillips described Nagamootoo’s statement as “intriguing”.
He said that while it is understandable that politicians while have to address the issues of race and unity as central themes on the campaign trail, there is nothing wrong with demonstrating proudness about one’s ethnicity or nationality.

He said “it would be interesting to understand the context and scope of the comments made”.
“I worry about politicians who are not comfortable with their own culture because if they are not comfortable with their own culture how can they be comfortable with somebody else’s culture. If you love your culture, you will treat it with respect and only then you will be able to entertain others cultures”, Phillips said.
Additionally, Ifraan Ali, Housing and Water Minister, when asked as to whether Moses Nagamootoo, who boasted about “spending 50 years in the PPP/C” was following some principle of the PPP/C when he said he was “not an Indian but a Guyanese” said that this was absolutely not so. “I am a young man who has also been the PPP/C practically all my life. And I must say that in no way, shape or form did Nagamootoo get such a belief from the PPP/C.

The PPP has always maintained that Guyana is a multiethnic nation – and that everyone should be proud of their culture.”

Minister Ali questioned why Nagamootoo would deny his ethnic identity in a meeting introducing the AFC’s new coalition partner, the PNC-led APNU.  “I find it very hypocritical of Nagamootoo to enter a coalition with APNU in which he pointed out his only bargaining chip was “the 11 per cent Indian-Berbician votes” he could deliver and now act as if  there is something  wrong about being “Indian”. The APNU/AFC coalition is now boasting about creating “national unity” because APNU’s predominantly African-Guyanese would be joined by Nagamootoo’s “Indians-Guyanese. So where is Nagamootoo in that “unity”??
When asked that maybe as an old Marxist, Nagamootoo rejects “ethnicity”, Minister Ali was very scoffing. “Let me tell you something comrade. As far back as 1988, on the 150th Anniversary of African Emancipation and the beginning of Indian Indentureship, Cheddi Jagan – in collaboration with the same Nagamootoo, imagine that!! – complimented Dr Walter Rodney for being a “Pan African”.

Moses Nagamootoo, PNC led-APNU/AFC Prime Ministerial Candidate

“On the question of race/ethnicity and class Dr Jagan believed as CLR James did: “The race question is subsidiary to the class question in politics… but to neglect the racial factor as merely incidental is an error only less grave than to make it fundamental.”
Min Ali continued, “And Nagamootoo isn’t even making an “error”. It’s clear he has serious issues with his identity as an “Indian Guyanese”. Maybe he’s trying to curry-favour with his new companions in APNU. But in the same year as Dr Jagan’s compliment to Rodney, the Marxist leader had  also written:
“It is short-sighted to see the “Caribbean man” only as a “black man”, and Caribbean culture as African culture. Apart from the different countries of their origin, both our black slave and Indian indenture ancestors watered the sugar cane with their blood. Through their struggles and sacrifices, they have made valuable contributions to our historical and social development.”

But he should know that all his new friends in APNU have long gone past that complex – especially the two David’s, Granger of the PNC and Hinds of the WPA.  If they can say they are proud to be “African Guyanese” why does Nagamootoo believe they don’t want him to be an “Indian Guyanese”?? Yet he wants to exploit Indian Berbician votes as such. What a hypocrite!”