>SSKS1 at 04:39, 29 June 2021

2021-06-29T04:39:25Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}

{{ Infobox person
|name =Yusuf Dadoo
|image =
|imagesize =
|caption =Yusuf Dadoo
|birth_date =
{{Birth date |1909|09|05|df=y}}
|birth_place =Krugersdorp, West Rand, [[South Africa]]
|death_date =
{{Death date and age |1983|09|19|1909|09|05|df=y}}
|death_place =[[London]], [[England]]
|restingplace =[[Highgate cemetery]], [[London]], [[England]]
|alma_mater=[[Aligarh Muslim University]] <br>[[Edinburgh University]]
|party =[[South African Indian Congress]] <br> [[South African Communist Party]].
|known_for =[[Anti-apartheid movement]]
}}

'''Yusuf Mohamed Dadoo''' (5 September 1909 – 19 September 1983) was a [[Indian South Africans|South African]] [[Communism|Communist]] and an [[Internal resistance to South African apartheid|anti-apartheid]] activist. During his life, he was chair of both the [[South African Indian Congress]] and the [[South African Communist Party]], as well as being a major proponent of co-operation between those organisations and the [[African National Congress]]. He was a leader of the [[Defiance Campaign]] and a defendant at the [[Treason Trial]] in 1956. His last days were spent in exile in [[London]], where he is buried at [[Highgate Cemetery]]; a few metres away from the [[Tomb of Karl Marx]].

==Early life==
Yusuf was born on 5 September 1909 in [[Krugersdorp]], in the [[West Rand]], near [[Johannesburg]]. His parents, Mohammed and Fatima Dadoo, were [[Gujarati Muslim]] immigrants from [[Surat]] in [[Western India]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.durban.gov.za/City_Government/street_renaming/Biographies/Pages/Chris-Hani-and-Dr-Yusuf-Mohamed-Dadoo.aspx|title=Chris Hani and Dr Yusuf Mohamed Dadoo|website=www.durban.gov.za|access-date=21 September 2017}}</ref><ref name="Pahad">{{cite journal |last= Pahad |first=Essop |year=1979 |title= A Proud History of Struggle |journal= [[African Communist|The African Communist]] |issue=78 |publisher=[[South African Communist Party]] |url= http://www.sacp.org.za/people/dadoo.html |access-date=18 June 2011}}</ref> As a young child, he had the formative experience of being scolded by his mother for climbing a tree in his neighbourhood park, which was reserved for White people only.<ref name="vanWyk2006">{{cite book|last=Van Wyk| first=Chris|title=Yusuf Dadoo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mKzgdI1lfzoC&pg=PA5|year=2006 |publisher=Awareness Publishing |isbn=978-1-77008-156-7 |page=5}}</ref><ref name="Mottiar">{{Cite thesis |degree= Masters in Political Studies |title=Yusuf Dadoo: Bafa Begiya |author=Shauna Mottiar |year=2000 |publisher=[[University of Witwatersrand]]}}</ref> Aged ten, the Krugersdorp Municipality attempted to evict his father from his shop on racial grounds, but he was successfully defended in court by [[Mohandas Gandhi]]. At high school, Yusuf attended meetings by former stalwarts of Gandhi, and along with Ismail Cachalia and other schoolmates, raised funds and awareness for the All India National Congress.<ref name="Pahad"/><ref name="Mottiar"/> When he was fifteen, he presided over a protest organised and led by visiting Indian poet [[Sarojini Naidu]] against the proposed Class Areas Bill.<ref name="Mottiar"/> Later that year, he was sent to [[Aligarh Muslim University|Aligarh College]] in [[India]] to complete his schooling, as the Johannesburg Indian Government School did not offer secondary education up to [[Matriculation (South Africa)|matriculation]] level.<ref name="Mottiar"/>

==University in London and Edinburgh==
At the age of eighteen, having completed secondary education, Yusuf returned to Krugersdorp; where his father insisted that he help with running his business, despite Yusuf's desire to study law.<ref name="Mottiar"/> After two years of clashes, including Yusuf organising a strike by his father's African employees, and running away from home, Mohammed agreed to send Yusuf to [[London]] to study medicine.<ref name="Pahad"/> In London, Yusuf continued to be politically active, and was arrested for participating in a protest against the [[Simon Commission]].<ref name="Mottiar"/> Hearing of his arrest, his parents had him transfer to [[Edinburgh University]], where he completed his higher education.<ref name="Mottiar"/> In Edinburgh, Yusuf met many fellow students from across the [[British Empire]], giving him a broader view of [[colonialism]].<ref name="Pahad"/><ref name="Mottiar"/> Inspired by the [[Labour Government 1929–1931|rise of the Labour Party at the 1929 UK general election]], he began to read [[Marxism|Marxist]] literature,<ref name="Pahad"/> joined the [[Independent Labour Party]],<ref name="Mottiar"/> and delivered Communist speeches at the Edinburgh [[Speakers' Corner|speakers' corner]].<ref name="vanWyk2006"/><ref name="Mottiar"/> He also befriended fellow student and [[Indian South Africans|Indian South African]] [[Monty Naicker]]. In 1936, Dadoo was awarded his medical degree, [[United Examining Board|LRCPS]], and returned to South Africa resolved to revitalise the struggle against racial discrimination there.<ref name="Mottiar"/>

