Unsurprisingly, Nyerere's introduction of national service upset the country's university students of whom there were some 6,000 in Tanzania in 1965, based mainly on the campus of University College Dar es Salaam. Over half of these became actively involved in a series of disruptive demonstrations. Nyerere, however, was unmoved by their protests. When they denounced compulsory national service as an affront to their dignity, he stressed that students were among the most privileged in society. They should, therefore, see it as a matter, not merely of duty, but of honour, to contribute to the common good without thought of material reward. He announced that, while he saw the young as Tanzania's future and wanted them to be as well trained as possible, he would not allow them to interfere with his planning. Students would serve in the armed forces before they began their civilian careers. If they dared defy the authorities by continuing with their protests, they would be imprisoned. Nyerere's ideas here were similar to Mao Zedong's, who had required students and intellectuals in China to go into the fields and work with the peasants in order to learn the dignity of labour (see page 135).
SOURCE H
Nyerere signing the document declaring the joining of Zanzibar and Tanganyika to form the state of Tanzania in 1964.
Tanganyika becomes Tanzania, 1964
The neighbouring island of Zanzibar, which had gained independence from Britain in December 1963, was ruled by a sultan. Barely a month after Zanzibar's independence had been declared, a coup, organized by the socialist Shirazi Party, overthrew the sultan and installed Abeid Karume, the Shirazi leader, as President. Within little more than a year Zanzibar had
Entered into a formal union with Tanganyika to form the state of Tanzania in April 1964. Nyerere was declared President, with Abeid Karume his VicePresident. Not all Tanganyikans approved of the move, but Nyerere assured them that it was a progressive move from which both parts of the new nation would benefit. It certainly increased Nyerere's stature in Africa and the wider world.
What information regarding Nyerere’s leadership of Tanzania is conveyed by Source H?
World History
