scholarly journals A brave one-legged general: The story of Mau Mau General, Kassam Gichimu Njogu

2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julius M. Gathogo
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Western Kenya ◽  
African Religion ◽  
War Of Independence ◽  
Mau Mau ◽  
The People ◽  
The One ◽  
Colonial Government ◽  
Central Kenya

This article sets out to demonstrate the role of the ‘one-legged devil’ (as the colonialists called Patrick Gichimu Njogu), also called General Kassam. Kassam was one of the pioneer generals of the Mau Mau, a guerrilla movement that operated from the central Kenya forests as they participated in the war of liberation from the early 1950s to the early 1960s. Was Kassam a one-legged general from the word go? Methodologically speaking, the article is partially based on interviews conducted with the general before his death at the age of 89 in 2011. Being an insider, Kassam helped to give an in-depth understanding of the Mau Mau war of independence by relating the role of the Kavirondo people of western Kenya in Mau Mau historiography. Were they enticed by the colonial government to abandon the idea of the armed struggle as a way of writing off colonialism? Or did the Kavirondo (western Kenya) embrace the theology of non-violence (and pacifism) and eventually left the central Kenya group to battle it alone? Or were the people of western Kenya dissuaded to take part in the struggle by the Christian ‘gospel of love’ that abhorred violence, leading to abandoning their colleagues from central Kenya at the last minute? Theoretically speaking, the article is largely informed by John Walton’s theory of reluctant rebels. Walton argues that rebels are always incited by the leading elites in a society that undergoes war or civil war at any given time in history.Contribution: The article contributes to growing knowledge by discussing the Mau-Mau Movement in Kenya’s quest for freedom, from the 1950s to early 1960s, to demonstrate the religious role of armed conflicts in Africa. In this case, General Kassam, a baptised Anglican Christian, whose loyalty to the ancestral pantheons drove him to the quasi-religious war of independence, is the key subject in this article. In this war of independence in Kenya, a seeming conflict between African religion and Christian religion appears as a key emerging issue. The article is relevant to the HTS Journal and the world of scholarship because it is a theo-anthropocentric piece of work which deals with God, creation, and inevitable human conflicts – all of which have answers before God.

scholarly journals Meninjau Praktik Kebijakan Tanam Paksa di Hindia Belanda 1830-1870

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-134
Author(s):  
Alfa Tirza Aprilia ◽  
Hendi Irawan ◽  
Yusuf Budi
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Cultivation System ◽  
East Indies ◽  
The People ◽  
The Social ◽  
Dutch East Indies ◽  
The One ◽  
Colonial Government ◽  
Narrative Description

This research discusses the practice of forced cultivation in the Dutch East Indies in the period 1830 to 1870. The method used in this research is the historicalmethod and its presentation in the form of a narrative description. The results ofthis study explain that the practice of forced cultivation in the Dutch East Indieshad a very large influence on the Netherlands and the people of the NetherlandsIndies. The system of forced cultivation changed the role of the colonialgovernment and native rulers, changed the social conditions of rural communitiesby giving birth to the concept of communal land and the introduction of the moneyeconomy system in the countryside. The forced cultivation system also succeededin filling the empty treasury of the Netherlands, but on the one hand it causedsuffering for the people of the Dutch East Indies. The famine caused byexploitation of land and human resources is a consequence of the implementationof the forced cultivation policy. The other side of the implementation of the forcedcultivation policy was the entry and introduction of export commodity crops to thepeople of the Dutch East Indies. Keyword: forced cultivation, colonial government, people, farmersAbstrak

Reimagining the Nation-State: Indigenous Peoples and the Making of Plurinationalism in Latin America

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 773-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROGER MERINO
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
State Transformation ◽  
Liberal State ◽  
Local Resources ◽  
The People ◽  
Indigenous Perspectives ◽  
Political Foundations ◽  
Political Differences ◽  
The One

AbstractIn the last two decades, the concept of plurinationalism has appeared in discussions about nationalism, statehood and multilevel governance, being formulated as a new state model that accommodates cultural diversity within the liberal state with the aim of solving nationalistic conflicts in countries marked by profound ethnic grievances, mainly in Europe. However, these discussions have paid less attention to the meaning of plurinationalism in ex-colonial contexts, particularly in recent experiences of state transformation in Bolivia and Ecuador, where the role of indigenous peoples in the plurinational project has been crucial. To fill this gap, this article explores the legal and political foundations, challenges and local and international dynamics in the building of the plurinational model in both countries. Under a critical engagement with Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL), this article argues that plurinationality from indigenous perspectives departs from multicultural liberal models associated with current European plurinational views, and addresses two challenges: a global political economy of resource extraction, and a racialized state structure working as a barrier to actual plurinational implementation. These limitations explain an intrinsic tension in the Bolivian and Ecuadorian experience: on the one hand, plurinational governments try to unify the people around the ‘national interest’ of developing extractive industries; and on the other hand, they attempt to recognize ethno-political differences that often challenge the transnational exploitation of local resources.

