Basdeo Panday
{{Short description|Trinidadian politician (1933–2024)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = The Honourable
| image = Basdeo Panday with Mikko Pyhälä (Ambassador of Finland) (cropped).jpg
| imagesize =
| name = Basdeo Panday
| native_name = {{nobold|बसदेव पाण्डे}}
| honorific-suffix =
| caption = Panday in 2008
| office = 5th Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago
| term_start = 9 November 1995
| term_end = 24 December 2001
| president = Noor Mohamed Hassanali
A. N. R. Robinson
| predecessor = Patrick Manning
| successor = Patrick Manning
{{collapsed infobox section begin
| cont = yes
| Senior political offices
| titlestyle = border:1px dashed lightgrey;
}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| embed = yes
| office2 = 4th Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago
| term_start2 = 17 December 2007
| term_end2 = 24 February 2010
| predecessor2 = Kamla Persad-Bissessar
| successor2 = Kamla Persad-Bissessar
| primeminister2 = Patrick Manning
| term_start3 = 17 October 2002
| term_end3 = 23 April 2006
| predecessor3 = Patrick Manning
| successor3 = Kamla Persad-Bissessar
| primeminister3 = Patrick Manning
| term_start4 = 10 September 1990
| term_end4 = 8 November 1995
| predecessor4 = Patrick Manning
| successor4 = Patrick Manning
| primeminister4 = A. N. R. Robinson
Patrick Manning
| term_start5 = 24 September 1976
| term_end5 = 29 October 1986
| predecessor5 = Raffique Shah
| successor5 = Patrick Manning
| primeminister5 = George Chambers
Eric Williams
| office6 = 1st and 3rd Political Leader of the United National Congress
| term_start6 = 10 September 2006
| term_end6 = 24 January 2010
| predecessor6 = Winston Dookeran
| successor6 = Kamla Persad-Bissessar
| term_start7 = 16 October 1988
| term_end7 = 2 October 2005
| predecessor7 = Inaugural holder
| successor7 = Winston Dookeran
}}
{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
{{collapsed infobox section begin
| cont = yes
| Ministerial offices
| titlestyle = border:1px dashed lightgrey;
}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| embed = yes
| office = 9th Minister of Foreign Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago
| primeminister = A. N. R. Robinson
| term_start = 12 January 1987
| term_end = 8 February 1988
| predecessor = Errol Mahabir
| successor = Sahadeo Basdeo
| office1 = Minister of National Security of Trinidad and Tobago
| primeminister1 = Basdeo Panday
| term_start1 = 25 January 2001
| term_end1 = 24 December 2001
| predecessor1 = Joseph Theodore
| successor1 = Howard Chin Lee
}}
{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
{{collapsed infobox section begin
| cont = yes
| Parliamentary offices
| titlestyle = border:1px dashed lightgrey;
}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| embed = yes
| constituency_MP = Couva North
| term_start = 13 September 1976
| term_end = 24 May 2010
| predecessor = Constituency Created
| successor = Ramona Ramdial
| office1 = Opposition Member of the Senate of Trinidad and Tobago
| term_start1 = 15 Sep 1972
| term_end1 = 19 Jun 1976
}}
{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1933|05|25}}
| birth_place = Coonook, St. Julien, Princes Town, Trinidad and Tobago
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|2024|01|01|1933|05|25}}
| death_place = Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
| otherparty = {{plainlist|
- CLUB '88 (1988–1989)
- National Alliance for Reconstruction (1986–1988)
- {{no wrap|United Labour Front (1975–1986)}}
- Workers and Farmers Party (1965–1966)
- Democratic Labour Party (1957–1965; 1966–1976)}}
| party = United National Congress (from 1989; nominally)
Patriotic Front (from 2020)
| alma_mater = {{plainlist|
| education = Presentation College, San Fernando
| spouse = Norma Mohammed (died 1981)
Oma Ramkissoon
| occupation = {{hlist|Politician|lawyer|actor|economist}}
| relatives = Subhas Panday (brother)
Sam Boodram (brother-in-law)
| signature =
| website =
| footnotes =
| awards = Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (2005)
| relations =
| children = 4, including Mickela
}}
Basdeo Panday ({{IPA|hi|bɑːsəd̪eːoː pɑːⁿɖeː|pron}}; 25 May 1933 – 1 January 2024) was a Trinidadian and Tobagonian statesman, lawyer, politician, trade unionist, economist, and actor who served as the fifth Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago from 1995 to 2001. He was the first person of Indian descent along with being the first Hindu to hold the office of Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago.{{Cite news|date=26 December 2001|title=Trinidad's Hindu Prime Minister Out|work=Hindu Press International|url=https://www.hinduismtoday.com/hpi/2001/12/26/2001-12-26-trinidad-s-hindu-prime-minister-out/|url-status=live|access-date=3 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206235258/https://www.hinduismtoday.com/hpi/2001/12/26/2001-12-26-trinidad-s-hindu-prime-minister-out/|archive-date=6 December 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/tttliveonline/videos/2285314655119964/|website = facebook.com | title = Facebook|access-date=4 January 2022}}Wikipedia:SPS He was first elected to Parliament in 1976 as the Member for Couva North, Panday served as Leader of the Opposition four times between 1976 and 2010 and was a founding member of the United Labour Front (ULF), the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR), and the United National Congress (UNC). He served as leader of the ULF and UNC, and was President General of the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers' Trade Union from 1973 to 1995.
He was the chairman and party leader of the United National Congress. In 2006, Panday was convicted of failing to declare a bank account in London and imprisoned; however, on 20 March 2007, that conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal. On 1 May he decided to resign as chairman of the United National Congress, but the party's executive refused to accept his resignation. He lost the party's internal elections on 24 January 2010, to deputy leader and future prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
In 2005, he was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs.
