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Understanding the 1970 revolution
Published: 10 Mar 2010
The French, American and Haitian Revolutions are staple elements of history courses at secondary and tertiary-level education institutions; and rightly so as they mark significant epochs in the history of modern man.
But what of the 1970 Black Power Revolution which took place here in T&T and the Carib-bean? Unfortunately, there is little on the syllabi of our own secondary and tertiary-level institutions to put into perspective the circumstances of 1970. What were the objectives of the National Joint Action Committee, the institutions and individuals who led the revolution, and what were the consequences thereafter? Yes, 40 years is a short time period in historical development and perhaps 100 years from now 1970 would be studied by academic historians and researchers. But can the society wait for a thorough understanding of this important period of time given its present seeming waywardness, unconsciousness and disinterest in self, suffering from the same old self-depreciating complex bred by colonialism, slavery and indentureship? There is little knowledge of 1970 by the generations after the period. An oil boom, a gas boom, easy money, the politics of polarisation, groundless political leaders interested only in self and party have conspired to largely eliminate the consciousness that was initiated by a generation that found that political independence had left untouched a desire for self-knowledge and actualisation.
In the 1970 epoch, the youth in the urban towns were reading Eldridge Cleaver, Malcolm X, Franz Fanon and seriously reflecting on the Little Red Book. Then there were the “groundings” with Walter Rodney and the New World Group preaching a re-orientation of West Indian society. Sections of today’s generation of young men and women are occupied with automatic weapons, cocaine, bling and gang warfare. So too has the violence of dub music with its focus beneath the waistline become predominant. To begin the understanding of 1970 would be to appreciate that having had a national government come into office in the 1950s, and having achieved political independence in the early 1960s, the economy remained foreign owned and dependent. Beyond the continuing reliance on sugar and oil as the major exports of the economy, the local economy, the onshore sector, according to Lloyd Best, was still the preserve of the new plantation class. Moreover, the colonial order with all its social privileges had not changed. As the study on employment practices in the private sector would show in the wake of 1970, the managerial and professional jobs were the preserve of those who had been historically in power since abolition and the end of indentureship. Educational opportunity was still dispensed, in large measure, on the basis of skin colour and ethnicity; the social clubs prevailed; Shanty Town and Windsor Park in California housed “the wretched of the earth,” and 45-pound chains were the continuing yoke of old frail men and women in the sugar fields of Tate and Lyle.
Suspicion between the two dispossessed ethnic groups was being promoted in the interest of party politics by political leaders whose main ambition was to win office and retain it. The established churches still sought to retain colonial privileges, the hierarchy solidly in place. Trade unionist Clive Nunez makes the point that government repression of the union voice, much like what happened in the 1930s in oil and sugar, forced the movement to attach itself to Black Power. In the US, the Civil Rights Movement had taken on the establishment; to be followed by the more militant Black Power alignment. That a Trinidadian, Stokely Carmichael, was in the front of the protestations inspired and stimulated the pulse in Port-of-Spain. The trigger to the demonstrations and protest happened to be the provocative and racist acts at the Sir George Williams University in Canada, but it could have been any one of the hangovers from colonialism. Having retrieved the power at the point of a gun and with the promised assistance of the US, the Williams Government rounded-up and incarcerated the leaders on Nelson Island in a manner that had been done in 1937 by the colonial government. As CLR James had said, Carib-bean leaders knew that to raise the American red flag by identifying “communist and subversive elements” was a sure way to receive assistance from Washington.
But Williams was also politically wise enough to know that he had also to attempt to finally do something about the old order to come to terms with the call of the revolution. Nationalisation of the energy sector followed; the National Commercial Bank was created and Williams influenced into being the localisation of parts of the financial sector. Williams instituted too a study on employment practices in the private sector against the reality that there continued to be discrimination there. But those attempts at political and economic transformation apart, the real revolution was reflected in the culture. Calypsonian Duke had declared that Black is Beautiful, the Jaycees Carnival Queen show which established beauty as being white, after declaring a brown-skinned queen went out of existence. A plethora of calypsoes around the subject of self-identification by blacks were sung. Calypsonians such as Stalin and Valentino took on the establishment in a manner not known before. In the previous era Sparrow, enraptured by Williams and nationalism, had sung Leave de Damn Doctor. Now Stalin threatened Mr Divider that it is “man talking to man” and he, like the social upper-crust, had to share in the oil bread.
