Recently, our nation said goodbye to one of its most prominent statesmen. Regional leaders, Members of Parliament, businessmen, schoolchildren and citizens from all walks of life came to pay their last respects to a man who helped shape the Republic of T&T as we know it.
However, to my dismay a few days after, a religious leader took to the airwaves to accuse the former prime minister of being "racist" and of implementing discriminatory policies.
As someone who has built a career in the public service, I have had cause to refrain from engaging in public debate on issues of national interest. This one, however, involves the legacy and good name of a man who I knew and respected, and I feel obligated to respond.
I worked with Mr Manning from 1991-1995 and then from 2002-2010. During those years, he carried the portfolios of prime minister and then minister of finance, and I was given the opportunity to see him interact with people from various backgrounds and callings. Not only was he always a gentleman but he never discriminated against someone on the basis of their ethnicity.
Neither were our interactions confined to the office. We met socially on many occasions and I accompanied him on several official trips overseas. Each of those instances cemented my view of Mr Manning as a true patriot who believed in equity and practiced fair treatment.
Throughout our many interactions, Mr Manning treated me as more than just a technocrat at the Ministry of Finance and almost like a member of his family. We shared jokes and life stories, and discussed his appreciation for the music of "Pal" Joey Lewis and the Dutchy Brothers. Those conversations served to deepen my respect for Mr Manning and not once in my interactions with him did he display any racist tendencies or discriminate against me because of my ethnicity.
In fact, it was under his stewardship that I was appointed, first to the post of deputy permanent secretary, and subsequently to that of permanent secretary.
It is then to my amazement that I read of a religious leader claiming that the former prime minister sought to disenfranchise a particular group within our country. And to support his argument, he cited the closure of the Caroni 1975 Ltd. I, however, share the view of many right-thinking citizens that the decision to dismantle that state company was a purely economic one, since it was haemorrhaging tax-payers' money at an alarming rate.
Mr Manning's political career of more than 40 years made a great and lasting impact on me as an individual and on this nation. Healthy and objective criticism of his legacy is not only welcome but necessary, as it should be in a well-functioning democracy. This does not, however, mean that his legacy can be used for target practice by those who wish to further their own divisive agendas.
By the way, I distinctly remember hearing a live performance of the East Indian classic Suhani Raat by the "Christian band" Divine Echoes at Queen's Hall. Google it.
Vishnu Dhanpaul
Via email