Tony Fraser's column "Kumar, Protector of the Indians" (November 27) should have read "Kumar, Builder of Trinidad."Tony Fraser has chosen to label Ranjit Kumar as an Indian leader. He wrote: "He arrived from his native India, discerned the plight of sons and daughters of indentured Indians and determined he had a mission to protect them politically against marginalisation and to assist with the cultural and political self-assertion in Trinidad."
Did Fraser deliberately ignore the many projects that Kumar did to develop the entire T&T?"While Kumar identified with the Indians and their struggles, one cannot ignore the work he accomplished while employed as a civil engineer with the Public Works Department. He was responsible for reclaiming the swamp on the west coast for the expansion of Wrightson Road into the first dual carriageway in the country.
The project, in addition to reclaiming the swamps and mangrove lands, included the construction of drains and bridges to ensure the drainage of water from the east into the Gulf.The major aim of this project was to develop "a deep water wharf so that large ships could berth alongside the sea front rather than miles out at sea."Many doubted Kumar and predicted that the road would collapse. Today the Wrightson Road continues to endure, defying all the cynics and naysayers.
Kumar also worked to alleviate flooding in Laventille, San Juan and Curepe. In the 1960s he was the chief engineer who supervised the construction of the Hilton. He was also the engineer that built the Morvant Housing Estate and expanded the Eastern Main Road between San Juan and Curepe.
It was Kumar who exposed corruption in Parliament in the building of the Caura Dam and influenced the government to stop the project in 1948 and recommended that "the government could acquire more water at cheaper rates and in less time by drilling wells underground."
We cannot forget that he helped organise the taxi drivers' union and made representation in the legislature to ensure that their grievances were not ignored. The membership of the Taxi Divers Association was cosmopolitan and headquartered in Port-of-Spain.During the 1937 labour uprising Kumar served as a volunteer soldier and guarded government buildings and installations.
On more than one occasion he addressed striking workers and brokered peace. He was never afraid to place his life at risk for the greater welfare of the nation.Tony Fraser failed to mention that Kumar served as an elected councillor in the Port-of-Spain Council between 1943 and 1945 and again as an alderman between 1947 and 1956. Port-of-Spain could hardly be described as "Indian," thus demonstrating the national and cross-ethnic appeal of Kumar.
Tony Fraser has ignored the fact that Kumar was the proud father of 15 children–six from his Indian wife who returned to India and nine from his African wife...no better proof that his concern was not limited to Indians.
DH Singh
Chaguanas