Paper short abstract:

People of African origin in India have fallen under the category of slaves and subsequently vulnerable tribes. Yet, when we approach them in Gujarat from an anthropological perspective we are confronted with contradictions related to these classifications.

Paper long abstract:

According to Obeng, although coming from different states from East Africa at different periods, the Africans arrived in India from the eighth and ninth centuries until the twentieth century (Obeng 2002). Muslim Arabs first led them to coastal cities of the Indian subcontinent, and some centuries later English, Dutch and Portuguese charted them in this transoceanic circuit.

The Portuguese have reportedly brought Africans to India as slaves, especially to the Portuguese colonies of Goa, Daman and Diu, where they named them derogatory as Caffre, Abyssinian and Habshi, as the British did in other parts of India (Chauhan 1995). To many Indians, the term Habshi permutes with Sidi to refer to people of African origin.

Eventually, people of African origin in India would follow under the category of slaves and subsequently of vulnerable tribes. Yet, when we approach Gujarat from an anthropological perspective we are confronted with contradictions related to these classifications.

Grounded on the Siddis of Saurashtra, I aim at deconstructing these contradictions, which has persistently stigmatised people of African origin in Western India.