The Forgotten Community, “the of Uttara ”: How the Portuguese Indian Ocean slave produced a community of Indians of African descent

Mark Sebastian Pinto Independent Researcher

Abstract. The African presence in the Indian Ocean has been grossly underestimated in terms of numbers and impact. Not just does it involve a displacement of people from the African continent eastwards, towards Asia, but it has had a significant impact on the development of peculiar communities in the Indian Ocean world. The Siddis of are one such community. This article recounts the Portuguese Indian Ocean slave trade from the 16th to the 19th centuries to the erstwhile Portuguese territories of , Daman and Diu and the distinct role of the African in this region before slavery was eventually abolished throughout the Portuguese territories. The focus then shifts to how the African slaves who were transported to , gradually, over three centuries, established themselves in the southern Indian state of , where they now form a distinct community. The Siddis, are an example of a fascinating phenomenon; the assimilation and integration of a people, uprooted from Mozambique, into an alien society, while steadfastly clinging on to preserve and assert their distinct identity, which sets them apart from the rest of the inhabitants of the region.

Keywords: Slave-Trade, African, Portuguese, , Indian

In the region of the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, in , and in some areas bordering that region in and districts, we find a group of people who look different in physical features from the rest of the people living in the area. They are known as the Siddis. They are people of African descent settled in India for nearly five centuries (Prasad, “Foreword”). Although the Siddis of Uttara Kannada share a common ethnic pool and similar economic conditions, they are subdivided by their belonging to three major religions, , Islam, and Christianity.1

165 166 │ InterDISCIPLINARY Journal of Portuguese Diaspora Studies Vol. 8 (2019)

The Portuguese Indian Ocean Slave Trade

The origins: The Portuguese Slave Trading within the Indian Ocean The African presence in the Indian Ocean world represents one of the most neglected aspects of the global diaspora of African peoples. Yet very significant numbers of people of African descent today inhabit virtually all the countries of the western Indian Ocean (Alpers 84). In an article, titled “Satisfying the ‘Want for Labouring People’: European Slave Trading in the Indian Ocean, 1500-1850,” Richard B. Allen draws upon evidence provided in several studies in suggesting the underestimation (in numbers and impact) of the Indian Ocean slave trade carried out by the Europeans and the tendency to overlook the fact that the slave trade in this part of the world was of far greater antiquity than in the Atlantic world (Allen, “Satisfying the Want” 46–47). In another publication, Allen references Hubert Gerbeau, who discussed the problems that contributed to the “history of silence” surrounding slave trading in the Indian Ocean. While the publication of an expanding body of scholarship since the late 1980s demonstrates that this silence is not as deafening as it once was, our knowledge and understanding of this traffic in chattel labour remains far from complete (Allen, “Ending the History of Silence” 294). Besides Gerbeau, Joseph E. Harris had argued that students of the African diaspora needed to look eastwards toward Asia and not just westwards across the Atlantic as they sought to reconstruct the movement, lives, and legacy of the millions of enslaved men, women, and children exported from sub-Saharan over the centuries (Harris, The African Presence in Asia; Harris, “Expanding the Scope of African Diaspora” 157–168). A review of published scholarship on British, Dutch, French, and Portuguese slave trading in the Indian Ocean indicates that between 1500 and 1850, Europeans shipped a minimum of 431,000 to 547,000 slaves of African, Indian, and Southeast Asian origin to destinations within this oceanic basin (Allen, “Satisfying the Want” “Abstract”). This paper focusses on one of these slave-trade channels; the movement of East African slaves to India, by the Portuguese, to the erstwhile Portuguese territory of Estado da India (Goa, Daman and Diu). At present, the term Siddhi (Siddi) is used overarchingly to refer to all sections of the Indian population who, though considered native to India by virtue of their long history in the subcontinent, ultimately have their origins in Africa. Nonetheless, it would be a mistake to trace the presence of all Siddhis (Siddi) back to just one historical period or channel of migration (Cardoso 101). One must be conscious of the fact that long before the arrival of da Gama, Albuquerque, and other Lusitanian adventurers, Islamized African communities, called Habshi, existed in India, their ancestors either slaves purchased by Arabs from the African Horn or military slave troops from neighbouring Muslim countries. The majority of Africans were probably Abyssinian (Pescatello 27).

Mark Sebastian Pinto / The Forgotten Community │ 167

Any discussion of the quantity, the functions, or the status of pre-Portuguese African elements in India is based largely on suppositions drawn from isolated references (Pescatello 28). The limited sources available, make it impossible to ascertain the number of African slave exports to the Middle East and South Asia by Arab, Muslim, and Swahili merchants with any precision. (Allen, “Ending the history of silence” 296). The Portuguese were the first Europeans to purchase and transport slaves to destinations within the Indian Ocean basin. Mozambique supplied slaves to the Estado da India, established during the first two decades of the sixteenth century, and African slaves ultimately reached Portuguese establishments in East Asia. How many Africans were caught up in this traffic is difficult to ascertain, but by most accounts an average of just a couple of hundred slaves were exported from Mozambique to Portugal’s Indian and other possessions each year during the period under consideration (Pearson 161). Rudy Bauss holds that Mozambican exports to Portuguese India averaged 200 to 250 each year from the 1770s to1830 (21), while Pedro Machado indicates that Mozambican exports to Goa, Daman, and Diu may have averaged only about 125 slaves each year during the same period (Machado 20–21) (See Tables 1 & 2). Census data from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries confirm the generally small scale of this trade; Goa housed 2,153 slaves in 1719, a number that declined to 1,410 by 1810 (Bauss, 21).

Table 1 Number of slaves traded by Europeans to destinations within the Indian Ocean, 1500–1850 Exported Europeans* Destination Period AAE** Total from 41,875– Portuguese Mozambique India 1500–1834 125–250 83,750 Source: Allen (“Satisfying the Want” 62) * I have shown only data specific to the Portuguese. ** Annual Average Exports

Table 2 Estimated minimum number of slaves traded by Europeans within the Indian Ocean Basin, 1500– 1850 Europeans 1500–1599 1600–1699 1700–1799 1800–1850 Total 12,500– 12,500– 12,500– 41,875– Portuguese* 4,375–8,750 25,000 25,000 25,000 83,750 Source: Allen (“Satisfying the Want” 62) * I have shown only data specific to the Portuguese.

