Dr Yusuf Mohamed Dadoo was born in 1909 in Krugersdorp, South Africa. His father migrated from India to South Africa in 1896 during the South African War. Dadoo grew up in the apartheid state of South Africa, and had to travel miles to Fordsburg in Johannesburg for his primary education due to the segregation imposed by the government. He attended Bree Street School, the only school available at the time for Asian education. At a very young age, he experienced the horrors of the racial segregation of the apartheid state, as he recalled how he heard white children singing: "Sammy, Sammy, ring a bell, coolie, coolie, go to hell". At the young age of 15, Dadoo chaired a meeting which was attended by Sarojini Naidoo, a female activist who was invited by the South African Indian Congress after the passing of the 1923 Class Areas Bill which proposed compulsory residential and trading segregation for Indians throughout South Africa. At such a young age, and to be chairing a meeting with such acclaimed figure, Dadoo's dedication and passion is clearly illustrated.
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| Dr Yusuf Mohamed Dadoo |
In 1923 he then went to India and enrolled into Aligarh Muslim College, where he contributed towards the rise of the Indian National Congress, and played his part in resisting against British colonial interests in India. His opinions against British imperialism grew and strengthened as he began attending meetings hosted by followers of Gandhi. Then, at the age of 18, after returning to his hometown of Krugersdorp, Dadoo gave a speech in the Town hall, hosted by the Indian community, criticising the appointment of V. Srinivasa Sastri as Indian Agent-General to South Africa, and accused him of betrayal towards the Indian community. Yet again, we see his influence and political education as even as a teenager, he was approached by his community to give a speech regarding such an important event for the whole Indian community in South Africa.
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| Dadoo's grave - Highgate |
Ignoring his father's expectations and passing off the opportunity to take over the family business, Dadoo travelled to London in 1929 to pursue his studies in medicine. There he met fellow Indian students who were involved in the fight foe Indian independence from British rule, and joined the India League which was a Britain-based organization aiming to campaign for full independence and self-government in India. However, six months after arriving in London, he was arrested for demonstrating against the Simons Commission. The Simons Commission , set up by Tory PM Stanley Baldwin in 1927 and led by Sir John Simon and Clement Attlee (future PM) to report on the workings of the Indian constitution created by the Government of India, 1919. However, the fact that it did not consist of any Indians meant it was met with great criticism, and also boycotted by the Indian National Congress, and demonstrations.
Following his arrest, Dadoo transferred to the Royal college of Edinburgh, where he became involve in the Independent Labour Party, and a local branch of the Indian National Congress. This was where he began reading Marxist literature, and understanding the communist ideology. Three years after his return to South Africa in 1936, Dadoo joined the South African Communist Party. His view was that the national liberation movement in South Africa would only work and succeed if all African and coloured people worked together, therefore he worked towards uniting people from all colours under one aim, and encouraged this by holding mass meetings.
Yusuf Dadoo was a great influence in the South African liberation movement, and left behind a great legacy. He fought for what he believed, and defended the rights of coloured citizens in South Africa, as well as the rights of Indians in their own country. He was deemed a massive threat by the South African apartheid regime, who even after his death imposed a five year ban on him. He is a great inspiration for those people who strongly believe in something, and the fact that he dedicated his entire life to fight for this cause gives a truly motivational message, which can only be summed up in his last word to his trusted friend and successor Joe Slovo while on his deathbed:
“You must never give up, You must fight
to the end."
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