South Asian entrepreneurs in the automotive age: negotiating a place of belonging in colonial and post-colonial Tanzania

ABSTRACT

This article examines the integral role that South Asians fulfilled in the history of motorized road transportation in Tanzania during the twentieth century. Drawing on oral and archival evidence, it argues that the expansion and success of inter-regional, commercial, automotive transportation in southern Tanzania during the British colonial era depended upon the efforts of the region’s Indian commercial community. The Amin family, in particular, created one of the most successful road transportation firms in the territory, called the Tanganyika Transport Company Ltd. or Teeteeko. As national discourse shifted in opposition to entrepreneurial autonomy and African-Asian relations deteriorated following Tanzanian independence, the Amins struggled to retain their status as respected capitalist entrepreneurs and public servants. Situated at the intersection of the automotive and business histories of Tanzania, the history of Teeteeko offers unique insights into the contradictory ways in which automobile ownership helped to shape conceptions of South Asian identity, entrepreneurship, and belonging in colonial and postcolonial Tanzania.

KEYWORDS:

• Tanzania
• mobility
• entrepreneurs
• South Asians
• ujamaa

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 Bodleian Libraries Commonwealth and African Collections, University of Oxford (BLCAS) MSS Afr. s. 609, Harry Churchill Baxter, “River Crossing.”

2 Streit, “Beyond Borders,” 49–143.

3 Ibid., 11–31; Becker, “A Social History of Southeast Tanzania,” 154–55; Becker, “Sudden Disaster and Slow Change,” 302–3; Kelly, “A Tale of Two Cities,” 13–6 and 255–57; Liebenow, Colonial Rule and Political Development, 88; Seppällä, “Introduction,” 11.

4 My research assistant, Zuhura Mohammed, aided in the interviews that I conducted in southern Tanzania in 2015 with the exception of the D.S. Amin interview on October 3, 2015.

5 The business history of East Africa includes such works as: Alpers, “Gujarat and the Trade of East Africa”; Alpers, Ivory and Slaves in East Central Africa; Morris, The Indians in Uganda; Gregory, India and East Africa; Honey, “A History of Indian Merchant Capital”; Seidenberg, Mercantile Adventurers; Brennan, Taifa; Fair, Reel Pleasures; Oonk, The Karimjee Jivanjee Family; and Oonk, Settled Strangers.

6 Oonk, Settled Strangers, 15 and 28–9.

7 I will primarily use the term “Indian” to describe individuals of South Asian descent. Although the South Asian population in Tanzania was incredibly diverse, “Indian” or “Mhindi” were the main terms of reference during much of the period this paper examines. For a discussion on the use of such terms as “Indian,” “South Asian,” and “Asian,” see Brennan, Taifa, 20.

8 The historiography of automobiles in Africa includes such works as: Masquelier, “Road Mythographies,” 829–56; Gewald, “Missionaries, Hereros, and Motorcars,” 257–85; Alber, “Motorization and Colonial Rule,” 79–92; White, “Cars Out of Place,” 27–50; Akurang-Parry, “Colonial Forced Labour Policies,” 1–25; Gewald et al., The Speed of Change; Freed, “Conduits of Culture and Control”; Klaeger, “Introduction,” 359–66; Hart, Ghana on the Go; and Grace, “Heroes of the Road,” 403–42.

9 Hart, Ghana on the Go, 121.

10 Oonk, Settled Strangers, 62–109.

11 Alpers, “Gujarat and the Trade of East Africa,” 22–44; Alpers, Ivory and Slaves, 86–88; Brennan, “South Asian Nationalism,” 24; Gregory, India and East Africa, 9–10; Honey, “A History of Indian Merchant Capital,” 56–8 and 72–3; Morris, The Indians in Uganda; Newitt, A History of Mozambique, 180–2; Oonk, Settled Strangers, 63–109; Streit, “Beyond Borders,” 65–75.

12 Honey, “A History of Indian Merchant Capital,” 53–4.

13 “Sir Bartle Frere to Earl Granville” (1873), referenced in Gregory, India and East Africa, 38–9.

