The Dukawallas and Beyond: Uncovering India’s African Connection
Letter from New Delhi
By Kul Bhushan
Less than a month ago, on 7 March the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi paid an official visit to Mauritius. The electronic and print media carried this news with images, but no background article appeared in almost any print media in India although the electronic media broadcast some background of the close Indo-Mauritian ties over the centuries.
Madhukant Shah attends to a customer in his Haria’s Stamp Shop on Nairobi’s Biashara Street. Pic – Michael Mute- Daily Nation
Millions Starving
A full-scale civil war is currently going on since April 2023 in the Sudan which affects over 50 million people. Now two years later, more than 61,000 have died, more than half its population are facing starvation and tens of thousands have migrated. Some brief news has appeared in Indian media but no backgrounders in India media to explain this horrendous conflict.
More than the current news from Africa, the news about Indian diaspora in Africa is of great interest in India. Sizeable number of Indian origin people live in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania is Eastern Africa and also in Mauritius and South Africa. Their contribution, achievements and interactions are pertinent for most Indians.
No Coverage
And there is plenty more of interest for India from Africa but hardly any coverage these days. In the seventies, India media appointed correspondents in Africa to provide news coverage from an Indian perspective. In Nairobi, Kenya, All India Radio, Press Trust of India and United News of India had correspondents to cover Eastern Africa. Later, the PTI correspondent was moved to Harare to cover Southern Africa.
Not anymore. Is this due to global news being easily available on the wire services and the web? Perhaps but not with Indian perspective which is of great interest to Indian industry and business leave alone politicians. So, what can be the solution? Perhaps the research scholars on African studies in Indian universities because they are searching, digging and writing on African themes and developments.
Information Gap
The heads of African faculties at Indian universities could fill in this information gap by providing well researched articles to the local media coinciding with breaking news about Africa. The content is certainly available, but it has to be written and presented in simple, repeated, simply, easily grasped language and in human terms. This is possible in collaboration with budding journalists from the mass media departments.
And where and who will publish these articles? Today, there are plenty of outlets on the web, in print and in broadcast. It is just a matter or constant approach until a breakthrough is made and then keep it going. Start with news sites on the web always looking for content, and later the print and broadcast media will follow.
Duckwalk Shopkeeper
This issue of lack of African background features with an Indian angle in Indian media came up during my interaction with a group from Delhi University African Studies department. Ms Komal Thakran, a PhD scholar at the Department of African Studies, University of Delhi contacted me for an online seminar with her professor and around 20 scholars. She is researching Swahili Coast’s historiography and shared heritage and came across my article on Dukawalla or shopkeepers who developed Africa despite humungous odds.
Starting off with Jambo or Hello in Swahili, I outlined my observations on Indians at the coast. Using ‘dhow’ boats built on coast of Cutch, Hindu sailors cum traders have been powered by monsoon winds to land on East African coast for over 4,000 years. They used the Southwest monsoon to sail to Africa and the North East monsoon a few weeks later to return home. They have been mentioned in a Greek guide to the Red Sea over two thousand years ago.
Hardy Pioneers
Some of these hardy pioneers started their dukas or shops on the Coast to barter their goods from India. Gradually, they moved inland on the harsh African plateau. Their fragile shops faced many problems: wild animals like elephants, rhinos and lions, long haul for new supplies, generating demand from African tribes who could only barter plus preserving their balance in the wilderness. Artefacts of Hindu traders are found deep inland in Zimbabwe. My good friend over sixty years, Kersi Rustomji, has interacted with dukawallas in the bush for decades and got to know them well so he composed a very long poem about their trials and travails and also created many images of life of early shopkeepers. This seminal work was spotted by a researcher of African Studies at Bombay University and incorporated in their database.
The other insight appreciated by the group was the composition of the Indian diaspora in East Africa. During the thousands of years, Hindus were called Hindi and Muhindi in Swahili even today. Before 1947 they were named Indians but after partition, they were renamed Asians. The vast majority of all settlements consist of Gujaratis because they sailed to East Africa first. Then there are Muslims and Christian Goans.
Sikhs Kala Singhas
Among the Hindu Gujaratis, the majority are Hindu businessmen of different sub-communities viz Oswals or banias, Patels originally farmers, Lohanas, the Cuthis or masons and the Sikhs locally known as Kala Sinhgas, The Muslims are Ismailies the followers of the Aga Khan, the Bohras, the followers of Syedna, the Isnashiris and the Pathans. The Catholic Christian Goans were originally clerks and chefs. This breakdown of the Indians was much appreciated by the group as it reflected the ground reality.
And so the discussion and spirited dialogue extended over many topics from 60 minutes to over 90 minutes when it came to an end when I brought up the lack of African background in Indian media and suggested a solution as above.
Ground Realities
In her vote of thanks, Komal Thakran, wrote, “It was a pleasure to engage with a conversation with Kul Bhushan as part of Scholars Beyond Boundaries. Having lived in Kenya for over 45 years, he has worn many hats: teacher, journalist, UN professional, author and author/publisher of Kenya Factbook. His deep understanding of the ground realities of the region made our discussion incredibly insightful.
“As my research focus on Indian diaspora, his perspective on contemporary issues, migration patterns and historical issues added valuable depth to my work,” she wrote.
What a delight to contribute to this pool of knowledge hoping to see more African articles in Indian media.
Anand Kul Bhushan is a writer, journalist, UN media consultant and workshop/meditation leader.
Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 4 April 2025
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