Early life
Basdeo Panday was born on 25 May 1933, in the neighborhood of Coonook in St. Julien Village, Princes Town, Trinidad and Tobago into an Indo-Trinidadian family to Kissoondaye and Harry "Chote" Sookchand Panday.{{cite web|title=Basdeo Panday|url=http://www.ttparliament.org/members.php?mid=26&pid=5&id=BPA01|work=Members of Past Parliaments|publisher=Parliament of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago|access-date=29 April 2014|archive-date=29 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429194147/http://www.ttparliament.org/members.php?mid=26&pid=5&id=BPA01|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,248549.html|title=I am no Indian PM|date=3 September 2017|work=Trinidad and Tobago Newsday|access-date=3 September 2017|archive-date=4 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904112248/http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,248549.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://basdeopandayfoundation.blogspot.com/p/who-is-basdeo-panday.html?m=1|title=The Basdeo Panday Foundation: Who is Basdeo Panday ?|access-date=4 June 2018|archive-date=20 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420031516/http://basdeopandayfoundation.blogspot.com/p/who-is-basdeo-panday.html?m=1|url-status=live}} He was the oldest of five children born to his parents and, through his father, he had two elder half-sisters and one younger half-sister.{{cite web | url=https://trinidadexpress.com/news/local/basdeo-panday-in-his-own-words/article_f6df0668-ad09-11ee-a376-3337ad00bce9.html | title=Basdeo Panday: In his own words | date=7 January 2024 }} His parents and grandparents were immigrants from British India who immigrated to Trinidad as indentured labourers under the Indian indenture system.{{cite web | url=https://archives.newsday.co.tt/2010/02/28/pandays-last-dance/ | title=Panday's last dance | date=28 February 2010 }} His maternal grandparents were from Lakhmanpur, a farming village of the Azamgarh district in the Bhojpur region of the present-day state of Uttar Pradesh in the Hindi Belt of North India, which he visited on a state trip to India in 1997 and met with extended members of his family and donated INR₹1.5 million to help develop the village.{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hDMVEZEIpE | title=Basdeo Pandey interview with Saeed Naqvi in 1997 | Rare interview of Basdeo Pandey | website=YouTube | date=27 June 2018 }}{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A-ASYIjzdEkC&dq=basdeo+panday+azamgarh&pg=PA129 | title=Callaloo Nation: Metaphors of Race and Religious Identity among South Asians in Trinidad | isbn=0-8223-8609-7 | last1=Khan | first1=Aisha | date=11 October 2004 | publisher=Duke University Press }}{{Cite web | url=https://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=4861 | title=Hinduism Today Magazine | access-date=2 June 2018 | archive-date=25 July 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725203558/https://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=4861 | url-status=live }}{{Cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2012-05-26/tracing-roots-india|title=Tracing roots to India|date=27 May 2012|website=The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper|access-date=13 August 2017|archive-date=12 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712003848/http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2012-05-26/tracing-roots-india|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2016-09-14/%E2%80%98race-our-biggest-issue%E2%80%99|title=Race our biggest issue|last=Ali|first=Shereen|date=15 September 2016|work=The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper|access-date=12 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916191648/http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2016-09-14/%E2%80%98race-our-biggest-issue%E2%80%99|archive-date=16 September 2016|url-status=dead}} He attended New Grant Government School and
St. Julien Presbyterian School.{{Cite web |url=http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2018-05-08/st-julien-presbyterian-past-pupils-give-back |title=St Julien Presbyterian Past pupils give back | the Trinidad Guardian Newspaper |access-date=4 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509170234/http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2018-05-08/st-julien-presbyterian-past-pupils-give-back |archive-date=9 May 2018 |url-status=dead }} He was later enrolled in Presentation College, San Fernando with help from his father's uncle Joseph Hardath Dube.{{Cite web| url=http://archives.newsday.co.tt/2007/09/09/presentation-and-saghs-top-the-list/| title=Presentation and SAGHS top the list| date=9 September 2007| access-date=4 June 2018| archive-date=27 May 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180527225127/http://archives.newsday.co.tt/2007/09/09/presentation-and-saghs-top-the-list/| url-status=live}} He later worked as a sugarcane weigher at the Williamsville Estate near Princes Town for one crop season in 1951. He then worked as a primary school teacher at Seereram Memorial Vedic School in Montrose, Chaguanas, and at St. Clement Vedic School at the St. Clement Junction in St. Madeleine. He was also a civil servant at the San Fernando Magistrate's Court where he took notes for Magistrate Churchill Johnson, Magistrate Errol Roopnarine, and Magistrate Noor Mohamed Hassanali, who would go on to be the President of Trinidad and Tobago during Panday's term as prime minister.
In 1957, Panday left Trinidad and Tobago to go to the United Kingdom to further his education. He obtained a diploma in drama from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1960 and a degree in law in 1962 from Inns of Court School of Law where he was a member of Lincoln's Inn and was subsequently called to the bar. He also received a Bachelor of Science from the University of London as an external student in 1965, majoring in economics and minoring in political science. While in the United Kingdom, Panday worked as a laborer on a building site, a clerk at the London County Council, and an electrician to support himself through university. He also appeared in several acting roles, including Nine Hours to Rama (1963), The Winston Affair (1964), and The Brigand of Kandahar (1965).{{cite web | url=https://tt.loopnews.com/content/basdeo-panday-actor-689148 | title=Basdeo Panday, the actor | Loop Trinidad & Tobago }}{{Cite news|url=http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,38808.html|title=Panday among Indian actors on big screen|last=Persad|first=Seeta|date=8 June 2006|work=Trinidad and Tobago Newsday|access-date=12 August 2017|archive-date=13 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813111248/http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,38808.html|url-status=live}} In 1965, he was awarded a Commonwealth scholarship to go to the Delhi School of Economics in India to pursue a post-graduate degree in economics and political science; however, he turned down the offer and returned to Trinidad and Tobago in 1965 to practice law because of family commitments and the changing political situation in the newly independent Trinidad and Tobago.
Political career
= Early years =
Panday's political career began in 1965, when he joined the Workers and Farmers Party and made an unsuccessful run for Parliament. In 1972, he was appointed as an opposition senator for the Democratic Labour Party.{{cite web|url=http://www.ttparliament.org/members.php?mid=26&pid=22&id=BPA01|website=ttparliament.org|title=Trinidad and Tobago Parliament|access-date=4 January 2022}} The following year he was recruited to the All Trinidad Sugar Estates and Factory Workers Union. He staged an internal coup, becoming the union's President General and under him the union expanded to workers from a variety of industries and became the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers' Trade Union.{{Cite book|title=The politics of labour and development in Trinidad|last=Kiely|first=Ray|publisher=The University of the West Indies Press|year=1996|isbn=978-9766400170|location=Barbados|pages=135, 149|oclc=34898626}}
On 8 February 1975, amidst the backdrop of labour struggles, Panday met with fellow union leaders George Weekes and Raffique Shah. Together, they founded the United Labour Front.{{Cite book|title=Trinidad and Tobago : democracy and development in the Caribbean|last=MacDonald|first=Scott B.|publisher=Praeger|year=1986|isbn=9780275920043|location=New York|oclc=13270347}} All three were arrested on 18 March during an attempted march from San Fernando to Port of Spain, but were found not guilty on 22 April "on the charge of leading a public march without permission".{{Cite book|title=The legacy of Eric Williams : into the postcolonial moment|others=Shields, Tanya L., 1970-|isbn=978-1626746947|location=Jackson|oclc=899267544|last1 = Shields|first1 = Tanya L.|date=2 June 2015}}
Panday won the Couva North seat in the 1976 general election, becoming an MP and official opposition leader.{{Cite book|title=The Dictionary of Contemporary Politics of Central America and the Caribbean.|last1=Gunson|first1=Phil|last2=Chamberlain|first2=Greg|last3=Thompson|first3=Andrew|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|isbn=978-1317270539|oclc=935252831}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.tt/About/Past-Ministers/Basdeo-Panday|title=Past Ministers: Basdeo Panday|website=Ministry of National Security|access-date=17 August 2017|archive-date=17 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817123243/http://www.nationalsecurity.gov.tt/About/Past-Ministers/Basdeo-Panday|url-status=live}} The next year the party split into two factions and Panday was ousted as party leader in favour of Shah. He was reinstated in 1978 after Winston Nanan, who previously supported Shah, defected to Panday and Shah resigned.{{Cite news|url=http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,27052.html|title=Panday's many political fallouts|last=Sheppard|first=Suzanne|date=17 April 2005|work=Trinidad and Tobago Newsday|access-date=3 September 2017|archive-date=4 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904065125/http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,27052.html|url-status=live}}
