Re: [Goanet] Zanzibar - Goans and the 1964 Revolution (Roland Francis)
Given that Goanet is primarily about matters relating to Goa and Goans, I do not wish to prolong my conversation with Roland Francis on the matter of the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution unduly. However, I would make a couple of brief comments in response to his last submission. As regards Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, then Tanganyika's President, whilst he was very close politically to Zanzibar's Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) (the post-Independence/pre-Revolution Opposition party) and would clearly have been a significant supporter and backer of the Revolution once it had occurred, I do not believe that he would necessarily have been instrumental in promoting it actively, though, it would be safe to assume, he would have been kept advised by his Zanzibari friends about what they were planning. Zanzibar's Revolution - the timing of which is a matter for debate - was an entirely indigenous affair Mr Francis correctly points out that I made no mention of John Okello. That is because reference to Okello in my previous submission was irrelevant to the issues I was addressing. I believe that Okello was a transitory figure and a player of lesser significance in the Revolution, which is why he was despatched unceremoniously into oblivion so soon after the Revolution. Whilst the self-styled 'Field Marshall' clearly did lead a band of fighters, he was by no means the sole or critical planner of the Revolution. That role was carried out by the ASP and critically by what Mr Francis refers to as Babu and gang in close collaboration with left wing elements in the ASP and the Zanzibar and Pemba Federation of Labour. As I said in my previous submission, the Umma youth provided the spine to the revolutionary effort. My view is that Okello, a Ugandan, was used to make the initial announcements on Radio Zanzibar because of his mainland accent. This was intended to deflect blame from the ASP/Umma/ZPFL elements - the real authors of the Revolution, in case it had failed. This is why Babu absented himself from the island on the day of the Revolution. As regards Goans in Zanzibar, it was unofficially estimated that we numbered about 850 in 1964. Sadly and very tragically, five Goans were killed during the Revolution. In his book, *The Peoples of Zanzibar *(1920) Geoffrey Dale amusingly writes: There are also numerous Goanese from the Portuguese Colony of Goa and from Mazagan in Bombay. They are Roman Catholics and form the principal element in the congregation in the Roman pro-Cathedral. They are a most useful portion of the population rendering valuable services as cooks, bakers, washermen, shopkeepers, photographers, doctors and clerks. Such names as Souza, Silva, Gomez, Diaz and Fernandez are very common. They affect European dress.With very few exceptions they are the only Christian Indians in Zanzibar, and although some of them are prone to drink, the services of the Goanese population could ill be spared. Some are quite excellent. Francis de Lima London --- Protect Goa's natural beauty Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php ---
Re: [Goanet] Zanzibar - Goans and the 1964 Revolution (Roland Francis)
On 20 January 2012 20:38, delima francis francis.del...@blueyonder.co.ukwrote: Given that Goanet is primarily about matters relating to Goa and Goans, I do not wish to prolong my conversation with Roland Francis on the matter of the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution unduly. However, I would make a couple of brief comments in response to his last submission. Francis, Personally, I'm finding the debate very interesting, and I'm sure it did affect the Goans who stayed there too. So why not carry on the discussion, please? In the past, Goanet has focussed on issues of Goans in Pakistan, Kenya and East Africa (a little), the Gulf, Burma of the yesteryears, Bombay... so why not add Zanzibar and Tz to that list? FN PS: As a student growing up in the Goa of the 1970s and early 1980s, I was much influenced by the essay of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, titled So That Man May Be Liberated. (Couldn't find a copy of the same online though, but I probably have a paper copy somewhere in my cluttered files... if anyone knows of one online, please point to it.) At that time, it meant a lot for me to understand how Catholics in different parts of the globe (not just affluent southern Germany or conservative US) were coping with religion and politics in a fast-changing post-colonial situation. --- Protect Goa's natural beauty Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php ---
[Goanet] Zanzibar - Goans and the 1964 Revolution
