The African Diaspora in India
Subtitle: Assimilation, Change and Cultural Survivals
Publisher: Routledge India
Published: Sep 13, 2017
Language: eng
Format: hardcover
Number of pages: 166
ISBN-13: 9781138284869
Description: This book explores the understudied and often overlooked subject of African presence in India. It focuses on the so-called Sidis, Siddis or Habshis who occupy a unique place in Indian history. The Sidis comprise scattered communities of people of African descent who travelled and settled along the western coast of India, mainly in Gujarat, but also in Goa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Sri Lanka and in Sindh (Pakistan) as a result of the Indian Ocean trade from the 13th to 19th centuries. The work draws from extant scholarly research and documentary sources to provide a comprehensive study of people of African descent in India and sheds new light on their experiences. By employing an interdisciplinary approach across fields of history, art, anthropology, religion, literature and oral history, it provides an analysis of their negotiations with cultural resistance, survivals and collective memory. The author examines how the Sidi communities strived to construct a distinct identity in a new homeland in a polyglot Indian society, their present status as also future prospects.
Notes: Source title: The African Diaspora in India: Assimilation, Change and Cultural Survivals