In the decade of the 1970s, calypsonians moved out of the two-calypso syndrome during the tent season and began performing in concerts, reproducing the wealth of calypsoes over the decades. Seen through a new perspective, one created by NJAC’s Black Traditions in Art, these cultural products of the previous decades had value. The bards themselves began challenging the “right” of the local radio stations to drop calypso, steelband and indigenous music off the play list the day after Carnival ended. Prof Gordon Rohlehr is right, we do not know what came out of 1970. The objective of this column is to stimulate the awareness of young people to go after the information and bring their own analysis to the consequences of 1970.
Tony Fraser is right on the
Tony Fraser is right on the ball here.
The Black Power uprising of 1970, as unpleasant as it was, was a significant turning point in the social and political history of Trinidad and Tobago. For that reason alone it should be recognised much more than it is and, in particular, should be a topic in history lessons in the school system throughout the Caribbean.
Tobadians generally make much of the great pride and patriotism displayed by peoples of other countries. In doing so they ignore the fact that this did not happen by accident but because of the strong sense of the history of the struggle that brought these countries to where they are now. In some countries, that history is drummed into the heads of young citizens from a very early age. In Trinidad and Tobago, it seems that our struggles were not as severe (?) and, certainly, not as vividly presented to our youth.
The 1970 revolution is perhaps the most significant of all the struggles we went through because it dealt directly with the rights of our people to access and enjoy all that this country has to offer and to change an old order that benefitted a minority.
As it stands, the 1970 Revolution is completely ignored and, as evidenced by some of the comments to Tony’s article is disdainfully disrespected, by the vast majority of our population. This is not what one would expect of a mature nation.
The uprising and the awareness it brought was pivotal in my personal and professional development. It helped me to face the racism I experienced in my studies abroad, both subtle and direct. It shaped my work ethic in what has been a very successful career. In particular, I have made every effort to treat with all levels of staff as fellow human beings working in a team with a common objective. It motivated my secret mantra that as a country that has gone through slavery and indentureship, we must not mimic the masters of those eras in our efforts to get the job done.
In the history of mankind, revolutions of conscience like the 1970 Uprising and the French Revolution, come along to reset and realign our thinking, our culture and traditions. Indeed, given the human being’s tendency to avoid change, they are a necessity.
Trinidad and Tobago owes it to itself to acknowledge the real significance of the 1970 uprising and to give it its proper place in history. Indeed, the 1970 Black Power Revolution should be celebrated more than the emancipation and arrival events.
Russel Forde
Some information for Mike
Some information for Mike Samuels on Mr. Ranjit Kumar. Hope this may enlighten his understanding of Mr. kumar to T&T.
Ranjit Kumar
- Civil Engineer
Ranjit Kumar was an engineering visionary. He was responsible for the construction of the first dual carriageway at Wrightson Road, Port of Spain. His land reclamation project, done at a time when many called it impossible, has endured for over 60 years.
Kumar celebrated two birthdays. According to his mother, he was born in India in the Rawalpindi area of Punjab on August 6th 1911 but according to his birth certificate, he was born on 31st January 1912. His father, Lala Sri Gopaul, was manager of the Rawalpindi branch of the biggest British owned bank in India. The only child to his parents, he was only 10 months old when his father died. The tragedy forced his mother to move to Lahore to live near her family. In 1919, at the tender age of 8, Ranjit, his uncle and his mother moved to England. He attended Helborn Grammar School, where he perfected his English and sang in the St. Clement’s Danes Church choir.
In England, Kumar excelled academically. At age 13, he passed London Matriculation (now GCE O’Levels); at age 15 he passed Higher Schools (now A 'Levels) and was admitted to the Imperial College of Science in South Kensington. Although his uncles wanted him to study law, his teachers urged him to pursue a career in engineering because of his excellent mathematical ability and he took their advice. At age 18, he obtained a BSc degree in Civil Engineering but because of his youth, his lack of experience and the racism of the time, he was unable to find employment which befitted his qualifications. Kumar finally obtained a temporary post in the borough engineer’s office but after three months, it was advertised as a permanent post and denied to him when he reapplied. Kumar did not want to leave England but he could not find employment there, he returned to India
Kumar sat the Indian Imperial Police Entrance Examination, placing second out of 250 applicants. He opted to be posted in Punjab in 1931 and was soon promoted to the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police, training in law and horse riding. Before he was 22 years old, he was already in charge of police security at the Indian Legislative Council and in control of 200 policemen. At another point in his career, he was in charge of 100 horsemen responsible for patrolling the bank of the River Indus to prevent Afghan raiders from robbing Indian villages. He left the police service in 1933.
