Yashpal Tandon (born 21 June 1939) is a Ugandan policymaker, political activist, professor, author and public intellectual. [1] [2] He has lectured extensively in the areas of International Relations and Political economy. [3] He was deeply involved in the struggle against the dictatorship of Idi Amin in 1970's Uganda and has spent time in exile. He is the author and editor of numerous books and articles and has served on the editorial boards of many journals.
Yash Tandon was born on 21 June 1939 to traders of Indian origin who had settled in the village of Kaberamaido in the Teso District of Uganda. He is married with two children and several grandchildren. [4] He speaks English, Punjabi, Gujarati and Swahili.
He holds a B.Sc. in economics from the London School of Economics (1961). Tandon went on to attain a Master's in Economics in 1965. He completed his PhD. in International relations at the London School of Economics in 1969. [4]
He won the 1962 David Davies Memorial Institute in International Peace Prize, London, U.K.
From 1964 to 1972 Tandon lectured at the Makerere University, [5] Kampala, Uganda before reading in International relations there. He spent three months as a visiting lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam in 1968. He spent another three months as a visiting lecturer at the National Institute of Public Administration in Lusaka, Zambia in 1972. From 1967 to 1968, Tandon spent fifteen months in a senior research fellowship at Columbia University, New York City. [6]
From 1972 to 1973 he lectured in International Relations at the London School of Economics, UK. [6] In 1973, Tandon returned to Africa in the role of Professor in Political Economy at the University of Dar es Salaam. [6] [7] Upon his return to Uganda following the collapse of Amin's government, he was professor in International Relations at Makerere University, lecturing in African International Relations.
From 1982 to 1983, Tandon was a visiting professor/consultant with the Zimbabwe Institute of Development Studies in Harare.
Following his completion of education in London, Tandon returned to Uganda. He left in 1972 with the rise to power of Idi Amin. [8] He went into exile, [9] first in Kenya for three months, and then in the UK for nine months.
In the 1970s Tandon engaged in underground political work with broad democratic force for change of the Amin regime in Uganda. He was a founding member of the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF), [10] and one of the principal organisers of the May 1979 Moshi Conference for the launch of the UNLF Government. [11]
Following the collapse of Amin's regime, Tandon returned to Uganda. He was a member of the National Consultive Council (National Parliament), with a short spell as Minister of State. [6] [12] At this time, he was involved in negotiations with intergovernmental organisations and donors for the rehabilitation of Uganda's economy. He was chairman and member of various parliamentary committees. [13]
In 1980, with the overthrowing of the Government of the UNLF by military coup, [14] [15] Tandon went into exile in Kenya for a year and a half. There he was the founder and director of Uganda Refugees Relief Service (URRS). [16] At the same time, he engaged in political work for democratic struggle in Uganda.
From 1966 to 1968 Tandon was the Director of the Makerere Institute of Diplomacy. In the 1970s, he was the executive director of the Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR), [6] [17] a consultant at the International Peace Academy in New York and a founder member of the Uganda Asia Evacuees Association. During this time, Tandon was the vice-president of the International Studies Association (ISA), USA. He was also a founder member of the African Association of Political Science (AAPS) and its first Research Director.
In the 1980s he was founder and director of Research and Consultancy Ltd., Nairobi, Kenya. He was also the founder and managing director of Research and Consultancy (pvt) Ltd., (RESCON), Harare. [6]
Spanning the 1990s and 2000s, Tandon was a founder member and the first director of the International South Group Network (ISGN). He was the founder and director of Southern and Eastern African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI). [6] He was a founder member of Alternatives to Neoliberalism in Southern Africa (ANSA). [18] Tandon served as the executive director of the South Centre for five years until his retirement in 2009.
Tandon has written extensively on matters related to the African economy and international relations. He specialises in political economy.
He has written over one hundred scholarly articles and has authored and edited books on wide-ranging subjects including on African politics, Peace and Security, Trade and WTO, International economics, South – South Cooperation and Human rights. He has also served on several advisory committees.
He has served on the editorial boards of several academic journals, including Mawazo (Makerere), Instant Research on Peace and Violence (Finland) and Sage International Yearbook on Foreign Policy Studies (Syracuse, USA), African Review, [19] Utafiti (as chief editor), [20] Economic Journal of Zimbabwe. [21] He was also the editor of University of Dar es Salaam: Debate on Class, State and Imperialism (1982).
Idi Amin Dada Oumee was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern world history.
The Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF) was a political group formed by exiled Ugandans opposed to the rule of military dictator Idi Amin. The UNLF had an accompanying military wing, the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA). UNLA fought alongside Tanzanian forces in the Uganda–Tanzania War that led to the overthrow of Amin's regime. The group ruled Uganda from the overthrow of Amin in April 1979 until the disputed national elections in December 1980.
The Front for National Salvation (FRONASA) was a Ugandan rebel group led by Yoweri Museveni. The group factually emerged in 1971, although it was formally founded in 1973. FRONASA, along with other militant groups such as Kikosi Maalum, formed the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF) and its military wing the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) in 1979 to fight alongside Tanzanian forces against Idi Amin.
The Uganda–Tanzania War, known in Tanzania as the Kagera War and in Uganda as the 1979 Liberation War, was fought between Uganda and Tanzania from October 1978 until June 1979 and led to the overthrow of Ugandan President Idi Amin. The war was preceded by a deterioration of relations between Uganda and Tanzania following Amin's 1971 overthrow of President Milton Obote, who was close to the President of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere. Over the following years, Amin's regime was destabilised by violent purges, economic problems, and dissatisfaction in the Uganda Army.
