Post-independence Periods Research Articles

From relegation to elevation

Kenya’s Marriage Act of 2014 was passed with the effect of harmonizing all matrimonial laws in operation in the country into one statute. The Marriage Act provides that all marriages in Kenya have equal legal status, and requires that all marriages, including those concluded under customary law, must be registered. This article analyses how customary marriages have been treated under Kenya’s law in three distinct time periods- the colonial, post-independence and contemporary Kenya. It argues that while customary marriages were treated as inferior during the colonial and post-independence periods, in contemporary Kenya, the Marriage Act has had the effect of elevating customary law marriages so that they are equal to marriages under other systems. Further, the article assesses the status of women married under customary law and demonstrates that the Marriage Act has resulted in the greater protection of the rights of married women in Kenya.

Language Choice and the Problematics of Ideology in the Pre- and Post-Independence Ghanaian Press: A Historical and Cultural Analysis

This study adds to the existing literature on the history of the Ghanaian press from pre-colonial times to 1992, focusing on language: its choice and ideological, socio-cultural, and political ramifications. While the history of the press has received massive scholarly attention, the same cannot be said of language and its use in historical accounts. Thus, from a historical research perspective, employing an analytical and interpretive study of secondary data sources, and underpinned by cultural theories such as linguistic imperialism and hegemony, this study analyses how language was featured in the press during the research period and the implications thereof. This analysis shows that various institutions and individuals exploited language to foster narrow socio-cultural, ideological, and political agendas in the Gold Coast, later Ghana. This study also revealed that language use and its ideological forces during the pre- and immediate post-independence periods contributed immensely to Ghanaian media’s current state and Ghanaians’ general language attitudes. This study’s significance lies in the realisation that language, as a cultural artifact, and its choice, use, and consumption could have far-reaching consequences for the self-realisation, actualisation, and general progress of a society. Thus, African societies should be mindful of the ideological implications of language choices not just in the press but also in other societal contexts. This study, therefore, invites further studies on language and its use in the media, especially from 1992, for a more comprehensive appreciation of the issues raised in this study.

Race, Time, and Architecture: Dilemmas of Africanization in Ghana, 1951–66

Abstract This article discusses the Africanization of architectural labor in Ghana during the late colonial and early postindependence periods (1951–66). It focuses on the state-supported emergence, advancement, and emancipation of Indigenous architects and institutions in the context of decolonization and the Cold War. Using archival materials held in Accra, Kumasi, and London, the article shows how professionals and administrators negotiated between their double obligations: to fast-track governmental development plans and to Africanize the Public Works Department and its successors. These decision makers addressed temporal dilemmas concerning recruitment, standards, allocation, and racialization of architectural labor. In so doing, they redefined both colonial-era racial categories and racialized Cold War imaginaries of who counted as an African and who counted as an Other. This study advances the architectural history of postcolonial Ghana and broadens the debate about racialization of architecture beyond North America and Western Europe.

Unveiling the life and works of Manakoddam Keshavan Vaidyan: Expert in Panchakarma and Ayurvedic narrative medicine approach

Abstract This article presents the life profile of Manakoddam Keshavan Vaidyan—a Panchakarma expert from Kerala. We interviewed Vaidyan’s family members and acquaintances to collect more information about his life, mission, vision, and contributions to Ayurveda. He was an orator, patriot, social reformer, and gifted physician with in-depth knowledge of Panchakarma treatment. An attempt was also made to review his book, “Panchakarmam Athava Sodhana Chikitsa” and present its key specialties. This book may be one of the earliest works in Ayurveda, following a narrative medicine approach. He provides a detailed interpretation of Panchakarma concepts and tries to narrate the efficacy of these procedures through case reports from his clinical practice. The article provides insights into his life, mission, and role in strengthening Ayurveda in Kerala during pre- and post-independence periods.