14 Fair, Reel Pleasures, 21.

15 Oonk, c, 16 and 34–6.

16 Becker, “Traders, ‘Big Men’ and Prophets,” 9; Honey, “A History of Indian Merchant Capital,” 9; and 153; Koponen, Development for Exploitation, 152–3.

17 Brennan, “South Asian Nationalism,” 25.

18 Ibid.

19 Oonk, The Karimjee Jivanjee Family, 58–60.

20 Gregory, India and East Africa, 484.

21 Alpers, Ivory and Slaves in East Central Africa, 5; Smith, “The Southern Section of the Interior 1840–1884,” 253–96; Seppällä, “Introduction,” 7–37; Seligman, “Encircling Value,” 107–216; Streit, “Beyond Borders,” 33–40.

22 O’Neill, “On the Coast Lands,” 602–03; Elton, Travels and Researches, 78–94; Maples, “Masasi and the Rovuma District,” 339; Thomson, “Notes on the Basin,” 67; Honey, “A History of Indian Merchant Capital,” 107–08; Iliffe, A Modern History of Tanganyika, 129–31.

23 Streit, “Beyond Borders,” 157.

24 DSM, A. E. Kitching, “Southern Province,” Tanganyika Territory: Annual Report of the Provincial Commissioner on Native Administration for the year 1935 (Dar es Salaam: Government Printer, 1936).

25 Grace, “Modernization Bubu,” 76, referencing Freed, “Networks of (Colonial) Power”. Also reference Gewald, “Missionaries, Hereros, and Motorcars,” 257–85; Alber, “Motorization and Colonial Rule,” 79–92; Freed, “Networks of (Colonial) Power,” 203–23; Grace, “Heroes of the Road,” 403–25.

26 TNA Native Affairs 19365, Acting Governor D.J. Jardine to Secretary of State for the Colonies, 13 February 1931; “Extract from Report by Mr. Latham […] 10 December, 1930”; P.C. Hallier to Chief Secretary, “Famine: Tunduru District,” 19 March 1931.

27 BLCAS Mss. Afr. s. 1738 (27), Lumley, “Forgotten Mandate,” 5. See BLCAS MSS. Afr. s. 101, Mitchell Diaries, 1933; British National Archives (BNA) FCO 141/17729, Grierson to Chief Secretary, September 8, 1931; and Hofmeier, Transport and Economic Development, 63 and 71.

28 Tanzania National Archives (TNA) ACC 16, 4/10, L.H.L. Foster, “Provincial Commissioner to Chief Secretary,” January 13, 1943.

29 Ibid.

30 The use of forced labor for colonial public works projects, including road construction, continued into the 1930s. For more information see, Akurang-Parry, “Colonial Forced Labor Policies,” 1–25; Freed, “Networks of (Colonial) Power,” 204; Grant, A Civilised Savagery, 135–67; Streit, “Beyond Borders,” 191–94.

31 Streit, “Beyond Borders,” 196–97.

32 TNA ACC 30, CT/9, “Registration of Contractors,” Managing Director of Tanganyika Transport Company, Ltd. to Director of Public Works (DPW), April 12, 1935; and TNA ACC 460, 4/25/4, Southern Provincial Commissioner, “T.T.Co-Government Contracts,” August 23, 1956.

33 Streit, “Beyond Borders,” 194–205.

34 Ibid., 191–92 and 204–05. The Tanganyika Government left the organization of labor to the discretion of TTCo with the stipulations that the company submit monthly labor returns detailing the number of men employed and conditions of their employment.

35 Phrase borrowed from Hart, Ghana on the Go, 63.

36 Streit, “Beyond Borders,” 194.

37 University of Dar es Salaam Library (DSM), “Annual Report of the Provincial Commissioner 1936.”

38 Hart, Ghana on the Go, 13.

39 Ibid.

40 BNA FCO 141/17730, J. Rooke Johnston to Chief Secretary, November 10, 1945.

41 Dhirajlal Savailal C. Amin, interviews, Mkwaya, September 17, 2015 and October 3, 2015.

42 D.S. Amin, interviews, September 17, 2015 and October 3, 2015; A.I. Naenda, interview; and O.S. Chiluma, interview. The scheme also used vehicles left over from World War II as discussed in R. T. Hill, “Chief Transport Officer to the Scheme During the First Two Years of Its Life,” Commercial Motor, September 2, 1949, 47, Accessed January 31, 2019. http://archive.commercialmotor.com/article/2nd-september-1949/46/by-r-t-hill-aminstt-chief-transport-officer-to-the. For a review of the literature on the Groundnut Scheme, see Rizzo, “The Groundnut Scheme Revisited,” 26–32.

