Lachmon was born in Corantijnpolder in the district of
Nickerie. The youngest child of six, his parents were contract laborers from
Uttar Pradesh His father was a cook and his mother clipped cane on the plantation
Waterloo. His parents had chosen the surname Lachmon when they arrived at the plantation. Later, his parents started a small dairy farm in
Nieuw Nickerie. Lachmon left for
Paramaribo when he was thirteen, and completed his school qualifications. On the advice of one of his teachers, he decided to practise law. In 1940, he started his own law practice, and in 1943, together with other Hindus, he founded the association Djagaran Will. In 1947, Lachmon was one of the founders and forerunner of the
United Hindustani Party (VHP), the largest Hindu political party in Suriname (later renamed Progressive Reform Party). Lachmon was chairman, and retained that post until his death.
Independence with the new flag in November 1975 In February 1974,
Henck Arron, the Prime Minister at the time, announced that Suriname would be granted independence from the
Netherlands at the end of 1975. Lachmon was in favor of the independence of Suriname, but only in the long term against the will of Hindus. In the run-up to independence, this led to severe riots erupted. Lachmon, often mockingly referred to as
Lachmon van Oranje (English: Lachmon of the House of Orange), was reconciled to the idea just six days before independence. The commitment of
Johan Ferrier to be the first president played an important role. On 25 November 1975, Suriname became
independent. In the period after the
Sergeants' Coup in February 1980 he took the idea of bending reeds that he admired
Mahatma Gandhi had promoted His VHP was in the government and Lachmon was chairman of the National Assembly. In total, he was
the chairman of the National Assembly five times between 1987 and 2001. In June 1999 he was in the
Guinness Book of Records as the longest-serving parliamentarian in the world. Lachmon was succeeded as president by
Ram Sardjoe. A statue of Lachmon is situated on the
Onafhankelijkheidsplein (Independence Square). In 2012, a
bust of Lachmon was placed in
Nieuw-Nickerie. ==References==