Zimbabwe and Robert Mugabe - JournalsOfIndia (2023)

Bron: O Hindu

Pedagogy Manifesto:UPSC has focused on the decolonization process several times after incorporating World History into its curriculum. There have been many peculiar questions about the decolonization of West Africa and the decolonization of the Malay Peninsula. These kinds of questions broadened the horizon of the exam. It is imperative that students have the widest possible coverage of the decolonization process. In this light, colonization, decolonization and the peculiar settler problem in Zimbabwe are very important in light of the death of Robert Mugabe.

In the news:Robert Gabriel Mugabe, a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister and President of Zimbabwe, has died.

Do not insert syllables:World history - important events

Dimensions:

• Zimbabwe colonization course
• Settler colonies in Zimbabwe
• Rise of the independence movement
• Robert Mugabe's government
• Persistent settler problem after independence
• International sanctions against Zimbabwe
• Remains of Mugabe

Satisfied:Zimbabwe's founder Robert Gabriel Mugabe died on September 6, 2019.

Zimbabwe Colonization Course:

• In the 1880s, the British arrived with Cecil Rhodes' British South Africa Company.
• In 1888, British colonialist Cecil Rhodes received a concession of mining rights from King Lobengula of the Ndebele Indigo people.
• Presenting this grant, he persuaded the UK government to grant him a royal charterBritish Society of South Africa (BSAC)over Matabeleland.
• Rhodes requested permission to negotiate similar concessions throughout the area between the Limpopo River and Lake Tanganyika, then known as"Zambesia".
• In 1895 BSAC took the name'Rhodesia'for the territory of Zambezia, in honor of Cecil Rhodes.
• in 1898,"Southern Rhodesia"became the official name for the region south of the Zambezi, which later became Zimbabwe.
• The Northern Region was administered separately from the BSAC and was later namedNorthern Rhodesia(present-day Zambia).
• The ancestral Shona people staged unsuccessful rebellions in 1896 and 1897 against the encroachment of their lands by BSAC clients and Cecil Rhodes.
• After the failed rebellion of 1896-1897, European settlement accelerated, leading to a disproportionate distribution of land in favor of Europeans, displacing the Shona, Dembele and other indigenous peoples.
• Southern Rhodesia became a self-governing British colony in October 1923 following a referendum in 1922.
• Em 1953,Britain united the two colonies of Rhodesia with Nyasaland(present-day Malawi) in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, which was dominated by Southern Rhodesia.
• Growing African nationalism and general discord, particularly in Nyasaland, led the United Kingdom to dissolve the Union in 1963 and form three colonies.

Settler Colonies in Zimbabwe:

Southern Rhodesia grew up as a settler-ruled colony under the rule of the British South Africa Company (BSAC). Whites built farms along the railroad. To provide cheap labor for the colony's farms and mines, colonial administrators imposed heavy monetary taxes on black residents and encouraged emigration from Mozambique.

The colonists created a Legislative Council and when the BSAC's charter expired in 1923, a referendum was held to join South Africa. The vote was against union and Southern Rhodesia became an autonomous British colony. This marked the beginning of decades of prosperity for the white settlers in Southern Rhodesia.

emIn 1930, the colonial government passed the Land Distribution Act, which divided the colony into separate areas for whites and blacks. The act allocated about 50% of the land to white settlers, who made up less than 5% of the colony's population. The Great Depression of the 1930s hindered economic prosperity and white immigration. By 1950, the white population had grown to about 125,000. In1953, white settlers pressured the British government to unite Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland to form the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (also known as the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland).Central African Federation).

The federation lasted until 1963 and saw rapid economic expansion as Southern Rhodesia industrialized and became South Africa's second most powerful economy after South Africa. In 1960, black opposition to white settler rule became more active and vociferous. The first African trade unions appeared in the 1920s and African nationalist parties emerged in the 1950s. As party support grew, the colonial government became increasingly repressive, resisting the idea of ​​majority rule.

