Sarran Teelucksingh

Ramsaran Lionel "Sarran" Teelucksingh (2 August 1889 – 8 March 1952) was a Trinidad and Tobago businessman and politician. The first Indo-Trinidadian elected to the Legislative Council, Teelucksingh represented the county of Caroni from 1925 until 1946 and was active in the leadership of the Trinidad Workingmen's Association (TWA), Trinidad Labour Party (TLP), and the East Indian National Congress (EINC).

Early life and activism Sarran Teelucksingh was 2 August 1889 in California, Caroni County, Trinidad and Tobago into a Kshatriya Hindu Indo-Trinidadian family to Teeluck Singh and Jumni Christine Teelucksingh (née Ramdialsingh).

Teelucksingh was a businessman and pioneer of the cinema industry in Trinidad and Tobago during the 1920s and 30s. Using a cinema operated out of a tent, he was able to screen movies in remote villages whose residents would not have otherwise had access. a magazine aimed at the Indo-Trinidadian community, which also served to promote Teelucksingh's political career. In 1925 he was appointed Vice-President of the TWA.

Electoral career

1925 elections

In 1925, the Legislative Council was expanded from 21 to 25 members, including seven elected members. Voting was limited to literate men who were 21 or older, and came with property and income requirements. Property and income requirements for candidates were higher than those for voters. The elections took place on 7 February 1925. Only 5.9% of the population were eligible to vote.

Teelucksingh contested the County Caroni seat in Central Trinidad against E.A. Robinson, a white planter, and won 491 votes to Robinson's 235. Teelucksingh competed against Clarence Abidh of the Trades Union Congress and Socialist Party and Simbhoonath Capildeo who ran under the banner of the United Front. Teelucksingh, who expressed concern about the challenge of campaigning to an enlarged electorate, The three TWA-aligned council members, together with F. E. M. Hosein (the elected representative for St. George County), functioned as the representatives of the working class on the council.

Divorce legislation In 1931 the government introduced a bill to legalise divorce. The bill pitted the Catholic French Creole elite against the Protestant British administrative class. Cipriani sided with the Catholic Church in opposition to the bill and tried to rally the TWA to his cause. This caused a rift between him and his younger, more radical supporters. Teelucksingh, a vice-president of the TWA, voted to support the divorce legislation. This angered Cipriani who struck Teelucksingh in the legislative chamber. Cipriani's actions resulted in his suspension for one day from the Legislative Council, and angered Teelucksingh's supporters. The EINC condemned Cipriani's actions and 850 Indo-Trinidadian members of the TWA resigned.