By Baytoram Ramharack

As a second generation Indian in Guyana, born about 50 years after the commencement of the period of indentureship, and whose parents were of Indian and Nepalese origin, Jung Bahadur Singh was a Guyanese pioneer in many ways.

JB Sing was a prominent leader of the Hindu community and a trusted self-appointed mediator who assisted sugar workers in their disputes with management. He was one of few early Indian medical doctors in Guyana, and, as a ship doctor, he made numerous trips accompanying Indian immigrants who were leaving India to be taken to the colonies, as well as Indians who were returning to India.

JB Singh’s contributions towards nation-building in Guyana was unmatched by many of his contemporary peers. Elected seven times as the President of the British Guiana East Indian Association (BGEIA), JB Singh relentlessly advocated for universal adult suffrage.

Kumar Mahabir

is a full-time anthropologist at the University of Guyana (UG) and Fellow of The Eccles Centre for American Studies, British Library (2022-23). He is a former Assistant Professor at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT). He obtained his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Florida (UF). As a doctoral student, he won a Florida Caribbean Institute Award, an A. Curtis Wilgus Grant, and an Organization of American States (OAS) Fellowship.
Mahabir received a National Award (Hummingbird Silver Medal) for his contribution to education in his country in 2011. He was among 50 recipients who received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the UWI Alumni Association.
Mahabir is the author of 12 books to date.

Jung Bahadur Singh of Guyana (1886 – 1956): Politician, ship doctor, labour leader and protector of Indians

By Baytoram Ramharack

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