Following a poor performance in the 1980 local elections, Panday co-founded the Trinidad and Tobago National Alliance with A. N. R. Robinson of the Democratic Action Congress and Lloyd Best of the Tapia House Group.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/TRINIDAD_AND_TOBAGO_1981_E.PDF|title=TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Date of Elections: 9 November 1981|website=PARLINE database on national parliaments|publisher=Inter-Parliamentary Union|access-date=18 August 2017|archive-date=3 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100703090608/http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/TRINIDAD_AND_TOBAGO_1981_E.PDF|url-status=live}} He retained his seat in the 1981 general election.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/10/world/around-the-world-trinidad-s-ruling-party-gains-in-election.html|title=AROUND THE WORLD; Trinidad's Ruling Party Gains in Election|date=10 November 1981|work=The New York Times|access-date=18 August 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=18 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818133213/http://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/10/world/around-the-world-trinidad-s-ruling-party-gains-in-election.html|url-status=live}}
In 1984 the National Alliance became the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) and in 1985 merged with the Organisation for National Reconstruction.{{Cite book|title=Political handbook of the world 2015|last=Lansford|first=Tom|publisher=CQ Press|year=2015|isbn=978-1483371559|location=Los Angeles, California|oclc=912321323|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/politicalhandboo0000unse_f0m6}} They won a decisive victory in 1986.{{Cite book|title=Political parties of the Americas, 1980s to 1990s : Canada, Latin America, and the West Indies|last=Ameringer|first=Charles D|publisher=Greenwood Press|year=1992|isbn=978-0313274183|location=Westport, Conn.|pages=578|oclc=25202496}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/TRINIDAD_AND_TOBAGO_1986_E.PDF|title=TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Date of Elections: 15 December 1986|website=PARLINE database on national parliaments|publisher=Inter-Parliamentary Union|access-date=19 August 2017|archive-date=3 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100703090614/http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/TRINIDAD_AND_TOBAGO_1986_E.PDF|url-status=live}} Panday was named Minister of External Affairs and International Trade. The party soon fractured along racial lines; Panday accused Robinson and the government of discrimination against Indians and autocratic rule. Robinson reshuffled his cabinet in response, and Panday found himself with reduced ministerial responsibilities. The infighting continued, culminating with Panday, Kelvin Ramnath, and Trevor Sudama being expelled from the party on 8 February 1988.{{Cite book|title=Modern Caribbean politics|last1=Payne|first1=Anthony|last2=Sutton|first2=Paul K.|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|year=1993|isbn=978-0801844355|location=Baltimore|pages=108–112|oclc=25711755}}{{Cite book|title=Callaloo or tossed salad? : East Indians and the cultural politics of identity in Trinidad|last=Viranjini|first=Munasinghe|publisher=Cornell University Press|year=2001|isbn=978-0801486197|location=Ithaca, N.Y.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/callalooortossed00muna/page/244 244]|oclc=46836925|url=https://archive.org/details/callalooortossed00muna/page/244}}
= UNC, Prime Ministership, and electoral crises =
Panday and the other expelled ministers founded the Caucus for Love, Unity and Brotherhood (CLUB '88), which he revealed in October would become the United National Congress (UNC) on 30 April 1989.{{Cite news|url=http://unctt.org/about-unc/unc-founder/|title=UNC Founder|date=26 February 2013|work=United National Congress|access-date=23 August 2017|language=en-US|archive-date=28 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190828231111/http://unctt.org/about-unc/unc-founder/|url-status=live}} Economic decline, austerity, racial tensions and, above all, the failed but impactful 1990 coup attempt led to the NAR being swept out of power in the 1991 general election and the UNC, led by Panday, becoming official opposition.{{Cite journal|last=Premdas|first=Ralph R.|date=April 1996|title=Ethnicity and Elections in the Caribbean: A Radical Realignment of Power in Trinidad and the Threat of Communal Strife (Working Paper #224)|url=https://kellogg.nd.edu/publications/workingpapers/WPS/224.pdf|journal=Kellogg Institute Working Papers|pages=10|via=Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies|access-date=23 August 2017|archive-date=22 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222035309/http://kellogg.nd.edu/publications/workingpapers/WPS/224.pdf|url-status=live}}
The 1995 general election was a defining moment in Panday's career. The ruling PNM party called an early vote, expecting a victory. However, the election ended with the PNM and UNC holding 17 seats each, and the NAR holding 2. The UNC and NAR entered a coalition, thereby bringing the UNC into power and making Panday the first Hindu and Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago.{{Cite journal|last=Premdas|first=Ralph R.|date=14 January 2004|others=Justin Daniel|title=Elections, Identity and Ethnic Conflict in the Caribbean|url=http://plc.revues.org/246|journal=Pouvoirs dans la Caraïbe. Revue du CRPLC|language=en|issue=14|pages=17–61|doi=10.4000/plc.246|issn=1279-8657|doi-access=free|access-date=25 August 2017|archive-date=25 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825105354/http://plc.revues.org/246|url-status=live}}{{Cite book|title=Ethnic Conflict in Developing Societies: Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Fiji, and Suriname.|last=Bissessar|first=Marie Ann|publisher=Springer International Publishing|year=2017|isbn=978-3319537092|pages=103|oclc=990477595}} In 1995 Panday was charged with five counts of sexual indecency related to a harassment case brought by a former female supporter, however he was freed less than two weeks after the 1995 election in what was seen as a politically motivated charge.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2002-09-20-0209190949-story.html|title=Trinidad's Ex-Leader Faces Charges|date=20 September 2002|access-date=8 March 2021|archive-date=30 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630220933/https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2002-09-20-0209190949-story.html|url-status=live}}
Panday once again led the UNC to victory in the 2000 election, being sworn in as prime minister for a second time.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2319_00.htm|title=TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Parliamentary Chamber: House of Representatives ELECTIONS HELD IN 2000|website=PARLINE database on national parliaments|publisher=Inter-Parliamentary Union|access-date=29 August 2017|archive-date=28 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100628144932/http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2319_00.htm|url-status=live}} In 2001, UNC MPs Ramesh Maharaj, Trevor Sudama, and Ralph Maraj alleged government corruption, pressuring Panday to appoint a Commission of Inquiry; Panday responded by firing Maharaj. Sudama and Maraj then resigned, leaving the UNC with a minority. Panday was thus forced to call a new election. The 2001 general election resulted in an unprecedented 18–18 tie between the UNC and PNM, sparking a constitutional crisis over who should form government.{{Cite book|title=Latin America|last=Buckman|first=Robert T.|publisher=Stryker Post Publications/Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|year=2014|isbn=978-1475812282|edition=48th|location=Lanham, Md.|pages=388|oclc=890072334}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2319_01.htm|title=TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Parliamentary Chamber: House of Representatives ELECTIONS HELD IN 2001|website=PARLINE database on international parliaments|publisher=Inter-parliamentary Union|access-date=3 September 2017|archive-date=29 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100629180341/http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2319_01.htm|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,36436.html|title=18-18 election tie case|last=Joseph|first=Francis|date=26 April 2006|website=Trinidad and Tobago Newsday|access-date=3 September 2017|archive-date=4 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904063945/http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,36436.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite journal|last=Gregory|first=Tardi|title=Constitutional Limbo in Trinidad and Tobago (The Uncertainty, Not the Dance)|date=26 July 2011|url=https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/constitutional_forum/index.php/constitutional_forum/article/view/11115|journal=Constitutional Forum|language=en|volume=14|issue=2 & 3|pages=2005–2: 1–6|doi=10.21991/C9CQ2C|issn=1927-4165|doi-access=free|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=28 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028065318/https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/constitutional_forum/index.php/constitutional_forum/article/view/11115|url-status=live}} Both parties agreed to abide by the decision of the president, A.N.R. Robinson, as to who would lead the government, as well as to form a unity government.{{Citation needed|date=September 2017}} However, Panday reneged on the agreement{{Citation needed|date=September 2017}} when Robinson appointed PNM leader Patrick Manning, finding his explanation for doing so (Manning's "moral and spiritual values"){{Cite news|url=http://www.newsday.co.tt/politics/0,110205.html|title=Ghosts of scandals past|last=Chan Tack|first=Clint|date=1 November 2009|work=Trinidad and Tobago Newsday|access-date=3 September 2017|archive-date=8 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170408082147/http://www.newsday.co.tt/politics/0,110205.html|url-status=live}} unsatisfactory. Panday also argued that Robinson did not act in accordance with the constitution by choosing Manning, as he did not hold the majority in parliament.{{Cite news|url=http://www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/forum/webbbs_config.pl?md=read;id=383|title=Panday tells London crowd: Ramesh, Ralph, Sudama crossed the floor to PNM|last=Joseph|first=Francis|date=7 August 2002|work=Trinidad and Tobago Newsday|access-date=3 September 2017|archive-date=7 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140807020619/http://www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/forum/webbbs_config.pl?md=read;id=383|url-status=live}} He refused to accept the position of Leader of the Opposition in protest.
