cosec postbox 36 leiden netherlands the international student magazine CD cables cosec/leiden

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1 CD cosec postbox 36 leiden netherlands the international student magazine CD cables cosec/leiden P/9/3a 24th July Dr. Hastings Banda, Government of Nyasaland, ZOMBA, Nyasaland. Dear Dr. Banda, As you may know, The Student is the monthly magazine published by the Coordinating Secretariat of National Unions of Students, the administrative agency of the International Student Conference. Two members of the recent International Student Delegation to Africa, Ram Labhaya Lakhina and Harald Bakken, recently provided me with a transcript of the interview which they had with you during their visit to Nyasaland in May. I am enclosing a copy of this interview as it has been prepared for publication in The Student. Both Harald and Ram mentioned to me that you wished to see a copy of this before it was actually published, and the copy is thus being submitted for your approval. We are hoping very much to be able to run this article in the next issue of The Student, Vol. 6, No. 7, although we will certainly await your consent before doing so. The International Student Conference has, throughout its history, consistently expressed its opposition to any policy of racialism or student oppression. You may be interested to learn that the 10th International Student Conference, which met in late June and early July this year, passed a resolution specifically applying its principles to the case of Central Africa and calling for the immediate dissolution of the Federation and the application to the three territories involved of the principle of self-determination through wgiversal adult suffrage. The resolution also specifically criticised racialist policies being applied at the University College in Salisbury. We, at the Coordinating Secretariat, greatly appreciated your granting an interview to the members of the Ijternational Student Delegation to Africa and are looking forward to the prospect of publishing in The Student your very valuable comments on the problems of Nyasaland and of Africa. We are sending under separate cover some recent issues of The Student to acquaint you with our magazine. We would be pleased

2 CD CD CD -2- to send this in the future to you and/or the youth section of the Malawi Congress Party, should you be interested in having us do so. With all good wishes, Yours sincerely, Peter Eckstein Editor The Student PE/AM

3 ~I THE STUDENT, No. 7 AN INTERVIEW WITH DR. HASTINGS BANDA During their visit to Nyasaland on 28th April, 1962, two members of the International Student Delegation to Africa, Ram Lakhina and Harald Bakken were received by Dr. Hastings Banda, the national leader of Nyasaland, at his residence. Besides explaining to Dr. Banda the purpose, philosophy and structure of the International Student Conference and the objectives of the International Student Delegation to Africa, the delegation members sought Dr. Banda's opinion on the problems which Nyasaland and Africa are facing. The following summary report of the interview is based on the notes of the delegation members. We were extremely happy to learn of the victory of nationalist forces in Nyasaland under your enlightened leadership. Now that you have African majority in the parliament and hopefully will soon be having complete control over the internal and external affairs of the country, we are anxious to find out what type of society you are trying to build up in Nyasaland. We in Nyasaland are attempting to build up a fully democratic society in which people of all races can live in peace without any consideration of caste, creed or colour. Nor will black or white be allowed to dominate the other. Anyone who identifies himself with the interest of Nyasaland and believes in the rule of the majority is most welcome here. Those who come because of their vested interest or the professed superiority of their race or colour and do not believe in this will not, I am afraid, be welcome here. Economically I would like to make Nyasaland the Denmark of Central Africa. Nyasaland is primarily an

4 S-2- agricultural country and it is by developing our agriculture that we shall be able to provide a decent standard of living for our people. Of course, we shall be having industries, but those industries will be mostly related to agriculture. At the moment, our agricultural factor is not in very good shape. The land is very unevenly distributed, the holdings are very small, the transportation facilities are poor, the supply of capital is very inadequate, the techniques of production are outmoded, and there are many other problems which our farmers are facing. But I believe that after we make proper institutional and technological changes in our agriculture it will be possible for it to provide a decent standard of living to our people. We are encouraging our farmers to pool their land, capital anhuman resources into cooperatives. It is through these cooperatives that they will be able to overcome the difficulties of small holdings, the inadqquaeies of capital, and the problems of transportation and marketing. Through these cooperatives the farmers will also learn how to manage their own affairs collectively. It is the deliberate policy of our government to have these cooperatives all over the country. The government would render all possible material and technical assistance to them. for or against private enterprise. Of course, we shall not be dogmatic Where we find that the private enterprise can do the job best we shall let it do it. We haveremendous shortage of foreign capital and, therefore, we would like the foreign capital to come here and complement our natural resources. We shall provide liberal conditions for the operation of foreign capital, but we shall not allow the foreign capitalists to dominate our politics. They shouldn't come here to establish banana republics of South America. Politics is my business, and I want them not to interfere with it. After paying the state taxes they can send home as much money as they like. I believe that these taxes will be sufficient for the social objectives of the government. However, the

5 -3- foreign capitalists who would like to invest here must understand that I would not let them try to buy my ministers. We can appreciate your eagerness to develop the economy of Nyasaland as rapidly as possible. Since the future of Nyasaland is very much interrelated with the future of the Federation we are anxious to know your latest views on the future of the Federation. For us, the Federation has been long dead. All we are now seeking is the death certificate. Sir, with your permission I would like to shift to a slightly different subject. Travelling through Africa we have found that there is a tremendous desire for pan-african unity among Africans in all walks of life. Yet we know that the attempts made to transform the aspirations into action have met with serious difficulties. Sir, do you think that there are fundamental differences between the Casablanca and Monrovia groups, or do you think that these differences and difficulties are transitional and would vanish with the passage of time. No, no, I don't think that they are fundamental differences. I don't believe in the groups. These groups are only a phase in the movement towards pan-african unity. The division between the two so-called roups is not very serious. There is only difference of emphasis. It me that to go to Accra I have to go through Johannesburg. We must build up better transport and communication facilities among all the African states. But you can't control economics without controlling politics. You can't divorce one from the other. Thus you see that the two approaches are complementary to each other.

6 -'4- We do hope that these differences are transitional and African leaders will be soon able to overcome them. Sir, we are primarily interested in the educational situation and the student movement in the countries we are visiting. We have learned that you are planning to establish a university in Nyasaland. Could you throw some more light on the subject. Yes, for some time we have been seriously exploring the possibilities of establishing the university college here. We have been in touch with the universities of Harvard, Glasgow, and Edinburgh in this connection. Our first university college will be established in association with these American and British universities. To establish a university is a very costly affair, and we are aware of it. We are poor people, but we hope that some rich countries will be able to help us. In the meantime, we shall be sending our students for higher studies to India, Germany, the United States, Nigeria, etc., but one thing is sure, that we shall not send even a single student to the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in Salisbury. We are convinced that the education imparted there and the atmosphere prevailing is not suited to our national aspirations.