A brief comment on the African in Portuguese India; role and status Ann. M. Pescatello, makes a fascinating attempt, through the study of accounts by various well-known travellers and commentators on the Estado da India, to paint an image of the African slave in Portuguese India. Very importantly, she draws our attention to the fact that, as far as she was able to discern, “slavery” as a chattel concept, did not exist in sixteenth century 168 │ InterDISCIPLINARY Journal of Portuguese Diaspora Studies Vol. 8 (2019)

India, and that western or African notions of a person as “chattel” seem to have no basis in Indian social thought. This she attributes to the existence of a complex social stratification system that existed in India called “varna,”2 or more commonly referred to as the caste system. Explaining further, she says “those locals who occupied positions of menial responsibilities were socially circumscribed within the context of this complex system consisting of four varna and thousands of jatis”3 (Pescatello 31). The conclusion that she draws is that the Africans who lived and laboured in India, both during the Muslim rule and later in areas specifically subject to Portuguese suzerainty, were a type of “slave” not related in status to the type of chattel labourer we associate with plantation workers on European, African and American plantations after the seventeenth century (Pescatello 31–32). Pescatello’s assertion that slavery did not exist as a chattel concept in India of the sixteenth century needs further supplementary evidence for which Shireen Moosvi, provides us with an enlightening account of the tradition of slavery in India right from Ancient India to the Mughal period. Moosvi, writing in 2003, in her analysis, chooses to focus on three distinct periods in pre-colonial India; Ancient India, Medieval India and Mughal India. For the first period (ancient India), she takes the starting point as the classic text on ancient Indian law, the Manusmriti (first century BC).

The Sudra, on the other hand, must “serve meekly” the three of the twice-born castes (I.91; VIII. 410); and he has to be “the servant of his betters” (X.335). The traditional association of domestic service with slavery is here continued: “But a Sudra, whether bought or unbought, he (the Brahman) may compel to do servile work. A Sudra though emancipated by his master is not released from servitude” (VIII. 413-14). And his property can be seized just like that of a slave (VIII. 417). (Moosvi 560)

Moosvi also refers to the Gupta period (300–500 AD) to provide an understanding of domestic labour in Ancient India. Unclean work was described as “sweeping the gateway, the privy and the road, removing the leavings of food, ordure, etc., and rubbing the master’s limbs or shampooing the secret parts of his body” (Moosvi 561). Only slaves, presumably of the Sudra caste, could be employed to do such work. The above two narrations (Pescatello’s and Moosvi’s) tell us that within the varna system, there existed predefined roles for tasks of daily life, and the most menial or servile of tasks were left to the bottom most caste, the Sudra, who thus could be in a way referred to as a slave. While addressing slavery in Medieval India, Moosvi asserts that since in the Islamic world, slavery (and slave recruitment through raids) was as established a feature as in Ancient India, there was not much difference, prima facie, between the two cultures with regards to the preponderance of slaves in domestic service. Moosvi adds that not all servants were considered slaves, and favoured slaves used to also be freed. (Moosvi 563). Importantly, she brings to our notice that the reason why domestic servants tended mostly to be slaves was obviously due

Mark Sebastian Pinto / The Forgotten Community │ 169 to the plenitude of slaves obtained through capture in the various raids and expeditions conducted all the time over India as the Sultanate expanded and consolidated its authority (Moosvi 564). According to Abdulaziz Lodhi, a large number of Sidis (Africans) came, or were brought, to India from different parts of Africa as soldiers to serve in the Muslim armies of the Nawabs and Sultanates. Many were officials in the Muslim, and later Hindu, armies and royal bodyguards and rose to power in more than one place, i.e. Jafarabad, Radhanpur, the great city of Ahmedabad and the imperial city of Aurangabad. Some were singers and drummers, other Sidis (Africans) served as special servants in the courts of Muslim Nawabs and Sultans, while still others came as herbalists and midwives. A few were brought by Indian merchants returning home from Africa. Noble Indian families had a convention of keeping Habshis4 (Africans) as personal attendants, since servants having no local, social, or blood connections or roots guaranteed political loyalty and security (Lodhi 84). Victorian explorer, Richard Burton, in his fascinating book—published in 1851, Goa and the Blue Mountains; or, Six Months of Sick Leave, an account of his travels in Goa and the Malabar in 1847—also provides some insights into the type of “slavery” that existed in India (in this case, in the Malabar).

The Chermur, or serfs of the Malabar, amongst the Hindoos, were entirely praedial or rustic. The system of slavery is said to have been introduced by Parasu Rama, as a provision for agriculture when he gave the country to the Brahmans. We may account for it more naturally by assigning its origin and referring to its subsequent prevalence to the operation of ancient Indian Laws.” . . . Servitude in the Malabar offered few of the revolting, degrading, and horrible features which characterized it in the ancient, medieval, and modern annals of the Western World. The proprietor never had the power of life or death over a slave without the sanction of the feudal chief, or more generally of the sovereign; he could inflict corporal punishment upon him, but old established custom limited the extent as effectually as law would. Moreover, in this part of the globe, serfs were born and bred in subserviency, they had no cherished memories of rights and comforts once enjoyed—no spirit of independence conscious of a title to higher privileges and indignant at unjust seclusion from them. In their case slavery did not begin with the horrors of violent separation from country and home, the cruelties of a ship- imprisonment, forcible introduction to new habits and customs, food and dress, languages and connections.” (Burton 155)

With reference to the Canara region, Burton writes:

In Canara it was by no means uncommon for slaves to have slips of -fields, and small pieces of land given to them by their masters for growing fruit and vegetables. When a slave possessing any property died, his owner was not entitled to it, except in the cases when no lawful heir could be found. (146)

Pescatello and Lodhi appear to be of the same opinion regarding the type of slavery practiced in India and its connection with the existing local feudal and caste systems. Burton’s account, likewise, throws light on this type of slavery, 170 │ InterDISCIPLINARY Journal of Portuguese Diaspora Studies Vol. 8 (2019)

although he speaks of slavery specifically in the Malabar and in the Canara. Burton attributes, however, the peculiarities of its practice to the operation of the Ancient Indian laws. To this narrative, Lodhi adds that the ownership of African slaves was an expensive affair since local feudal systems related to slavery provided ample cheap or free labour to rulers, land-owners and the upper castes. These African slaves were a kind of life-long loyal servants of the ruler, rather than slaves in the Western sense (Lodhi 85). Returning to the role of the African slave in the Portuguese territory of Goa, the Estado’s military establishment depended on African slaves as soldiers in all its territories; this was the case in Goa and Ceylon, and, as Pescatello suggests, based on evidence available to her, this was the case in Macao as well (34). Pescatello concedes that information on sixteenth century South Asia, in general, and in Portuguese India, in particular, is very fragmented. Hence, in the light of the available evidence, she has made an attempt at understanding the role of the African slave from what was known about the structure of Portuguese Indian society (Pescatello 35). Very importantly Pescatello speaks of the conflict of Crown, clergy, colonists, and merchantmen over the spiritual and material value of the slaves. However, despite this conflict, she maintains, that there was legal commitment to bettering the conditions of the servile population. There is asserted, in Portuguese documents, an attitude, often reasonable for its time, of great concern about the treatment and material condition of slaves. And there are annual notices of numbers of slaves freed each year in Portuguese India, although it is difficult to determine whether this was a result of clerical agitation or an annual gesture on the part of the Crown.[2] (Pescatello 36–37). Even though Portugal’s military establishment depended on African slaves as soldiers in all its territories—as was the case in Goa and Ceylon, where African5 slaves were utilized as auxiliary troops—more specific notes refer to African Indians in servile roles (Pescatello 34). The greatest number of African slaves were employed in domestic tasks (Pescatello 41; Cardoso 114)). Kiran Kamal Prasad is also of the opinion that in India, the slaves were required mainly for domestic work, unlike in the American and West Indian colonies, where they were required to supply labour for the plantations (76). The African was a valued item in trade because he fulfilled a number of tasks which Indians either could not (because of caste restrictions) or would not perform, or for which the Portuguese deemed themselves and the Indians to be unsuited. There are indications also that the African slave enjoyed a rather unusual position, at varying times, as a prestige servant or in the case of females, as suited for amorous duties in a household (Pescatello 48). The Portuguese treatment of the African in India follows much the same pattern as his actions in Brazil and other territories of the . Cruelties and inhumane treatment were generally part of the slave milieu but in the African’s role as a domestic, he was often well treated and also highly regarded in relation to the indigenous population of the places to which he was imported (Pescatello 48).

