Address by GAWU General Secretary Aslim Singh at Babu Jaan on March 26, 2023
The GAWU is honoured to have the opportunity to again pay tribute to a son of our soil, an outstanding freedom fighter, Comrade Cheddi Jagan. The very fact that we are paying tribute to him after he passed on two (2) decades ago is indicative of his many all-round contributions and his significant achievements in lifting the quality of life of our people and in putting our country on a path of growth and development.
GAWU recalls that Cheddi Jagan remained throughout his public life a consistent champion of the working people of Guyana. Following his return to Guyana from studies in the USA, he quickly ploughed into an activist life and associated with trade unionists like Joslyn Hubbard and Ashton Chase. Interestingly, it was Cdes Chase, Hubbard, Janet and Cheddi who were core members in the formation of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) which later grew to become the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). The PAC and later the PPP, in effect meant that the struggles of the Guyanese people, especially for freedom, would be waged at the higher political level.
Cde Cheddi did not deviate from his firm groundings with the working people throughout his life. It is worthy to recall that the PPP scored a major electoral victory in 1953 and under its leadership, with Cde Cheddi at the helm, Guyana begun the journey to prosperity and progress, a journey that continues today under the leadership of the President, Vice President and other comrades.
Cde Cheddi’s entry into the Legislative Council brought the working-masses an ally at this important forum of the country. There, he took the opportunity to highlight the challenges faced by the working-people in conditions of colonialism.
In his work among the people, Cde Cheddi placed special emphasis on education to lift their political and class awareness and to let them appreciate the strength they possess to make changes at their work places and in society for their overall betterment. He emphasized the importance of unity seeing it as an important step towards success in the overall struggles for freedom, democracy and a society based on humanitarian values and on economic growth whilst seeking to develop our people’s potentials so they can contribute qualitatively in our continuous development.
Today, when our world is gripped by various crises, Dr Jagan’s vision and achievements take on greater meaning. His ideas have not lost their relevance. In the challenging struggles before us his teachings and example should serve as a compass pointing to the direction to take in the face of our challenges and demands of the days.
The GAWU pays homage to Cde Cheddi who was our Honorary President. We continue to cherish his memory and see him as a great and indomitable leader whose core ideas are still largely applicable in our times. Let us comrades go forward in unity for a new day, a better day, a prosperous day holding aloft the banner handed to us by Cde Cheddi Jagan.
Let the vision of Cde Cheddi be our guide!
