By Jainarine Deonauth MA Over the past week, the issue of alcohol and the massively damaging effects it is having on individuals and communities has once again been brought to the fore. It was reported in the media a few days ago that, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), alcohol kills a whopping three million people worldwide each year — more than AIDS, violence and road accidents combined. It was stated that men are particularly at risk. WHO’s Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health 2018, published recently, presents…
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Alcohol abuse
Over the past week, the issue of alcohol and the massively damaging effects it is having on individuals and communities has once again been brought to the fore. It was reported in the media a few days ago that, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), alcohol kills a whopping three million people worldwide each year — more than AIDS, violence and road accidents combined. It was stated that men are particularly at risk. WHO’s Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health 2018, published recently, presents a comprehensive picture of…
Read MoreVivekananda in Chicago, 2018
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi left India for South Africa in April 1893, and made quite a name for himself after he evolved the technique of “satyagraha”, or peaceful civil disobedience, from Hindu principles and took it back to India. But a month later in that same year, another young man who had made as great an impact in his native land as Gandhi left India for Chicago, USA. His name was Swami Vivekananda, and the name for himself and for Hinduism at the Parliament of Religions at Chicago on Sept 11,…
Read MorePOLITICAL HINDU: The “mixing politics with religion” challenge
I have proposed the notion of “Hindu politics”, which immediately raises the “mixing politics with religion” objection. While Gandhi notably pointed out that those who say religion should not be mixed with politics know neither politics nor religion, it is rather trite to point out that “Hinduism” has been defined as a RELIGION by our persecutors. It is now seen (even by its adherents) as such, and in the milieu in which we operate, it is dogmatically asserted that such a mixing is taboo. That environment, however, has been shaped…
Read MoreShocking revelations about what occurs in our schools
On Monday, the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) made public that the use and sale of the drug ecstasy was discovered in five schools. Known as a recreational drug, it has harmful side effects, including addiction, and can cause altered sensations. CANU’s announcement might have come as a surprise to many, and is extremely worrying. What is clear is that some young people have been, and are being, exposed to a drug that also affects the brain, and has reportedly been used as a date rape trap. Sadly, drug use in…
Read MoreSports tourism in Guyana
The concept of sports tourism and the impact it could have on our country’s economy is now being discussed on a wider scale. So far, Guyana has not put the systems in place to capitalise on this niche market, like some other sister Caricom countries; and it is certainly time that the various stakeholders give some serious attention towards doing so. Analysts have pointed to the fact that sports tourism is a huge and growing industry, with important economic implications for the sport, the event, and the impact of travel…
Read MoreUnited Hindu Diaspora: The challenge
By Ravi Dev At the World Hindu Conference held this weekend in Chicago to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Swami Vivenananda’s address to the World Congress on Religion, I discussed the challenge of internal differences among the Hindu Diaspora. The term “Diaspora” itself signals a challenge to united action – one that is more contextual and historically contingent and arises ultimately from the fact we are very fragmented. The Hindu Diaspora, which now number at least 20 million, was formed by migrations during four distinct eras: 1) pre-colonial trade Diaspora;…
Read MoreTrade unions and the struggle
The 9-day strike by the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) — for the Government to implement the recommendation of its own task force to award a 40 percent salary increase in a multi-year agreement — has now gone to arbitration. This represents a victory for the GTU, since the PNC-led Government had insisted that its “ballpark” offer of G$700 million as a one-off payout was final. But the victory is not complete, since much depends on the specific arbitrators who would be chosen jointly by the two sides. The GTU will…
Read MoreEstablishing our own law school
In January 2017, the Government of Guyana, through its Attorney General, Basil Williams, made an important announcement, much to the delight of many Guyanese; especially law students, that Guyana will establish its own law school by 2018. The law school was to be named the JOF Haynes Law School. For many years our law students have been faced with very difficult times due to the many hurdles they had to cross in gaining admission to the Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS). Many had reached frustration point and even had to…
Read MoreREFORMING THE GPF’S COMPOSITION
As he appointed the new Commissioner of Police, President David Granger declared, “The Police Force has to be reformed, and you can’t build a new house with old wood. You have to select new materials; people with a new vision; people with a new commitment to break from the old bad habits and to return to the principles of good policing.” It would appear he forgot to mention – or deliberately chose not to mention – that a new house also needs a new plan, or else the old house…
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