Mark Sebastian Pinto / The Forgotten Community │ 171

From Mozambican slaves to Siddis in India As previously stated, the Africans in India do not have a single origin, and the Arab slave trade that preceded the Portuguese slave trade in the Indian Ocean, produced the community of the Habshis (who follow the Sunni variant of Islam) largely concentrated in the Western Indian state of Gujarat. Today, they are mostly referred to as Siddis even though the term habshi is still used. The Siddis of Uttara Kannada, however, are assumed to be the descendants of the Mozambican slaves that were taken to the Estado da India (Goa, Daman, and Diu) by the Portuguese during the period of the Portuguese Indian Ocean slave trade. Although it is difficult to establish a water-tight theory with respect to their origins in Africa and their early history as slaves, there are a few notable findings which suggest that the Siddis of Uttara Kannada are indeed the descendants of the Mozambican-origin slaves who served in the Estado da Índia during the period of the slave-trade and the practice of slavery in this region, i.e., suggesting the Mozambique-Estado da Índia-Uttara Kannada links:

1. Several Siddis that I met in had names of Portuguese origin like Caitan (Caetano), Santan (Santana), Juje (José), Agnel (Agnelo), Rosa, Minguel (Miguel), Anton Soz (Antonio Sousa). It was common practice for the Portuguese slave traders to baptise the slaves before they boarded the ships to be carried to India. 2. To escape from the miserable conditions and treatment to which they were subjected in the erstwhile Portuguese enclave (Goa), many slaves are believed to have run away and taken refuge in territories of neighbouring kings. It is believed that those who escaped and converted to Islam, could be officially sold and the money obtained given to their original masters. Those who did not convert were to be returned to their original masters. Such was an agreement signed in 1548 between Governor Garcia de Sá and Ibrahim Adil Shah I (Prasad 82). 3. The 1560 enforcement of the Inquisition in Goa, which forbade the observance of non-Christian practices among the new converts, forced some of them to migrate from Goa (Obeng 43). Apart from the periodic running away of slaves from the coastal territories of the Portuguese to the interior forest regions of the neighbouring kings, another factor must have played an important role in the freeing of Africans as well as all other slaves. The Portuguese, as also the British, gradually abolished slave trade in their territories. After some other partial attempts to free slaves, slavery was abolished throughout the Portuguese Empire on 25th February 1869 (Prasad 83). 4. Genetic studies also affirm biological affinities of the Siddis of Uttara Kannada with the Portuguese (as well as South Indians) as evidenced from a study on the genetic affinities of the Siddis of South India in 2008 (Gauniyal et al.). The study provides ample proof that the Siddis were a hybrid population with African, South Indian, and Portuguese admixture, 172 │ InterDISCIPLINARY Journal of Portuguese Diaspora Studies Vol. 8 (2019)

with a dominant contribution from the Africans followed by the South Indians and a small Portuguese contribution. The results obtained in the investigation indicate 59.46%, 28.41% and 12.13% contributions from Africans, South Indians, and the Portuguese, respectively (Gauniyal et al. 252–263).

Cardoso suggests that even though one must admit to the presence of slaves from other parts of Africa in the Portuguese territories in India (such as in Diu), all documentary evidence is unanimous in locating the primary source of slaves transported to Portuguese India (and Portuguese Asia) within the Mozambican territory (108). The slaves that were freed after the abolition of slavery (1869) are understood to have sought shelter in the forested regions of Uttara Kannada, where they now form a relatively large community. A very miniscule number appears to have continued in Goa (the presence of Siddis in Goa nowadays could be attributed to migration for work during the last thirty or so years). According to Gauniyal et al.

It is worthwhile to state that the Siddis, who were brought as slaves by the Portuguese to Goa, escaped from the increasing atrocities of the colonizers and moved into the interior regions of the neighbouring state of Karnataka in South India. Most of them are now settled in Uttara Kannada District (an administrative division) of the state of Karnataka. (252)

There aren’t, however, established theories to explain why the escaping slaves chose to settle in forested areas as opposed to more urban areas and the few explanations that have been provided, are mere guesses or suppositions.

The Forgotten Community of the Siddis of Uttara Kannada The district of Uttara Kannada—also known as North Kanara for the purpose of civic administration—is divided into eleven talukas6 and comprises 1280 villages (Câmara, 17). According to the 2011 Census, there were a total of 10,477 Siddis in Uttara Kannada, with the male population being 5164 and female population 5313.7 During this research, I travelled to Uttara Kannada and visited three talukas with a substantial Siddi population: Haliyal, and . I made three visits to these talukas, the first in December 2016, the second in January 2017 and the third in June 2018. Among the villages that I visited were Wada, Ghardoli, Gadgera, Hosur, Bopin Kop, Dodkop, Mavinkop, , , Nagashetikop, Tattigeri, Ugingeri, Mainalli, Kegdal, and Bilki. Most villages, except for a few (e.g. Mainalli), were in isolated forested areas. These villages were accessible only by mud paths that cut off from the main road and were often a fair distance into the jungle. The villages were scattered all over and only a few were in close proximity to each other.

Mark Sebastian Pinto / The Forgotten Community │ 173

The Siddis, the status of Scheduled Tribe and the policy of reservations The Indian population is officially and unofficially classified into numerous ethnic and religious groups, tribes and castes. Although the caste system was officially outlawed by the Constitution of India in 1950, it still lingers in the everyday life of Indians, particularly in rural areas.

