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If you are from South Trinidad, Pundit Chandresh Sharma isn’t a new name to you.
And you’d also be very familiar with the numerous stories that fly around about infidelities, outside children and even less than kosher behavior in public office. None of the rumors particularly recent.
But let’s not dwell in the realm of rumors. Let’s deal with the tangible story that the Trinidad Guardian, of all newspapers, spilled all over our laps this week.
You may well question my skepticism of the Guardian. With Dr Hamid Ghany, politics lecturer and close colleague of the People’s Partnership, at the helm of their editorial decisions, it struck me as interesting that the newspaper would have scooped the Trinidad Express on this particular story.
Not that the Express didn’t carry the story early enough; they just didn’t have as much juicy details. And considering the flagrantly obvious modus operandi of the Guardian since Walk Out Wednesday 2013 that involves more governmentt friendly coverage, it intrigued that they had the better story.
But back to the main story. In 2010 it was woman power; remember that? Vaguely?
I do. And ironically, or maybe justifiably, since Kamla’s tenure has done nothing to improve the lot of women, it seems that women are going to be the downfall of her government.
Last week, it was Glenn Ramadharsingh, the Hamper Man, breaching civil aviation rules, threatening a CAL flight attendant and grabbing at her breast in the process of issuing his threats. His excuse; fatigue. Yes Glenn, all tired men, small or grown, does reach out for tot tots.
This week we have an equally lurid scandal downing Sharma.
Sacha Singh, his now ex-girlfriend, forced a confrontation between Sharma and a woman with whom he allegedly had a relationship and a child. The child is now 12-years-old, and the implications are that he has not met his responsibilities where the child is concerned.
(Courtesy Damian Luk Pat)
You have to pause for a moment and understand the shame this must be causing the orthodox Hindu community and UNC supporters. For the orthodox Hindu community, it is knowing that a pundit, indeed, a self-proclaimed Brahmin (imagine in the Caribbean Brahmin and caste are still used), fell from such a great height. Theirs is a community known for publicly espousing strong family values and kin ship ties. Note I said publicly.
For UNC supporters it is something far more base. You see, much of their chatter on their walls centers around attributing particular traits to persons of African descent. In fact, to give you a brief glossary of terms for a UNC wall, PNM is a word that has little to do with a political party and everything to do with race and bigotry.
So it’s not so much PNM policies that are ever discussed, but slurs that are tossed. So on a UNC wall when you see the word ‘PNM’, it’s normally used euphemistically to mean black, criminal, worthless, poor, uneducated, etc.
Editor’s Note: Click HERE to read the conclusion of Rhoda Bharath’s blog on her website, Eternal Pantomime.
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Rhoda Bharath works as a lecturer by day and remains obsessed with politics by night.
Follow her blog here: https://rhoda-bharath-jxtv.squarespace.com/