Literary Associations and Language Activism: Reading the Past and Present Motivations of Asam Sahitya Sabha

In the early decades of the twentieth century in colonial Assam, the standardisation of language, the expansion of regional literature and literary circles, and the challenges arising for linguistic communities led to the formation of Asam Sahitya Sabha (ASS) that intended to work for the advancement of Assamese language in the interest of the public. Implicit in its model of association was the notion of collective identity that gradually set the pace for assertions. The ASS’s motivations cannot be discussed in isolation. The historical junctures of colonial India must be taken into account that had set the stage for revolutionising the literary spaces. This article has two key aims, first to discuss the events of ASS’s activism during the colonial and post-independence periods and observe the relevant transitions. Second, to look at the mobilisation agendas pursued by the ASS in contemporary times and whether there are alternative inspirations. To place the key issues of the present, the insights from ASS members, who were interviewed, are included. Overall, this article looks at the associational form of the language assertion in Assam, years earlier and the roles adopted with the changing times.

A legal framework for foreign direct investment: A case of an emerging market

There is unbridled competition among countries to attract foreign direct investments (Sethi et al., 2003). Developing countries are continuously revising their legal framework and policies to prevail in such a dynamic environment. The legal framework for foreign direct investment (FDI) in Kosovo since the establishment of temporary institutions until today has undergone constant changes and amendments to persuade foreign investors for investment purposes. The efforts to address issues raised by investors have played a pivotal role by shaping the legal environment in such ways in order to lure foreign investors. The main purpose of this study is to assess the legal framework in Kosovo by comparing the post-war and post-independence periods. This study adapts qualitative methodology and uses secondary data. The research concludes that although the legal changes were aimed at attracting foreign investors, this goal is still not being realized successfully. The findings of this research are very relevant because they can greatly contribute to other countries by learning the right lessons from Kosovo’s experience that can be used for other emerging markets.

Preservation and Conservation Initiatives of Libraries in Sri Lanka: A Review of Literature

Libraries are institutions that provide access to a comprehensive collection of information and resources for educational, research, and recreational purposes. They serve as repositories of knowledge and offer numerous services to their communities. In this process, libraries play a paramount role in preserving and conserving library materials for future generations. The objectives of this paper were to investigate the significant Preservation and Conservation (PAC) initiatives of library materials from the ancient periods (3rd Century BC to 5th Century AD), the colonial period (1505 to 1948), and the post-independence period (1948 to date), to identify the gaps related to the current practices of PAC in Sri Lanka and to identify the issues related to PAC in Sri Lanka. This study focused on a qualitative research method. Relevant literature was found through secondary sources such as books, journal articles, conference papers, organizational reports and websites. The Department of National Museums (DNM), Department of National Archives (DNA) and National Library and Documentation Services Board (NLDSB) and Sri Lankan University Libraries (ULs), were purposively selected. The secondary resources were gathered from online and offline resources based on subject-related keywords. The published year was not considered during the process, and priority was given to Sri Lankan and foreign-authored publications on preservation and conservation of library materials in Sri Lanka. Literature was analyzed based on above mentioned three time frames selected for the study. The study identified growing trends in preservation and conservation practices from ancient to post-independence periods. Even though some evidence goes back to King Vijaya’s period (483 BC), official writing was started in 103–77 BC. Some writing materials, such as inscriptions, palm leaves, and golden plates, were used during this period. And they were preserved for future purposes. Later, in the colonial period, the Portuguese, Dutch and British developed writing materials and established positions such as Record keepers and Archivists. They introduced ‘paper’ in this period. Then, in the post-independence period, the DNM, DNA, NLDSB and ULs were identified as pioneering organizations that led the task of preserving. It was identified gaps between the literatures and existing literature only identified palm leaves as a main library material to be conserved and preserved. The main issues derived from the analysis were a lack of financial allocations, policies, laws and regulations, training, and research related to the field. The study pointed out the need for a separate preservation and conservation unit to handle the preservation activities in each library while establishing a distinct institute for Research and Development and to provide necessary training required to maintain the activities of preservation and conservation of library materials in the country.

