The late President of Guyana, Cheddi Jagan, was the son of indentured sugar workers. Of note is his hardworking mother, Bachoni. He wrote that he learned the elements of finance from his mother.
His parents, Bachoni and Jagan (father), had arrived in the then British Guiana as young infants with their mothers from the district of Basti in Uttar Pradesh, India. Both his grandmothers came as indentured immigrants in 1901 and were “bound” by a five-year contract to different sugar plantations in the county of Berbice.
Life was very hard and both his parents had to start working in the canefields at a young age to supplement the family income.
In her piece, “When Grandpa Cheddi Was A Boy” (A story written for her grandchildren), Janet Jagan wrote: “Great grandmother Bachoni was very small, very quiet, except when one of her children was bad; then she could talk to them hard. They learned early that size isn’t what counts and they all behaved well and listened to her. Life wasn’t easy for her. She had eleven children, six boys and five girls and brought them all up to be strong, healthy and hard-working… Grandpa Cheddi had to help in the kitchen garden, weeding and watering the plants. When there was enough for market, he used to go with great grandmother Bachoni and sell the greens and fruits at the Port Mourant market place.”
Cheddi’s mother never went to school; however, she taught him important life lessons, which ultimately laid the foundation for him to become the President of Guyana.
In Janet’s “Cheddi – A Unique Leader”, she described her husband as the “Father of Independence” and a “man who was our brother, our father and who gave our country the unique leadership of a man who truly cared about the people” – qualities he inherited from his parents. (Photos and information from www.jagan.org and the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre)