Parliament was dissolved and new elections were called in 2002 after it was unable to elect a Speaker. This time the PNM were brought back into power with the UNC playing opposition.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2319_02.htm|title=TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Parliamentary Chamber: House of Representatives ELECTIONS HELD IN 2002|website=PARLINE database on national parliaments|publisher=Inter-parliamentary Union|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=29 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100629180419/http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2319_02.htm|url-status=live}} Panday's third term as Leader of the Opposition would last until 2006, when he was convicted of failing to declare a bank account in London.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ttparliament.org/members.php?mid=24|title=Leader of the Opposition|website=Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=3 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903013159/http://www.ttparliament.org/members.php?mid=24|url-status=live}}
Secret investigations into Panday began after the 2001 election, when the Central Authority and the Anti Corruption Bureau was set up by the PNM. On 18 September 2002, Panday was charged under section 27(1)(b) of the Integrity in Public Life Act No. 8 of 1987 for failing to declare the contents of a bank account in London for the years 1997, 1998 and 1999. During the investigation, he had first stated that the funds in the account were for his children's education and that his name was added to the account to prevent problems should something happen to his wife. He did not consider the funds his own, and thus did not declare them. However, after receiving further information from the bank, he stated that the account had been opened jointly with his wife to deposit money for his open heart surgery. After his wife transferred the account to another branch she maintained and administered it, and his name remained on it out of convenience.{{Cite news|url=http://newsday.co.tt/panday_trial/0,36357.html|title=D-Day for Panday|last=Joseph|first=Francis|date=24 April 2006|work=Trinidad and Tobago Newsday|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=5 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905004410/http://newsday.co.tt/panday_trial/0,36357.html|url-status=live}}{{cite court|litigants=Senior Superintendent Wellington Virgil v. Basdeo Panday|court=Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Magistracy|url=http://webopac.ttlawcourts.org/LibraryJud/Judgments/Mag/Murray/2002/MCase_02_12401-3DD26jun2012.pdf|access-date=4 September 2017}} Panday blamed it on the PNM for trying to derail him weeks before the 2002 general election was to be held.
=UNC leadership and power struggles=
File:Basdeo Panday with Mikko Pyhälä (Ambassador of Finland).jpg Ambassador of Finland]]
On 31 May 2005, Panday, his wife, Oma, former UNC MP Carlos John, and businessman Ishwar Galbaransingh (chairman of Northern Construction Limited) were arrested on corruption charges. The State alleged that the Pandays had received TT$250,000 on 30 December 1998, from John and Galbaransingh in exchange for giving Northern Construction a construction contract for the Piarco Airport Development Project (PADP).{{Cite news|url=http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,28022.html|title=Panday goes to jail|last=Francis|first=Joseph|date=1 June 2005|work=Trinidad and Tobago Newsday|access-date=12 August 2017|archive-date=12 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812102509/http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,28022.html|url-status=live}} Panday, Oma Panday and John were placed on TT$750,000 bail, while Galbaransingh's bail was placed at TT$1,000,000. Panday refused bail and chose to remain in prison. This was called a punitive bail both by supporters of the UNC and by former Attorney General Ramesh Maharaj, a sometimes political opponent of Panday.{{Citation needed|date=August 2017}} On 7 June 2005, bail was reduced to TT$650,000. A day later, Panday accepted bail after being jailed for over a week. Charges were later dropped in 2012.{{Cite web|url=https://www.guardian.co.tt/article-6.2.430431.573e5b6e02|title=Piarco airport cases to be dropped|access-date=8 March 2021|archive-date=9 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609174843/https://www.guardian.co.tt/article-6.2.430431.573e5b6e02|url-status=live}}
In September 2005, during the UNC internal elections, Panday nominated Winston Dookeran as his successor as party leader. He himself retained the position of chairman.{{Cite book|title=Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana: race and politics in two plural societies|last1=Bissessar|first1=Ann Marie|last2=La Guerre|first2=John Gaffar|publisher=Lexington Books|year=2013|isbn=978-0739174715|location=Lanham|pages=154|oclc=825047382}} The following month, Jack Warner called for Panday to hand over the position of Leader of the Opposition to Dookeran as well.{{Cite news|url=http://archives.newsday.co.tt/news/print,0,31379.html|title=Kamla to Jack: Just do it|last=Taitt|first=Ria|date=30 October 2005|work=Trinidad and Tobago Newsday|access-date=27 September 2017|archive-date=28 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170928060606/http://archives.newsday.co.tt/news/print,0,31379.html|url-status=live}} Panday failed to do so, and with the Opposition MPs split 8–8 on the issue, Panday remained as the leader of the Opposition.{{Citation needed|date=October 2017}}
In October, Panday also invited Ramesh Maharaj back into the UNC.{{Cite web|url=http://www.newsday.co.tt/specialreport/0,36672.html|title=Special Report: Timeline of the UNC leadership crisis|date=30 April 2006|website=Trinidad and Tobago Newsday|access-date=18 September 2017|archive-date=29 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029213611/http://www.newsday.co.tt/specialreport/0,36672.html|url-status=live}} In February 2006, Panday fired senator Robin Montano, who opposed Maharaj's return to the party.{{Cite web|url=http://legacy.guardian.co.tt/archives/2006-02-11/news1.html|title=Panday clips Robin's wings|last=Alexander|first=Gail|date=11 February 2006|website=The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper|access-date=19 October 2017|archive-date=19 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019111638/http://legacy.guardian.co.tt/archives/2006-02-11/news1.html|url-status=live}} Three days later senator Roy Augustus resigned. He replaced Montano with Tim Gopeesingh, and Augustus with former Olympic athlete Ato Boldon.{{Cite web|url=http://legacy.guardian.co.tt/archives/2007-02-05/news1.html|title=Panday: I'm open for talks with Robin|last=Alexander|first=Gail|date=4 February 2007|website=The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper|access-date=18 October 2017|archive-date=19 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019111820/http://legacy.guardian.co.tt/archives/2007-02-05/news1.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://legacy.guardian.co.tt/archives/2006-02-15/news1.html|title=Ato wants to bridge age gap|last=Alexander|first=Gail|date=15 February 2006|website=The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper|access-date=18 October 2017|archive-date=19 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019112104/http://legacy.guardian.co.tt/archives/2006-02-15/news1.html|url-status=live}}
