Tag Archives: Eric Williams

The following is the tenth column in a NJAC series on their contribution to Trinidad and Tobago society after the ‘Black Power Revolution’ of 1970: Reflecting on the 1970 mass people’s movement in Tobago brings to mind Lord Nelson’s calypso All Ah We Is One Family. Tobago’s entry into the …

“[…] Ownership of our economy was still dominated primarily by foreigners, supported by, a local predominantly white elite. Under NJAC’s leadership, however, people were moving for true independence, which could only be achieved through ownership and control of the economy. “The new slogan was: ‘We do not want crumbs, We …

“[…] From the moment the chief servant [Makandal Daaga] announced the ‘March to Caroni’, it sent shock waves through the corridors of power. This march challenged one of the pillars of domination, control and oppression of our people, which was laid down by our past colonial ‘masters’—the creation and maintenance …

“[…] Gene Miles’ evidence before Karl De La Bastide-led commission of enquiry exposed corruption in very high places. The one-man commissioner, Karl De La Bastide, recommended that all evidence recorded at the enquiry ‘should be, without delay, transmitted to the Public Service Commission’ to enable enforcing of ‘Disciplinary Laws of …

“[…] The phrase ‘recalcitrant minority’ is one such case, particularly as it relates to Trinbagonian politics. Often labelled as a discriminatory and hateful phrase by sections of our society, research on the word recalcitrant reveals that the word itself has no sinister connotation. “How then did such a phrase become …

The letter ‘When would real equality come?’ by Anand Beharrylal, QC—carried in the Express Monday 15  June edition—reminds me of an Aaron Levenstein quote: “Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.” His comments were suggestive but do not provide a full picture …

Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF head, in a conversation with the Washington Post last week described the economic situation brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic as a ‘crisis like no other’. For her, the impending crisis was a  ‘great reversal’ that was wrought with much uncertainty. She foresaw significant job losses …

“Every politician who has tasted power, and many who counted for little, has gone to war with the media. If they didn’t, that would signal that journalists were not doing their jobs, that they were too busy prostrating to power to do their duty to country.” Raffique Shah, 30 March …

“Attributing the Opposition’s awful stance on the Venezuela question to them being Indian is race-baiting, plain and simple. In the Caribbean, colluding and conspiring with foreign powers are hardly the sole preserve of Indians. “[…] Consider again the case of the late Prime Minister of Dominica, Eugenia Charles, who made …

I couldn’t resist beginning by paraphrasing from calypsonian Bally’s 1987 masterpiece ‘It’s party time again’: five years nearly done, so let’s ramajay… if you see ram goat, join the bacchanal, just to get your vote. I intended to sit this one out, but for the statement by US Ambassador Joseph …

The following column was written by Raffique Shah on 9 June 2000: IN 1970, I was the only Indian officer in the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment. I was also the youngest officer, having graduated from Sandhurst in July 1966, some four months after I had turned 20. When I returned …

In August 1962, the first Common Entrance group entered secondary schools and heard Prime Minister Dr Eric Williams say: “… you carry the future of Trinidad and Tobago in your school bag.” At QRC, there was a boy from Rio Claro, another from Princes Town (now president of the Old …