The Dharmacharya (spiritual head) pundit cut a lonely picture at the National Awards celebration. For the brief moment that I looked at the awards ceremony, he sat by himself in a row of empty chairs. To me, his conspicuous lonesomeness reinforced the isolation and marginalisation many in the Indo-Trinidadian community felt, as only two of their own merited recognition by the State in the award of national honours (two out of 27 awards!).
The insensitivity of the continuing racial imbalance in the recipients of national awards was more pronounced this year, because this was the first awards ceremony after the abolishment of the Trinity Cross. Many Hindus and Muslims felt that the award of the Trinity Cross amounted to indirect discrimination by the State, because of its religious connotation, symbolism and affiliation with the Christian faith.
Historic litigation led to a finding by the High Court that this award was, indeed, discriminatory, and hence the invention of the brand new “Order of Trinidad and Tobago.”
The political insensitivity is made all the worse by the ethnic tribal nature of our politics, as the ruling party has its base in the Afro-Trinidadian community. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, attorney Atticus Finch said that to understand another man’s feelings one should step out of one’s shoes and walk around in his. I thus pose the question: What if the Indo-dominated UNC administration, led by Panday, conferred national awards on mostly Indians? To be more specific, what if only two out of 27 recipients were Afro-Trinidadian? And what if this developed into a trend or pattern year after year? How would the Afro-Trinidadian community feel?
Racial imbalance
I would not be writing this article if this year’s racial imbalance was a mere aberration. I feel compelled to do so because it is not. In a nation where Indo-Trinidadians comprise the single largest ethnic group, there isn’t a single year when they outnumbered their non-Indian counterparts in any category of national awards since 1969, when the awards began.
Does the community suffer from some unidentified collective deficiency that disqualifies them from national recognition by the State? For the Government to demonstrate such crass political arrogance is unforgivable. Mr Manning’s political desire to reach out to the Indian community is a matter of public record.
In his previous term, he publicly announced that he was “looking for Indians” to include in his Cabinet, so that it would reflect the plural nature of our society. In 1991, he established the Centre for Ethnic Studies at the University of the West Indies, and commissioned a report to investigate allegations of racial discrimination in the public service and address the racial imbalance therein.
Only eight Indo-Trinis have ever been awarded the nation’s highest award since 1969. Out of these eight recipients, at least four of them received this award ex officio (to the office). Six Trinity Crosses were given to foreigners and/or non-resident Trinis who arguably made no national contribution.
The continued exclusion of Indo-Trinidadians from national awards has, perhaps, given rise to a feeling of inferiority, of not being able to measure up; alternatively, it can fuel a feeling of resentment, based on the suspicion that their contribution to the nation is constantly bypassed without any recognition from the State.
It is amazing that an experienced politician such as Manning does not understand the need for greater sensitivity in the selection of national award recipients. There is no political gain by causing unnecessary hurt to the Indo-Trinidadian community, and it is imperative that the State applies a soothing balm to sensitive wounds. Given Mr Manning’s penchant for preaching, it is not inappropriate for me to call upon the preacher to “apply the healing touch.” I trust that this issue would be handled with better discretion, dexterity and equality in the future.
I wish to end this column by paying public tribute to my legal colleague, Mr Terrance Thorne, who was posthumously awarded the public service Medal of Merit (Gold). Terry served this nation with loyalty and distinction, and was a source of tremendous inspiration to me. He waged a long battle against cancer and continued to perform his duties in a diligent and professional manner, despite his blindness. We fought many legal battles, but remained excellent friends. His jabs in court were of the highest quality, and his spunk was something I looked forward to. If ever there was a deserving recipient for a national award, Mr Thorne was. It’s a pity that he was not honoured while he was alive.
By Anand Ramlogan