Rise of the Independence Movement:

• When colonial rule ended across the continent and African-majority governments took control in neighboring Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, the white-minority government of Rhodesia led byIan Smith has drafted a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI).of the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965.
• Although Smith's declaration was not recognized by the United Kingdom or any other foreign power, in 1970 Southern Rhodesia withdrew the designation "South" and claimed the Republic of Rhodesia as a nation, although this was not recognized internationally.
• Without international recognition, the country was retaken by Britain after about three months, the UK saidLancaster House Agreementdesigned to ease the transition.
• The country again became a British colony known as Southern Rhodesia.
• THEthe white minority government declared itself a republic in 1970.
• Civil war ensued, with Joshua Nkomo's ZAPU and Robert Mugabe's ZANU.with the assistance of the governments of Zambia and Mozambique.
• The country has officially wonindependence as Zimbabwe on 18 April 1980when Southern Rhodesia gained its independence from the British and was named Zimbabwe.
• In the April 1980 elections, Robert Mugabe, head of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), won a majority and became Prime Minister of Zimbabwe..

Role of Robert Mugabe:

As a youth, he was greatly influenced by the leaders of India's independence movement, including Gandhi and Nehru. In 1960 he joined the movement in Southern Rhodesia led by Joshua Nkomo, the patriarch of the African nationalist struggle in the country. Mr. Mugabe founded the Zimbabwe African National Union.

In 1963 Mugabe and many of his allies were arrested and spent 11 years in prison. After serving time in prison, Mr. Mugabe left Rhodesia for Mozambique in 1975, trying to gain acceptance for his political party among the rebels.

After the 1979 British-brokered peace talks that established the independent state of Zimbabwe and opened the way for national elections, Mugabe returned home from exile. Mr. Mugabe was reluctant to agree to the British pact. He won a resounding victory in the new country's election as Prime Minister in 1980.

In one sense, he is the founder of Zimbabwe, the man who led his comrades in an armed struggle to liberate the black majority of Zimbabwe from the rule of the white Rhodesian minority. Among other things, his achievements led to a greater emphasis on health, education and the empowerment of women, opening up opportunities for many Zimbabweans, particularly the rural poor, who were excluded from Rhodesian opportunities.

Tourism and mining boomed and Zimbabwe was a regional breadbasket.

On the other hand, his 37-year reign was marked by massive human rights violationsSlachtingen exterminationand prosecuting supporters of Joshua Nkomo's rival Zapu party shortly after independence, to persecuting perceived enemies, both in the opposition and within his own party, whom he saw as a threat to his power.

Zimbabwe's economic problems are often attributed to the violent confiscations of thousands of white farms that began around 2000.landhervorming,Instead of redistributing farms to poor blacks, Mugabe gave prime farms to ruling party leaders, loyal supporters, security chiefs, relatives and friends. Swift Western sanctions soon followed, which, along with Mugabe's inconsistent economic policies and widespread corruption in his government, plunged the economy into a near-permanent recession for nearly two decades.

Mugabe Links:

Mugabe became president in 1988 and for the next 12 years remained relatively unchallenged as government investment in education and health helped the country prosper for a time. But in 2000, facing new political rivals, Mugabe backed youth gangs that began occupying white farms. Soon after, he decided that the government could seize the farms itself without paying the owners.

The rebellion came at a high cost as food shortages increased and the economy declined. Mr. Mugabe was under increasing international pressure to step down. In 2008, Mugabe rushed to a sixth term in office after being declared the winner in a one-man election.

Beatings and killings of opposition supporters forced his opponent to withdraw from the race, even after he ousted Mugabe in the presidential election.

Mugabe was re-elected in 2013 in another vote marred by alleged irregularities. Amid the political turmoil, Zimbabwe's economy, traditionally rich in agriculture and minerals, has deteriorated. On 15 November 2017, the Zimbabwe National Army placed Mugabe under house arrest. On 19 November 2017, he was sacked as leader of ZANU-PF and replaced by Mnangagwa.