The Status of Scheduled Tribe. Whilst “tribal” is a more common English word than “indigenous,” it is difficult to arrive at any definition of it which is remotely water-tight. There can be no fixed criteria to distinguish a group of people as a tribe. There may be certain tribes with distinct features which set them off from other people in the region, in terms of language, religious traits of animism, social and political organisation. But there are many groups that are recognised as tribes but, at the same time, share with the members of the larger society many characteristics such as language, religion, religious and cultural practices, economic conditions, and standard of life (Prasad 94). This seems the case of many tribes in India and more so of the Siddis, as their most important distinguishing factor is their ethnic origin. Language, religion and cultural practices are largely shared with the mainstream society. The designation “Scheduled Tribe” along with “Scheduled Caste” appeared for the first time after the Constitution came into force in 1950. Articles 341 and 342 of the Constitution of India empowered the President to recognize certain tribes in the list of Scheduled Tribes. In that list, primitiveness and backwardness were the tests applied for specifying a Scheduled Tribe. The main characteristics that are common to all Scheduled Tribes are: (a) Tribal origin (b) primitive way of life (c) habitation in remote and less easily accessible areas, and (d) general backwardness in all respects ( 27). The Siddis of Uttara Kannada were recognised as a Scheduled Tribe only in 2003 (Obeng 36). In 2003, the Siddis in one district of Karnataka were allocated the legal status of “Scheduled Tribe,” a promotion from their previous grading as “backward tribe,” labels that sound obnoxious to politically correct ears but are regarded as highly coveted in the Indian context. This legal status provides access to reserved quotas of government jobs, political representation, educational advantages, and housing subsidies (van Kessel 462).

Implementation of the Scheduled Tribe status. Since 2003, the government of the state of Karnataka has initiated awareness programs to explain the benefits that castes and tribes that have been given the new status would receive.8 Although the aims and objectives of these programs are remarkable, there is a disjunction between the intention and the implementation of the goals (Obeng 36). This was communicated to me by many of the Siddis, who see flaws in the schemes introduced for them. Before addressing these flaws, it would be pertinent to point out that most Siddis are unaware of the benefits that they can claim under their new status. As gathered from personal communications: 174 │ InterDISCIPLINARY Journal of Portuguese Diaspora Studies Vol. 8 (2019)

In fact, all Siddis have a ST card but none of them knows what benefits it can bring them as there hasn’t been any kind of proper education about the benefits of having the ST status. (Bosco Kaweesi, Ugandan scholar and social worker, personal communication, December, 2016)

Most Siddis aren’t aware of their rights as ST and even if they are, they are not capable of demanding them. There is a lack of leadership in this regard. (Francis Harnodkar Siddi, personal communication, January 2017)

Since African Indians were reclassified as ST, the Siddi Development Society—the umbrella organization for African Indians in Karnataka—is making an effort to work with local political organizations to explain this new status to the African Indian communities. This is where their local groups require leaders who have the time and ability to understand the complex information that they will in turn pass on to their people (Obeng 36). One of the most well-known leaders of the Siddi community, Basthao Siddi of Ghardoli village in the Haliyal taluka, lamented the lack of leadership among the Siddis. He feels that, even today, they (the Siddis) are in a way “slaves” to the non-Siddis, be it in religion, politics or social life. Basthao has been a vibrant leader of the Siddis for many years, but I could observe a certain exhaustion on his face as he spoke of the trials and tribulations of the community. He had been an elected member of the panchayat9 and it was during his tenure that the first roads and drains were built in Ghardoli and other Siddis villages. It was also his efforts that resulted in the first brick and concrete houses with tiled roofs built for the Siddis. Since the Siddis have been included as a ST, some arrangements have been introduced, as Basthao tells me. However, the real benefits are not felt by them, which is due to the lack of information available. Yet, he tells me that the situation is better in Haliyal taluka than in the other talukas of Uttara Kannada, owing to a representative of the Siddi community now being in the panchayat. Many of the schemes are deeply flawed and seem to be implemented half- heartedly. Then again, there is a lack of knowledge on the part of the authorities of the benefits that apply to the Siddis, so much so that even if the Siddis are aware of the benefits available to them, they may still be denied them by uninformed officials. Obeng speaks of the ignorance on the part of the officials who sometimes misinform the Siddis and in other instances are asked to be paid bribes (36–37). There are some African Indians who have often applied for financial assistance, which is available for people of ST, but, so far, they have received none. Furthermore, they do not know where to go and whom to ask (Obeng 37). The criteria for giving government subsidies and grants to the people, who have been reclassified as ST, seem to exclude some African Indians. Indeed, an African Indian man who marries a non-African Indian woman forms a family that qualifies for government benefits, whereas women who marry non-African Indians are considered as having lost their ethnicity, as they bear the name of their husbands. Such names do not end with “Sidi” (Obeng 37).

Mark Sebastian Pinto / The Forgotten Community │ 175

Leadership for the Siddis becomes crucial if they are to feel the real benefits of their new status. A powerful, well informed leader, with the ability to champion the cause of the Siddis would in turn help them receive the benefits that they are meant to receive. Basthao laments that the Government’s help came through organizations that in turn deceived the Siddis. However, it is worth noting that the sponsorship played by the Catholic Sisters for the African Indians in Mainalli has fostered the release of funds for the African Indian Christian community (Obeng 37). Some of the views of the Siddis on the new ST status are in the statements below:

With the ST status, there have been a few monetary benefits and other schemes that have helped the Siddis. However, it has not made any difference in the sphere of education for us. Education for the Siddis is more important than monetary benefits as it is only through education that we can progress as a community and be more independent. (Ramita Prakash Christian, personal communication, January 2017)

There are a few schemes that have been introduced that have helped Siddis but apart from a handful, most Siddis aren’t aware of the benefits available to them as ST. Besides, it hasn’t made much of a difference to the education that the Siddis receive. (Premnath Androj Christian, personal communication, January 2017)

From the two comments above and the references made earlier, it becomes clear that the Siddis do believe that along with monetary benefits, there is a need for a better implementation of educational schemes, and the status of ST could have been and can still be a platform for this educational assistance.

The policy of reservations. While many scholars hold the opinion that reservations are in a way a form of positive discrimination, in a country like India, with an extreme diversity of people, religions and languages, reservations are a form of guaranteeing and safeguarding the prospects of the so called “backward” sections of society that normally would be ignored by mainstream population. The uncomfortable reality in India is that there are certain sections of society that are often isolated, have no voice, and are discriminated against in various forms. Hence, reservations are required to give these communities an opportunity for representation. Reservation is the means of setting aside a certain percentage of seats and vacancies in educational, governmental, and legislative institutions for members of the weaker sections of the social structure. With a view to involve them in the mainstream population, the Indian constitution framers have provided certain special safeguards and protective provisions for the improvement of indigenous people.10 However, such is the predicament of the Siddis that reservations, safeguards, and benefits available to them notwithstanding, they are unable to receive them because of lack of aspiration, misinformed officials, and a general apathy to their plight from the 176 │ InterDISCIPLINARY Journal of Portuguese Diaspora Studies Vol. 8 (2019)

authorities. The absence of leadership among the Siddis exacerbates this problem further as they are unable to claim benefits that are legally due to them. Most of the Siddis that I spoke to were aware that there were certain monetary benefits available to them and mentioned the schemes introduced as a result of being included as a Scheduled Tribe. However, barring one or two, there were no Siddis who were aware of any reservations available to them in public, educational and political institutions. Those Siddis who have a basic knowledge of their new rights, do not know whom to approach to receive their benefits. Alpers, writing in 2000, observed that: “the Africans (Siddis) have been relegated to a subordinate position over the centuries, and contemporary observers have all commented upon their wretched situation (87). Indeed, in theory, the Siddis are full-fledged Indian citizens. However, their integration into the national citizenship is made through a compensatory discrimination, which distinguishes them from other citizens of India.