Reviewing the Colonial Period Islamic Education System in Indonesia: What is Still Relevant to Continue

The presence of Islam religion in Indonesia follows a very diverse and dynamic pattern considering the styles and the changes during the period of Dutch and Japanese colonization, the post-independence and post reform periods. The present study reviews the Islamic education system in Indonesia during the colonial period in terms of relevancy and continuity. A thorough literature review on the the Islamic education system during the Dutch and Japanese colonial times was performed and the collected data was analyzed and processed. The study followed a phenomenological approach that involves an in-depth analysis and evaluation data coordination The presence of Islam religion in Indonesia follows a very diverse and dynamic pattern considering the styles and the changes during the period of Dutch and Japanese colonization, the post-independence and post reform periods. The present study reviews the Islamic education system in Indonesia during the colonial period in terms of relevancy and continuity. A thorough literature review on the the Islamic education system during the Dutch and Japanese colonial times was performed and the collected data was analyzed and processed. The study followed a phenomenological approach that involves an in-depth analysis and evaluation data coordination

Tribal Migration in Indian Censuses: A Neglected and Litigated Area

Tribe and caste migration in Indian Censuses did not get proper attention during the colonial as well as post-independence periods. Censuses in the post-independence period have followed a conservative approach to enumerating tribes, castes and religions. The migration data on Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Scheduled Castes (SCs) have been presented since the 2001 Census, but its scope is limited. The enumeration of inter-state migration of STs is entangled in legislative jargon. When tribes in India have dipped into severe poverty and unemployment, forcefully alienated from forests and hills, confronted development-induced displacement, and migrated by distress driven to the urban centres in distant places in search of jobs. When the demand for independent territory or statehood, such as Nagalim, Zale’n-gam and many others, consolidating the tribal inhabited areas bifurcated into three to four neighbouring states leads to insurgency and mass cross-border movement of ethnic groups. The presumption of ST migration within the jurisdiction of the State/UT of enumeration in the Censuses during the post-independence period is delusive and very irrational. The study provides insight into such limitations of Census data on tribal migration, legislative jargon and politics involved with it. It also discusses the nature of provided data on tribal migration.

Racism and Indifference in Brazil: Anti-indigenous Text, Action, and Sensibility

AbstractThe article investigates how racist trends have permeated Brazilian history and geography. It discusses the persistence of racism and indifference in the early post-independence and republic periods. Past relations continued to systematically impact the present in an always unfinished process of nation-building based on spurious treatments of socio-spatial differences. The discussion makes use of emblematic literature books and controversial interpretations of progress and national identity. One of the most relevant examples of the contested basis of national development, examined in the second part of the text, is the trajectory of indigenous peoples. The main reference is the Guarani-Kaiowa indigenous nation, which has been relentlessly impacted by an aggressive instrumentalisation of difference through the indifference of an agribusiness-based regional society. Their contemporary experience exposes multiple violence accumulated over time and through the production of an uneven space by explorers, missionaries, colonists, public authorities and, eventually, the export-oriented agribusiness sector. Despite all racist violence, the voice, consciousness and agency of indigenous peoples represent the most acute challenge to the status quo and the main source of creative politics in the country today.

Disrupting Caste Hegemony in Punjab: A Reading of the Punjabi Dalit Poetry of the Pre-Independence Period