On 24 April 2006, Panday was found guilty on all three counts he was charged with back in 2002, and sentenced to two years with hard labour and a TT$20,000 fine. He was also denied bail, and ordered to pay the sum in the account "for each year he was charged for not making the declaration".{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/news/story/2006/04/060424_pandayjailed2.shtml|title=Former Trinidad PM sentenced to jail|date=24 April 2006|work=BBCCaribbean.com|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-date=21 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171121103916/http://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/news/story/2006/04/060424_pandayjailed2.shtml|url-status=live}} He appealed the decision. Following his 2006 conviction, Panday's position as Leader of the Opposition was revoked. He was replaced by Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
On 3 January 2007, Panday was reinstated as leader of the UNC.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/news/story/2007/01/070104_pandayunc.shtml|title=Panday is back|date=4 January 2007|work=BBCCaribbean.com|access-date=5 September 2017|archive-date=22 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022115634/http://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/news/story/2007/01/070104_pandayunc.shtml|url-status=live}} On 20 March 2007, the Court of Appeal overturned the conviction against Panday, based on the possibility that he may not have received a fair trial.{{cite news|url=http://guardian.co.tt/archives/2007-03-21/news8.html|title=Appeal Court quashes Panday's conviction|last=Loutoo|first=Jada|date=21 March 2007|access-date=27 March 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926231715/http://guardian.co.tt/archives/2007-03-21/news8.html|archive-date=26 September 2007|url-status=dead|publisher=Trinidad Publishing Company Limited}} A new trial under a different magistrate was ordered.{{Cite news|url=http://legacy.guardian.co.tt/archives/2007-03-21/news12.html|title=Basdeo Panday's appeal verdict: Ex-PM to appeal retrial|last=Alexander|first=Gail|date=21 March 2007|work=The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper|access-date=5 September 2017|archive-date=6 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906035458/http://legacy.guardian.co.tt/archives/2007-03-21/news12.html|url-status=live}} The three Court of Appeal judges agreed that there was, in fact, a real possibility of bias by the Chief Magistrate in his ruling.{{cite news|url=http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/2006/01/16/trial.shtml|title=Trinidad's opposition leader set to go on trial|last=Cummings|first=Stephen|date=16 January 2006|access-date=19 February 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203070155/http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/2006/01/16/trial.shtml|archive-date=3 February 2007|url-status=dead|publisher=Caribbean Net News}} Information that surfaced later on, linked Chief Magistrate McNicolls to a multimillion-dollar land deal and a company associated with one of the main witnesses in the Basdeo Panday trial.{{cite news|url=http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article?id=161115937|title=Panday seeks bias ruling against McNicolls|last=Bahaw|first=Darren|date=14 March 2007|access-date=15 March 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019050407/http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article?id=161115937|archive-date=19 October 2007|url-status=dead|publisher=Trinidad & Tobago Express}} This information, along with the fact that Chief Magistrate McNicolls refused to give evidence for the criminal prosecution of the Chief Justice Satnarine Sharma, who he claimed tried to influence him to rule in Panday's favor, which caused that prosecution to fail, were the main arguments used by Panday's lawyers in his Appeal Court hearing.
From early 2009 Basdeo Panday was challenged for the leadership of the party by a small coalition of Opposition MPs led by the party's deputy political leader, Warner and Maharaj.{{cite news|url=http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161457491|title=Ramesh gets a chance:UNC MPs vote to fire Chief Whip, but Bas wants him to explain behaviour|last=Ramdass|first=Anna|date=26 March 2009|access-date=26 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327025148/http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161457491|archive-date=27 March 2009|url-status=dead|publisher=One Caribbean Media Limited}}
=Political hiatus and acquittal=
On 24 January 2010, Panday lost his bid to be elected Political Leader of the UNC once again. He suffered a defeat at the hands of new Political Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Rickey |date=2010-01-31 |title=T&T's Historic Leadership Change |url=https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/tts-historic-leadership-change/ |access-date=2024-01-04 |website=Jamaica Observer |language=en-US}} He did not contest the post of chairman hence he no longer sits on the executive of the United National Congress.{{Cite web |date=2010-01-26 |title=Defeated Basdeo Panday Holds On {{!}} Trinidad and Tobago News Blog |url=https://www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/blog/?p=2393 |access-date=2024-01-04 |language=en-US}} On 25 February 2010 President George Maxwell Richards revoked the appointment of Panday as Leader of the Opposition and replaced him with Persad-Bissessar after the majority of Opposition MPs indicated their support for her.{{cn|date=January 2024}} Panday did not participate in the general elections held on 24 May 2010 and hence his term as a Member of Parliament ended.{{cn|date=January 2024}}
On 26 June 2012, Panday was finally acquitted of all charges. The magistrate stated that he had not been given due process.{{Cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2012-06-27/panday-freed-11-year-old-uk-bank-charge|title=Panday freed of 11-year-old UK bank charge|last=Paul|first=Anna-Lisa|date=27 June 2012|website=The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper|access-date=5 September 2017|archive-date=6 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906062520/http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2012-06-27/panday-freed-11-year-old-uk-bank-charge|url-status=live}} However, in September 2012, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) was given leave to challenge the decision.{{Cite news|url=https://www.stabroeknews.com/2012/news/stories/09/27/tt-dpp-gets-leave-to-challenge-basdeo-pandays-freedom/|title=T&T DPP gets leave to challenge Basdeo Panday's freedom|date=27 September 2012|work=Stabroek News|access-date=7 September 2017|language=en-US}} On 7 October 2014, the DPP withdrew the application to review the decision. The presiding Justice stated that Panday would've "face hardships and prejudice" if prosecution continued, which it did not.{{Cite news|url=http://newsday.co.tt/crime_and_court/0,201355.html|title=Panday's London bank acct case ends|last=Jada|first=Louto|date=8 October 2014|work=Trinidad and Tobago Newsday|access-date=7 September 2017|archive-date=8 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908064223/http://newsday.co.tt/crime_and_court/0,201355.html|url-status=live}} Also in 2012, charges for the Piarco Airport scandal were dropped.
