India has been very generous to Guyana with its scholarships programme

Dear Editor,

This reply is in reference to Mr Barrington Braithwaite’s attack on India published in another section of the press on May 20 on scholarships given to Guyanese; my response was not published by that very same paper.

India has been very generous with its educational and other assistance to Guyana.  Any attempt to criticise a kind India for aiding a poor Guyana is what Guyanese would call “nimakharamism”. Such ingratitude could offend the Indian Government leading to a reduction in aid.

In general, the Indian Government has offered scholarships directly through the Guyana Government and at times, directly to individuals (with the Guyana Government having no discretion on awardees). During the period of the dictatorship, 1965 to 1992, few Indians, Chinese, Amerindians and Portuguese were recipients of Indian scholarships.

The agents of the dictatorship decided on the recipients, and non-supporters of the PNC dictatorship were victimised. Myself and other Guyanese complained to Indian officials about discrimination meted out to Indo-Guyanese.  Indian officials responded that they were helpless to alter the situation, because the Guyana Government makes the recommendations and the Indian Government had to abide by them.

Following complaints from Indians, India offered another line of scholarships to Guyanese through which several Indians were selected to study in India. We lobbied the Indian Government to increase the number of scholarships given directly to applicants, while not reducing those falling under the control of the Guyana Government.

In fact, both types were increased. This has led to many Indians being recipients of scholarships to study in the land of their fore-parents. Following the restoration of democracy, it has been an even playing field with Guyanese of all ethnicities being chosen to study for free in India.

When myself and other Indo-Guyanese got an opportunity to meet Indian officials (and we met Manmohan Singh as well as his predecessor Atal Vajpayee), we made the case for increased assistance to Guyana. Since 2000, financial assistance, under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and scholarships to Guyana have increased with Guyanese of all ethnicities being beneficiaries.

In general, donor countries determine the criteria for participation in a scholarship programme. An Embassy or a Consulate is a sovereign unit of a nation and in a host country can stipulate conditions for an academic scholarship. One cannot dictate to a country its criteria for giving foreign aid.

In the US, for example, Government sponsors certain programmes and often stresses minorities will be given preference for certain programmes.  In some countries, including the US, ethnicity as a criterion is not actually stated, but applicants from a particular ethnicity are given preference.

In Guyana, for example, it was well-established and institutionalised that while the ethnicity criteria was not publicly stated as a condition for selection for a programme or a ranking job, during the period of the dictatorship, preference was given to applicants of a particular race. Can Braithwaite tell us how many Portuguese, Chinese, Amerindians and Indians were selected for scholarships or Government training for academic advancement?

India gives the most scholarships to Guyanese of all countries. India also gives the most scholarships to students in Africa; I studied in India and I travelled to India dozens of times encountering African students on Indian campuses studying as guests of the Indian Government.

I also met numerous students from South America, Central America and Mexico in India – thanks to the generosity of the Indian Government. Guyanese have also received scholarships to study in China and I met quite a number of South Americans and Africans in Beijing when I was there briefly as a visiting student during my doctoral studies in 1985 and in subsequent visits to China.

Unlike Braithwaite, I wish to convey gratitude and appreciation to India and to the Chinese governments for being so kind to us. I urge the Indian Government to please increase the number of scholarships given to Guyanese.

Thank you, Indian High Commission, for your generosity.  I wish the countries of Africa can emulate India and China by providing financial assistance of this magnitude to Guyana.

Yours truly,

Vishnu Bisram