00:00Former independent senator Suniti Maharaj says what particularly hurt people was the suggestion that life was better under British rule,
00:11calling that an erroneous assessment given the documented realities endured by both Africans and Indians at that time.
00:19You have that history, but what do you do with that history today? Do you perpetuate the divisions of the
00:29colonial period that the British were the architects of?
00:34Or do you say we all share a history of marginalization, dehumanization, but look at us today. Look how we
00:50live. We have jumped over the cousin of divisions that we weren't even allowed to even get together. Look at
01:02us today.
01:02However, Maharaj says, the Prime Minister's own journey from where she is today is a story of triumph. And that
01:11is where the focus should be.
01:13Maharaj tells the TV6 Morning Edition the country cannot remain anchored to the wounds of its past. She believes that
01:21is a disservice to those who came before.
01:23I think it is such a disservice to all the people who have contributed to the building and development, including
01:32our own grandparents, right?
01:34The people who took it but protected the children, made sure they had something, whether it was salt and rice.
01:42Instead, she argues that independence demands a more forward-looking vision for the nation.
01:48People didn't know what to say. They did not know how to respond to this thing that essentially that your
01:53independence is worth nothing.
01:55They did not. If you say that the colonial times are better and we have done nothing, she cannot only
02:02be talking about the PNM.
02:03She may say the PNM, but all of us who believe that we are trying to build a nation and
02:09that 1962, you know, is something to celebrate.
02:14And yes, nations have moments when they are falling back, they become a bit degenerate.
02:21But you move on, you keep pushing on through the hard times to come out where the light is.
02:29Further, the former independent senator tells the Morning Edition the conversation must also confront the growing economic gulf and a
02:38culture of consumption that leaves many struggling to keep pace.
02:42The professional class is the class that is betraying us most. They're chasing consumers. The hard work of previous generations
02:52to get us where we are, we have just turned it into an orgy of consumption.
02:59Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