A Social Media Manifesto

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Pitts
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Public Good ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
The Public ◽  
The People ◽  
Healthcare Marketing ◽  
The One ◽  
Hard Place

The role of marketing communications is to advance the bottom line and the public good – and not necessarily in that order. Giving back is an integral part of the New Normal. And there has never been a better tool to accomplish this mission than social media.But healthcare marketing –and particularly of the regulated variety --is between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, marketers understand the importance and opportunity in social media. It’s where the people are. It’s where the action is. But then there are all those pesky regulatory concerns.As Walter O’Malley –the man who moved the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles once commented, “The future is just one damn thing after another.”

scholarly journals The Promise of the 1821 Revolution and the Suffering Body. Some thoughts on Modernisation and Anti-intellectualism

2013 ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleni Andriakaina
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Grand Narrative ◽  
War Of Independence ◽  
Popular Narrative ◽  
The People ◽  
Freedom Fighters ◽  
Popular View ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
Popular Nationalism

How can we understand and interpret the popular narrative of the 1821 revolution that speaks for the suffering body of the fighter while it reproaches the "Frenchified heterochthons" and conveys a kind of anti intellectualism (defined broadly and loosely by Merle Curti as "a suspicion of, opposition to, or derogation of intellectuals")? The popular view of 1821 has its origins in the memoirs of the "freedom fighters" written after the War of Independence. Its main motifs travelled from the early nineteenth to the late twentieth century and lent themselves to multiple readings and various ideological uses. Although it has a socio political content, it cannot be explained in terms of a grand narrative of class war, as some Marxist historians of the twentieth century argue; neither can it be understood in terms of the grand narrative of Greek modernisation, that is, as a survival from a previous stage of historical development, a relic from the past, even though it draws its motives from traditional sources and idealises the role of chieftains in the War of Independence. I suggest that we approach the anti-intellectualism of the early nineteenth century from an anti-essentialist perspective of Greek history that highlights the Janus-face of modernisation and the ambivalent nature of modern ideologies (especially of popular nationalism) with regard to the relation between the intellectual and the people or the nation.

scholarly journals Nikolai Berdyaev about Lenin as a politician: between pragmatism, amoralism and fanatism

2020 ◽  
pp. 25-31
Author(s):  
A. Lyisyuk
Keyword(s):  
Socialist Revolution ◽  
Political Skills ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Party Building ◽  
The People ◽  
Cultural Standards ◽  
Analytical Argument ◽  
Soviet Russia ◽  
The One

In the article, with references to various researches and politicians, is indicated, on the one hand, contradictory attitude to Lenin's personality and practice, presented in scientific and political-ideological discourse, on the other – enormous role of the communist leader with regard to the transformation of political image of the world of XX century. In addition, the concept of Leninism still keeps its influence on political processes in the post-Soviet space.In the text, using Berdyaev’s analytical argument presented in his different works, is studied set of Lenin’s personal and political skills and features which enabled him to get political victory: a) energetically strong motive of power inherent to him and fanatism; b) usage of any means to achieve revolution goals; c) reproduction of traditional for Russia model of government; d) transformation of communist doctrine into a kind of religious (totalitarian) study; e) vast usage of coercion and violence while neglecting value and freedoms of individual; f) reflection in politics historical and cultural standards which dominated in the country, what stipulated Lenin’s image compliance with the parameters of a “typically Russian man”; g) creative attitude towards Marxism ideology, which made it possible to formulate doctrine on the possibility of a socialist revolution in one country; h) institutional basis development of party building in Russia; i) creative combination of revolutionary (destroyer) and statesman features; j) political despotism and others. Berdyaev indicates on unresolved tasks of socialist construction in Soviet Russia, as after the revolution a new privileged elite appeared in the country, far from the interests of the people, and the phenomenon of social exclusion was not overcome. Defined political technologies developed by Lenin, which can be used in modern politics

scholarly journals Social cultural environment and public administration management based on the change of main social contradictions

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-18
Author(s):  
Xiao Li ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Cultural Environment ◽  
State Control ◽  
The Core ◽  
Core Content ◽  
The People ◽  
The Government ◽  
The One ◽  
Role Of The Government

The main contents of the ethical norms of public administration are the supremacy of public welfare, harmful inaction, and careful use of power, social responsibility, equal competition and enhancement of trust. Contradiction is a philosophical category reflecting the unity of opposites within and between things, and is the core content of materialist dialectics. The main social contradiction is the one that occupies the core position and dominates the society. Administration itself is not the ultimate goal, it is a series of communication channels to convey people's needs and wishes, and to ensure that these needs and wishes can be reflected and considered through state control. Similarly, these channels also play the role of the government in conveying policies and implementing tasks to the people. Therefore, if these channels are to make positive and significant contributions to people-centered development, the role of administration must adapt to the social-cultural environment and tradition.

scholarly journals ‘WOMEN, COME AND ROAST YOUR OWN RAM!’: RECOLLECTIONS ON MAU-MAU GENERAL CHUI WA MARARO (1927–1956)

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julius Gathogo
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
War Of Independence ◽  
Mau Mau ◽  
Security Officers ◽  
Gun Shot ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Shot Wounds