43 D.S. Amin, interviews, September 17, 2015 and October 3, 2015; Juma Said Aly, interviews, Lindi, September 18 and 19, 2015; Abdalla Issa Naenda, interview, Mitwero, October 1, 2015; and Omari Issa Chiluma, interview, Mtwara, October 15, 2015.

44 TNA ACC 460, 4/25/4, “Transport Changes,” August 22, 1955; Ibid., Southern Provincial Commissioner, “T.T.Co-Government Contracts,” August 23, 1956; D.S. Amin, interviews, September 17 and October 3, 2015; Shaiba A. Mohammed Buriyani, interview; Mnazi Mmoja, September 16, 2015; Hamis Mohamed Likokola, interview, Lindi, September 29, 2015; Husein Mohamed Mzaina, interview, Lindi, September 28, 2015; Saidi A. Mtutile, interview, Lindi, September 29, 2015; and Athomani Wadi Mlaponi, interview, Masasi, October 8, 2015. The transportation competitors based in Lindi and Mtwara included Cheka Cheka, Mtwara Roadways, A.P. Kanji, K.J. Motors, and the Tanzania Transport Company. These firms were primarily owned by Indian businessmen.

45 TNA ACC 460, 4/25/4, Sd. J. Dickson, Labour Officer (Morogoro), “Inspection report Tanganyika Transport Co. Limited, Lindi,” October 28, 1942; and D.S. Amin, interview, September 17, 2015.

46 D.S. Amin, interview, September 17, 2015.

47 Ibid.

48 J.S. Aly, interview, September 18, 2015; Mohamed Saidi Msusa, interview, Mtwara, October 14, 2015; A.W. Mlaponi, interview; H.M. Likokola, interview; H.M. Mzaina, interview; and S. Malindi, interview. Juma Said Aly was the only interviewee to recollect that Dirubhai punished disobedient or reckless employees.

49 Gregory, The Rise and Fall of Philanthropy; Honey, “History of Indian Merchant Capital,” 264–312; Fair, Reel Pleasures, 46–47.

50 Fair, Reel Pleasures, 46–7.

51 Grace, “Modernization Bubu,” 127–8.

52 Said Mohamed Shahame, interview, Lindi, September 15, 2015; Mohamed Nasoro, interview, Lindi, September 14, 2015; and M.S. Msusa, interview.

53 Dadi Mkonyoka Yusufu, interview, Lindi, September 17, 2015; Wilium Njaidi, interview, Masasi, October 8, 2015; Fatuma Juma Akini, interview, Namatumbusi, October 10, 2015; H.M. Mzaina, interview; H.M. Likokola, interview; and S.M. Shahame, interview.

54 Grace, “Modernization Bubu,” 127; Hart, Ghana On the Go, 68–9.

55 Ibid.; D.S. Amin, interviews, September 17 and October 3, 2015; J.S. Aly, interview, September 18, 2015; D.M. Yusufu, interview; W. Njaidi, interview; S.M. Shahame, interview; and A.W. Mlaponi, interview.

56 Hart, Ghana on the Go, 64–94.

57 TNA ACC 460, 4/25/4, Sd. J. Dickson, “Inspection report Tanganyika Transport Co. Limited,” October 28, 1942; and D.S. Amin, interview, September 17, 2015.

58 D.S. Amin, interview, September 17, 2015; J.S. Aly, interview, September 18, 2015; A.W. Mlaponi, interview; and D.M. Yusufu, interview. Joshua Grace found similar evidence that drivers participated in parallel markets in Dar es Salaam in order to create their own economic networks and earn the profits necessary to “produce the type of gendered adulthood they desired.” See Grace, “Modernization Bubu,” 142–4.