The idea of caste has always been debatable, contested and controversial. Since the time of its inception, it has been prevalent throughout India. Any Indian cannot define his or her identity without referring to his or her caste. However, it also became and still is a reason behind the marginalization and exploitation of millions of people. Various activists, scholars, thinkers, political leaders and literary writers have tried to fight against the stigmatization of a particular caste. However, the experience of caste discrimination is not the same in all the states of India. Though the basic problems and concerns of Dalits such as untouchability and exploitation are the same, their degree and intensity vary from one state to another. Various cultural, social and economic moorings impact the way caste-based discrimination is practised in a particular society. Various critics from Punjab such as Ronki Ram, Harish Puri and Paramjit Judge argue that the experience of Dalits in Punjab is comparatively different than those in other parts of India because in Punjab casteism was practised not on the basis of purity/pollution syndrome but as a divide between the landless and the land-owning communities, so they have studied the material aspect of caste. It is observed that the literary writings by Dalits from Punjab highlight instances of untouchability and caste-based discrimination in the pre- and post-independence periods. They resisted and protested against the caste system and also claimed to overthrow it. Therefore, the article seeks to evaluate the notion of casteless in Punjab. It takes into account the poetry of Gurdas Ram Alam, Charan Das Nidharak and Pritam Ramdaspuri. Through the qualitative content analysis using theories of Dalit aesthetics, the article explores the major thrust areas of Punjabi Dalit poets and highlights how these poets express their caste identity and try to raise the consciousness of their fellow caste members and protest against the discriminatory practices of the dominant Punjabi society and culture. It also, in a way, makes these poets (and those communities to which they belong) a subcultural phenomenon that runs parallel to the dominant Jatt culture of Punjab.

The Dynamics of Regional Autonomy in Indonesia

This article concern on the progress of regional autonomy which existed in Indonesia during pre-colonial, colonial, independence and post-independence periods up to the present. This article is divided into four parts, namely clear description from the background of regional autonomy in Indonesia, a historical review from local autonomy in Indonesia and it's essential likewise to the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia and its regional autonomy progress according to the rules applied. The regional autonomy system in Indonesia is an essential matter, weighing up that Indonesia is a unitary state that has a large-scale and geographical area, so that it requires the implementation of regional autonomy system that capable to become an extension from central government to ruled their respective territories according to regulations applied.

Economics and Tourism as Agents of Global Connection: Garut Mid-19th Century to Mid-20th Century

The beauty of Garut has been tempting many tourists to enjoy it since the early 20th century. Tourists who visit not only come from within but also from abroad. Studies on tourism in Garut have not received much attention. Scholars usually take Garut as a place of research; the topics discussed are related to social movements during the Dutch and Post-Independence periods. In Christian mission activities, there are multiple motives or impure motives. One of which is romantic motives, namely motives driven by the desire to go to distant and exotic lands and nations. So not infrequently, the mission staff are also interested in recording the tourism sector. This research will focus on examining Garut's economic and tourism development and Global connections in the zending Nederlandsche Zendingsvereeniging (NZV) records. This study uses the historical method using observation and secondary data, consisting of four stages: Heuristics, Critique of Interpretation, and Historiography. The study results stated that Garut made many foreigners live in this region. The progress of transportation built by the Dutch East Indies government had opened the door for tourism development in Garut. The natural beauty of Garut has invited many tourists to visit this area. This tourist visit has grown the new business in the Garut area, namely the construction of various tourism facilities such as hotels, tourism agents, and books containing tourism information in Garut. The following discussion and managerial implications are identified based on empirical findings.

Learning from Africana critical theory: A historicized contextualization of the impacts of Mozambique's natural gas project

Over the past decade, Mozambique's liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the province of Cabo Delgado has symbolized a new development opportunity for the country. The project attracted foreign investments to the province, and the national government has used it to showcase its progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The project however also introduced various socioeconomic ills including the displacement of over 10,000 people from their homes and livelihoods. Since 2017, Cabo Delgado province has simultaneously been an epicenter of armed violence, predominantly attributed to radical Islamic insurgency, communities’ marginalization from an expanding frontier of extractivism, and overall economic development. In this paper, we argue that understanding and addressing the negative impacts of contemporary extractivism in Mozambique require a historicized contextualization. Drawing on Africana critical theory (ACT), we contribute to this scholarly gap by highlighting several ways in which the challenges presented by the LNG project in Cabo Delgado are reminiscent of or rooted in colonial extractivism. To address the contradictions of contemporary extractivism, we propose that ACT scholarship which influenced some of the progressive policies of the anti-colonial and early post-independence periods may be insightful.