==Return to South Africa and revitalisation of the struggle==
Shortly after his return home, Yusuf bought a house and set up a medical practice in [[Doornfontein]], [[Johannesburg]].<ref name="Mottiar"/> He soon became involved with the [[Transvaal Indian Congress]] (TIC), an organisation that had been involved with the earlier [[Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in South Africa|Gandhian protests]], but found it to be dominated by the interests of [[Bourgeoisie|wealthier]] Indians over the [[working-class]],<ref name="Mottiar"/> and by [[moderate]]s reluctant to engage in [[nonviolent resistance|passive resistance]] against the government.<ref name="PahadThesis">{{Cite thesis |degree= D.Phil. |title= The Development of Indian Political Movements in South Africa, 1924–1946 |url= http://home.intekom.com/southafricanhistoryonline/pages/sources/pahad_thesis/menu.htm |last= Pahad |first=Essop |year=1972 |publisher=[[University of Sussex]]}}</ref> In 1938, Yusuf became a founding member and the secretary of the Non-European United Front (NEUF).<ref name="Pahad"/>
In 1939, along with both younger members and veterans of Gandhi's campaigns, he founded a nationalist bloc within the TIC, with the goal of commencing a passive resistance campaign against the recently passed Asiatic Land Tenure Act.<ref name="PahadThesis"/> This view rapidly gained in popularity, and despite the misgivings of its leadership, the TIC set the date of 1 August 1939 for the commencement of passive resistance.<ref name="PahadThesis"/> At the time, neither the [[Natal Indian Congress]] (NIC) nor the [[South African Indian Congress]] (SAIC) officially endorsed the campaign, despite popular support among Indians.<ref name="PahadThesis"/> The campaign was postponed, however, at the personal request of Gandhi,<ref name="PahadThesis"/> leaving Yusuf to join the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), and focus on [[Opposition to World War II|anti-war activism]] with the outbreak of [[World War II]].<ref name="Pahad"/>

In 1941, the [[Operation Barbarossa|German invasion of the Soviet Union]] prompted the CPSA to drop its opposition to participation in the war, and change to a position of support for what it saw as a "people's war".<ref name="Pahad"/> Inspired by the exploits of the [[Red Army]] in the defence of the [[Soviet Union]], non-European protest movements in South Africa became more militant.<ref name="Pahad"/> By the end of the war, the [[African National Congress]] was dominated by leaders such as [[Walter Sisulu]], [[Oliver Tambo]] and [[Nelson Mandela]], while the TIC and NIC were dominated by Yusuf Dadoo and Monty Naicker, respectively.<ref name="Pahad"/> In 1946, Yusuf and Monty led the Indian Passive Resistance Campaign against the Asiatic Land Tenure and Indian Representation Bill, which continued until 1948 but did not succeed in having any of the legislation it opposed repealed.<ref name="Mottiar"/>
In 1947, the two, along with [[Alfred Bitini Xuma]] signed the "three doctors pact" of cooperation between the ANC, TIC and NIC, calling for the right to [[Suffrage|vote]], [[freedom of movement]], [[Right to education|education]] and [[equal opportunity]] for all non-European South Africans.<ref name="ThreeDoctors">{{Citation
|last1= Xuma
|first1= Alfred
|last2= Naicker
|first2= Monty
|last3= Dadoo
|first3= Yusuf
|year= 1947
|title= Joint Declaration of Cooperation
|url= http://www.sacp.org.za/docs/history/dadoo-45.html
| access-date= 20 June 2011
}}</ref>

==Apartheid and resistance==
In 1948, the [[National Party (South Africa)|National Party]] (NP) was elected at the all-White [[1948 South African general election|1948 general election]]. The NP immediately began implementing a formal policy of [[South Africa under apartheid|apartheid]]. In 1949, they also introduced the [[Suppression of Communism Act|Suppression of Communism Bill]] to ban the South African Communist Party, causing the CPSA to pre-emptively disband and go underground.<ref name="Pahad"/> In 1950, Yusuf was elected president of the SAIC, which promptly joined with the ANC in organising a [[Defiance Campaign|defiance campaign against unjust laws]].<ref name="Pahad"/> Yusuf was the deputy chair of the planning council, headed by [[Walter Sisulu,]] and the two were mainly responsible for the report around which the campaign was organised.<ref name="Pahad"/>

By 1952, the government responded to the Defiance Campaign by introducing more oppressive legislation. Dadoo was [[Ban (law)#Banned persons under Apartheid|banned]] from attending all gatherings and ordered to resign from the SAIC and the Defiance Campaign planning committee.<ref name="Mottiar"/> In 1953, Dadoo and others secretly reconstituted the CPSA as the South African Communist Party (SACP), with Yusuf serving as chairman of the central committee.<ref name="Mottiar"/> That same year, Yusuf was further banned from participating in fifteen protest organisations.<ref name="Mottiar"/> Under these bans, he was unable to openly participate on the [[Congress Alliance]] and the writing of the [[Freedom Charter]], although he continued to be consulted in secret, his advice being greatly respected.<ref name="Pahad"/> In 1957, he was explicitly banned from speaking to more than one person at a time.<ref name="Mottiar"/>

