"De way t'ng waz going, ah never dream dat ah go see ah wo'd like, 'Ministry of Multiculturalism' in Chinidat," I could hear the village commentator, Jagdeo Maharaj, saying to me in his signature conspirational whisper. I also hear myself responding, "Well, Baapie, deswah aage barrdhat baa...laagat bate ki kaljug itnaa kharaab na baate." (Kaljug does not seem so menacing anymore.")
I have therefore to thank Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar for taking this bold step. And congratulations to Winston Peters, calypsonian Gypsy, for being the first Minister of Multiculturalism. I guess a calypso on Multiculturalism is in order. He once declared that he was thinking about singing Pichakaaree.
The evolution of Multicultalism
A Ministry of Multiculturalism ought to have been a natural flower on the multi-branched plural society that is T&T. This is particularly significant because of the history of colonial anglophone society like T&T. But this was not to be so. But then again, many things ain't so, just because it ought to be so, or because do so ent like so.
Multiculturalism appeared in the public domain in the sixties and fed into the "Roaring Seventies." It was a response to the demand for equality that was based on processing immigrant societies in Aglophone countries, to become mainstream in language and culture.
It was probably well meant and perceived as natural to democratic idealism. But the consequence was the opposite–a devastating political and cultural doosra of autocracy in democracy, resulting in the deculturalisation of large collectives of people.
Multiculturalism, at that time, seemed to have been driven by a ritual of cultural-exorcism under the benign guise of, equality of sameness. It may have well been an unnoticed conqueror's guile to reduce that which was different–unknown and therefore threatening–to secure their comfort zone.
Today, Multiculturalism proposes an, "equality of difference," as a natural and non violent means to shape modern society. There is a natural fear of difference. The conqueror's impatient way slipped unnoticeably into the norm of, doing-away with difference rather than the demanding way of understanding difference. How much must have been lost? There has been an obvious shift in thought and enlightened thinking.
This move towards anekta mein ekata–harmony in diversity–is fast becoming a fetching proposition. The intensity of the ecological debates and an increasing awareness of interconnectedness are proposing a rehabilitation of the world society based on an essential harmony of all things. This can mediate a harmonious relationship amidst the diversity which, in any case, will never go away.
Maybe for these reasons the UN had launched previously, a decade for decolonisation, a decade for indigenous cultures, and this year–The International Year for Rapproachement of Cultures. An enlightened tribute to Unesco's theme by the Government of T&T is the declaration of "Ministry of Multi Culturalism." At the level of the Caribbean, a thrilling sub text comes with the appointment of the iconic, chief servant, HE Makandal Daaga, Cultural Ambassador to the Caribbean.
Congratulations.