Common threads between culture, history and literature of India and Africa.

India – most historically and cultural diverse country in the world has seen various stages of development. From Indian epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata to Mughal Empire, dynastic monarchy to British rule and finally democracy and modern India, Indian culture and literature has very deep roots. Same roots are that of Africa and there has been several links between India and Africa in terms of history, culture and literature. Let us try to find some common links between India and Africa.

As India and a big part of African continent have been under British rule for several years, some similar cultural characteristics are quite evident of both places. Mahatma Gandhi, our Father of Nation spent several years of his life in South Africa and played a vital role for independence movement there. Before Mahatma Gandhi, there were remarkable trade links between India and African empires. When Mughal Empire was flourishing in India, the Ajuran Empire and the Sultanate of Mogadishu, and republics like Barawa, Merca and Hobyo and their respective ports flourished and had a lucrative foreign commerce with ships sailing to and coming from Arabia & India. Hindu merchants from Surat and southeast African merchants from Pate, seeking to bypass both the Portuguese blockade and Omani meddling, used the Somali ports of Merca and Barawa, which were out of the two powers’ jurisdiction, to conduct their trade in safety and without any problems.

Mahatma Gandhi was born in India and arrived in the British colony of Natal to take up a position as an advisor to a Durban law firm. He had only intended to spend a year in South Africa, but the racial slights he experienced were so formative that he stayed on for two decades. In 1894 he founded the Natal Indian Congress, later at the forefront of the Freedom Struggle in South Africa. At first it utilised passive resistance, but when this proved inadequate he reformulated it into satyagraha, Sanskrit for ‘truth and firmness’. But the influence of the Indian community is not limited to Ghandi, with many members of this population group being represented in our government and ruling party in positions of influence and importance. In addition, cultural ideas and influences are strongly felt here. India is home to 15 official languages and over 1500 dialects. Traditions have been handed down from generation to generation and preserved in the largest Indian diaspora outside of India itself.

The national dress of India, the saree may be seen on many South African streets, especially in KwaZulu-Natal. Indian cuisine is hugely popular, with south Indian and north Indian restaurants popular all over the country, along with delicacies such as samoosas, chilli bites and bunny chow (hollowed out half loaf filled with curry). And the fever for cricket that grips India is as much in evidence in KwaZulu-Natal, where the first Indians were introduced.

A large number of Indian origin people are part of population of various African countries. Large Indian communities are found in South Africa, and smaller ones are present in Kenya, Tanzania, and some other southern and southeast African countries. The large Indian community in Uganda was expelled by the dictator Idi Amin in 1972, though many have since returned. The islands in the Indian Ocean are also populated primarily by people of Asian origin, often mixed with Africans and Europeans. Places where Indian origin people reside form a mixed African Indian combination. In India too, people for various African countries like Mozambique, Kenya, Nigeria, come to India for studies and employment purposes. Various cities are there in India where people from African origin are settled.

What is mentioned above is not sufficient to describe historical, cultural and literature links between Indian and Africa but it is clear that these links were established in the early stage of human evolution and there have been periodic developments in these links. We hope this to continue with future generations as well and a stable and strong bridge to get establish between two cultures.