=Patriotic Front and return to politics=
On 25 May 2019 (Panday's birthday), his daughter Mickela, after leaving the UNC, formed a new political party called the Patriotic Front. Panday, being estranged from the UNC, became associated with the Patriotic Front and in 2020, a year after, on his birthday and first anniversary of the party, he said he would support his daughter's party in the 2020 Trinidad and Tobago general election and he even expressed interest in returning to politics given the situation of the country and said that he could no not sit by idly and watch the country continue on its current path.{{cite web|url=https://newsday.co.tt/2020/05/25/panday-turns-87-vows-to-help-daughter-in-elections/|website=newsday.co.tt|title=Panday turns 87, vows to help daughter in elections|date=25 May 2020|access-date=4 January 2022|archive-date=26 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026013941/https://newsday.co.tt/2020/05/25/panday-turns-87-vows-to-help-daughter-in-elections/|url-status=live}} In June 2020 Mickela Panday announced that her father was the campaign manager of the Patriotic Front.{{cite web|url=https://www.looptt.com/content/patriotic-front-contest-all-41-seats-panday-campaign-manager|title=Patriotic Front to contest all 41 seats; Panday is campaign manager | Loop Trinidad & Tobago|website=looptt.com|access-date=4 January 2022|archive-date=1 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701032058/http://www.looptt.com/content/patriotic-front-contest-all-41-seats-panday-campaign-manager|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://newsday.co.tt/2020/07/21/panday-campaign-starts-after-august-10/|website=newsday.co.tt|title=Panday campaign starts after August 10|date=21 July 2020|access-date=4 January 2022|archive-date=14 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214024737/https://newsday.co.tt/2020/07/21/panday-campaign-starts-after-august-10/|url-status=live}} The party however pulled out of the 2020 general elections, saying that they had no time to mobilize themselves.{{cite web|url=https://www.guardian.co.tt/news/patriotic-front-bows-out-election-race-6.2.1156862.54cffedd32|title=Patriotic Front bows out election race - Trinidad Guardian|website=guardian.co.tt|access-date=4 January 2022|archive-date=8 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808205448/https://guardian.co.tt/news/patriotic-front-bows-out-election-race-6.2.1156862.54cffedd32|url-status=live}}
Legacy
= Impact of election =
The election of the first Indo-Trinidadian prime minister was seen as the moment in which Indians "arrived" in Trinidad.{{Cite book|title=Global multiculturalism : comparative perspectives on ethnicity, race, and nation|last1=Cornwell|first1=Grant Hermans|last2=Stoddard|first2=Eve Walsh|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|year=2001|isbn=978-0742508835|location=Lanham, Md.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/globalmulticultu0000unse/page/35 35]|oclc=44084193|url=https://archive.org/details/globalmulticultu0000unse/page/35}}{{Cite book|title=Politics of Identity in Small Plural Societies: Guyana, the Fiji Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago|last=Wilson|first=Stacey-Ann|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2012|isbn=978-1137012111|location=United States}} Panday took the opportunity to correct perceived wrongs against the Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian community.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hinduismtoday.com/magazine/august-1998/1998-08-trinidad-pundit-power/|title=Trinidad Pundit Power|first=Hinduism|last=Today|date=1 August 1998|access-date=21 April 2023|archive-date=21 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421093642/https://www.hinduismtoday.com/magazine/august-1998/1998-08-trinidad-pundit-power/|url-status=live}}
= Religion and holidays =
Shortly after beginning his first term as prime minister, Panday granted the Shouter Baptists a national holiday.{{Cite book |last=Henry |first=Frances |author-link=Frances Henry |title=Reclaiming African religions in Trinidad : the socio-political legitimation of the Orisha and spiritual Baptist faiths |publisher=University of the West Indies Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-9766401290 |location=Barbados |pages=73 |oclc=182621537}} His political sponsorship contributed to the legitimization of the religion in the public's eye.{{Cite journal|last=Castor|first=N. Fadeke|date=1 August 2013|title=SHIFTING MULTICULTURAL CITIZENSHIP: Trinidad Orisha Opens the Road|journal=Cultural Anthropology|language=en|volume=28|issue=3|pages=475–489|doi=10.1111/cuan.12015|issn=1548-1360}} He also decreed that Indian Arrival Day would forever be named as such, rather than simply "Arrival Day" after 1996.{{Cite web|url=http://archives.newsday.co.tt/news/print,0,17772.html|title=Guyana's fight for Indian Arrival Day|last=Maharaj|first=Parsuram|date=4 May 2004|website=Trinidad and Tobago Newsday|access-date=19 October 2017|archive-date=19 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019215804/http://archives.newsday.co.tt/news/print,0,17772.html|url-status=live}} He was well known for his religious pluralism and often quoted from the scriptures of the different religions in Trinidad and Tobago.{{cite web| url-status = live| archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/zpnqciQI7bM| archive-date = 5 December 2021| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpnqciQI7bM| title = Parliamentary Personalities - Basdeo Panday | website=YouTube| date = 8 October 2014}}{{cbignore}}
=Music=
Panday was the subject of several critical and racist calypsos during his first year office, such as Cro Cro's Allyuh Look for Dat and Watchman's Mr. Panday Needs His Glasses.{{Cite book|title=Ethnicity, class, and nationalism : Caribbean and extra-Caribbean dimensions|last=Allahar|first=Anton|publisher=Lexington Books|others=.|year=2005|isbn=978-0739108932|location=Lanham, Md.|pages=54|oclc=56904988}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.trinidadexpress.com/commentaries/The_politics_of_Emancipation-127080843.html|title=The politics of Emancipation|last=Ryan|first=Selwy|date=6 August 2011|website=Trinidad Express Newspapers|access-date=19 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019163327/http://www.trinidadexpress.com/commentaries/The_politics_of_Emancipation-127080843.html|archive-date=19 October 2017|url-status=dead}} Panday struck back in 1997 by warning of guidelines for state-sponsored competitions to prevent "taxpayers money [being] used to divide the society, whether it be on racial or any other grounds".{{Cite web|url=http://www.ipsnews.net/1997/03/music-governments-unhappy-over-calypso-criticism/|title=MUSIC: Governments Unhappy Over Calypso Criticism|last=Gibbings|first=Wesley|date=4 March 1997|website=Inter Press Service News Agency|access-date=19 October 2017|quote="The state cannot allow taxpayers money to be used to divide the society whether it be on racial or any other grounds,"|archive-date=19 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019163238/http://www.ipsnews.net/1997/03/music-governments-unhappy-over-calypso-criticism/|url-status=live}}
= Language =
