Ramu by Moses Bhagwan

DESCRIPTION
Moses Bhagwan wrote "Ramu," a moving tribute to an archetypal figure in Guiana's history, the sugar cane cutter carrying his cutlass home from the fields, in 1964. At the time, Bhagwan was a political prisoner in a detention camp run by British colonial authorities. He wrote the poem, another one dedicated to his wife, and another invoking freedom in a notebook given to him by his sister. The notebook provided an expressive outlet during his months in detention. Bhagwan was a leader in the youth arm (the People's Youth Organization) of the People's Progressive Party (PPP), which started life as a multiracial socialist party but became closely identified with Indian communities in Guyana. Later, he joined the Working People's Alliance, a multiracial third party dedicated to ending ethnic polarization in Guyana and to resisting the dictatorship of Forbes Burnham.

THEMES
Arts

AUDIO
Duration: 00:02:51

ADDITIONAL METADATA
Date: 2020
Subject(s): The Things We Carried
Type: Audio
Source: Archival Creators Fellowship Program
Creator: Moses Bhagwan
Location: Long Island, New York

PROVENANCE
Collection: Gaiutra Bahadur Fellowship Project
Item History: 2020-10-22 (created); 2020-10-22 (modified)

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