“Afrophobia” in India and its impact on the Siddis At this point it is pertinent to refer to the issue of racism in India and its impact on communities like the Siddis. Racism is in India, as is everywhere, a controversial subject. However, over the last decade or so, in India, it has been increasingly spoken and written about in the Indian and international press. While there are not many scholarly articles addressing the issue of racism in India, there is no paucity of personal accounts of African students, professionals, and immigrants as well as those of African origin—but who belong to countries in North America and Europe—who have spoken about how they have suffered from racism during their time in India. While many Indians, till today, deny the existence of racism in the country, it is indeed extremely apparent that racism does exist, and it is deeply ingrained in Indian society. The system of social stratification, i.e. the caste system, appears to have legitimized, over the centuries, the act of looking down upon those considered inferior in society, be it by caste, by appearance, or by colour. More alarmingly, there is a fascination for fair skin in India, as evidenced by the promotion and high demand for fairness creams, the popularity of fair-skinned models and actors, as well as a large number of advertisements that promote the idea that “whiter” skin is more beautiful and the pathway to secure more “success.” Thus, “dark” skin is automatically looked down upon. There have been countless discussions and debates about the issue of skin colour in India. Since racism as a subject is broad and complex and needs to be studied and researched extensively, I choose to speak of only, what I would like to call, a component of racism, undeniably prevalent in India, “Afrophobia,” as it is pertinent to this study of the Siddis. Here, I use articles that have appeared in various newspapers and magazines in India and in the international press. According to an article published on the 2nd of January 2019, in the online edition of the newspaper Gulf News, correspondent Karuna Madan writes, that there are approximately 60,000 Africans of different nationalities residing in

Mark Sebastian Pinto / The Forgotten Community │ 177

India. Many have faced racial discrimination at some point of time during their stay in the country. According to the Association of African Students in India (AASI), about 25,000 Africans study in Indian universities, drawn by their high academic standards, low fees, and the use of English language as the medium of instruction (Madan). In an article in the online IDN-InDepthNews (under the flagship of the International Press Syndicate), Shastri Ramachandran, in 2018, narrates that since the high-profile India-Africa Forum Summit in October 2015 in New Delhi, there have been many prominent bilateral exchanges and high-level visits. However, what quite a few Africans recall are the incidents of racist violence and Afrophobia, and the Indian authorities not acting effectively in the circumstances. In 2016, 54 African countries decided to boycott the ‘Africa Day’ celebrations (May 25) to condemn the rising Afrophobia in India. The envoys of 54 African countries cited the “racism and Afrophobia” prevalent in India as the reason for wanting the Africa Day event to be put off (Ramchandran). In an eye- opening account published in the Outlook India magazine on 29th June 2009, by Diepiriye Kuku, an American PhD student at the Delhi School of Economics, the author recounts several instances in which she was made to feel extremely inferior and insecure owing to her appearance. Some of the experiences that she recounts are as follows:

Once I stood gazing at the giraffes at the Lucknow Zoo only to turn and see 50-odd families gawking at me rather than the exhibit. Parents abruptly withdrew infants that inquisitively wandered towards me.

I have been denied visas, apartments, entrance to discos, attentiveness, kindness and the benefit of doubt.

She also recounts the difference in treatment received by her partner who is “white.”

My partner is white, and I am black, 11 facts of which the Indian public reminds us daily. Bank associates have denied me chai (), while falling over to please my white friend. Mall shop attendants have denied me attentiveness, while mobbing my partner.

There are many such accounts of racism faced by Africans in India. However, the cases cited above are sufficient to understand the issue of “Afrophobia” that exists throughout the country. Stereotyping of Africans has led to them often being considered drug-peddlers and their women as having a loose character. Over and above stereotyping, as evidenced from the accounts above and many more, it is evident that the obsession with fairer skin as well as the various levels of social stratification that exist in the country have led to this phenomenon of “Afrophobia.” It is unsurprising, therefore, that the Siddis of India face similar situations in their daily life. Many Siddis have narrated to me incidents where they have been considered as foreigners or asked uncomfortable and awkward questions about their appearance. They are often victims of racism 178 │ InterDISCIPLINARY Journal of Portuguese Diaspora Studies Vol. 8 (2019)

and segregation because of the reasons cited above. There also exist specific stereotypes about the Siddis in Uttara Kannada and Siddis in general, which make their integration into the larger Indian society even more difficult.

The language of the Siddis of Uttara Kannada The Siddis speak exclusively Indian languages. The Siddis of Uttara Kannada speak a mixture of Konkani and Marathi, with an influence of Kannada and . However, they refer to this language as Konkani. All settlements of the Siddis, irrespective of the taluka, use the same language to communicate and understand each other perfectly, despite the settlements being situated at large distances from each other. The dominant language spoken by mainstream society in Uttara Kannada is Kannada. Why then do the Siddis speak Konkani and this variant of the language? Konkani is an Indo-Aryan language and is spoken by Konkani people along the Western coast of India. The Konkani people are an ethno-linguistic community who inhabit the Coast of South Western India and speak the . It is the official language of the Indian state of Goa. Other than the talukas of , ,, Honavar and (which are part of the Konkan Coast) in Uttara Kannada, the talukas of Haliyal, Yellapur and Mundgod, where the largest populations of Siddis are concentrated, are located in the interior forested regions (far from the coast) and therefore this provides strong evidence that the Siddis of Uttara Kannada (who speak an ad-mixture of Konkani) were originally inhabitants of Goa under Portuguese rule, as slaves.12 Their eventual migration to Uttara Kannada brought with it several local influences into the Konkani spoken by them, leading to the contemporary variant spoken by the Siddis in this region. Besides Konkani, almost all Siddis speak Kannada.

The Siddis and Education The education system of the state of Karnataka consists of the following sectors: pre-primary education (balwadi), primary education, secondary education, pre- university, college education, medical education, technical education, legal education, teachers’ training and graduate teachers’ training (Obeng 44). Pre-primary classes include nursery, K.G, Pre-basic, Play School etc. Schools providing education from Standard 1 (Grade 1) and upward up to and inclusive of Standard V are classified as Primary Schools. Schools providing education from standard VI and upward up to and inclusive of Standard VIII are classified as Middle Schools. Secondary schools are those providing education from Standard IX and upwards up to and inclusive of Standard X. Schools and colleges that provide education for standards XI and XII and first and second year of the Pre-University course fall under the category of Senior Secondary Schools. Beyond these, educational institutions that provide post-PUC level education leading to University degree/diploma come under the bracket of degree colleges.13

