Shams-ud-Deen

Mohamed Ismail Shams-ud-Deen (1879 - 27 December 1948) was an Indian born member of the Legislative Council of Kenya between 1922 and 1946.

Early life

Shams-ud-Deen was born to a Muslim Kashmiri family in the Punjab province of British India.Robert G. Gregory, India and East Africa: a history of race relations within the British Empire, 1890-1939, Clarendon Press, 1971 He moved to the East Africa Protectorate as an employee of the Uganda Railway in 1896.

Political career

During the First World War he joined the East African Indian National Congress.Robert G. Gregory, India and East Africa: a history of race relations within the British Empire, 1890-1939, Clarendon Press, 1971 In 1919 he led a delegation to India to present a case to Indian nationalists for the colonisation of East Africa, citing that it was in conformity with the laws of equity, justice and British citizenship.Sana Aiyar, Indians in Kenya, Harvard University Press, 2015 His delegation was undermined by the Jallianwala Bagh massacre which occurred during his visit and a shift in mood amongst nationalists to rejecting the concept of imperial citizenship. To Shams-ud-Deen and the Congress, it also highlighted the diverging interests between Indian nationalists and the sub-imperialist ambitions of Indian merchants in East Africa.Sana Aiyar, Indians in Kenya, Harvard University Press, 2015

In 1922 he became a nominated member of the Legislative Council of Kenya representing the interests of the Indian community.Robert G. Gregory, India and East Africa: a history of race relations within the British Empire, 1890-1939, Clarendon Press, 1971 That same year he was the only Indian member on the Bowring Committee, however after realising he was outnumbered and ineffective, resigned in frustration in September 1922.

In the early 1930s Shams-ud-Deen led a moderate faction within the Kenya Indian Congress against the radical faction led by Isher Dass. Following a dispute over how Congress should react to a boycott, in January 1931 Shams-ud-Deen led a walk out resulting in the formation of a rival Congress party. At the 1934 Kenyan general election he was elected to the Legislative Council and was re-elected at both the 1938 and 1944 elections.

Despite being a longtime supporter of the Kenya India Congress and inter-communal harmony, by 1946, Shams-ud-Deen had become convinced that the interests of Muslims differed from those of Hindus.Sana Aiyar, Indians in Kenya, Harvard University Press, 2015 His shift towards communalism partly came from the demographic change in Indian emigration to Kenya from the 1930s whereby Hindus and Sikhs began to greatly outnumber the number Muslims arriving in Kenya.Sana Aiyar, Indians in Kenya, Harvard University Press, 2015 Fearing the numerical submersion of his community, Shams-ud-Deen joined European settlers in demanding restrictions on immigration from India.Sana Aiyar, Indians in Kenya, Harvard University Press, 2015 Shams-ud-Deen was also influenced by the Pakistan movement of which he became a staunch supporter, and he later considered the Partition of India as a legitimate a demand made by Indian Muslims which saved India from complete annihilation.Sana Aiyar, Indians in Kenya, Harvard University Press, 2015 He increasingly began publishing anti-British articles in the local press and pressed a demand for Muslims to have separate electorates, a demand which was opposed by the government and Indian Congress. He resigned from the Legislative Council in protest in 1946.Sana Aiyar, Indians in Kenya, Harvard University Press, 2015

Death

Shams-ud-Deen died at Nairobi on 27 December 1948.Kenya Gazette, 22 Nov 1949 His son Zafr-ud-Deen followed him into politics.Robert G. Gregory, India and East Africa: a history of race relations within the British Empire, 1890-1939, Clarendon Press, 1971

See also

* Indians in Kenya

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dass, Isher
1879 births
1948 deaths
Members of the Legislative Council of Kenya
British Kenya people
Politicians from British India
Punjabi people