In addition to speaking English, Panday studied Hindi and he gave speeches at the Hindi FoundationTT on the importance of the language in Trinidad and Tobago.https://facebook.watch/aEGkoK1Zge/ {{Dead link|date=March 2022}} Panday was widely associated with the Trinidadian Hindustani word neemakharam (ingrate),{{Cite web|url=http://legacy.guardian.co.tt/archives/2007-05-06/lennox.html|title=Panday restoration troubles state of nerves|last=Grant|first=Lennox|date=6 May 2007|website=The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper|access-date=21 October 2017|quote=In prosecuting such internal "struggles," Mr Panday still endlessly expends political energies. Against in-party critics, he deployed the famous attack word "neemakaram."|archive-date=22 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022085951/http://legacy.guardian.co.tt/archives/2007-05-06/lennox.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.tt/archives/features/life/2009/04/15/linguist-launches-englishcreole-dictionary|title=Linguist launches English/Creole dictionary|last=Loubon|first=Michelle|date=15 April 2009|website=The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper|access-date=21 October 2017|quote=Cross countrying she collected words associated with romance (doux doux) and adventure, folklore (Crazy's soucouyant), mythology and history, great names (Basdeo Panday's neemakharam)...|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022085337/http://www.guardian.co.tt/archives/features/life/2009/04/15/linguist-launches-englishcreole-dictionary|archive-date=22 October 2017|url-status=dead}} and popularized the term outside of the Indo-Trinidadian community.{{Cite book|title=The Indian diaspora: dynamics of migration|publisher=Sage Publications|year=2004|isbn=978-0761932185|editor-last=Jayaram|editor-first=N.|location=New Delhi|pages=168|oclc=53970616|editor2-last=Atal|editor2-first=Yogesh}} He used the word to describe his political opponents, including Winston Dookeran, Trevor Sudama, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Ramesh Maharaj, and other rival UNC members.{{Cite news|url=http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Ramesh__ready_to_fight_the_lion_-115434844.html|title=Ramesh 'ready to fight the lion'|date=3 April 2009|work=Trinidad Express Newspapers|access-date=22 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022085104/http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Ramesh__ready_to_fight_the_lion_-115434844.html|archive-date=22 October 2017|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=http://guardian.co.tt/news/2011/05/03/wilson-tells-flaw-robinson-s-character|title=Wilson tells of flaw in Robinson's character|date=4 May 2011|website=The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper|access-date=22 October 2017|archive-date=11 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711021841/http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2011/05/03/wilson-tells-flaw-robinson-s-character|url-status=live}}
= Relationship with the press =
Panday feuded with the media several times during his political career. In 1996 the Trinidad Guardian ran a front page featuring a photo of him with a drink and the headline "Chutney Rising".Bachan-Persad, I. (2012) Press and politics in Trinidad and Tobago: A study of five electoral campaigns over ten years, 2000–2010. Unpublished Thesis. Coventry: Coventry University. An incensed Panday ordered a boycott of the paper, refusing to allow their reporters access to government information. He accused editor-in-chief Jones P. Madiera of being a racist and called on his resignation. Ultimately, managing editor Alwin Chow, Madiera, and several other staff members left the Guardian and went on to form a new newspaper, The Independent.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ipsnews.net/1996/04/trinidad-and-tobago-govt-meddling-sends-media-managers-packing/|title=TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: Govt. Meddling Sends Media Managers Packing|last=John|first=George|date=2 April 1996|website=Inter Press Service News Agency|access-date=19 October 2017|archive-date=19 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019220101/http://www.ipsnews.net/1996/04/trinidad-and-tobago-govt-meddling-sends-media-managers-packing/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://cpj.org/attacks97/americas/trinidad.html|title=Attacks on the Press in 1997 - Trinidad and Tobago|date=2 March 1998|website=Committee to Protect Journalists|access-date=19 October 2017|archive-date=15 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315142237/https://www.cpj.org/attacks97/americas/trinidad.html|url-status=live}}
Panday reiterated his dissatisfaction with the press with his refusal to sign the Declaration of Chapultepec, a 1994 document affirming freedom of the press. In 1998 he stated he would not endorse the declaration "until it repudiated the "untrammelled right of the press to publish anything it wants"".{{Cite web|url=http://www.ipsnews.net/1999/04/media-caribbean-threat-to-the-free-press/|title=MEDIA-CARIBBEAN: Threat to the Free Press?|last=Gibbings|first=Wesley|date=30 April 1999|website=Inter Press Service News Agency|access-date=20 October 2017|quote=Panday said last year he had no intention of endorsing the Declaration until it repudiated the "untrammelled right of the press to publish anything it wants".|archive-date=20 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020190752/http://www.ipsnews.net/1999/04/media-caribbean-threat-to-the-free-press/|url-status=live}}
Personal life
Basdeo Panday was married to Oma Panday (née Ramkissoon). He had four daughters: Niala, Mickela, Nicola, and Vastala. Niala was born to his first wife Norma Panday (née Mohammed), who died in 1981.{{Cite news|url=http://newsday.co.tt/news/0,95513.html|title=Panday is a grandfather|last=Chan Tack|first=Clint|date=21 February 2009|work=Trinidad and Tobago Newsday|access-date=12 August 2017|archive-date=13 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813104608/http://newsday.co.tt/news/0,95513.html|url-status=live}} His brother was fellow attorney and politician Subhas Panday. Panday served as the Chief Administrator of the Basdeo Panday Foundation, a charitable organization. In November 2019, Panday was bestowed an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Trinidad and Tobago.{{cite web|url=https://newsday.co.tt/2019/11/17/congrats-dr-panday/|website=newsday.co.tt|title=Congrats Dr Panday|date=17 November 2019|access-date=4 January 2022|archive-date=5 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205060831/https://newsday.co.tt/2019/11/17/congrats-dr-panday/|url-status=live}} His religion was Hinduism. His brother-in-law was the late Indian classical- and chutney-singer Sam Boodram who was married to Panday's sister Cynthia Panday.{{Cite news|last=Kissoon|first=Carolyn|date=2 July 2020|title=Sam Boodram has died|work=Trinidad Express|url=https://trinidadexpress.com/newsextra/sam-boodram-has-died/article_5d14b440-bbfb-11ea-b94d-0f5e58c5abb1.html|url-status=live|access-date=3 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120112838/https://trinidadexpress.com/newsextra/sam-boodram-has-died/article_5d14b440-bbfb-11ea-b94d-0f5e58c5abb1.html|archive-date=20 January 2021}} The Indian classical singer Dev Bansraj Ramkissoon was also his brother-in-law and the singer and musician Sonny Ramkissoon was his father-in-law (his wife's brother and father, respectively).{{cite web | url=https://trinidadexpress.com/news/local/panday-s-dying-wish/article_ff06edfe-af54-11ee-8b05-ef6238b86fc8.html | title=Panday's dying wish | date=10 January 2024 }} Panday had a dog named Norman who was a stray that he took in.{{cite web|url=https://newsday.co.tt/2020/05/13/the-cabbage-the-dog-and-the-silver-fox/|website=newsday.co.tt|title=The cabbage, the dog and the Silver Fox|date=13 May 2020|access-date=4 January 2022|archive-date=28 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528100354/https://newsday.co.tt/2020/05/13/the-cabbage-the-dog-and-the-silver-fox/|url-status=live}} During the COVID-19 pandemic videos that Panday's daughter, Mickela, posted of him gardening and playing with his dog Norman went viral on social media and he was lauded by the news as setting an example by following the mandate to stay home to help combat the spread of the virus.{{cite web|url=https://www.looptt.com/content/home-gardens-take-spotlight-trinis-avoid-virus-spread|title=Home gardens take the spotlight as Trinis avoid virus spread | Loop Trinidad & Tobago|website=looptt.com|access-date=4 January 2022|archive-date=29 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129231520/http://www.looptt.com/content/home-gardens-take-spotlight-trinis-avoid-virus-spread|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.looptt.com/content/dr-rowley-gets-busy-garden-shows-crops|title=Dr Rowley gets busy in the garden, shows off crops | Loop Trinidad & Tobago|website=looptt.com|access-date=4 January 2022|archive-date=30 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930192134/https://www.looptt.com/content/dr-rowley-gets-busy-garden-shows-crops|url-status=live}}
