Dear Mervyn There were many policies that the administrators in East Africa or for that matter wherever they were in administration in Africa used which you may or may not be aware of as a mere employee in government service. One of them was along the lines of "divide and rule" and the other one was "prestige". There may also have been others.
In his forward on a dissertation submitted by T.H.R. Cashmore for the Degree of Ph.D in the University of Cambridge titled "Studies in District Administration in East Africa Protectorate (1895 to 1918), John Lonsdale, Trinity College, Cambridge has referred to it (page viii). Quote: To avoid such stains on their reputation district officers cultivated 'prestige', so much cheaper than force. Unquote Once again, I am not sure whether you or other readers have come across this dissertation which is most interesting, thanks to the technology of today and goanet on the super highway, this link can be shared with you as below. http://www.african.cam.ac.uk/images/files/titles/cashmore In my previous goanet posting, I have already talked about those who pleased their colonial masters, getting an extra bag of wool and becoming "top shots". During my night school days in England studying for a degree at the University of South Bank I learned that unless one had an Oxford or Cambridge degree, there was no chance of getting any higher in the UK government hence could understand the term the "Old School Tie". As a teenager, I was priviledged to hear an address given by the late Mathany Saldanha on his visit from Goa to our now burnt out, completely destroyed and sold to others freehold clubhouse land, the little piece of Goa we once had and were proud of. He said our problem was mainly behaving and using the Portuguese term "grandioso", it did not mean much at the time but looking back at our so called "top shots" the peon, coolie administrative thinking demonstrated by our people is self explanatory, just look around you today. For those in the know, patronising letters are easy to spot and pleases simple minds. Happy to discuss. Melvyn Fernandes Thornton Heath, Surrey, United Kingdom 18 May 2014
