By Adit Kumar and Arti Panday
Guyana's first female president, Mrs Janet Jagan, died at approximately 12:35 a.m. on Saturday March 28 at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. She was admitted at the Hospital at around 5 p.m. the day before after complaining of not feeling well.
The cause given for Mrs Jagan's death was abdominal aneurism. She was 88.
An indomitable fighter for the Guyanese working class over the years, Mrs Jagan had requested a “simple send off” and so there was no public viewing of her body at the cremation that took place at the Babu John Crematorium on March 31, the same venue where her husband the late Dr Cheddi Jagan was cremated in 1997. She was accorded a state funeral with the government of Guyana declaring March 30th and 31st as two days of public mourning in her honour..
President Bharat Jagdeo cut short his Middle East tour and rushed back to the country last Sunday to be present for the funeral.
An Interfaith memorial service organized by the Guyana Consulate in Toronto and the Association of Concerned Guyanese was held last Sunday at the Vedic Cultural Centre in Markham. Prayers were offered by representatives of the three major religions of Guyana - Hindu, Muslim and Christian.
Among those at the Interfaith service who paid tribute to Janet Jagan, fondly remembered as the “blue eyed bhowji”, were long standing PPP member, Mr Dalchand; physician and former leader of the Liberator Party, Dr Ganraj Kumar; President of the Canada Guyana Business Association, Basil Punit; former Civil Servant, Rampersaud Tiwari; Poet Habeeb Ally, and Guyana Consul General, Danny Doobay.
A book of Condolence has been opened and will be available for signing at the Guyana Consulate. Born Janet Rosenburg on October 20, 1920 in Chicago Illinois, Janet Jagan received her education from the University of Detroit, Wayne University, Michigan State College, and Cook County School of Nursing. While still residing in Chicago, she met her late husband Dr. Cheddi Jagan who was doing studies in dentistry. On August 5, 1943, they got married and in December that year she moved to then British Guiana when her husband returned home. When they arrived in Guiana, Dr. Jagan began practising dentistry and encouraged Mrs. Jagan to take up dentistry. She worked by his side for 10 years, as a nurse in his office but her interest was in politics and she strongly supported Marxist and Communist political views.
Mrs. Jagan and her husband were two members of a quartet that founded a political group reflecting her ideals. The two, along with Jocelyn Hubbard and Ashton Chase were the quartet that founded the Political Affairs Committee that eventually led to the creation of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) in 1950. Upon formation of the PPP, Mrs. Jagan was elected as its General Secretary; a position she maintained for 20 years from 1950 to 1970. After the PPP came to power, in 1957, Mrs. Jagan was appointed Minister of Labour, Health, and Housing. In 1967, she became a member of the Elections Commission playing a significant role in the PPP’s opposition years.
Janet Jagan was an amazing women’s rights activist, paving the way for many by doing things that were unheard of at the time. She became the first woman to have such a large role politically by being involved in many different associations and federations. She was a founder of the Women’s Progressive Organization as well as a co-founder of the Political Affairs Committee. Other accomplishments in Mrs. Jagan’s long list include being the first elected woman to the Georgetown City Council, the first woman Deputy Speaker and she was one of three women to enter the House of Assembly as a representative of the Essequibo Constituency.
The year 1992 proved to be a very self-fulfilling one for Mrs. Jagan. She became the First Lady of the Republic of Guyana after the PPP won the elections and her husband assumed the Presidency. She was then appointed Guyana’s ambassador to the United Nations. President Cheddi Jagan had been in office for five years when he fell ill in 1997 and soon after passed away. In his final days, Dr. Jagan made a request to his wife that if he passed away she should take on the role of President. Mrs. Janet Jagan fulfilled her late husband’s wishes and ran for the presidency in the following elections.
Although she faced much criticism for her decision to contest the presidency, she prevailed and held the office for two years, from 1997-1999. She was sworn in at a private ceremony for which she was criticized by many. After being hospitalized for a period of time, Mrs. Jagan resigned from the presidency and appointed Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo at the helm of the government.
Even, after her resignation, Mrs. Jagan was kept in the public eye, organizing and promoting an array of events preserving the memory of her late husband and former president Dr. Cheddi Jagan. Mrs. Jagan also continued with her journalistic work. She earlier had a very active career in journalism, spending 24 years mainly during the 1970s and 1980s as editor of the Mirror. In 1970, she along with a few of her fellow journalists founded the Union of Guyanese Journalists (UGJ). Mrs. Jagan’s experience in writing was not limited to the newspapers though. Throughout the years, she published many books, mainly children’s books, including one titled “When Grandpa Cheddi was a boy”. Her career in journalism continued right until the end, as she was an editor of the Thunder at the time of her death.
In her life, Mrs. Janet Jagan had many accomplishments and her efforts gained her recognition. She was honoured with many awards for her various achievements. Guyana’s highest honour, the Order of Excellence (O.E.), was awarded to her. She also received A Woman of Achievement award from the University of Guyana as well as the Gandhi Gold Medal for Peace, Democracy, and Women’s Rights by UNECSO.
Janet Jagan was an outgoing individual right until the end, and even attended a lecture in memory of her late husband Dr. Jagan just last week. She also served on the Central and Executive Committees of the PPP until her death.
Mrs. Janet Jagan leaves behind her son, Dr. Cheddi Jagan Jr., her daughter, Nadira Jagan-Brancier, her five grandchildren, and many other relatives.
Many Guyanese are of the opinion that this well known and pioneering leader will continue to inspire future generations of men and women through her example of selfless dedication to the service of her chosen country.