Little has been written about General Chui (1927–1956), the unique and charismatic fighter during Kenya’s war of independence, yet he worked hand-in-hand with Field Marshall Dedan Kimathi Wachiuri, the overall commander of Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also called Mau- Mau fighters. Kibara wa Mararo, later General Chui, who came from Meiria residence, Mugaya state, Kamuiru village of Mutira location, Ndia Division of the present day Kirinyaga County, Kenya, became a household name, and a hero to the then marginalised African populace, after the famous Mbaara ya Rui Ruiru (battle of river Ruiru). In this war of 1953, which took place on the border of Nyeri district (which was elevated to a County in 2010) and the old Embu district (which constitutes Kirinyaga and Embu counties), Kibara wa Mararo disguised himself as a regional inspector of the police. Clad in full colonial army uniform, he was able to trick some security officers and the loyalists who were derogatorily called Tukonia (empty sacks). This made them quickly rush to meet their boss. In a twinkle of an eye, the coded language (kebunoko) was sounded calling the Mau-Mau fighters who eventually turned their guns on the officers thereby wiping them clean in one blow. It is from there that the Mau-Mau high command declared him an army general. Since then, he became known as General Chui – ‘Chui’ meaning the sharp leopard. As Kenya marked its 50 years of independence (1963–2013), with pomp and colour, the sacrificial role of General Chui re-appears as one wonders: how was such a military genius finally ambushed at River Rwamuthambi’s Riakiania mushy cave and subsequently shot dead by the colonial forces? Did the surrendering Mau-Mau soldiers betray him, General Magazine and the other fighters who died of gun shot wounds at the Riakiania scene? Again, what were his political ideals? In its methodology, the article begins by retracing the nature of Mau-Mau movement citing the key issues that possibly caused it. It then moves on to chronicle General Chui wa Mararo as a case study. The materials in this presentation are largely gathered through interviews and archival sources.

Feminist revision of oral history methodology for the study of armed conflicts

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-69
Author(s):  
Zuriñe Rodríguez Lara ◽  
Sergio Villanueva Baselga
Keyword(s):  
Oral History ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Basque Country ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Feminist Epistemology ◽  
Oral Histories ◽  
The People ◽  
Role Of Women ◽  
Oral Information

This article sets out presenting the methodological toolbox created for the study of very specific reality: the gathering of oral information in the study of armed conflicts. Taking as a valid reference the oral history technique, we explored new methodological processes that allowed us to reach the lives and stories of the people interviewed more deeply, with a closer approach to their lives, but at the same time respecting and ensuring maximum access and confidentiality. To do this, the oral history methodology was reviewed with the main contributions of feminist epistemology. Thereby, we created ex profeso new methodological processes adapted to study the role of women as violence perpetrators in armed conflicts. Our proposal expands up to 5 different phases with either technical or emotional functions. The validity of this new methodological toolbox has been tested through an extensive research in the armed conflict of the Basque Country (Spain) performing oral histories to 25 women and 10 men.

scholarly journals IUS Post Bellum and The Imperative to Supersede IHL

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 110 ◽  
pp. 193-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Kalmanovitz
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
The Other ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
The One

In recent debates about the interplay between international humanitarian law (IHL) and human rights law (IHRL), two broad camps have emerged. On the one hand, defenders of what may be called the convergence thesis have emphasized the inclusion of basic rights protections in the so-called “Geneva instruments” of IHL, as well as the role of human rights bodies in interpreting and amplifying rights protections in IHL through juridical or quasi-juridical interpretation and pronouncements. In armed conflicts, it is said, human rights apply concurrently and in ways that strengthen the protective constraints of IHL. Critics of the convergence thesis, on the other hand, have protested that pressing human rights obligations on state forces misunderstands the nature of both IHL and IHRL, and generates misplaced and impossibly onerous demands on belligerents—ultimately and perversely, the effect of emphasizing convergence may be less, not more, human rights protection.

Two Strands of Nationalism: A Narrative on the Mizo War of Independence

2021 ◽  
pp. 232102302199915
Author(s):  
Zarzosanga
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
National Front ◽  
War Of Independence ◽  
Political Landscape ◽  
Independence Movement ◽  
Significant Events ◽  
Draw Conclusion ◽  
Ideological Dimension ◽  
The One

The Mizo War of Independence, also labelled as the Mizo Insurgency Movement, spanned over a period of nearly 20 years, during which significant events and developments occurred, which greatly shaped and moulded the socio-political landscape of the state. Accounts and narratives of what took place during those turbulent years are aplenty. However, not much literature or narrative could be found about the ideological dimension of the movement and its ramifications. Hence, the main aim of the article is to emphasize on the underlying two strands of nationalism, that is, the nationalistic ideals pursued by the Mizo National Front (MNF) as an organization, on the one hand, and the strand of nationalism championed by its president and leader, Laldenga, on the other hand. The first part of the article examines the strand of nationalism of the MNF, the main perpetrator of the independence movement and the role of its founding president, Laldenga, in formulating that ideology. The second section of the article traces and analyses the so-called ‘Laldenga’s nationalism’. Finally, the article attempts to draw conclusion on how the two strands of nationalism impacted the outcome of the Mizo War of Independence as a whole.

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