Kamla a symbol to Indian women

THE EDITOR: It was 1964 when the greatest of all time, Muhammad Ali, remonstrated Howard Cosell for calling him Cassius Clay when, as he affirmed, that was the name given to him by his slave master and he wanted nothing to do with it, so don't call him that anymore.

While this was in the country most known for civil rights discord, Ali was lampooned by the Caucasian class but hailed and respected worldwide for his decision.

This was a similar posit advanced by the late Malcolm X. He submitted to his kith and kin that to maintain their African name was to remain connected to their heritage, defy slavery of the body, but be liberated in the mind and not lose sight of their identity, even though they were brought into this new land naked and in chains and had to watch their newborns sold out from under them.

Hell on Earth, I tell you.

Fast forward to the Caribbean where this kind of loyalty does not exist, despite great examples.

I highlight our late president, Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson, who was recognised a prince of Nigeria when he visited the country in the late 80s as the NAR prime minister. He was crowned Chief Olokun Igbarao.

But, sadly, when he returned to Trinidad and Tobago, this poor man was humiliated and terrorised by the same PNM that is chasing down Kamla Persad-Bissessar's heritage and appearance. They pilloried and demeaned this son of Tobago, so that when he became president he emphasised the name Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson: no Africanner there.

And this is the cultural paralysis of TT. The minute you have an Indian name there is a problem. The Anglo-Saxon-minded ones can't spell your name or pronounce it. They are ashamed of their names of Kungebeharry, Omatie and Sumintra, because it connects them to their ancestry. So the Camilles and the Keiths and Nobrigas (names belonging to the slave master class of yesteryear) et all try to humiliate you like they do with the Chinese. Everything is a joke for them, starting with your name and then your hair and then your shoes, until it goes too far.

How many people of African descent gave their children African names? For the girls Mpule and for the boys Ayegore or Obika? Few recognise the greatness of Kwesi and Makandal, warriors I tell you in the Masai world. These children would come home crying like many East Indian children who went to school with long Indian names and say, “Mammy, why did you give me such a stupid name?"

This is the primitive, tribal provocation and bullying that Camille Robinson-Regis is conjuring up. They talk about Yoruba, but outside of Emancipation Day none would dare put an African name on their birth paper; they wouldn't dare. They prefer the Anglo-Saxon names given to them: Earl, Llewellyn, Alexander, etc.

And nothing is wrong with that, but if someone maintains a name that has ancestral or religious connotations, please do not take it to the political platform for ridicule and odium, and pull it down like monkeys when they see a yellow sari.

I applaud the Opposition Leader. While the clique of Rabindra, Vasant and Bhoendradatt (all deep-seated Indian names) will try to lampoon her for standing up for her Indianness, they will fail since she is a symbol to Indian women who have struggled and continue to do so.

LINDA CAPILDEO

St James