Cheddi Berret Jagan (22 March 1918 – 6 March 1997) was a Guyana, Guyanese politician and dentist who was first elected Prime Minister of Guyana, Chief Minister in 1953 and later Prime Minister of Guyana, Premier of British Guiana from 1961 to 1964. He later served as President of Guyana from 1992 to his death in 1997. Jagan is widely regarded in Guyana as the ''Father of the Nation''.Larry Rohter
"Cheddi Jagan, Guyana's Founder, Dies at 78"
''The New York Times'', 7 March 1997. In 1953, he became the first Hindu and person of Indian diaspora, Indian descent to be a head of government outside of the Indian subcontinent.

Early life

Cheddi Berret (Bharat) Jagan was born on 22 March 1918 in Ankerville, Port Mourant, a rural village in the county of Berbice (present-day East Berbice-Corentyne). He was the eldest of 11 children. His parents were Indo-Guyanese, Indians who were Kurmi Hindus that emigrated from British Raj, British India to British Guiana as Indian indenture system, indentured labourers. They were both from the Basti district in the then North-Western Provinces in the Awadh and Bhojpuri regions of the Hindi Belt in North India (in present-day Uttar Pradesh, India). His mother Bachaoni came to British Guiana as a child with her mother, while his father Jagan also came as a child with his mother and brother. Both his mother's and father's family immigrated to British Guiana aboard the ''Elbe'' in 1901; his father being 2 years old and his mother 18 months when they arrived. His father's family were indentured to Albion, Guyana, Albion Estate and his mother's family was indentured to Port Mourant Estate.https://jagan.org/Biography/CJ%20Bio/cj_biography3.html The Jagan family lived in rural poverty, working in the cane fields to support themselves. His mother had worked on the estate till Jagan was nine years old. His father had worked his way up to become head driver on the estate, but it didn't amount to much change in pay, and he had to retire at fifty due to his health. When Jagan was fifteen years old, his father sent him to Queen's College, Guyana, Queen's College in the capital city of Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown (about away) for the next three years. In Georgetown, Jagan saw life differently, as he came from a different background than that of his schoolmates. After he graduated from high school, Jagan realized that finding a non-agriculture job would be impossible. Finally, his father sent him to the United States to study dentistry with $500, the family's life savings.

Education and early career

Jagan left for the United States in September 1936 with two friends, and did not return to British Guiana until October 1943. He lived in Washington, D.C. for two years, enrolled in a pre-dental course at Howard University. To cover his expenses, Jagan took a job as an elevator operator. During the summers, he worked in New York City, New York as a door-to-door salesman. Jagan's performance helped him to win a scholarship for his second year at Howard. In 1938, he was admitted to the four-year dental program at Northwestern University in Chicago.

Political career

Early political career

Jagan co-founded the Political Affairs Committee (British Guiana), Political Affairs Committee (PAC) in 1946, and was subsequently elected to the Legislative Council (British Guiana), Legislative Council in November 1947 as an independent candidate from Central Demerara constituency. On 1 January 1950, the People's Progressive Party (Guyana), People's Progressive Party (PPP) was founded by a merger of the PAC and the British Guiana Labour Party (BGLP), with Jagan as its leader, former BGLP leader Forbes Burnham as its chairman and Janet Jagan, Jagan's wife Janet as secretary.History of the PPP
PPP website.

Head of State of Guyana

Jagan won 1953 British Guiana general election, elections in 1953. However, Winston Churchill expressed alarm creating baseless fears that Jagan was a Marxist-Leninist, and also claimed Jagan could allow the Soviet Union a foothold in South America. In fact, there is no evidence whatsoever that Jagan had any ties to any foreign communist or revolutionary groups. But still, the fears prompted a British military intervention only days after his victory. Jagan resigned as List of Prime Ministers of Guyana, Chief Minister after 133 days. Britain suspended the constitution and installed an interim government. Jagan's movements were restricted to Georgetown from 1954 to 1957. After a PPP victory in the 1961 British Guiana general election, August 1961 elections, Jagan became Chief Minister for a second time, serving for three years. In the 1964 British Guiana general election, December 1964 elections, the PPP won a plurality of votes, but Burnham's party, the People's National Congress (Guyana), People's National Congress, and the conservative The United Force, United Force held a majority of seats and were invited to form the government. However, Jagan refused to resign, and had to be removed by List of Governors of British Guiana, Governor Richard Luyt.Dieter Nohlen, Nohlen, D (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p355 Having broken off links with Burnham, Jagan was active in the government as a labour activist and leader of the opposition. He was elected as Leader of the Opposition of Guyana, Leader of the Opposition and Minority Leader 1966-1973 and 1976-1992.Historical information events and dates on the Parliament of Guyana from 1718 to 2009
Parliament of Guyana After 28 years in opposition, the PPP won the 1992 Guyanese general election, 5 October 1992 elections with about 54% of the vote, and Jagan became President. Contrary to earlier foreign fears, he governed as a democratic socialism, democratic socialist and not a Marxist–Leninist.

Personal life

After graduating from dental school in 1942, Jagan met Janet Jagan, Janet Rosenberg, a student nurse. They married in 1943, and had two children: Nadira and Joey Jagan, Cheddi Jr. (who in turn produced five grandchildren). Janet Jagan followed her husband's footsteps and held the positions of prime minister and president in 1997 (succeeded as president by Bharrat Jagdeo in 1999).

Death and legacy

Jagan suffered a heart attack on 15 February 1997 and was taken to Georgetown Hospital before being flown by U.S. military aircraft then by U.S. Air Force helicopter from Andrews Air Force Base"In the Americas", ''The Miami Herald'' (nl.newsbank.com), 16 February 1997. to Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C., later that day. He underwent heart surgery there and died in Washington on 6 March 1997, 16 days before his 79th birthday. Prime Minister Sam Hinds succeeded him as President and declared six days of mourning, describing Jagan as the "greatest son and patriot that has ever walked this land". The Cheddi Jagan Research Centre in Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown celebrates his life and work, complete with a replication of his office. The centre is located in the Red House (Guyana), Red House which served as Jagan's official residence from 1961 to 1964. The Cheddi Jagan International Airport, the largest and primary international airport of the country, has been renamed after Jagan.

Selected publications

Jagan was also an important political author and speechwriter, and his publications include: * ''Forbidden Freedom: The Story of British Guiana'' (Hansib, 1954) * ''The West On Trial: My Fight for Guyana's Freedom'' (Harpy, 1966) * ''The Caribbean Revolution'' (1979) * ''The Caribbean: Whose Backyard?'' (1984) * ''Selected Speeches 1992–1994'' (Hansib, 1995) * ''The USA in South America'' (Hansib, 1998) * ''A New Global Human Order'' (Harpy, 1999) * ''Selected Correspondences 1953–1965'' (Dido Press, 2004)

References

External links

Cheddi Jagan Research Centre
an informational site maintained by Jagan's daughter, Nadira Jagan-Brancier.

at marxists.org
Cheddi Jagan Timeline
Posted at Center for Cooperative Research
"An Appreciation of Dr. Cheddi Jagan"
Indo Caribbean World, 12 March 1997. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jagan, Cheddi 1918 births 1997 deaths Alumni of Queen's College, Guyana Guyanese democracy activists Guyanese Hindus Howard University alumni Indo-Guyanese people Leaders of political parties People's Progressive Party (Guyana) politicians Guyanese politicians of Indian descent Presidents of Guyana Foreign ministers of Guyana Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo People from East Berbice-Corentyne Northwestern University Dental School alumni