59 D.S. Amin, interview, September 17, 2015; and J.S. Aly, interview September 18, 2015.

60 Saidi Malindi, interview, Masasi, October 8, 2015.

61 D.S. Amin, interview, September 17, 2015.

62 H.M. Mzaina, interview.

63 TNA ACC 460, 4/25/4, Tanganyika Transport Co Limited, Lindi. For an account of the negotiations and various agreements reached between the parties, see Streit, “Beyond Borders,” 313–8.

64 TNA ACC 460, 4/25/4, Acting Senior Labour Officer, “Dispute Tanganyika Transport Co. Lt. and Transport and General Workers Union,” September 5, 1960; Ibid., Acting Senior Labour Officer, September 23, 1960.

65 TNA ACC 460, 4/25/4, Labour Officer John Hennessey, “Dispute,” July 26, 1960. Frederick Cooper noted that British officials often argued that African union leaders and members were poorly trained, illiterate, irresponsible, and/or prone to creating industrial chaos. See Cooper, Decolonization and African Society, 323–60.

66 TNA ACC 460, 4/25/4, Acting Senior Labour Officer, “Transport & General Workers Union and Tanganyika Transport Co. Ltd. and General Labour in Lindi,” September 19, 1960.

67 Fair, Reel Pleasures, 225.

68 Lal, “Between the Village and the World,” 69; Hofmeier, Transport and Economic Development, 164; Monson, Africa’s Freedom Railway, 15–7.

69 United States National Archives, College Park (NACP), RG 59, A1 (5710), “Trip Report No.4 Southern Safari – September 1966”; Juma Hemed Alli, interview, Mtwara, October 13, 2015; and Panzer, “A Nation in Name,” 56–60.

70 Miller, “Who are the ‘Permanent Inhabitants’ of the State,” 149 and 179–90; Tague, “A War to Build the Nation,” 1–33.

71 BNA DO 185/15, “Dramatic Progress of Co-Operative Movement in Mtwara Region,” October 27, 1964; Giblin, A History of the Excluded, 256.

72 BNA DO 185/15, Press Release issued by Information Services Division, “Dramatic Progress of Co-Operative Movement in Mtwara Region,” October 27, 1964.

73 D.S. Amin, interview, September 17, 2015; “Transportation in Southern Tanzania,” The Nationalist, November 19, 1968.

74 D.S. Amin, interviews, September 17 and October 3, 2015; J.S. Aly, interview, September 19, 2015; J.H. Alli, interview; H. M. Likokola, interview; S.A. Mtutile, interview; A.W. Mlaponi, interview; and Rukia A. Mrope, interview, Lindi, September 15, 2015.

75 “Transportation in Southern Tanzania,” The Nationalist, November 19, 1968.

76 Hofmeier, Transport and Economic Development, 155. EAR&H was a common public corporation of the three East African governments.

77 D.S. Amin, interview, September 17, 2015.

78 Hofmeier, Transport and Economic Development, 157; D.S. Amin, interview, September 17, 2015; H.M. Likokola, interview; J.H. Alli, interview; O.I. Chiluma, interview; S.M. Shahame, interview; M. Nasoro, interview; D.M. Yusufu, interview; Victor Said, interview, Namtambusi, October 10, 2015; and Leonard M. Haule, interview, Mtwara, October 14, 2015.

79 “Transportation in Southern Tanzania,” The Nationalist, November 19, 1968.

80 Brennan, Taifa, 163–5.

81 Fair, Reel Pleasures, 20.

82 Grace, “Modernization Bubu,” 238–73; Fair, Reel Pleasures, 232–36.

83 Julius Nyerere speech, Dar es Salaam, July 1970, quoted in Grace, “Modernization Bubu,” 238. For more on Nyerere’s views on private vehicle ownership, see Fair, Reel Pleasures, 234–36.

