Yash Tandon
Encyclopedia
Yashpal Tandon is a Ugandan policymaker, political activist
, professor, author and public intellectual
. He has lectured extensively in the areas of International Relations and Political Economy
. 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 board
of many journals.
He holds a B. Sc in Economics from London School of Economics
(1961). He completed his Ph. D in International Relations
at the London School of Economics in 1969.
He won the 1962 David Davies Memorial Institute in International Peace Prize
, London UK.
, 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 1967-68, Tandon spent fifteen months in a senior research fellowship at Columbia University
, New York, USA.
From 1972 to 1973 he lectured in International Relations at the London School of Economics, UK. In 1973, Tandon returned to Africa in the role of Professor in Political Economy at the University of Dar-es-Salaam. 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 1982-83, Tandon was a visiting professor/consultant with the Zimbabwe Institute of Development Studies in Harare.
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), and one of the principal organisers of the May 1979 Moshi Conference for the launch of the UNLF Government.
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
. At this time, he was involved in negotiations with intergovernmental orgaisations and donors for the rehabilitation of Uganda’s economy. He was chairman and member of various paliamentary committees.
In 1980, with the overthrowing of the Government of the UNLF by military coup
, 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). At the same time, he engaged in political work for democratic struggle in Uganda.
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.
Spanning the 1990s and 2000s, Tandon was a founder member and the first dierctor of the International Couth grouop network (ISGN). He was the founder and director of Southern and Eastern African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI). He was a founder member of Alternatives to Neoliberalism in Southern Africa (ANSA). Tandon served as the executive director of the South Centre for five years until his retirement in 2009.
and international relations. He specializes 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 journal
s, including Mawazo (Makerere), Instant Research on Peace and Violence (Finland) and Sage International Yearbook on Foreign Policy Studies (Syracuse, USA), African Review, Utafiti (as chief editor
), Economic Journal of Zimbabwe. He was also the editor of University of Dar es Salaam: Debate on Class, State and Imperialism
(1982).
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
, professor, author and public intellectual
Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
. He has lectured extensively in the areas of International Relations and Political Economy
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
. He was deeply involved in the struggle against the dictatorship of Idi Amin
Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada was a military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military...
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 board
Editorial board
The editorial board is a group of people, usually at a publication, who dictate the tone and direction the publication's editorial policy will take.- Board makeup :...
of many journals.
Early and personal life
Yash Tandon was born on 21 June 1939 in the village of Kaberamaido in the Teso District of Uganda. He is married with two children. He speaks English, Punjabi, Gujarati and Swahili.He holds a B. Sc in Economics from London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
(1961). He completed his Ph. D in International Relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
at the London School of Economics in 1969.
He won the 1962 David Davies Memorial Institute in International Peace Prize
International Peace Prize
The World Peace Council , an anti-imperialist non-governmental organization, has awarded a number of prizes, beginning in 1950. These have been awarded to individuals, organisations, peoples, and places. Typically, several winners would be voted at one WPC congress; these, or their representative,...
, London UK.
Academic career
From 1964-72 Tandon lectured at the Makerere UniversityMakerere University
Makerere University , Uganda's largest and second-oldest higher institution of learning, , was first established as a technical school in 1922. In 1963 it became the University of East Africa, offering courses leading to general degrees from the University of London...
, Kampala, Uganda
Kampala
Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...
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
Lusaka
Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...
in 1972. From 1967-68, Tandon spent fifteen months in a senior research fellowship at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, New York, USA.
From 1972 to 1973 he lectured in International Relations at the London School of Economics, UK. In 1973, Tandon returned to Africa in the role of Professor in Political Economy at the University of Dar-es-Salaam. 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 1982-83, Tandon was a visiting professor/consultant with the Zimbabwe Institute of Development Studies in Harare.
Political involvement
Following his completion of education in London, Tandon returned to Uganda. He left in 1972 with the rise to power of Iddi Amin. He went into exile, 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
Uganda National Liberation Front
The Uganda National Liberation Front was a political group formed by exiled Ugandans opposed to the rule of Idi Amin with an accompanying military wing, the Uganda National Liberation Army . UNLA fought alongside Tanzanian forces in the Uganda-Tanzania War that led to the overthrow of Idi Amin's...
