This blog has been moved to a brand new site. Here’s the link: http://www.indiansinafrica.co.za
Please join us in our discussions there, we would like to hear from you.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
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- a discussion forum for issues pertaining to people from the subcontinent.
About
It’s referred to as the ‘Indian diaspora’: people from the subcontinent who have settled - as either first or second generation – in other countries around the world but remain fiercely proud of their heritage and roots. Where-ever they have settled they have left their mark.
In Africa, there have been two waves of Indian immigration. The first was from 1860 when Indians travelled to the East Coast of Africa as indentured labourers to work on the sugar cane plantations (for more information on this, go here). This was followed by the ‘passenger Indians’, the professional middle class that followed this group to take advantage of opportunities in this new land. There were also traders who came mainly from Gujarat on the West Coast of India.
Many Indians continue to retain an attachment with ‘home’. This is partly because of India’s emergence as a world power and cultural influence (who can imagine a world without Bollywood, tandoori, bunny chow, bright saris, Tata motorcars, or spice markets?) and partly because the Indian government has offered overseas Indians the status of Non-Resident Indian (NRI) which allows overseas Indians to invest in the country and enjoy benefits of Indian citizenship.
Indians in Africa are unique in many ways – they do, after all, have a piece of their hearts on each of two separate continents. But like all immigrants, Indians in Africa experience much misinformation about their religion, lifestyle, culture and politics.
Indians in Africa are not a homogenous group. There are different dynamics within populations and communities, different religions, different cultures. There are different outlooks and different concerns.
This website is an attempt to get Indians in Africa to talk to other Indians in Africa and to other people in all the countries on the African continent. It is an effort to share cultures and outlooks, and to get Indians talking about themselves. Please join us in our discussions, we would like to hear from you.
In Africa, there have been two waves of Indian immigration. The first was from 1860 when Indians travelled to the East Coast of Africa as indentured labourers to work on the sugar cane plantations (for more information on this, go here). This was followed by the ‘passenger Indians’, the professional middle class that followed this group to take advantage of opportunities in this new land. There were also traders who came mainly from Gujarat on the West Coast of India.
Many Indians continue to retain an attachment with ‘home’. This is partly because of India’s emergence as a world power and cultural influence (who can imagine a world without Bollywood, tandoori, bunny chow, bright saris, Tata motorcars, or spice markets?) and partly because the Indian government has offered overseas Indians the status of Non-Resident Indian (NRI) which allows overseas Indians to invest in the country and enjoy benefits of Indian citizenship.
Indians in Africa are unique in many ways – they do, after all, have a piece of their hearts on each of two separate continents. But like all immigrants, Indians in Africa experience much misinformation about their religion, lifestyle, culture and politics.
Indians in Africa are not a homogenous group. There are different dynamics within populations and communities, different religions, different cultures. There are different outlooks and different concerns.
This website is an attempt to get Indians in Africa to talk to other Indians in Africa and to other people in all the countries on the African continent. It is an effort to share cultures and outlooks, and to get Indians talking about themselves. Please join us in our discussions, we would like to hear from you.
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