Activity: Lecture and discussion
Host: Moray House Trust
Date: 27th November 2018
Professor Jay Mandle, the W Bradford Wiley Professor of Economics at Colgate University gave a talk entitled Cheddi Jagan and the Ultra Left. He reviewed Dr Jagan’s speech to the PPP Congress in 1956 and Sidney King’s (now Eusi Kwayana) response. He offered a historical reconstruction and analysis of that particular moment. Mr Ralph Ramkarran and Professor Clem Seecharan joined him in a discussion afterwards.
As is known, the Jagans established the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) in 1950. In 1953 the PPP won a majority of seats in the House of Assembly under the new constitution and Dr Jagan became Prime Minister. Months later, in response to his ‘pro-communist’ reforms, the British dismissed him from office, suspended the constitution and sent in troops. In 1955 Forbes Burnham left the PPP to form his own party, subsequently known as the People’s National Congress. In 1956, the so-called Ultra-leftists, including Martin Carter, his brother Keith Carter and Rory Westmaas also left the PPP.