‘Trinidad’s first PM sought Nehru’s help’
19 Nov 2012 7:39 AM IST
Eric Williams, the first prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, had sought the assistance of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru to regain US-controlled bases in the Caribbean nation, a top politician said. Williams, who was prime minister during 1962-1981, sent former deputy prime minister Kamaluddin Mohammed to meet Nehru to seek his support.
‘Dr. Williams had sent me to meet Prime Minister Nehru to seek his support and guidance in regaining Chaguaramas, Carlsen Field and Waller Field, which were leased to the Americans by the British in exchange for warships during World War II,’ Mohammed said at a function to mark the International Scholars' Day at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Cultural Cooperation.
‘Soon after our meeting, Pandit Nehru despatched a letter to the then British prime minister and the rest is now history. Chaguaramas was handed back to the government of Trinidad and Tobago in 1967, five years after independence in August 1962,’ he said.
Nehru had hailed Williams as ‘a brilliant man’, Mohammed said.
‘Dr. Williams had sent me to meet Prime Minister Nehru to seek his support and guidance in regaining Chaguaramas, Carlsen Field and Waller Field, which were leased to the Americans by the British in exchange for warships during World War II,’ Mohammed said at a function to mark the International Scholars' Day at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Cultural Cooperation.
‘Soon after our meeting, Pandit Nehru despatched a letter to the then British prime minister and the rest is now history. Chaguaramas was handed back to the government of Trinidad and Tobago in 1967, five years after independence in August 1962,’ he said.
Nehru had hailed Williams as ‘a brilliant man’, Mohammed said.
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