==Exile and party chairmanship==
In 1960, the [[Sharpeville Massacre]] prompted the government to declare a [[State of emergency|state of national emergency]] and issue warrants for the arrest of most known leaders of protest organisations. Dadoo evaded arrest and operated underground for several months, until the SACP, in consultation with the SAIC, decided to smuggle him out of the country to act as an international spokesperson for the struggle. Dadoo strongly disagreed with the idea, but was overruled, and finally agreed to go into exile in London.

In 1972, the then-chairman of the SACP, [[J. B. Marks]], died, and Dadoo was unanimously elected in his place.<ref name="Pahad"/> He continued in this role, as chairman in exile, until his death.

==Death==
[[File:Yusuf Mohamed Dadoo Grave in Highgate East Cemetery in London 2016 09.jpg|thumb|Grave of Yusuf Dadoo]]
[[File:Ali and the Dadoos graves at Highgate.jpg|thumb|Dadoo's grave is situated between that of Saad Saadi Ali (left) and his wife (right)]]
Dadoo died of [[prostate cancer]] on 19 September 1983.<ref name="Mottiar"/> Prior to his death, he attempted to arrange with [[Joe Slovo]] to have his body smuggled to South Africa for burial as an act of defiance, but this plan failed.<ref name="Mottiar"/> Instead, he was given a [[Islamic funeral|Muslim burial]] (at his behest) and interred at [[Highgate Cemetery]] alongside fellow [[Iraqi Communist Party|Iraqi Communist]] Muslim activist Saad Saadi Ali, and a few metres away from the grave of [[Karl Marx]].<ref name="Pahad"/><ref name="Mottiar"/> His dying words were "You must never give up, You must fight to the end."<ref name="Mottiar"/>
[[File:KarlMarx Tomb.JPG|thumb|left|Grave of [[Karl Marx]]. Yusuf Dadoo's grave is about five metres away to the left.]]

==Legacy==
Condolences were sent by communist and socialist leaders worldwide, as well as from other anti-apartheid activist leaders. In South Africa, however, a meeting and two pamphlets paying him tribute were immediately banned.<ref name="Mottiar"/>

After the [[1994 South African general election|1994 general election]] and the downfall of Apartheid, Dr Dadoo came to be considered a national hero. In Krugersdorp, a [[primary school]] and a hospital were named after him.

Centenary celebrations for Dr Dadoo were held in 2009 at the [[University of Johannesburg]].<ref name="Centenary">
{{cite press release
| publisher = University of Johannesburg
| date = 1 September 2009
| title = Blade Nzimande honours Yusuf Dadoo
| url = http://www.uj.ac.za/EN/Newsroom/News/Pages/BladeNzimandehonoursYusufDadoo200909011.aspx
| access-date = 22 June 2011
}}</ref> In Nelson Mandela's message to the celebrations, he called Dadoo "one of the giants of our country's struggle for freedom", and "[one of] the founders of a democratic South Africa".<ref name="MandelaSpeech">{{cite speech
| title = Message to the Dadoo Centenary Celebrations
| first = Nelson
| last = Mandela
| event = Yusuf Dadoo Centenary Celebrations
| location = [[University of Johannesburg]]
| date = 5 September 2009
| url = http://www.sweetspeeches.com/s/1788-nelson-mandela-message-to-the-dadoo-centenary-celebrations#ixzz1Q2asR5fH
| access-date = 22 June 2011
}}</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/dr-yusuf-mohamed-dadoo Yusuf Dadoo page at South African History Online]
*[http://www.idcpc.org.cn/english/maozedong/tupian/cornerstone_e/1-4-30.htm Photo of Dadoo and Mao Zedong]
*[http://www.sahistory.org.za/content/dadoo-gandhi-naickerjpg Photo of Dadoo and Gandhi]
*[http://www.jurgenschadeberg.com/c03.htm Photo of Dadoo with Nelson Mandela and James Moroka]
*[http://www.sacp.org.za/people/dadoo.html The Life Story of Yusuf Dadoo, national chairman of the South African Communist Party and a tireless fighter for national and social liberation at the SACP].

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dadoo, Yusuf}}
[[Category:1909 births]]
[[Category:South African people of Indian descent]]
[[Category:1983 deaths]]
[[Category:Burials at Highgate Cemetery]]
[[Category:People from Krugersdorp]]
[[Category:South African politicians of Indian descent]]
[[Category:Members of the South African Communist Party]]
[[Category:Members of the African National Congress]]
[[Category:People acquitted of treason]]
[[Category:South African people of Gujarati descent]]
[[Category:South African Muslims]]
[[Category:Muslim South African anti-apartheid activists]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh]]

Yusuf Dadoo - Revision history

>SSKS1 at 04:39, 29 June 2021