DMF History
Founded in everlasting Memory of Manilal Ambalal Desai
Manilal Ambalal Desai – BORN: 1879 – DIED: 15th JULY 1926
Manilal Ambalal Desai – BORN: 1879 – DIED: 15th JULY 1926
A European historian’s assessment writing in 1938 described Manilal A. Desai as the best known Indian leader in Kenya. He came to Kenya in 1915 at that time there was Martial Law – the Indians and the natives were experiencing hardships. He felt that the root cause of these inequalities was racial prejudice which troubled him greatly. His main interest in public life in the early day would appear to have been the problems of the Indian community, but he soon found that the interest of the African community had to be considered at every step. After working for few years, he jumped into public life, to fight for equal rights for all. He was obsessed with a burning desire to serve the community without any thought of self. He is one of the earliest freedom fighters in the country.
Manilal Ambalal Desai, was born in India in 1879. He came to British East Africa in 1916 having experienced the struggle against British colonialism in India. In Nairobi he joined a firm of European solicitors as a clerk but found the racism intolerable. He quit the job and plunged into the anti-colonial struggle in Kenya.
At one stage he set out to establish himself in business but found that this left him little time to give to the service of his fellow Indians, nor could he do much for the Africans who he considered had a claim on him. He therefore closed down his business, took up public life and became associated with the East African Indian National Congress. Initially he was not an official of that body and only set out to revitalize it after the 1914-1918 war years. Through the congress he sought equal rights for all.
In his fight for better conditions for Indians, he never forgot his duty to the African. Quite often this meant he put their cause first. He was always available to anyone who sought his guidance or advice. His services to his fellow Indians were many and varied. He convened and arranged a round table conference of European and Indian leaders to find an amicable answer to what had become known as the Indian Question. Sir Edward Northey, the then Governor of the colony, was invited to preside over the conference and be the principal speaker, while Mr. Desai presented the Indian case.
His first priority was to revive the moribund Indian Associations and form new ones wherever a group of Indians were settled. In 1914, Alibhai Mulla Jeevanjee had established the East African Indian National Congress which served as the umbrella body for the Indian Associations. Desai became its organising secretary and launched a vigorous campaign demanding justice and equality for Indians and Africans.
Quite early on Desai had befriended Harry Thuku, founder of the Young Kikuyu Association, and they shared many political ideas. Having seen the important role the press played in India, Desai started the East African Chronicle and also printed Thuku’sTangazo pamphlets in his press. The colonial authorities took great exception to the writings in the Chronicle and in 1921,slapped a heavy fine on the paper forcing it to stop publication.
He was the chief spokesman for the Indians in East Africa at the Colonial office in London in 1923 whose officials were impressed by the fairness of their case and the manner in which it was presented. Before going to London he had been elected president of the East African Indian National Congress. After the presentation of the white paper in july 1923 he travelled to India and persuaded Shrimati Sarojini Naidu to come to East Africa and preside over the fifth session of the Congress the which was held in Mombasa in 1924. As a result of that Congress the Indian Question in Kenya obtained Empire-wide publicity and thereafter India started taking an increased interest in questions affecting Indians in those territories.
Desai, together with his compatriots, continued to agitate against the colonial rule. In 1923, he led a delegation of Indian leaders to attend a conference in London. The outcome was the Devonshire Declaration which side-stepped the demands of both the Indian and European delegations, and declared a policy of ‘African Paramountcy’.
In August, 1925, Desai was appointed to the Legislative Council as a nominated member. He joined four other Indian leaders, all appointed to represent the Indian community. These members, however, addressed national issues such as Land, the Shop Hours Act, the Maasai disturbances, colour bar and generally championed the rights of the oppressed.
When the Indian community accepted nomination to the legislative council in Kenya , private elections were held in which Mr.Desai topped the poll. Right up until the time of his death his interest in his fellow Indians and Africans neither flagged nor did his popularity wane. He was respected by Indians and Africans alike and by Government.
In May 1926, Desai travelled through East Africa trying to raise funds for starting another newspaper. While in Bukoba, Tanzania, he fell ill and passed away on 15 July. His death was a great loss to the Indian community and to the anti-colonial struggle in Kenya and East Africa.
His friends and fellow Indians have kept his memory green by erecting the public hall which bears his name – The Desai Memorial Hall- the foundation stone of which was laid by Shrimati Sarojini Naidu on 5th December 1929 when she was invited to Kenya to preside over the 9 th session of the East African Indian National Congress. The Opening ceremony was performed by Seth Nanji Kalidas Mehta of Uganda on 23rd May 1934.
To commemorate this great man, the Indian community built a memorial in Nairobi and named it the Desai Memorial Library in his honour. It was opened in 1934 as public library and served all races equally. The property was sold in 1993 and the funds and the income earned from it are primarily applied in promoting educational activities for the benefit of Kenyan residents through scholarships and providing library/text books support to various schools in Kenya. These activities are undertaken by Desai Memorial Foundation a charitable organisation formed several years after his death to keep alive the legacy of the Late Manilal Ambalal Desai.