In 1935, Kumar met a man from Trinidad. While in India, this man saw an Indian film for the first time and realised that Trinidad was a potential market for these movies. The man convinced Kumar to leave India, which was in political unrest, and travel to Trinidad with an Indian film. After spending three months in Bombay’s film studios, he bought the film Bala Joban and began his journey. He arrived in Trinidad as the distributor of the first Indian film to be shown locally at Globe Cinema. The venture was successful and Kumar spent the next year, travelling all over Trinidad and Guyana, showing Indian films in all the cinemas. After two years of this success, Kumar sold his films and left the business.
In 1937, Kumar he got a job at Pointe-a-Pierre as an engineer but he was later appointed by the government as an Assistant Engineer with the Public Works department. While there, Kumar developed the Morvant Housing Estate and was commissioned to plan, design and construct Wrightson Road, Trinidad’s first dual carriageway road, on newly reclaimed land in Port-of-Spain. At that time, the area between Wrightson Road and the sea was swampy and few people believed that a road could be constructed under these conditions. However, with the help of a preliminary design by an English town planner, the area was successfully reclaimed by 1938. Although the start of World War II brought the construction to a brief halt, work resumed after it was over and the Wrightson Road project was completed in 1940.
Port of Spain Harbour in the 1890's
Kumar obtained a job as Assistant City Engineer, Port of Spain in 1945. He engineered irrigation and drainage systems of Port-of-Spain to alleviate the problem of flooding. He also designed and constructed several buildings such as the illustrious Hilton Hotel and FedChem Company Limited. He was instrumental in the popularisation of Engineering Technology, contributing freelance articles to the Challenger Newspaper for 10 years in order to educate the ’layman’. He discussed issues that affected the general public such as irrigation, flooding, drainage and proposed solutions using civil engineering technologies to amend the problems facing the society.
When Kumar began his education, his goal had been to be a public officer, to be financially independent and to give people honest public service. However, he soon decided that that this was not enough. Although he first left India to avoid political unrest, he felt compelled to pursue the very thing he had once fled- politics. Kumar was elected member of the Port of Spain City Council to serve the 1943 to 1945 term and re-elected for the 1947 to 1950 term. He was Alderman of the City Council from 1950 to 1956. He was a Member of the Constitutional Reform Committee appointed in February 1947 and a Member of the Legislative Council between 1946 and 1956. He was an Independent candidate first, then a Butlerite under the famous trade unionist Tubal Uriah “Buzz” Butler. He represented constituencies as far apart as Princess Town and his hometown, St. James. He remained active in politics until his death.
A dedicated father of nine, Kumar insisted on providing his children with a strong educational background. Despite his busy schedule as an engineer and a politician, he found the time to take all his children to and from school, check their books and help them with their homework every evening. He had a great love for mathematics and had an interest in astronomy and history. He would spend many nights gazing at the constellations and related the stories of Orion and Cyrus to his children. He was also fond of reading. He was always on the side of reason, kept abreast of global issues and had strong views.
Ranjit Kumar was a cultured and sincere immigrant who became so involved with the betterment of the people of Trinidad & Tobago that he became one of them. He was a learned but practical person whose was capable of expounding his learning to others, applying his knowledge to the development of a solution and demonstrating the feasibility of his suggestion. Kumar’s vision was years ahead of his time and he passed away having left his mark on civil engineering in Trinidad and Tobago.
Ranjit Kumar died at age 70 on 1st September 1982.
Selected Publications:
1981 Thoughts and Memories of Ranjit Kumar
Career Highlights
*
1937-1940 Assistant Engineer, Public Work Department Housing Estate
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1945 Assistant City Engineer, POS
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1943-1945 Elected member of the POS City Council
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1943-1946 Re-elected member of the POS City Council
*
1946-1956 Elected MLC, first as Independent then as Butlerite
*
1947 Constitutional Reform Committee
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1950-1956 Alderman of POS City Council Member of the
*
1959 Chief Surveyor FedChem Limited
*
1960 Designed and constructed Hilton Hotel
Reference: http://caribbean-icons.org/engineering/ranjit-kumar.htm
Submitted by CanTrini on 10
Submitted by CanTrini on 10 March 2010 - 1:06pm.
