Clem Seecharan (born 1950) [1] is an Anthropogist and a Caribbean Historian. He was born in Guyana and has been based in England since 1986. [2] [3]
Seecharan grew up in East Berbice-Corentyne, and attended the Sheet Anchor Anglican School, the Berbice Educational Institute, and Queen's College in Guyana. [4] [5] He studied at McMaster University in Canada, and taught Caribbean Studies at the University of Guyana for some years, before completing his doctorate in Philosophy at the University of Warwick in 1990. [5] He joined the staff of the University of North London (now a part of London Metropolitan University), where he was head of Caribbean studies between 1993 and 2012, and was awarded a professorship in 2002. [3] [6] He is formally retired, having last taught on the Caribbean Studies programme at London Metropolitan University. [2]
Seecheran continues educational and advocacy work informally, as in his recent contribution to a discussion on the legacy of former Guyanese Marxist leader Cheddi Jagan, hosted by the Guyanese High Commission in London on March 28, 2018.
A distinguished Caribbean historian, Seecharan is the author of publications that include Indo-West Indian Cricket (with Frank Birbalsingh; Hansib, 1988), India and the Shaping of the Indo-Guyanese Imagination: 1890-1920 (Peepal Tree Press, 1993) and Indians in British Guiana 1919-1929 (Macmillan Publishers). [1] In 2005 his biography of Jock Campbell, Sweetening Bitter Sugar: Jock Campbell, the Booker Reformer in British Guiana 1934-1966 was published (Ian Randle Publishers, Jamaica) and won the Elsa Gouveia Prize from the Association of Caribbean Historians, their citation describing it as "an extraordinarily impressive book of signal importance in Caribbean history and historiography." [2] Muscular Learning: Cricket and Education in the Making of the British West Indies at the End of the 19th Century, was published in 2006 (Ian Randle Publishers).
In 2018, Seecharan launched the second volume of the history of cricket in Guyana, covering the years 1898–1914. [7] [8] He wrote a biography of the Guyanese Test cricketer Joe Solomon in 2022, Joe Solomon and the Spirit of Port Mourant. [9]
Seecharan received an honorary doctorate from the University of the West Indies (UWI) in 2017. [10] He delivered the 2014 Republic of Guyana Distinguished Lecture. [1]
Cheddi Berret Jagan was a Guyanese politician and dentist who was first elected Chief Minister in 1953 and later Premier of British Guiana from 1961 to 1964. He later served as President of Guyana from 1992 to his death in 1997. In 1953, he became the first Hindu and person of Indian descent to be a head of government outside of the Indian subcontinent.
Mahendra Veeren Nagamootoo is a former cricketer for Guyana and the West Indies and of Tamil Indo-Guyanese ethnicity.
Indo-Guyanese or Indian-Guyanese, are Guyanese nationals of Indian origin who trace their ancestry to India and the wider subcontinent. They are the descendants of indentured servants and settlers who migrated from India beginning in 1838, and continuing during the British Raj.
Guyanese literature covers works including novels, poetry, plays and others written by people born or strongly-affiliated with Guyana. Formerly British Guiana, British language and style has an enduring impact on the writings from Guyana, which are done in English language and utilizing Guyanese Creole. Emigration has contributed to a large body of work relating the Guyanese diaspora experience.
The University of Guyana, in Georgetown, Guyana, is Guyana's national higher education institution. It was established in April 1963 with the following Mission: "To discover, generate, disseminate, and apply knowledge of the highest standard for the service of the community, the nation, and of all mankind within an atmosphere of academic freedom that allows for free and critical enquiry."
Joseph Stanislaus Solomon was a Guyanese cricketer who played 27 Test matches for the West Indies from 1958 to 1965, scoring 1,326 runs, mainly from number six and seven in the batting line-up. He also bowled occasional leg-breaks but was best known as a brilliant fieldsman. He was best remembered for his role in the famous Tied Test match between the West Indies and Australia in 1960 at the Gabba, where he was involved in two direct hit runout dismissals.
