‘Indian Opinion’ – a local journal

By Petamber Persaud

My reading is such that I see red, green and amber sojourning through a book. I usually change gears, automatically – speeding up, slowing down, and reversing. Sometimes, I stop. Often, I would go into neutral. Neutral may be my favourite position when reading. I go into neutral at any inter-textual references which do not give up their meaning/s readily especially references to other books.

While wading through Gandhi’s “The Story of my Experiments with Truth”, which I am re-reading as we celebrate International Literacy Day, I had to pause at many such references, some of which I would like to share.

Mohandas K. Gandhi was born Oct. 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Gujarat, India. He was shy at school, shying away from sports and games but managed to win prizes and scholarships. His formative days and adulthood were fraught with challenges to be untruthful, disrespectful to elders, to eat meat, to drink alcohol and smoke, among other things, all of which he overcame mostly by experimenting with each subject/issue.

He experimented with frugality and economy, social norms, Eastern thoughts and Western philosophy, discrimination, nutrition, cooking, hygiene, caring for the sick/elderly, language, religion, all of which helped him in his season of discovery, eking out the truth for himself and plotting the way forward. Books played a major role in his life – “[m]y books and my lessons were my sole companions.”

I love reading history, biography, monogram, autobiography, creative non-fiction, letter, diary and fictionalized semi-autobiography, notwithstanding my interest in other genres of writing. Gandhi’s autobiography is fascinating, totally absorbing and is an experiment. I have read many autobiographies and reread a few but Gandhi’s would not let me go because it is so innocent, so truthfully written in a most engaging manner(the Mahadev Desai translation).

Two early influences in Gandhi’s life were, one: a book version of the play “Shravana Pitribhati Nataka”, which tells the story Shravana’s devotion to his parents, in one instance carrying both of them on a pilgrimage by way of a sling fixed to his shoulders.

Two: was the enactment of a play, “Harischandra”. Harischandra was always truthful; never telling a lie and always honouring his promises, no matter what – as king he gave up his kingdom, suffered separation from his family whereby he was forced to sell his son and his wife and eventually himself in order to pay his dues. Separated, they lived in poverty, going through many trials and tribulations until the three were reunited. But the reunion was not a happy one because the son had died and the wife who brought him to be cremated couldn’t afford to pay the tax and the father who was the tax collector for the crematorium did not recognize his wife and son, all which increased the testing and trial of the mother and father…eventually there was a happy ending mainly due to the father’s steadfastness to truth.

I am familiar with the story of Harischandra due to research for an article on centenary of Indian film industry celebrated in 2013. “Harischandra” was the first full length feature film of India, released in 1913.

“Indian Opinion”

The other reference that caught my attention was made to a journal named “Indian Opinion” (1903 – 1961) founded by Gandhi, which was a tool to fight against discrimination, and for civil rights. With this tool Gandhi was able to put an end to oppression in South Africa, colonialism in India, resulting in the country’s Independence, and an end to indentureship in the British Empire of which British Guiana was a part. We, in Guyana, now enjoy May 5 as a public holiday – Arrival Day.

I have a limited knowledge of the local “Indian Opinion” that was patterned after Gandhi’s “Indian Opinion”. The local “Indian Opinion” was a platform for the Indian voice seeking, in the first instance,to publicize its culture and lifestyle in order to break down certain barriers, and then to publicize its aspiration and to address issues related to its aspiration.

Some of those issues included establishment of housing schemes, the establishment of a labour bureau, education for children, scholarship for promising students, and respect for religion, among others.

Importantly, there was a call for unity by Peter Ruhomon in “Indian Opinion” Vol II, No.12

“I would like to see more social intercourse among us…To meet each other is to know each other, to know each other is to understand each other, to understand each other is to appreciate each other, and to know, understand and appreciate each other is to bring about that unity and co-operation so sadly needed to strengthen our position in the Colony and to ensure the success of all our future plans that are dependent on collective action.”

That buttressed an earlier call made by his brother, Joseph, who popularize the word, ‘Guyanians’, long before Guyana became an independent state and the word, ‘Guyanese’, was coined.

“Indian Opinion” was the official organ of the British Guiana East Indian Association which was founded by Joseph Ruhomon in 1916. Joseph Ruhomon, his brother, Peter, and other intellectuals of the day, made good use of this outlet for Indian opinions.

There were other platforms for the Indian voice, like the column called Indian Intelligence in the Sunday Chronicle, edited by Peter Ruhomon during the 1930s, and The People, a Berbice newspaper, edited by Joseph Ruhomon.

“Indian Opinion” of Guyana achieved some of its objectives, setting the stage for succeeding generations to fulfil the others.

Responses to this author telephone (592) 226-0065 or email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com