84 Fair, Reel Pleasures, 21.

85 Brennan, Taifa, 3 and 34; Gregory, India and East Africa, 477.

86 Iliffe, A Modern History of Tanganyika, 375; Brennan, “South Asian Nationalism,” 26–9; Brennan, “Blood Enemies,” 389–413; Giblin, A History of the Excluded, 186–87; Gregory, India and East Africa, 477.

87 Brennan, Taifa, 145.

88 Brennan, “Blood Enemies,” 395–400; Brennan, Taifa, 160–77; Lal, “Between the Village and the World,” 156–7; Fair, Reel Pleasures, 21.

89 Brennan, “Blood Enemies,” 404–08; Brennan, Taifa, 177–80; Lal, “Between the Village and the World,” 157; and Nagar, “The South Asian Diaspora,” 69.

90 Hofmeier, Transport and Economic Development, 157.

91 Ibid., 156–8.

92 D.S. Amin, interview, September 17, 2015; Hofmeier, Transport and Economic Development, 157.

93 S.M. Shahame, interview; and D.M. Yusufu, interview.

94 Brennan, Taifa, 191–2; Nagar, “The South Asian Diaspora in Tanzania,” 69–70; Oonk, Settled Strangers, 215–16.

95 Brennan, “Blood Enemies,” 408; Nagar, “The South Asian Diaspora in Tanzania,” 67–70.

96 Nagar, “The South Asian Diaspora in Tanzania,” 70.

97 D.S. Amin, interview, October 3, 2015.

98 Lal, African Socialism in Postcolonial Tanzania, 162; Nagar, “The South Asian Diaspora in Tanzania,” 71.

99 Hydén, Beyond Ujamaa in Tanzania, 132; Nagar, “The South Asian Diaspora in Tanzania,” 71; Haan, “Transitioning Economies, Cultures, and Woodlands,” 100; Schneider, Government of Development, 160–2.

100 TNA ACC 601, CW 50262, Tanganyika Transport Co. Teeteeko Ushirika Vol. 2; S.M. Shahame, interview; A.W. Mlaponi, interview; D.M. Yusufu, interview; W. Njaidi, interview; Musa Said Omar, interview, Mitwero, October 5, 2015; and Clement K. Njaidi, interview, Mtwara, October 15, 2015.

101 J.S. Aly, interview, September 18, 2015; S.M. Shahame, interview; D.M. Yusufu, interview; H.M. Likokola, interview; M.S. Omar, interview; W. Njaidi, interview; A.W. Mlaponi, interview; and C.K. Njaidi, interview. For more about FINNIDA’s assisted development projects in Lindi and Mtwara Regions, see Lal, African Socialism in Postcolonial Tanzania, 169.

102 M.S. Omar, interview, October 5, 2015. For similar accounts of Tanzanian drivers participating in illicit trade networks during the 1970s and 1980s, see Grace, “Modernization Bubu,” 143–9.

103 Grace, “Modernization Bubu,” 134–35 and 150. Hart similarly found that the Ghanaian postcolonial government, press, and general public increasingly criminalized drivers from the 1950s to the 1980s. See Hart, “‘One Man, No Chop,’” 373–96.

104 D.S. Amin, interview, October 3, 2015.

105 D.S. Amin, interview, September 17, 2015.

106 Rizzo, “The Groundnut Scheme Revisited,” 176–78; A.I. Naenda, interview; H.M. Likokola, interview; H.M. Mzaina, interview; W. Njaidi, interview; O.I. Chiluma, interview; and R.H.S. Dhalla, interview.

107 Brennan, Taifa, 194.

108 Oonk, Settled Strangers, 216–222; D.S. Amin, interview, October 3, 2015.

109 Rizzo, “The Groundnut Scheme Revisited,” 176–8; H.M. Mzaina, interview.

110 J.H. Alli, interview.

111 H.M. Mzaina, interview; H.M. Likokola, interview; S.A. Mtutile, interview; W. Njaidi, interview; A.W. Mlaponi, interview; M.S. Msusa, interview; and Selemani Rashid Ngozi, interview, Lindi, September 25, 2015.

112 D.M. Yusufu, interview; H.M. Mzaina, interview; A.W. Mlaponi, interview; and M.S. Msusa, interview.