Neophotistoi and Apostates: Greece and Conversion in the Nineteenth Century

Greek historiography no longer ignores the massacres of non-Christians during the Greek War of Independence, but little thought is given to the fate of those Muslims and Jews that survived or how their presence, as non-Christians or as new converts, impacted the new state, its ideology, structures, policies or laws. This article begins to address this gap and attempts to highlight the seriousness with which Greek governments, both in the revolutionary and post-independence periods, confronted this issue. Using a variety of sources such as wills and dowry contracts, court cases, government records and revolutionary memoirs, the article attempts to show that modern historiography has underestimated the numbers and significance of converts and conversion, and that in this regard Greece and the Ottoman Empire share remarkable similarities in their treatment of conversion, the conflicts it generated, and the use of religion to shore up political weakness. As in the Ottoman Empire, conversion was a thorny issue for the early Greek governments that were trying to establish their legitimacy in the international arena. At the same time it provided opportunities for Greece to assert its influence far beyond its physical capacities, presenting itself as the defender of Orthodox Christians, a role previously monopolised by the Russian Empire.

Balancing Subsistence Agriculture and Self-Employment in Small Businesses: Continuity and Change in Women's Labor and Labor Relations in Mozambique, 1800–2000

Balancing Subsistence Agriculture and Self-Employment in Small BusinessesContinuity and Change in Women's Labor and Labor Relations in Mozambique, 1800–20001 Filipa Ribeiro da Silva (bio) ABSTRACT This article examines women's participation in the economy of Mozambique by looking into multiple forms of female work and labor relations in a historical perspective, covering the period from 1800 to 2000. To this aim, I present a tentative profile of the Mozambican female population and a preliminary analysis of women's activities in the different economic sectors, as well as of the ways in which they contribute to the economy of the household, the state and the market economy. This is done by examining different types of labor relations they appear involved in, comparatively to men, and by discussing main changes over time and possible explanatory factors. For this purpose, I use population counts, censuses, and statistical data produced by the Portuguese colonial state and the Mozambican government in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, respectively, alongside reports from officials of the Portuguese colonial state and the concessionary companies. KEYWORDS gender, women, labor, business, agriculture [End Page 118] Introduction This article examines women's participation in the economy of Mozambique by looking into multiple forms of female labor and labor relations in a historical perspective, in the last two hundred years. To do so, I adopt and apply the new methodological approach that has been developed within the framework of Global Labor History over the last decade under the initiative of the International Institute of Social History (hereafter IISH). For this purpose, I use mainly population counts dating from as early as the first decades of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century, as well as census data, reports from officials of the Portuguese colonial state and the concessionary companies operating in part of the territory of Mozambique, namely the Mozambique Company. Part of these sources are collected in different archives and libraries in Portugal. Others were produced by the Mozambican State in the 1980s and 1990s and in the first decades of the twenty-first century, such as censuses and statistical data. These are, for the most part, available online on the website of the Mozambican National Institute of Statistics.2 The methodological challenges posed by these sources will be discussed further in this text. In addition, I am also resorting to legislation on labor and women, information on main economic policies during the colonial period and after independence, as well as ethnographical and anthropological studies. Based on these source materials, I built a dataset on labor relations in Mozambique, which is used as the point of departure for this study.3 The classification of labor relations is based on the "Taxonomy of Labour Relations" (hereafter Taxonomy) developed by the "Global Collaboratory for the History of Labour Relations" (hereafter Global Collaboratory).4 This study aims, therefore, to analyze in comparative perspective the ways in which women and men have changed their engagement with the economy of the country, here broadly defined, and with the world of labor in four main chronological benchmarks (1800, 1900, 1950, 2000). These benchmark years have been chosen to allow us to assess the situation in key moments of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, namely the situation before the European colonization,5 after the development of the colonial economy, and, finally, in the post-independence and post-civil war periods.6 The article is divided into four main sections. I start by discussing the sources used and the challenges they pose to the researcher in terms of chronological and geographical coverage, but also the issues they raise in terms of the criteria of classification of the population employed by the census-takers. This is followed by the presentation of a tentative profile of the Mozambican female population, in relation to the total population. To [End Page 119] do so, I pay attention to a couple of key demographic indicators, namely total population, geographical distribution, functional age groups, gender distribution, and marital status. In the third section of the paper, I offer a preliminary analysis of the participation of women in the Mozambican economy. To this aim, I look at the proportion of women that...