Mark Sebastian Pinto / The Forgotten Community │ 179

According to the 2011 Census, there were 232 villages in Uttara Kannada that do not have primary schools within the village, although these are available within the radius of 10km. 615 villages do not have a middle school. Pashington Obeng concedes that “most African Indian villages (perhaps 60 percent or more) do not have lower primary schools in their locality. Lack of transport facilities and bad roads to the villages have added hurdles to their access to education” (44). Education is the means by which the Siddis can overcome the obstacles they face in society and improve their economic livelihoods. This opinion is held by many Siddis, both literate and illiterate. The younger, literate and educated Siddis were convinced that it was the way forward for the Siddi community. Below are some of the comments of the Siddis with respect to education:

Education for Siddis is more important than monetary benefits, and it is only through education that we can progress as a community and be more independent. (Ramita Prakash Christian, Siddi, Gadgera School teacher, personal communication, January 2017)

The problem that Siddis are facing is the lack of education. Until very recently, there were very few educated Siddis and hence there were none with the necessary qualifications to engage in jobs other than farming or menial jobs. (Premnath Androj Christian, Gadgera School caretaker, personal communication, January 2017)

The Gadgera School for Siddis. The Gadgera School, built in 2006, was the brainchild of Bosco Kaweesi, a Ugandan scholar and social worker residing in Haliyal for the close to twenty-one years. The school was taken over by the organization Springs of Hope, operating from Austria and Norway. Although the school admits a small quota of non-Siddis, priority is given to Siddi students. The students can study up to the 4th standard, after which they continue their studies in public and private schools. Plans are underway to extend studies at the Gadgera school up to the 5th standard. The teachers are both Siddis and non-Siddis. The caretaker of the school is a Siddi by the name of Premnath Androj Christian. There were two other Siddi teachers; Ramita Prakash Christian and Jacinta Naik. The Siddi teachers as well as the caretaker were from different Siddi villages and none of them were from Gadgera. This serves as an indicator for the reach of the Siddi Gadgera school [in attracting students (predominantly Siddi) and teachers from across talukas despite its isolated location. The school is located away from the Gadgera Siddi village in a clearing and is about 500 meters from the main road. The access is a bumpy mud road through the forest. It has two buildings: the school building and the cafeteria.14 Students reside at the school itself. The Siddi students come from villages across talukas in Uttara Kannada: Haliyal, Yellapur, and Mundgod. They only go home for the holidays or for special family functions, occasions on which parents come to pick up their children. 180 │ InterDISCIPLINARY Journal of Portuguese Diaspora Studies Vol. 8 (2019)

It is not surprising that the Gadgera school is a residential school, where students stay for the entire duration of the term. If it hadn’t been that way, it would have been a long and arduous task for students to walk to the school every day. Such are the obstacles that the Siddis face in their access to education.

Educational Patterns. At the village level, the government and religious organizations run most of the schools that go up only to the fifth and seventh standard, while the headquarters of the talukas house the schools that go up to the twelfth standard. Therefore, the majority of the people in the rural areas have limited levels of available education (Obeng 45). In addition, the quality of educational facilities and teaching that children of African descent in these villages receive cannot be compared to what other children receive, as the former live in economically and socially depressed areas (Obeng 45). A rotation system for seating was introduced in government schools in Uttara Kannada wherein each student eventually gets a chance to sit at the front desks. However, as Bosco narrated to me, the Siddis are always made to sit at the back. In addition, absenteeism from Siddi students goes unnoticed in these schools, and they receive the least of the teachers’ attention. This lack of attention from teachers contributes to the lack of motivation and high drop-out rates of Siddi students. Pashington Obeng speaks of the high dropout rate and adds that “while parents need motivation to send their children to schools, the children too need support from the teachers in the process of making education an attractive activity” (44). However, on a positive note, most of the Siddi adults, though themselves not educated, choose to send their children to school. Yet, they worry about the distance to the schools and the high cost of fees. In addition to the lack of transports facilities and bad roads in the villages, which have only added hurdles to education, the parents have difficulty helping their children with problems in schoolwork (Obeng 44).

The Siddis and the English language. A survey conducted by the Sidi Jana Vikas Sanga, registered under the Karnataka Societies Registration Act 2010, found that the Siddis were very weak in the English language and many failed in English in school. The society intervened and organized a spoken English class with the help of the Holy Cross Church, Mainalli (Mohan Ganapati Siddi).15 These efforts seemed to have borne fruit as the findings of the survey are in stark contrast to what I observed when I visited the Siddi villages in 2016, 2017, and 2018. Most of the Siddi children who go to school and those youth that have received education are able to speak English well. This suggests a marked improvement in the performance of the Siddis in English. Thus, education has had a positive impact on the community.

Siddi Settlements I visited the Siddi settlements of Wada, Ghardoli, Gadgera, Hosur, Bopin Kop, Dodkop, Mavinkop, Dandeli, Kerwad, Nagashetikopp, Tattigeri in the Haliyal

Mark Sebastian Pinto / The Forgotten Community │ 181 district and Mainalli, Ugingeri, Kegdal, Bilki and Gunjavatti, among others in the Yellapur and Mundgod districts. Most of the Siddi settlements are located deep into the jungle in extremely isolated areas. A fair distance into the jungle on often badly maintained roads and in some cases, just mud paths, there appears a clearing and one begins to see signs of a settlement here. These settlements are unique as the inhabitants are solely Siddis. Lacking an overall organization, each Siddi settlement forms the ultimate unit of authority. Every settlement has its leaders to manage its internal affairs. The Siddis, as mentioned earlier, are also segmented by their affiliation to three different religions—Hinduism, Islam and Christianity (Prasad 95), and hence in most of the villages the inhabitants belong exclusively to one religion. Most Siddi settlements were of a similar nature although the Christian Siddi settlements appeared to be better organized and more orderly. This leads me to believe that the influence of the Church and its leaders has a bearing on how the villages are set up, administered, and looked after. The settlements were made up of houses on either side of what appeared to be a recently laid concrete road. The houses were of brick and concrete, with tiled roads and most faced the road. The road often led to a field or an exit from the settlement. There were about 10 to15 houses (sometimes more in the larger villages like Mainalli) in each settlement. Most of the settlements that I visited were Christian Siddi settlements. A common theme in these villages was a crucifix painted on the front wall of the house. Similarly, the houses inside were often adorned with Christian religious pictures. Some of the houses were recently renovated inside and were very modern looking, although they were rather small. However, most houses were of a simple nature and had modest concrete floors. The houses inside were extremely clean and footwear had to be left outside. Almost each house possessed a family member (a male member) who had a motorcycle.16 There are Siddi settlements that are not located in isolated areas, but these are few and far between. The isolated locations of the Sidi settlements do not augur well for the community as this would hinder their integration into mainstream society.