(UNLF), and one of the principal organisers of the May 1979 Moshi Conference for the launch of the UNLF Government.
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
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...
. At this time, he was involved in negotiations with intergovernmental orgaisations and donors for the rehabilitation of Uganda’s economy. He was chairman and member of various paliamentary committees.
In 1980, with the overthrowing of the Government of the UNLF by military coup
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
, 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). At the same time, he engaged in political work for democratic struggle in Uganda.
Career outside academia
From 1966-68 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), 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
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
. He was also the founder and managing director of Research and Consultancy (pvt) Ltd., (RESCON), Harare.
Spanning the 1990s and 2000s, Tandon was a founder member and the first dierctor of the International Couth grouop network (ISGN). He was the founder and director of Southern and Eastern African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI). He was a founder member of Alternatives to Neoliberalism in Southern Africa (ANSA). Tandon served as the executive director of the South Centre for five years until his retirement in 2009.
Author and editor
Tandon has written extensively on matters related to the African economyEconomy of Africa
The economy of Africa consists of the trade, industry, and resources of the people of Africa. , approximately 922 million people were living in 54 different countries. Africa is by far the world's poorest inhabited continent...
and international relations. He specializes 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
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Peace and Security, Trade and WTO, International Economics
International economics
International economics is concerned with the effects upon economic activity of international differences in productive resources and consumer preferences and the institutions that affect them...
, South – South Cooperation and Human Rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
. He has also served on several advisory committees.
He has served on the editorial boards of several academic journal
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
s, including Mawazo (Makerere), Instant Research on Peace and Violence (Finland) and Sage International Yearbook on Foreign Policy Studies (Syracuse, USA), African Review, Utafiti (as chief editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
), Economic Journal of Zimbabwe. He was also the editor of University of Dar es Salaam: Debate on Class, State and Imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
(1982).
Author
- Ending Aid Dependence, with Bejamin W Mkapa (Fahamu Books, 2008)
- Daring to Think Differently: Development and Globalisation (Fahamu Books, 2009)
- In Defence of Democracy (Dar es Salaam University Press, 1994)
- The New Position of East Africa's Asians, Mrg Report 16: Problems of a Displaced Minority, with arnold Raphael (Minority Rights Group, 1984)
- Regional Development at the National Level: Canadian and African Perspectives, with Timothy M Shaw (University Press of America, 1986)
- Problems of a Displaced Minority: New Position of East African Asians (Minority Rights Group, 1973)
- Militarism and Peace EducationPeace educationPeace education may be defined as the process of acquiring the values, the knowledge and developing the attitudes, skills, and behaviors to live in harmony with oneself, with others, and with the natural environment....
in Africa: A guide and manual for peace education and action in Africa (African Association for Literacy and Adult Education, 1989)
Editor
- Paved with Good Intention: Background to the GATT Uruguay RoundUruguay RoundThe Uruguay Round was the 8th round of Multilateral trade negotiations conducted within the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , spanning from 1986-1994 and embracing 123 countries as “contracting parties”. The Round transformed the GATT into the World Trade Organization...
and WTO (SEATINI Readings in Globalisation and World trade), with Megan Allardice (SEATINI Zimbabwe, 2005) - Readings in African international Relations (East African Lit. Bureau, 1977)
- Horizons of African Diplomacy, with D Chandarana (East African Lit. Bureau, 1977)
Articles
- Kenya democracy on trial, 2009
- Political, economic and climatic crises of Western civilization: Dangers and opportunities
- The Violence of Globalisation
- The Future of Aid
- Developed Countries are Playing Duck and Dive
- The Principles of Food Sovereignty
- Foreign Direct Investment is Impoverishing the South
- The Paris Declaration and Aid Effectiveness
- The Principles of Food Security
- The committed intellectual: reviving and restoring the National Project