Ian McDonald is a Caribbean-born poet and writer who describes himself as "Antiguan by ancestry, Trinidadian by birth, Guyanese by adoption, and West Indian by conviction." His ancestry on his father's side is Antiguan and Kittitian, and Trinidadian on his mother’s side. His only novel, The Humming-Bird Tree, first published in 1969, is considered a classic of Caribbean literature.
David Dabydeen FRSL is a Guyanese-born broadcaster, novelist, poet and academic. He was formerly Guyana's Ambassador to UNESCO from 1997 to 2010, and was the youngest Member of the UNESCO Executive Board (1993–1997), elected by the General Council of all Member States of UNESCO. He was appointed Guyana's Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinaire to China, from 2010 to 2015. He is one of the longest serving diplomats in the history of Guyana, most of his work done in a voluntary unpaid capacity.
Moses Veerasammy Nagamootoo is a Guyanese politician, writer and novelist who served as the Prime Minister of Guyana under former President David A. Granger from May 2015 to August 2020.
Peter "Lauchmonen" Kempadoo was a writer and broadcaster from Guyana. He also worked as a development worker in the Caribbean, Africa and Asia. He moved in 1953 to the UK, where he built a career in print journalism as well as radio and television broadcasting, and published two novels, Guiana Boy in 1960 — the first novel by a Guyanese of Indian descent — and Old Thom's Harvest in 1965, before returning to Guyana in 1970. He died in London, aged 92.
Michael Arthur Gilkes was a Caribbean literary critic, dramatist, poet, filmmaker and university lecturer. He was involved in theatre for more than 40 years, as a director, actor and playwright, winning the Guyana Prize for Drama in 1992 and 2006, as well as the Guyana Prize for Best Book of Poetry in 2002. He was also respected for his insight into and writings on the work of Wilson Harris.
Ryhaan Shah is an Indo-Guyanese writer born in Berbice, Guyana. She is active in Guyanese public life as the President of the Guyanese Indian Heritage Association (GIHA).
Port Mourant is a town on the Atlantic coast in East Berbice-Corentyne, Guyana. It is the birthplace of the late president Cheddi Jagan as well as many of Guyana's most famous cricketers. Port Mourant was originally a sugar estate. Many residents are self-employed, but the sugar industry continues to be a source of employment.
Albion is a village in East Berbice-Corentyne, Guyana.
Jonathan Alexander Foo is a Guyanese cricketer. An all-rounder, Foo is a leg spin bowler and lower order batsman for Guyana who made his national debut in the 2010 Caribbean Twenty20. He played a leading role in the final of that tournament, scoring 42 runs from 17 balls to help Guyana to victory over Barbados.
George Simon was a Guyanese Lokono Arawak artist and archaeologist. He was the founder and mentor of the Lokono Artists Group, a group of Lokono artists from Guyana, based primarily in his hometown of St. Cuthbert's Mission. Simon was widely regarded as one of the leading Guyanese artists of his generation, and his paintings are notable for their explorations of Amerindian culture and the Guyanese environment. He was also recognized for his achievements as an educator, his efforts to develop opportunities for Amerindian artists in Guyana, and for his work as an archaeologist.
National Communications Network (NCN) is a national, state-owned television and radio broadcasting corporation in Guyana. It was formed in 2004 through the merger of the government radio service, Guyana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), and the government-run television service, GTV. NCN's studios are situated on Homestretch Avenue in Georgetown.
Beni Gopaul Sankar is a Guyanese businessman and former cricketer. He captained Essequibo in its only first-class match, in the final of the 1980–81 inter-county Jones Cup.
Valerie Muriel Rodway was a Guyanese composer of cultural and patriotic songs, inspired by the events leading up to Guyana's independence in 1966. She is best known for composing music to accompany Guyana national poetry, like Arise, Guyana, Kanaïma, and the Martin Carter's Guyanese Independence poem Let Freedom Awaken. For the next two decades, school children were taught the songs she and others composed to inspire patriotism and cultural affinity. She selected the poetry for her compositions based upon her principles and values, first developed among her parents and siblings.