Indians with African blood The Siddis are an endogamous community. This is largely how the community has survived the centuries as a unique community and maintained their physical features. However, it is interesting to observe that their dress code follows the Indian17 one at large. They speak the local language(s) and follow local religions. Therefore, we may note a nexus of identities regarding the Siddis of Uttara Kannada. Several scholars have suggested that individuals do not have singular identities, but are a repertoire of different ones (Ross, pp. 287-291). The Siddis use their Siddi, Indian, and religious multiple identities based upon the social 182 │ InterDISCIPLINARY Journal of Portuguese Diaspora Studies Vol. 8 (2019)

setting in which they find themselves. The Siddis are multilingual, speaking Konkani, Marathi, Kannada, and Urdu. They use Kannada, Marathi, and Urdu when in larger non-Siddi society (i.e., away from their settlements) and Konkani among themselves. With respect to dress code, they resemble any Indian. How can we define a Siddi with respect to his identity? How do they identify themselves and what is the identity that they wish to assume? Do they identify with the political notion of national identity? What does Africa mean to them? The answer is complex and based on my ethnographic research, often contradictory. However, an observation that I could make (although a rather simplistic one due to my limited interaction with the community) is that self- identification among the Siddis differed based on age. While older Siddis considered themselves Siddis first, Siddis above all else, and then Christian, Hindu, Muslim, and Indian, younger Siddis chose to align with a more national identity, aware nonetheless, that they possessed distinct physical features. With regards marriages, Siddinness plays an important role. A Siddi will only marry another Siddi. Only in the last few years have there been marriages between Siddis and non-Siddis. Ramita Prakash Christian attributes this to increased mobility and spread of education (personal communication 05.01.2017). Nonetheless, marriages outside the community are still very rare. The above assertion by a Siddi woman—and the fact that I assert repeatedly that the Siddis of Uttara Kannada are an endogamous community where “Siddiness” plays an important role in marriages—seems to come into direct contradiction with the results of the earlier mentioned genetic studies that were carried out, in which Gauniyal concludes that the Siddis were a “hybrid population with African, South Indian, and Portuguese admixture, with a dominant contribution from the Africans followed by the South Indians and a small Portuguese contribution”(Gauniyal 259). If the Siddis of Uttara Kannada are considered to be an admixed population, then how can they be considered to be an endogamous community at the same time? Recent authors and commentators on the Siddis of Uttara Kannada have all admitted that the Siddis are an endogamous community. Vijaykumar and Malhotra have written about the “inbreeding and matrimonial distances among the Siddis of Karnataka,” which prove this claim that the Siddis do engage in marriage within the community itself. To clarify this, let us briefly observe the study carried out by them: data on parental consanguinity and matrimonial distances were collected for a sample of Siddis of North Kanara district in western Karnataka, using a multistage stratified random sampling design. Altogether 268 married couples—156 Christian, 47 Hindu and 65 Muslim (by MV) in 1980-81—were studied. The findings of the study showed that the bulk of the marriages in all three groups take place within 20km. However, among the Christian Siddis, an appreciable number of marriages (27.56%) are contracted beyond this distance. The Siddi groups display wide variation in the types and incidence of consanguineous marriage. Matrilateral cross-cousin and uncle-niece

Mark Sebastian Pinto / The Forgotten Community │ 183 marriage are practiced by all three groups. The Muslim Siddis also practice patrilateral and parallel-cousin marriages. The rate of consanguineous marriage is highest among Muslim Siddis (46.15%) and lowest among Christian Siddis (24.36%). Marriage among the Christian Siddis calls for further comment. Marriages among the Christian Siddis are to a great extent regulated and arranged by the church; they are thus not totally free to choose their own mates as are Hindu and Muslim Siddis (Vijaykumar and Malhotra 228–229).18 Thus, studies, at least since 1980 have proven that the Siddis (of Karnataka/Uttara Kannada) are largely an endogamous community. However, based on the previous assertions, they are considered to be (as studies have shown) a community of mixed descent. For purposes of reconciliation, possibly, a study involving the early interactions of the Siddis with the local communities and a comprehensive study on matrimonial tendencies among the Siddis, since their arrival in the forests of Uttara Kannada up until recent times, would be able to elicit a clearer understanding in this respect. It is entirely possible (and this is a supposition) that the early contact, during a protracted period involved mixing with the local community, produced the hybrid community of the Siddis who in much more recent times, in a bid to maintain their phenotypical identity as the new community of the Siddis, began to adhere to endogamous matrimonial practices, as can be observed in the community today. The study by Vijaykumar and Malhotra also suggest that there is probably no connection between the Siddi communities of Uttara Kannada and Gujarat. The greatest marriage distance in the study was found to be 55.35kms (Vijaykumar and Malhotra 228). Any links between these two communities over the centuries or in recent times will have to be researched in a separate study. The strong primary identity among the Siddis is visible in the following example narrated to me by Francis Harnodkar Siddi; during the Olympic games, the Siddis always support the African (sub-Saharan) athletes, as they consider them one of their own and representatives of their people. From the above example, it becomes clear that “Africanness” is very important to the Siddis. “Africanness” is their primary identity and strong identity above all else. However, excluding the exceptional case above and a few others, the Siddis call themselves Indian and believe that India is their country. Francis goes on to say that even though the notion of “Africanness” exists among the Siddis and they hold it very dear to themselves, they feel their sense of belonging is to India (personal communication, 06.01.2017). Edward Alpers writes that there have existed, and continued to exist, significant recollections of Africa in the memory and everyday practice of peoples of African descent throughout the Indian Ocean world (94). However, this does not appear to be the case of the Siddis of Uttara Kannada. The link with Africa in terms of memories and recollections has been lost. The following examples bear testament to this fact. On if she felt African or Indian or if she thought there was any African influence in her way of life, Ramita Prakash Christian states, 184 │ InterDISCIPLINARY Journal of Portuguese Diaspora Studies Vol. 8 (2019)

There is no connection with Africa besides our physical appearance. I know that our ancestors are from Africa, however, the language that must have been uniquely African has been lost and we have assimilated to Indian culture and customs and here is where we belong. (Personal communication 05.01.2017)

Jacinta Naik, a teacher at the Gadgera Siddi school said that she considers herself Indian even though she feels that at the same time she is different.

I was born here and all I knew and know is India and Indians and hence I have no connection with Africa besides my physical appearance. (Personal communication 05.01.2017)

The Siddis are a community, a deep horizontal commonality, limited to their physical appearance, which is their primary identity, a community clearly distinct from mainstream society. However, they are Indian, because that is the land in which several generations have been born. Several Siddi participants at the Goa Conference on the African Diaspora in Asia made statements, such as: “we are Indians now, but we have African blood” (van Kessel 461–464). Efforts to integrate the Siddis better into mainstream society have been made, as mentioned earlier, by the authorities. However, there is much room for improvement in their implementation. NGOs and civil society of late have been making concerted efforts to bring the Siddis out of isolation and help them get recognition and respect in society.

