Catholic Commission for Social Justice
By Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ & Director, CREDI
On September 24 we celebrate the 43rd anniversary of Trinidad & Tobago becoming a Republic. We gained independence on August 31, 1962 and Republican status on August 1, 1976. The event was celebrated as a public holiday September 24 because this is the date when the first Parliament met under the new Republican Constitution.
Today Trinidad and Tobago celebrates our 41st anniversary as a Republic. My father was an MP in the first Parliament of Independent Trinidad and Tobago. After we gained independence in 1962, we gained republican status on August 1, 1976.
Pa died in December 2016 and, in assisting him in writing his autobiography, I recall how much it pained him that although we have made some progress, we are not living up to the fundamental principles outlined in our Republican Constitution.