Some information for Mike Samuels on Mr. Ranjit Kumar. Hope this may enlighten his understanding of Mr. kumar to T&T.....Quote.
FACT IS RANJIT KUMAR OPPOSED INDEPENDANCE FOR T&T SOLELY ON THE GROUNDS OF RACE THIS IS A FACT.(HE WROTE A REPORT CLAIMING THAT T&T COULD'NT AFFORD IT HE HAD NO PROBLEMS WITH INDEPENDANCE FOR GUYANA UNDER DR JAGAN AN ITS INDIAN MAJORITY)
HE WAS ONE OF THE MEN THAT RAN WITH U.R BUTLER, WHEN BUTLER WENT UP AGAINST ALBERT GOMES AND BUTLER LOST HIS SEAT(FIGHTING ALBERT GOMES) PPL LIKE RANJIT DESERTED BUTLER TO LICK THE WHITE GOVERNER'S A..S THIS IS A FACT JACK!
AND AS FAR AS I KNOW KUMAR DIED IN INDIA FROM A SERIOUS CASE OF LEAD POSIONING.(GUN SHOTS)
YOUR POST IS THE LATEST OF MANY I'VE NOTICED IN THE PRESS SINCE 95 AND REVISIONIST "HIS STORY" FROM THE LIKES OF THE MAHA SABHA, SAGAN MARAJ IS NOW SOME SORT OF "LIBERATOR" WHEN IN FACT HE WAS A CROOK AND ONCE RAN A CAR STEALING RACKET.
IN A FEW YRS PANDAY WILL BE "REVISED" BY HIS SYCHOPANTS TOO MAYBE AS "DE BEST AM PRIME MINISTAH EVA" (YES I'VE ALREADY HEARD THAT ONE)
KUMAR DID NOT "BUILD TRINIDAD" ETC, HE FAILED AS A LEADER BEYOND HIS GROUP JUST AS PANDAY DID.
FOR ME 1970 IS MEANINGLESS
FOR ME 1970 IS MEANINGLESS NONSENSE! IT GAVE US ABU BAKH A CHILD OF "BLACK POWAH" WHO IN TURN GAVE US THE CORRUPT IMMORAL UNC GOV'T.
JUST IMAGINE BAKH A BLACK MAN TRYING TO OVERTHROW AN HONEST BLACK PM FOR AN INDIAN CROOK, A CHILD OF INDENTURES.(GUESS WHO MAY HAVE KILLED SELWYN RICHARDSON A POSSIBLE FUTURE PM OF THIS COUNTRY?)
Suspicion between the two dispossessed ethnic groups was being promoted in the interest of party politics by political leaders whose main ambition was to win office and retain it.......Quote.
FACT IS THEY BROUGHT THEIR "SUSPICION" WITH THEM THE WHITE PLANTATION OWNERS DID'NT NEED TO TEACH INDIANS THAT, THEY WERE MASTERS OF IT LONG BEFORE.
RANJIT KUMAR WAS AN INDIAN POLITICIAN BORN IN INDIA BUT LIVED IN T&T FOR 25 YRS AS A LOCAL INDIAN LEADER, AS A MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL HE VOTED AGAINST ELECTORIAL RIGHTS FOR AFROS, HE OPPOSED POLITICAL RIGHTS FOR AFROS, HE WAS DEAD SET AGAINST INDEPENDANCE FOR TRINIDAD & TOBAGO CLAIMING THAT WE COULD'NT AFFORD IT, BUT THE TRUTH WAS HE COULD'NT WIN AN ELECTION SINCE INDIANS WAS NOT THE MAJORITY SO IF HE COULD'NT WIN THEN NOBODY MUST WIN.(SOUNDS LIKE THE LEADER OF THE "YUH EH SEE")
AFTER RETURNING TO INDIA TO LIVE HE WAS KILLED BY SOME GUNMAN FOR PRETENDING TO BE "LORD SHIVA" ON SOME FLOAT DURING AN ELECTION CAMPAIGN.
KARMA IS A FUNNY THING EH?
MikeSamuel
MikeSamuel
You still have not located the CapsLock key on your keyboard? Or is it not working? If not working, please dispose of it. If you can't find it, also dispose please.
La Diva
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