In Goanet Digest of 10th January 2012, you have a review by Roland Francis, of Mervyn Marciel's fine account of his days as a civil servant in colonial Kenya. In that account, he comments thus: It must have been a frightening experience for the Goans settled there, especially since many of them were employed and well regarded by the Sultan who was deposed by a ragtag rough and ready African band of Zanzibaris. The Brits probably allowed this to happen, for their own reasons. No flea could make a move without the Brits allowing it to happen in the Africa of the day. As one of those Goans scared witless by the shock events and gratuitous violence that characterised the Zanzibar Revolution, I would take issue with the reviewer on at least three significant points. One, the revolutionaries were by no means altogether a ragtag rough and ready band. To start with, the Police Force and the embryonic military force were weak and not all that well armed and it therefore did not need much of a superior force to overcome them. Accordingly, initially it required a fairly small number of revolutionaries to overcome the military unit (located at a single camp) but once they had overcome the unit in a trice and got their hands on the armoury, they were pretty well armed and were able to impose their will upon the islands without much opposition. However, what was certainly present at the time unbeknown, it would appear, to the coalition Government that was overthrown, was a well-trained unit of Comrades - Zanzibar Arab youths, members of the (pro-Peking, as it then was, Communist) Umma Party led by the internationally renowned socialist, Abdulrahman Mohammed 'Babu'. These youths had received their training in Cuba primarily, and having known some of them as friends in my youth, believe me, they were no rag tag band. As the Revolution developed, however, more Africans joined the revolutionary forces and that would have given the appearance of a rag-tag band. Given that the Revolution did not happen just by chance but would have been planned (the BBC's Keith Kyle suggested that three separate groups were planning revolutions at the time of Independence) , one can reasonably assume that a contingent of fighters would have received at least some training on a clandestine basis. However, the sharp spine provided by the 'Comrades' was present in the background and, in my view, were the ones to have taken a firm grip of the Revolution. In retrospect, it served a useful purpose to present the Revolution as a spontaneous uprising of the population. The reviewer then suggests that Goans were well regarded by the Sultan. Well they may or may not have been. In any event, whilst a number of Goans certainly did occupy the middle and lower ranks of the Civil Service (with a sprinkling of them in the higher reaches), they were by no means the backbone of the Civil Service, overwhelmed as they were by other Asians and Zanzibar Arabs. Indeed, the one Goan - Wolfango Dourado - to rise to an influential level (as Attorney General) did so *after* the Revolution. It also has to be remember that the Sultan of Zanzibar was a constitutional monarch and would, therefore, have played no role in determining the composition of the Civil Service. That was developed by the British administrators who the reviewer appears to deride! Presumably, Goans in Zanzibar were also well-regarded by the Brits. Thirdly, the reviewer states ever so categorically: The Brits probably allowed this (i.e. the Revolution) to happen, for their own reasons. No flea could make a move without the Brits allowing it to happen in the Africa of the day. This is cynical nonsense. He hedges his bets with probably allowed. The Brits had split the scene by then! Zanzibar was an independent state, an independent Sultanate by then, the British having restored Zanzibar's independence (from its previous Protectorate status) a mere month before then and an Arab-dominated, Arab and Shirazi coalition Government was in charge. Indeed, the allegation before independence was that the British administration had gerrymandered constituency boundaries to ensure the return of the coalition Government. So, they could hardly have allowed the Revolution to take place. The No flea could make a move reference is dresedup to make the colonial administrations in the Africa of the day seem inbued with Nazi-like efficiency. However, any student of colonial history would confirm that, despite any shortcomings on the part of the British in Africa, their administrative prowess was not that tight. Indeed, it could be argued with much credence that the British administrations --- Protect Goa's natural beauty Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php ---
Re: [Goanet] Zanzibar - Goans and the 1964 Revolution
For those interested in the history of Zanzibar and its revolution and want to weigh in on the opinions of Francis DeLima, here are two excellent web resources: http://www.zanzibarhistory.org/zanzibar_revolution.htm http://www.zanzinet.org/zanzibar/history/historia.html#colony It is apparent that although DeLima's Babu and gang were planning a revolution, it was Julius Neyere who was the main supporter and backer. Despite this, it is turned out that it was John Okello an outsider (whom DeLima makes no mention of) and his rag-tag band of less than 60 men who were responsible. The violent events that unfolded, overtook both Babu and Nyerere who were caught with their pants down by the events initiated by Okello and his stevedores. The Goan population of Zanzibar was approx 581 in 1958. That would be much less than the number of Goans in one five storied circular building (Jer Mahal) in Dhobitalao in the same year. Roland. Toronto. -Original Message- From: goanet-boun...@lists.goanet.org [mailto:goanet-boun...@lists.goanet.org] On Behalf Of delima francis Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 5:00 AM To: goa...@goanet.org Subject: [Goanet] Zanzibar - Goans and the 1964 Revolution In Goanet Digest of 10th January 2012, you have a review by Roland Francis, of Mervyn Marciel's fine account of his days as a civil servant in colonial Kenya. In that account, he comments thus: --- Protect Goa's natural beauty Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php ---