The party gave Mugabe an ultimatum to resign by noon the next day or introduce a motion of no confidence against him. When Mugabe refused to step down, Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) MPs introduced a motion of impeachment on 21 November 2017 and, with both main parties supporting the motion, Mugabe's impeachment and removal seemed almost certain. However, in July 2018, the High Court of Zimbabwe ruled that Mugabe resigned voluntarily.

Persistent settler problem after independence:

After independence in 1980, whites in the country lost most of their previous privileges. A generous social network (including education and health care) that supported whites in Rhodesia disappeared almost immediately. Whites in the artisan, skilled labor, and supervisory classes began to face competition for jobs from blacks. Indigenization in public services has displaced many whites. As a result, white immigration gained momentum.

In the ten-year period from 1980 to 1990, about two-thirds of Zimbabwe's white population left. However, many whites decided to remain in the new Zimbabwe. Only a third of the white farming community left. Although small in absolute numbers, whites in Zimbabwe made up a large portion of the upper echelons of society.

A white man who remained in Zimbabwe and accepted the situation is known as "Zimbo". The lifting of UN-imposed economic sanctions and the end of the Bush War at the time of independence produced an immediate 'peace dividend'. One area of ​​economic growth was tourism, which catered mainly to visitors from Europe and North America. Many whites found work in this field.

Another area of ​​development was horticulture, which involved growing flowers, fruits and vegetables that were airlifted to market in Europe and involved many white farmers. The land was settled and the white population stabilized. A new crop of "new white millionaires" has emerged in the agricultural sector. These were usually young Zimbabweans applying skills learned at agricultural and business schools in Europe.

White Zimbabweans with professional skills were easily assimilated into the new order. In 1999, the government launched an "accelerated agrarian reform" program. The goal was to transfer 4,000 white farms, mostly prime farmland, to black ownership. As of mid-2006, only 500 of the original 5,000 white farms were still fully operational. However, in early 2007, several of the confiscated farms were leased to their former white owners.

The post-2000 recession saw the emergence of a "poor white" class. These are usually people who lack capital, education and skills and therefore cannot immigrate from Zimbabwe. While wealthy white landowners emigrated or fended for themselves financially, their white servants, who worked mainly as overseers of black labor, were stranded on the streets of urban centers.

Advocates of dispossessed white farmers claimed that a lack of professional management skills on the part of the new landowners had led to a dramatic decline in agricultural production in Zimbabwe. In an effort to increase their own agricultural production, neighboring countries, including Mozambique and Zambia, have offered land and other incentives to entice white Zimbabwean farmers to migrate. In June 2008, it was reported that only 280 white farmers remained and that all their farms had been invaded.

International sanctions against Zimbabwe:

In February 2019, the European Parliament recommended further sanctions against the Zimbabwean government for state-sponsored violence. In recent years, the EU has reduced the number of sanctioned officials from the original list of 200 placed in the measures first imposed in 2002. Mnangagwa's government has been accused of sending soldiers to attack unarmed civilians who were shot and a series of human rights abuses in response to protests against fuel hikes.

So far, none of the soldiers involved have been arrested, while more than 1,000 officers and supporters, mostly from the opposition, have been arrested. The EU said all long-term EU aid to Zimbabwe would be based on "comprehensive reforms and not simple promises".

US President Donald Trump extended sanctions against Zimbabwe for a year in March 2019, saying the new administration's policies continue to pose an "unusual and extraordinary" threat to US foreign policy. Trump administration officials have said the sanctions will remain in place until President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government changes Zimbabwean laws that restrict press freedom and allow protests.

According to US officials, there are currently 141 entities and individuals in Zimbabwe under US sanctions, including Mnangagwa and former president Robert Mugabe. Mnangagwa has called for the lifting of sanctions against the ruling ZANU-PF party and some state-owned companies, which were imposed during the Mugabe administration for human rights abuses and undermining the democratic process.