Maravi

(NEWZIMBABWE) Indian envoy blasted over Shona slur

COMMENT - You would expect even envoys to a country to have better general knowledge. However, once some individuals finish their education, they don't take on new information for the rest of their lives. My guess is he was educated back in the 1970s? An excellent article for the ambassador to peruse, would be Prof. Manu Ampim's review of the history and racist mythology of Great Zimbabwe, GREAT ZIMBABWE: A History Almost Forgotten.

Indian envoy blasted over Shona slur
19/09/2011 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter

SHONA people are “quiescent and undemanding” like the jacaranda tree because they have no “real traditional cultural roots”, the Indian ambassador to Zimbabwe told his United States counterpart, according to leaked diplomatic cables.

Ambassador Ashok Venkatesan also claimed that Zimbabweans did not know the real origins of the Great Zimbabwe ruins “which were here when the Shona entered from East Africa and settled on land that was essentially vacant”. A prominent Zimbabwean academic has called the Indian envoy’s claims “disrespectful and insulting”.

The United States ambassador to Zimbabwe, Charles Ray, met the Indian envoy on January 13, 2010.

In a dispatch to Washington following their meeting, released online by WikiLeaks, Ray said Venkatesan had told him that India has had a relationship with President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF that dates to the independence struggle, and Mugabe had a personal relationship with Indira Gandhi.

The Indian government, he said, “takes a neutral stance toward the [Zimbabwe] parties now, however, and there has not been a ministerial-level visit to Harare since 1993. Until the political situation improves, there is not likely to be one”.
Venkatesan said he concentrates his efforts on “keeping Zimbabwe-India business relationships smooth”.
The conversation veered to “Shona cultural identity”.

“Venkatesan described Mugabe and the dominant Shona of Zimbabwe as transplants to this land, like the jacaranda tree, an import from South America that has become pervasive - similar to kudzu and armadillos in the southern United States. They have no real traditional cultural roots,” Ambassador Ray wrote.

“He also said that the people here, like the tree, are extremely quiescent and undemanding. He said he wonders if Mugabe ever gives any consideration to his legacy, and whether or not he gives any consideration to his legacy, and whether or not he wants what is best for the country.

“But, he added, the lack of cultural roots causes some irrational behaviour; with many in Zanu PF saying that they are the bright jewels of the region and should be respected for it – ‘the most beautiful bride at the wedding,’ apparently unaware of how outsiders view them.”

In a comment at the end of the cable, Ray claimed that “there have been some articles claiming that the [Great Zimbabwe] ruins were built by Mugabe's ancestors - with total disregard to the fact that most of the people here know it to be a blatant falsehood”.

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Zimbabwean academic, Alex Magaisa, said the claims made by the Indian envoy were “disrespectful and insulting to a whole people and their culture”.

“I’m not sure on what basis he grounds his allegations that these people of Zimbabwe are cultureless. If what is attributed to him is true, then I find his attitude quite condescending and I really do not know what books he has been reading which gave him such weird insights,” Magaisa blasted.

“What is surprising is that Indians and many people of the South have suffered greatly over the course of history from cultural marginalisation often resulting from misinterpretations by passers-by and yet he has the audacity to pass judgment so casually. One must be reminded that those who live in glass houses should be careful before they undress.”

Magaisa was equally baffled by Ambassador Ray’s claims that President Mugabe may be promoting claims that his ancestors built the Great Zimbabwe.

He added: “I have not come across any work claiming that Mugabe’s ancestors built Great Zimbabwe. It’s the first I’m hearing of this though I suspect it may be yet another case of passers-by mistaking the large boulder for the elephant.

“There is a whole clan of Mugabes in Masvingo who have no relation whatsoever to President Mugabe. Someone might have heard that the Mugabes had a hand in the building of the monument and mistakenly concluded that they were referring to President Mugabe.

“More seriously, it also shows an unhealthy pre-occupation with Mugabe that the mere mention of such a common name, however unrelated to President Mugabe, is immediately connected to him.”
Magaisa also failed to see the value of such “idle discourse” to Washington.

“What we see is that among the gems located in the US cables, there is also quite a lot of rubble,” said the law expert and newspaper columnist. “But you would expect more serious and learned commentary than what is contained in this cable. This one reads like a casual conversation that you might expect to overhear among tired revellers at the local watering hole.”

The history of the Great Zimbabwe ruins in Masvingo remains contested. Published research makes varying conclusions – some claim that they were the work of the local Karanga tribe, others say they were built by Kalangas who migrated from South Africa after setting up an almost similar monument known as the Mapungubwe, while a book published three years ago credits Indonesian mariners.

Those who push the Kalanga theory are quick to dismiss the Indonesian involvement. They predicate their explanation on the migration and settlement trends of the tribe, now dominant in the Plumtree and Kezi areas in Zimbabwe and in eastern Botswana.

The theorists argue that the Kalanga people first settled in Mapungubwe, from where they migrated back northwards, and settled in Masvingo, where they built the Great Zimbabwe. They later headed west and set up base just outside Bulawayo where they built another breathtaking stone structure, the Khami ruins.

Labels: COLONIALISM, GREAT ZIMBABWE, WIKILEAKS

posted by MrK @ 4:54 PM