The Fall of Kampala, also known as the Liberation of Kampala, was a battle during the Uganda–Tanzania War in 1979, in which the combined forces of Tanzania and the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF) attacked and captured the Ugandan capital, Kampala. As a result, Ugandan President Idi Amin was deposed, his forces were scattered, and a UNLF government was installed.
Kikosi Maalum, also known as the Special Battalion or the grand coalition, was a militia of Ugandan exiles formed in Tanzania to fight against the regime of Idi Amin. The unit was founded by and loyal to former Ugandan President Milton Obote, and served as his de facto private army. It was commanded by former army officers David Oyite-Ojok, and Tito Okello. Kikosi Maalum took part in the Uganda–Tanzania War, fighting alongside the Tanzanian military against Amin's forces. In course of this conflict, the militia was nominally unified with other Ugandan rebel groups, forming the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) in 1979. After the fall of Amin's regime and Obote's return to power, Kikosi Maalum became the core of Uganda's new national army.
Horace G. Campbell is an international peace and justice scholar and professor of African American Studies and Political Science at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. Born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, he has been involved in Africa's liberation struggles and campaigned for peace and justice globally for over four decades.
Gottfried Anton Nicolai Lessing was a German lawyer, political activist, and diplomat.
Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile was a Ugandan economist and banker. He served as the governor of the Bank of Uganda, the central bank of Uganda from 2001 until his death on 23 January 2022.
Dani Wadada Nabudere was a Ugandan academic, Pan-Africanist, lawyer, politician, author, political scientist, and development specialist. At the time of his passing, he was a professor at the Islamic University and executive director of the Marcus Garvey Pan-Afrikan Institute, Mbale, Uganda.
Jeremiah Lucas Opira was a Ugandan politician and the National Executive Secretary of the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF) 1979–1980. The UNLF and its military wing UNLA removed Idi Amin from power with the support of the Tanzania People's Defence Force on April 11, 1979. He contributed to the movement that helped Uganda gain independence from Great Britain in 1962. He worked for consolidation of national unity in Uganda and the return of kingdoms which he believed would be a unifying factor in Uganda. He instigated investigations into the Ugandan and East African pre-European history, and wrote articles on this subject and on African politics.
Grace Akello is a Ugandan poet, essayist, folklorist, and politician. She is the Uganda Ambassador to India.
Mahmood Mamdani, FBA is an Indian-born Ugandan academic, author, and political commentator. He currently serves as the Chancellor of Kampala International University, Uganda. He was the director of the Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR) from 2010 until February 2022, the Herbert Lehman Professor of Government and a Professor of Anthropology, Political Science and African Studies at Columbia University.
Juma Ali Oka Rokoni, commonly referred to as Juma Butabika, was a Ugandan military officer who served as Uganda Army (UA) top commander during the dictatorship of Idi Amin. Despite being notorious for his erratic behavior and abuse of power, he was highly influential, held important army commands, and served as long-time chairman of the Ugandan Military Tribunal, a military court used by Amin to try and eliminate political dissidents and rivals. By commanding an unauthorised attack on Tanzania in October 1978, Butabika was responsible for the outbreak of the Uganda–Tanzania War which ultimately resulted in his death in combat, probably during or shortly before the Fall of Kampala.
The Battle of Lira was one of the last battles in the Uganda–Tanzania War, fought by Tanzania and its Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF) allies, against Uganda Army troops loyal to Idi Amin on 15 May 1979. The Tanzanian-led forces easily routed Lira's garrison of Amin loyalists, and then intercepted and destroyed one retreating column of Uganda Army soldiers near the town.
The Battle of Jinja was a battle of the Uganda–Tanzania War that took place on 22 April 1979 near and in the city of Jinja, Uganda between Tanzanian and allied Uganda National Liberation Front forces on the one hand, and Ugandan troops loyal to Idi Amin on the other. The Tanzanians and the UNLF men met slight resistance and captured Owen Falls Dam and the town of Jinja.
The Battle of Karuma Falls was one of the last battles in the Uganda–Tanzania War, fought between Tanzania and Uganda Army troops loyal to Idi Amin on 17 May 1979. Soldiers of the Tanzania People's Defence Force attacked Ugandan forces at the bridge over the Nile River at Karuma Falls. Tanzania's 205th Brigade was tasked with advancing from Masindi to Gulu, taking a route which passed over the Karuma Falls Bridge. The brigade assaulted the crossing on the morning of 17 May with tanks and artillery and one of its battalions ran over the bridge to attack the Ugandan positions. The Ugandans destroyed a TPDF tank, delaying the Tanzanians long enough to board buses and retreat to Gulu. The Tanzanians secured Karuma Falls before capturing Gulu several days later.
During the Uganda–Tanzania War, the Battle of Bondo was fought on 27 May 1979 near the town of Bondo, Uganda, between Tanzanian forces and Ugandan troops loyal to Idi Amin. A band of Uganda Army soldiers opened fire on the Tanzanian Minziro Brigade as it advanced towards Arua, before fleeing in the face of a Tanzanian charge. Several Tanzanians were killed and wounded by their own artillery. It was the last battle of the war. Arua fell without resistance shortly thereafter.
Peter James Nkambo Mugerwa was a prominent Ugandan lawyer. He served as Uganda's Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs under President Idi Amin from 1971 to 1973.
Herman Cornel Lupogo was a Tanzanian military officer and government administrator. After graduating from Makerere University, he enlisted in the Tanzania People's Defence Force in 1965. He held various positions in the army, including head of the National Leadership Academy, and served as a brigadier during the Uganda–Tanzania War of 1978 and 1979. He retired with the rank of major general in 1992, and subsequently worked as a government administrator. He chaired the Tanzania Commission for AIDS from 2001 until 2007, and died in 2014.
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