It was on February 14, 1997 - Valentine's Night - that this great son of the soil took ill and succumbed three weeks later on this day at the Walter Reed Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C.

His funeral, probably the largest ever in Guyana, evoked a genuine outpouring of sorrow from both his loyal supporters and his political opponents. This was not surprising because he stood out as a person of impeccable integrity, fiercely incorruptible - a characteristic not commonly associated with politicians.

And while he had ideological differences with various politicians, he never allowed these to become personal. He differed with ideas and ideals but never with the person who held those ideas and ideals.

President Jagan's motivation for doing anything was always manifested in his obsession for improving the lives of people, especially the poor and downtrodden. He was never motivated by personal benefits and self-aggrandisement.

In his five decades of political life his struggles and accomplishments were numerous and far reaching. From the moment he came back from abroad after completing his studies, he was drawn into the political life of the country, being heavily influenced and inspired by the independence struggle in India.

And so in 1947 he entered the Legislative Assembly at the age of 29, becoming the youngest Parliamentarian at the time. It was from this forum that he began to vigorously articulate and represent the interests of the working class.

He tirelessly and relentlessly continued along this path and under the banner of the People's Progressive Party he teamed up with another former President L. F. S Burnham and took the political struggle to a higher ground - the struggle for Guyana's independence. Unfortunately, because of opportunism and international manipulation of local politics the two went separate ways.

In 1964, Dr. Jagan was ousted as Premier through a coalition of two other political parties. He wrote in his autobiographical book `The West On Trial' - "The struggle will be long and hard. But win we must, win we will. Victory is inevitable."

His resilience, determination, vision, dedication, patience and love of people are probably unparalleled in Guyanese history. This led him and his party to triumphantly return to Government in 1992 after being in the opposition for 28 years, but sadly he did not serve out the first term as President.

But during this period, the true internationalist he was, he initiated the struggle in the international arena for a New Global Human Order, where he pertinently articulated and advocated the necessity to end the imbalances and injustices that have characterised the relationship between the developed and underdeveloped countries. His submissions were posthumously acknowledged by the United Nations and are one of the major issues engaging the attention of many international fora.

Cheddi Jagan's principles and ideals of selflessness, honesty and incorruptibility, upliftment of the poor and downtrodden and his struggle for peace, equality and social justice should serve on his death anniversary to further inspire those whose task it is to pick up his torch.