National Assembly of the Parliament of Guyana rebuts makes the request for a Hindi Opening Prayer

BY PAUL JUNOR

Guyana is known as the only Caribbean country that is not an island in the West Indies. The UN estimates that it has a current population of about 811,119 as of July 1^st, 2023.It is projected to increase to 813,834. About 44% of the population is Indo-Guyanese or East-Indians, 30% Afro-Guyanese, and 9% is of mixed heritage.

Guyana is currently governed by The National Assembly, which is based on a system of proportional representation and has about 65 members elected to it. Mohammed Irfan Ali serves as the president of Guyana and is the head of state, head of government of Guyana as well as the commander-in-chief. Mark Anthony Phillip, the Prime Minister was elected on August 2^nd, 2020. The president along with the 65 elected members makes up the Parliament of Guyana, which came into being in 1966 and is part of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana.

As a multicultural and multiracial country, there has been a high degree of: tolerance, inclusion, balance, and representation since the establishment of Parliament. There have also been concerns regarding the recent action by the National Assembly of the Parliament of Guyana, which turned down a request that a Hindi opening prayer be included in an opening session.

Hindi statesman Rajan Zed who asked that he be scheduled to read the opening prayer made the request. He received a response from Delsym West, Assembly Assistant in an email that stated, “We have a religion-neutral policy, and the Speaker is not in favour of departing from this norm.” It continues, “We have a universal prayer that is read in the Parliament at every sitting, and this way has been the norm for decades.” At present, this prayer is read by Sherlock Isaacs who serves as clerk of the National Assembly.

In a letter by Rajan Zed (President of the Universal Society of Hinduism to Manzoor Nadir, Speaker of the Assembly) he stated that he feels that it is a case of: unfairness, discrimination, favouritism and does not speak well of a democratic society.

Zed believes in the enforcement of the” universal prayer.” promotes the appearance that it is biased toward one religion and does not contain the elements of all religions observed in Guyana. Zed notes that it is an opportune time for the Guyana National Assembly to adopt multi-faith opening prayers. This would ensure that Guyanese of all religious, denominational, and faith traditions are recognized. This recognition could involve a rotation of prayers that respects all faith and religious communities, especially for those from major religions as well as those of Indigenous, folk spirituality, and those who have no religious affiliations,

The contributions of followers of the major religions, including the minority ones and non-believers to Guyana’s development, are widely acknowledged. It is important that they are able to get representation in the Assembly prayer. It is important that no one religious group be given preferential treatment or perceived to be exercising undue influence.

As a practicing Hindu, Zed has had opportunities to open for the United States Senate and the US House of Representatives with Hindu prayers. For Zed, the fact that Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world, and one of the oldest with approximately 1.2 billion followers contributes to its worldwide significance.

Zed is firm that the Guyana National Assembly should provide opportunities for Hindu prayers to be read. This would show that there is: inclusion, diversity and equity.