Paper short abstract:

Gujarati's migrations and businesss in Africa have influenced the urbanisation or the cities in Gujarat. Porbandar, in the begining of the 20th c. is a symbol of these relations.

Paper long abstract:

In the begining of the 19th century, the commercial dynamics of the Bathias of Mandvi in Cutch opened new trends of migrations from Gujarat to Africa through Muscat and Zanzibar (Allen, 1981; Goswamy C., 2011). From that time and especially between the 1870s and the 1930s, Gujaratis have spread all over the African coast and inlands.

Their contribution to the urban fabric of East Africa is well known too. Surprisingly, the role of these migrations and business activities in Gujarat is still under-studied (Gandelot, 2011). To put the stress on this phenomenon, we will present the specific case of Porbandar, Gandhi's birthplace that highlights a specific connection with South Africa. The growth of the port-city activities shows, in the first half of the 20th century, the mutidimensional trajectories of the migrants. From rural Kathiawar to North Indian Ocean, Asian and African villages and cities, we will explain how Porbandar can be considered as the center of a complex and multi-scale network.

We will show as well the specific growth of the city in relation with Africa during the first half of the 20th century. Built between the two World Wars, Uganda road is a symbol of the success and of the cosmopolitanism of the gujarati traders and businessmen in Africa. Our own research (2006, 2008) and published narratives (Kalidas 1966, Madhavni, 2007) will be mostly presented on that purpose.