Mr. Dar used the initial three letters from “Tanganyika,” which are TAN, and those from “Zanzibar,” ZAN. To these, he appended an ‘I’ derived from his name, Iqbal, along with an additional ‘A’, symbolizing his affiliation with the Ahmadiyya Muslim community.
Mohammed Iqbal Dar, the man who came up with the name “Tanzania,” has died at the age of 80.
He died in Birmingham, United Kingdom, where he had resided since 1965. For almost a decade, he had been in poor health and could not walk during his last few years.
Mr. Dar came into this world on August 8, 1944, in Tanga, Tanzania. His father, Dr. Tufail Ahmad Dar, was an eminent physician with experience across various regions of the nation.
Mr Dar went to school in Tanzania, studying at The Aga Khan School and later at Mzumbe Secondary School.
In 1964, when he was still a student, he noticed an ad in a newspaper requesting individuals to propose a name for the recently established federation between Tanganyika and Zanzibar.
He opted to participate and submitted his proposal. His recommendation of “Tanzania” was selected as the victorious title.
He received a prize of KES 200 (approximately USD 280 in 1964) along with a medal from Sheikh Idris Abdul-Wakil, who was the Minister for Information at that time.
He subsequently shared the story behind how he came up with the name.
As per his statement, he chose the initial three letters from “Tanganyika” (TAN) and “Zanzibar” (ZAN). Next, he incorporated an “I” derived from his name, Iqbal, along with an additional “A” to symbolize his affiliation with the Ahmadiyya Muslim community.
This gave rise to the name “Tanzania.”
Despite relocating to the UK, Mr Dar maintained strong ties with Tanzania. He frequently returned to the country and backed various charitable initiatives, assisting individuals of every walk of life.
He frequently participated in religious gatherings in Tanzania as well.
Agencies/Global South World
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