Effects of development interventions on pastoral livelihoods in Turkana County, Kenya

Turkana County has a long history of drought and development interventions and remains one of the poorest counties in Kenya. In Turkana, livelihoods are increasingly under threat because of climate change, conflict, and the changing land use and management. There are complex interactions between the multiple drivers of change in landscapes and livelihoods in the region. The question addressed here is: How have external development interventions contributed to the changing pastoralist livelihoods in Turkana? This study is specific to the lower part of the Turkwel River basin, particularly the Nanyee irrigated area in Turkwel, Loima sub-County of Turkana County. This article examines the external development interventions during the colonial, post-independence, and contemporary periods to reveal the ways that land use practices and livelihoods have changed across these periods. Land use practices are changing due to the growing human population, droughts, urbanization, and dispossession of grazing areas through state and donor-supported interventions. It is suggested in this article that the change from a system of customary, unrestricted grazing to one of enclosed pastures has threatened pastoral territories, as well as cultures and livelihoods over the past six decades. The new set of development interventions introduced by international and national actors have failed to support local livelihoods, instead joining the list of existing problems that undermine pastoralism, including drought, livestock diseases, and cattle rustling.

Transnational Dimensions of Moroccan Gender History

Transnational Dimensions of Moroccan Gender History

Carceral urbanism: Reconstructing the architecture of punitive space in post-genocide Rwanda

In this article I make the argument that the prison in post-genocide Rwanda is an architectural artefact and a problem-space around which to examine the transitional dilemmas of the post-genocide period. I examine the changing punitive architecture of incarceration in Rwanda’s capital and in secondary urban areas. Looking at the space of the prison in relation to the changing city, I posit that through the penal production of space, the state reconfigures logics of punitive practices and urban governmentality. Changing logics of incarceration are evident in Rwanda today in the deconcentration of the capital, Kigali, to make way for an urban masterplanned order. In analyzing this shift in the visibility of the penal order in Rwanda over time, I contend that the prison constructs the city through its punitive and surveillance-based logic, as much as the city constitutes the prison as a spatially segregated edifice. I examine two sets of governmental spaces and practices that have run through different eras of Rwanda’s colonial, post-independence and post-genocide periods: (a) the prison and punishment, and (b) the reordering of the capital city and urban planning.

International Beef Packing in the Age of Empire: LEMCO in South West Africa, 1906–c.1940

ABSTRACT From 1906, the Liebig’s Extract of Meat Company (LEMCO), parent of the Oxo and Fray Bentos brands, entered colonial Namibia as an export-oriented ranching and beef-processing enterprise, purchasing pastureland recently emptied by the Nama-Herero war, with the goal of replicating its successful South American operations in Africa. While LEMCO hoped to expand its markets in Germany and South Africa, the German colonial government anticipated that LEMCO would improve cattle and landscapes in South West Africa and offer German settlers an industrial outlet for their cattle. Unlike the major global beef suppliers, LEMCO relied on arid environments, using natural pastures and low-grade cattle, making Namibia supposedly ideal for its production. Yet ecological and human factors specific to South West Africa, including recurrent severe drought, sparse human populations, and international and transborder disease controls challenged these ambitions. While LEMCO’s multinational scope enabled it to navigate Anglo-German rivalries during the First World War, South African regional imperialism leading up to the Second World War, coupled with severe droughts during the interwar period, expedited the company’s exit from South West Africa in 1940. Its model of beef packing continued into the apartheid and post-independence periods.