Indian Africa: Minorities of Indian-Pakistani Origin in Eastern Africa

Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have minorities from the Indian sub-continent amongst their population. The East African Indians mostly reside in the main cities, particularly Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Mombasa, Kampala; they can also be found in smaller urban centres and in the remotest of rural townships. They play a leading social and economic role as they work in business, manufacturing and the service industry, and make up a large proportion of the liberal professions. They are divided into multiple socio-religions communities, but united in a mutual feeling of meta-cultural identity. This book aims at painting a broad picture of the communities of Indian origin in East Africa, striving to include changes that have occurred since the end of the 1980s. The different contributions explore questions of race and citizenship, national loyalties and cosmopolitan identities, local attachment and transnational networks. Drawing upon anthropology, history, sociology and demography, Indian Africa depicts a multifaceted population and analyses how the past and the present shape their sense of belonging, their relations with others, their professional and political engagement. This book is a must-read for contemporary researchers, students, policy practitioners as well as the general reader. Cover Title page Copyright page Dedication Contents Acknowledgements Initials and Acronyms Authors Note on Transliteration and Spelling of Indian Languages The use of ethnonyms and terms expressing national identities or national origin Foreword on Bibliography and Methodology From the Trading-Post Indians to the Indian-Africans Brief background on immigration Population overview: mobility and identities General characteristics of the Indian diaspora in East Africa African Indians – Minorities without concessions? Desire to retain and affirm cultures of origin Partial survival of the community and class division of labour Indian-African businesses Maintaining community self-segregation Poor social and political integration Unclear relations with India Uncertain future for the middle class Challenges and future of integration Bibliography Panorama of Socio-Religious Communities The Hindus The Muslims Other religious communities Bibliography East African Indians: How Many Are They? Introduction Indian Tanzanians Indian diaspora in Kenya Indians in Uganda Changes in the Indian Population since 1972 Conclusion Bibliography Annex 1. Quality of data on Indian population from the last two Kenyan censuses Annex 2. Structures per age, sex and ethnic group (tribes) of people of Indian origin living in Kenya in 1989 and 1999 Annex 3. Distribution of the Asian population in Kenya in 1999 Annex 4. Official publications on population from the three countries studied Family, Family Life and Marriage among Indian Communities in East Africa The initial family model in north-western India Family life outside the joint family Raising young children Preparations for marriage: Relationships between young people and cultural orientation The rules of traditional marriage What are the qualities of a good (future) spouse? Search for (the right) spouses Settling marriages: Matrimonial compensation, engagements, wedding ceremonies Future of married couples Bibliography Nizarite Ismailis in Kenya The three schisms Spaces conquered by Ismailism Ismailis in India Messages from the Aga Khans Constitutions and present of organisation The jamatkhana organization and the 1986 constitution Governance, community life, voluntary work: Kenya’s example Social positions and matrimonial strategies in Kenya Social and community life Community policy Education and health policy Cultural work Be adventurous: Boom in economic activities Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development Conclusion Bibliography Acknowledgements Bohras in East Africa: Orthodoxy and Reformism Fissions and the diaspora Main religious characteristics Administrative and political organisation Bohras in East Africa Bohra administration in Kenya Social life Brief history of Bohra dissent Conclusion Bibliography Merchants and Industrialists of Indo-Pakistani Origin in Kenya: A Sociological Overview An overview of the share taken by Asian Kenyans in Kenya’s industrial activities Main locations of industrial and commercial activities Presentation of the research sample Origin and transfer of industrial and commercial property Marriage, inheritance and business Religion and professional activity Recruitment and allocation of duties in the firm Financing of firms Other forms of cooperation between firms Some challenges facing communities of Indian origin in Kenya Bibliography Appendix: The Dukawallah Living Apart Together: Economic and Spatial Logic of Indian Communities in Nakuru (Kenya) An overview of various communities: The Hindus Composition of the groups affiliated to the Hindu Council of Nakuru Matrimonial alliances Associations Temptation of a fresh departure Conclusion Bibliography Appendix Migrations and Identity of Indian-Pakistani Minorities in Uganda Indian heritage in Uganda The Indian success Relations between Indians and Africans during the colonial period Indians and politics at Independence Expulsion and the return of Indians Resettlement of Indians Perception of Indian newcomers and returnees about Uganda Social and religious organisation among Ugandan Indians Indian residential pattern in Uganda Indians in social and political arenas Conclusion Bibliography Appendix The Minorities of Indian Origin in Tanzania Historical background A brief overview of communities of Indian origin in Tanzania Bibliography “Indians are Exploitersand Africans Idlers!”. Identity formation and socio-economic conditions in Tanzania. The differential constitution of identities, statuses and socio-economic positions Indispensable foreigners or internal enemies? The politics and economics of independent Tanzania Being Indo-Tanzanian and African-Tanzanian in Dar es Salaam today A Case Study: Indians and Africans in Aga Khan’s Ismaili schools Conclusion Bibliography Indians and Others: Worlds Unknown to Each Other –Extracts of reports from the Kenyan press The Africans’ perception of Indians Bibliography Portraits and Fragments of Life Histories in Kenya Bibliography Glossary and Inventory of Main Places Index Back cover Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have minorities from the Indian sub-continent amongst their population. The East African Indians mostly reside in the main cities, particularly Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Mombasa, Kampala; they can also be found in smaller urban centres and in the remotest of rural townships. They play a leading social and economic role as the)' work in business, manufacturing and the service industry, and make up a large proportion of the liberal professions. They are divided into multiple socio-religious communities, but united in a mutual feeling of meta-cultural identity. This book aims at painting a broad picture of the communities of Indian origin in East Africa, striving to include changes that have occurred since the end of the 1980s. The different contributions explore questions of race and citizenship, national loyalties and cosmopolitan identities, local attachment and transnational networks. Drawing upon anthropology, history, sociology and demography, Indian Africa depicts a multifaceted population and analyses how the past and the present shape their sense of belonging, their relations with others, their professional and political engagement. This book is a must-read for contemporary researchers, students, policy practioners as well as the general reader