Caribean Leaders

Robert Bradshaw

Robert Bradshaw is considered to be one of his nations first heroes. Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw was born at St. Paul's Village, St. Kitts on the 16th September 1916. His parents were Mary Jane Francis and William Bradshaw. He attended the St. Paul's Primary School .

His first job was as an apprentice in the machine shop of the St. Kilts Sugar factory in 1932. Later he was one of the hundreds of workers who staged a walk out from the sugar factory following a wage dispute with management.

When he and several other workers formed the St. Kitts Ð'- Nevis Trades and Labor Union and Mr. Bradshaw became a member of the original Executive Committee. In 1945, he helped to establish the Caribbean Congress of Labor and was elected its first Assistant Secretary. Mr. Bradshaw was appointed Minister of Trade & Production in 1956.

In 1958, he was elected to the legislature of the new West Indies Federation and became the Federation's Minister of Finance. When the Federation was dissolved in 1962, he returned home and reoccupied a seat in the local legislature. After the general elections in July 1966, he was sworn in as Chief Minister. On the 27th February 1967, he became the first Premier of the Associated State of St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla.

In January 1975, Premier Bradshaw's government took possession, by law, of all the estate lands in St. Kitts and in December 1976, his government successfully negotiated the take-over of the St. Kitts Sugar Factory.

Premier Bradshaw had always been an advocate of independence for the state of St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla. When his Labor Party won all of the seats in St. Kitts in December 1975, he conducted independence talks with the United Kingdom Government in London in 1976 and 1977. Premier Bradshaw died on the 23rd May 1978.

Cheddi Jagan

Cheddi Jagan was first Premier of Guyana. Jagan was born on March 22, 1918 on a sugar plantation in British Guiana where his father served as a foreman of the work crew. His grandparents came from India as indentured laborers. He attended high school in Georgetown, he the went on to study pre-med at Howard University. He later graduated from the Northwestern University Dental School in Chicago. He married Janet Rosenberg a student nurse.

When he went back to British Guiana, Jagan divided his time between a dental practice and organizing labor groups. He was soon the leader of the sugar, rice, and woodworkers' unions. In 1947 Jagan was elected to the assembly. Three years later he created the People's Progressive Party and became the Minister of Agriculture, Lands, and Mines, as well as the leader of the House of Assembly, in the colony's first democratically elected government in 1953. The rising power of Jagan caught the attention of English Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who was afraid of Jagan potential for leading a Communist revolt in the colony and sent troops and warships to kill him.

Jagan tried to incite dissent with peaceful rebellions. He was imprisoned for six months for allegedly not obeying an order limiting his movements to Georgetown, but then he was re-elected leader of the People's Progressive Party in 1955. His party came to power again in 1957 and Jagan was named Minister of Trade and Industry. Then 4 years later he became Guyana's first prime minister. His former ally Forbes Burnham became Prime Minister in 1964, and Japan remained leader of the opposition until 1992, when Jagan winning over 50% of the vote became president. Jagan died on March 6, 1997 and his wife Janet led the country 3 years after his death.

What is Islam?

Islam is one of the three major world religions, along with Judaism and Christianity that belief in a single God. In the Arabic language, the word Islam means "surrender" or "submission"Ð'--submission to the will of God. The followers of Islam are called Muslims which means "one who surrenders to God." The Arabic name for God is Allah. Islam's central teaching is that there is only one all-powerful, all-knowing God, and this God created the universe. The Islamic teaching that all Muslims are equal before God provides the basis for a collective sense of loyalty to God that transcends class, race, nationality, and even differences in religious practice. Muslims belong to one community, called the umma.

Since the 7th century when it was founded , Islam spread from its original home in Arabia into Syria, Egypt, North Africa, and Spain to the west, and into Persia, India, and, by the end of the 10th century, beyond to the east. Islam also spread into Anatolia and the Balkans to the north, and sub-Saharan Africa to the south. The Muslim community comprises about 1 billion followers on all five continents, and Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world. The most populous Muslim country is Indonesia, followed by Pakistan and Bangladesh. Beyond the Middle East, large numbers of Muslims live in India, Nigeria, the former republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and China.

One of the reasons for the growth of the Muslim community has been its openness to new members. Children born to Muslim parents are automatically considered Muslim. At any time, a non-Muslim can convert to Islam by declaring himself or herself to be a Muslim. A person's declaration of faith is sufficient evidence of conversion to Islam and need not be confirmed by others or by religious authorities.

What is Hinduism ?

Hinduism is a religious tradition of Indian origin, comprising the beliefs and practices of Hindus. The word Hindu comes from the river Sindhu, or Indus. Hindu was basically a geographical term that referred to India or to a region of India . The word Hinduism is an English word that describes the beliefs and practices of those residents of India who had not converted to Islam or Christianity and did not practice Judaism or Zoroastrianism.

In most religions, beliefs and practices come first, and those who subscribe to them are acknowledged as followers. With the Hindu tradition it was the exact opposite, the acknowledgment of Hindus came first, and their beliefs and practices make up the contents of the religion.

Hindus use the term sanātana dharma for their religious tradition. Sanātana dharma is often translated into English as "eternal tradition" or "eternal religion". Dharma has many meanings in Sanskrit, the sacred language of Hindu scripture, including "moral order," "duty," and "right action."

The Hindu religion encourages Hindus to seek spiritual