Death
Basdeo Panday died on 1 January 2024 in Jacksonville, Florida at the age of 90 surrounded by his family after being hospitalized for a few weeks.{{Cite web |url=https://www.cnc3.co.tt/state-funeral-for-former-pm-basdeo-panday/ |title=State funeral for former PM Basdeo Panday - CNC3 |date=2 January 2024 |access-date=2 January 2024 |archive-date=2 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102193615/https://www.cnc3.co.tt/state-funeral-for-former-pm-basdeo-panday/ |url-status=live }} His death was announced on social media by his daughter Mickela Panday.{{cite news |last1=Kissoon |first1=Carolyn |title=Basdeo Panday has died |url=https://trinidadexpress.com/newsextra/basdeo-panday-has-died/article_1ba603b6-a8fa-11ee-8e06-db209099480c.html |access-date=2 January 2024 |publisher=Trinidad Daily Express |date=1 January 2024 |archive-date=1 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101232432/https://trinidadexpress.com/newsextra/basdeo-panday-has-died/article_1ba603b6-a8fa-11ee-8e06-db209099480c.html |url-status=live }} According to his brother, Subhas Panday, his cause of death was pneumonia.{{cite web | url=https://newsday.co.tt/2024/01/03/pandays-brother-subhas-on-ex-pms-legacy-bas-never-forgot-his-roots/ | title=Panday's brother Subhas on ex-PM's legacy: 'BAS' NEVER FORGOT HIS ROOTS - Trinidad and Tobago Newsday | date=3 January 2024 }} His last wish was for a piece of land that he inherited from his grandmother in his hometown of St. Julien to be developed into a home for battered women and orphans.{{cite web | url=https://trinidadexpress.com/news/local/panday-s-dying-wish/article_ff06edfe-af54-11ee-8b05-ef6238b86fc8.html | title=Panday's dying wish | date=10 January 2024 }} His body was flown back to Trinidad and Tobago for a state funeral. His body lied in state at the rotunda of the Red House from 5 January with a condolence book for guest to sign. Several government official and dignitaries paid their tribute.{{cite web | url=https://trinidadexpress.com/news/local/panday-lies-in-state-at-red-house/article_4b12eabc-ac31-11ee-94d9-5f19e04a124d.html | title=Panday lies in state at Red House | date=6 January 2024 }} His final rites were done per Hindu customs and was the first Hindu state funeral in Trinidad and Tobago. On 9 January, his funeral procession began at his residence in Bryan's Gate, Phillipine where the religious aspect of the funeral was conducted, then it proceeded to the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts (SAPA) in San Fernando where speeches and eulogies were read from the President of Trinidad and Tobago, leaders of various faiths, and members of his family and friends, and arti and garlanding was done. Attendees included the President of Trinidad and Tobago Christine Kangaloo, the Prime Minister Keith Rowley, Chief Justice Ivor Archie, and Leader of the Opposition Kamla Persad-Bissessar.{{cite web | url=https://trinidadexpress.com/news/local/political-speakers-out/article_b95b5ab8-ae89-11ee-844b-1fafc9934ab1.html#google_vignette | title=Political Speakers Out | date=9 January 2024 }} His brother-in-law and Indian classical singer Dev Bansraj Ramkissoon, Rana Mohip, and soca artiste Kees Dieffenthaller sang at his funeral. Finally the procession proceeded to the Shore of Peace Cremation Site at Mosquito Creek, South Oropouche where the cremation and gun salute took place. Hundreds of mourners lined the road to the cremation site.{{cite web | url=https://www.guardian.co.tt/news/pandays-daughters-break-tradition-perform-final-rites-on-their-dad-6.2.1895170.92ba645aa5 | title=Panday's daughters break tradition, perform final rites on their dad }}
Numerous memorial services were held for him across the country by various institutions and people such as his alma mater Presentation College, San Fernando, the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, and Roodal Moonilal who, due to Panday's love for Indian classical music, held an Indian classical singing concert in Debe in honor of Panday with tributes from numerous artistes such as Rakesh Yankaran, Dubraj Persad, and Rooplal Girdharie.{{cite web | url=https://news.tttlimited.com/basdeo-panday-life-after-politics/ | title=Basdeo Panday – Life After Politics – TTT News | date=5 January 2024 }}{{cite web | url=https://trinidadexpress.com/news/local/panday-lies-in-state-at-red-house/article_4b12eabc-ac31-11ee-94d9-5f19e04a124d.html | title=Panday lies in state at Red House | date=6 January 2024 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLyVOzevv3c | title=An Indian Classical Singing Tribute to the Honourable Mr Basdeo Panday - former PM of T & T | website=YouTube | date=8 January 2024 }} In light of his death, the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha renamed the Shiva Boys' SDMS Hindu College as the Shri Basdeo Panday Shiva Boys' SDMS Hindu College, to honor the nation's first Hindu prime minister.{{cite web | url=https://www.guardian.co.tt/news/sdms-renames-shiva-boys-hindu-college-in-pandays-honour-6.2.1891339.9649a0d3f9 | title=SDMS renames Shiva Boys' Hindu College in Panday's honour }} Former member of Parliament and government minister Vasant Bharath started a petition calling on the government to rename the Piarco International Airport after Panday, in light of all he did towards its development.{{cite web | url=https://www.guardian.co.tt/news/vasant-rename-piarco-airport-after-panday-6.2.1890494.53bfa37209 | title=Vasant: Rename Piarco airport after Panday }}
Filmography and stage credits
=Film=
class="wikitable sortable"
! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
1963
|Laudryman |Cameo |
1964
|Indian Correspondent |Cameo |
1965
| | Cameo |
=Television=
Source(s):{{Cite web |title=Basdeo Panday |url=https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0659220/filmotype/actor?ref_=m_nmfm_1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220916232806/https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0659220/filmotype/actor?ref_=m_nmfm_1 |archive-date=16 September 2022 |access-date=21 July 2018 |website=IMDb}}
class="wikitable sortable"
! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
1959
|2nd Brahmin Priest |1 Episode |
1962
|Saki |Abrim |1 Episode |
1963
|Indian Guest |1 Episode |
=Theatre=
class="wikitable sortable"
! Year ! Title |
1961
|The Bird of Time |
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20061014013846/http://www.nalis.gov.tt/govbios/BasdeoPanday.htm NALIS Biography of Basdeo Panday]
{{s-start}}
{{succession box | before=Patrick Manning | title=Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago | years=1995–2001 | after=Patrick Manning}}
{{succession box | before=Roy Richardson | title=Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago | years=1976–1977 | after=Raffique Shah}}
{{succession box | before=Raffique Shah | title=Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago | years=1978–1986 | after=Patrick Manning}}
{{succession box | before=Patrick Manning | title=Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago | years=1991–1995 | after=Patrick Manning}}
{{succession box | before=Patrick Manning | title=Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago | years=2001–2006 | after=Kamla Persad-Bissessar}}
{{succession box | before=Kamla Persad-Bissessar | title=Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago | years=2007–2010 | after=Kamla Persad-Bissessar}}
{{succession box | before= Non-existent | title=Political Leader of the United National Congress | years=1989–2005 | after= Winston Dookeran}}
{{succession box | before=Winston Dookeran | title=Political Leader of the United National Congress | years=2006–2010 | after= Kamla Persad-Bissessar}}
{{s-end}}
{{Prime Ministers of Trinidad and Tobago}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Commons category-inline}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Panday, Basdeo}}
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