Sase Narain passes on

Sase Narain was born on the 27th January 1925. He died today. A long life indeed. He was a Solicitor, a Hindu leader, a Politician and Speaker of the National Assembly.

As a Solicitor, he would have been one of Guyana’s first local Solicitors admitted to practise in the colony of British Guiana. In the early years, he was associated with Dr. Cheddi Jagan and the People’s Progressive Party (PPP).

He once told me that in those early years he earned handsome fees for drafting the first set of leases that were issued to residents and farmers of the Black Bush Polder Scheme and Canals #1 & 2 Polder, two early agricultural schemes established under the 1957-1962 PPP Government. It may have been during this very period that he founded the Maha Sabha, a Hindu organisation and assumed its leadership. He was President of this organisation for decades.

He switched political loyalty and joined the People’s National Congress (PNC). He was quickly appointed Speaker of the National Assembly in the year 1971. His tenure ended with the defeat of the PNC after free and fair elections were restored in October 1992. His 21 years uninterrupted tenure as Speaker would easily qualify him as one of, if not the longest serving Speaker in the entire Commonwealth, if not the world.

Any one knowing Mr. Narain would know that he was very candid and most outspoken. He never attempted to obscure or deny his past. It is in this vain that I say that he presided over a repressive Parliament under a political dictatorship. It was during this period that he banned Dr. Jagan as Opposition Leader from speaking in the National Assembly for over 5 years. He also suspended PPP Parliamentarian Ishahack Bashir for “misbehavior” in the House.

I have had many discussions with him on these issues. He always maintained that he was right.

As a Solicitor he worked for many commercial institutions in Guyana, including, the banks and chaired the Board of Directors of the National Bank of Industry and Commerce Limited for a number of years. He operated his law practise out of a property, which he owned at 217 South Street, Lacytown, Georgetown that I eventually bought when he retired. Mr. Narain was conferred with the honour of Silk for his contributions to the legal profession. He lived a long and enduring life.

I extend my condolences to his children, grandchildren and other relatives.

To a lot of people he was a sell out

The longest-serving Speaker of Guyana’s National Assembly, Sase Narain, passed away on Tuesday at his Queenstown, Georgetown home. He was 95. Born on January 27, 1925, to the late Oudit and Soukhai Narain, he grew up at Pouderoyen on the West Bank of Demerara.

Sase Narain attended Malgre Tout Primary School, where he completed his schooling. He then attended the Modern Educational Institute in Georgetown, where he completed his Senior Cambridge Examination. Sase Narain then travelled to the United Kingdom to pursue legal studies.
In 1957, upon completion of his Solicitors Examination at the City Law School in Chancery Lane, London, Sase Narain returned to Guyana. He was appointed Senior Counsel and served as Speaker of the National Assembly from 1971 to 1992.
In 1991, he became the first Speaker to expel a Member of Parliament after Minister of Agriculture Isahak Basir threw a drinking glass at him.
He also served as Deputy Chairman to both the Public Service and Police Commissions under the PNC’s rule in the 1960s.
After leaving his post as Speaker, the Senior Counsel returned to private practice and later retired. He was the recipient of Guyana’s second-highest national award, the Order of Roraima (OR).
In a statement, former President David Granger, Central Executive Committee and members of the PNC said that they are saddened at the death of the former House Speaker.
“The leader, central executive committee and members of the PNCR express our deepest sympathy to the relatives of Mr. Sase Narain OR, SC, CMG,” the statement added.
In addition, the Bar Association of Guyana in a missive stated that Narain joined the legal profession in Guyana as a solicitor, demonstrating the power of the pen.
“Senior’s training, skill, and strength in drafting pleadings provided the instructions and foundation for many of the legendary barristers (advocates) recorded in the reports of cases in Guyana.”
The release added that clearly not content with the traditional in-office and supportive role of a solicitor, he accepted the platform for his voice to be heard in 1971, when he commenced his service as Speaker of the National Assembly of Guyana.
“A fierce, controlling and resounding voice heard in the halls of Parliament for in excess of twenty years,” the association stated.
“His collective contributions to the legal profession in Guyana were recognised with Senior ‘Taking Silk’ and being admitted to the Inner Bar, a distinction previously limited to Barristers. It is as a consequence of his decades of service to the law, that Senior will be part of the law reports, the Hansards of the Parliament and our beloved memory. There is yet another attribute of Senior which should leave an indelible impression on the minds of all legal practitioners, the art of drawing and preparing a Bill of Costs.”
The Bar Association extended deepest condolences to the family of Narain. Sase Narain was a widower at the time of his death and leaves to mourn his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He will be cremated today.