Conclusion Various writers and scholars have spoken of the lack of scholarly work on the Indian Ocean slave trade and the sheer underestimation of the numbers of slaves transported from the African mainland to various destinations in the Indian Ocean. Alpers warns, however, that it would be wrong to impose the same paradigms developed from the experience of Africans in the diaspora of the Atlantic world, with its particular forms of Euro-American racism and concomitant black responses (94) in the recognition and study of the Indian Ocean slave trade. Ann Pescatello has pointed out the fact that in sixteenth century India, “slavery” as a chattel concept did not exist and the western or African notions of a person as “chattel” seem to have no basis in Indian social thought. She attributed this to the existence of the complex social stratification system that existed in India, based on the caste system. Shireen Moosvi and Abdulaziz Lodhi as well as Burton also provide sufficient evidence to corroborate this claim from Pescatello. Beginning from Ancient India till pre-colonial times, the existing local feudal systems (caste or varna system) assigned predefined roles to persons belonging to the various castes. However, these roles were largely domestic roles, and hence the slavery that was practiced in India, since Ancient times, appears to be distinctly different from the chattel type slavery of the Atlantic Ocean slave trade. The Portuguese imperialists in Goa, thus, also seemed to continue this

Mark Sebastian Pinto / The Forgotten Community │ 185 pattern of using the African slave in a domestic role. The African was a valued item in trade as he fulfilled many tasks that Indians would not perform (because of caste restrictions), or would not perform, or for which the Portuguese deemed themselves and Indians to be unsuited. Nonetheless, the demand for slaves for agricultural and commercial interests, and their captivity and the less than favourable conditions under which they lived, cannot and should not be underestimated. The Siddis, the descendants of these African slaves, today form a large community in the southern Indian state of Uttara Kannada, to where they gradually and periodically escaped and settled. The Indian population is officially and unofficially classified into numerous ethnic and religious groups, tribes and castes. Although the caste system was officially outlawed by the Constitution of India in 1950, it still lingers on in the everyday life of Indians, particularly in rural areas. The system of social stratification is, even today, a factor in determining the role of the Siddi in Uttara Kannada. The Indian society’s social stratification system of castes and tribes and reservations is indeed extremely complex and has profound consequences for the Siddi in Indian society. The Siddis of Uttara Kannada are classified as a Scheduled Tribe. However, as we have seen, the concession and enforcement of the Scheduled Tribe status has been contentious and fraught with controversy. While well intentioned, most of the schemes are flawed and not properly enforced which leave the Siddis of Uttara Kannada in a difficult predicament. Nonetheless, there seems to have been a remarkable progress made in the last few years to bring the Siddis closer to mainstream society, for which governmental and non-governmental organizations and well- intentioned scholars and social workers deserve credit. Racism and, more specifically “Afrophobia,” in Indian society also adversely impact the Siddis and their integration with the mainstream population. Education, not just of the Siddis but of the larger Indian society and the spread of knowledge about the existence of such peculiar and unique communities in a country as diverse as India, is the only remedy to this undesirable situation. The Siddis have survived, adapted, and evolved over the last four centuries and developed into a unique Indian community in the post-colonial era. The existence of the Siddi community in Uttara Kannada in India is fascinating as well as painful, if we consider the circumstances under which they were uprooted from their original land and brought to a new land to work under often difficult conditions and survived through it all. Their struggles and sacrifices in maintaining their identity, unity, and survival as a community over four centuries deserve much admiration. This phenomenon originating a few centuries back, in a different continent, as a commodity of trade in the India Ocean world—involving struggles and suffering and an exemplary resolve and endurance and of a remarkable assimilation under difficult conditions both in pre-colonial and post-colonial India—deserves much more than a cursory look by scholars and students of African diaspora in the Indian Ocean. 186 │ InterDISCIPLINARY Journal of Portuguese Diaspora Studies Vol. 8 (2019)

Notes

1 The analysis of how religion is practiced among the Siddis is out of scope of this study. Nonetheless, I do make some references to religion at various points in the study. 2 Translated as “class.” 3 Translated as “caste.” 4 Habshi refers to the African slave in India, synonymous with Siddi. 5 I have deliberately used the term “African” instead of “Negro” (which appears in the original), as such terms are no longer appropriate in modern academic discussions. I am aware that “African” is a very broad and vague term and refers to people from an entire continent. However, it is accepted that this term has come to specifically denote “Sub-Saharan Africans.” 6 The taluka is an administrative division composed of a certain number of villages. The eleven talukas are Haliyal, Supa, Karwar, Yellapur, Mundgod, Ankola, Sirsi, Kumta, Siddapur, Honavar, and Bhatkal. Karwar serves as the administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada. 7 Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Census of India 2011, Karnataka: District Census Handbook, Uttara Kannada, 2011. 8 For an example of one such awareness campaign, see Obeng (31–35). 9 The panchayat is the council of the village. 10 For details on constitutional provisions, see Karunakar (47–61). 11 I am aware that denoting peoples’ skin colour, such as “black” and “white” is not appropriate, these are terms I would normally refrain from using. However, in this case, I have chosen to only reproduce the article without making any changes, keeping it thus as the author has written it. 12 Re-enforcing this theory is that the many of the Catholic Siddis have names of Portuguese origin, of common usage in the state of Goa. Besides, the Karwar taluka in Karnataka was at no time under Portuguese rule. 13 Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Census of India 2011, Karnataka: District Census Handbook, Uttara Kannada, 2011. 14 During my last visit in June 2018, I learned that there were plans to build a sports hostel for Siddi children at the school complex. 15 Siddi Jana Vikas Sangh, blogpost (Apr 2011). 16 There was one family in the village of Wada that owned a car. 17 I use the term “Indian” out of simplification. Indeed, an “Indian” is too complex a category with regard to language, religion, social structure, and so on.

Works Cited Allen, Richard B. “Satisfying the ‘Want for Labouring People’: European Slave Trading in the Indian Ocean, 1500-1850.” Journal of World History, vol. 21, no. 1, 2010, pp. 45–73. ---. “Ending the history of silence: reconstructing European Slave trading in the Indian Ocean” Revista Tempo, vol. 23 n.2, artigo 6, Mai/Ago. 2017, 294–313. Alpers, Edward A. “Recollecting Africa: Diasporic Memory in the Indian Ocean World.” African Studies Review, vol. 43, no. 1, 2000, pp. 83–99. Bauss, Rudy. “The Portuguese Slave Trade from Mozambique to Portuguese India and Macau and Comments on Timor, 1750–1850: New Evidence from the Archives,” Camões Center Quarterly (ISSN 1042-864X), vol 6, no. 1-2, 1997, pp 21–26. Burton, Richard F. Goa, and the Blue Mountains; or, Six Months of Sick Leave. University of California Press, 1991. Cardoso, Hugo C. “The African slave population of Portuguese India: Demographics and impact on Indo-Portuguese.” Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages, 25:1, 2010, pp. 95-119. Câmara, Charles. Owning our Change: A case Study on a development intervention among tribal groups in South India. Swedish Mission Council, Modins, 2012. Christian, Premnath Androj A. Personal Interview. Jan 2017. Christian, Ramita Prakash. Personal Interview. Jan 2017. Gauniyal, Mansi, M.S Chahal and Gautam K. Kshatriya “Genetic Affinities of the Siddis of South India: An Emigrant Population of East Africa.” Human Biology, vol. 80, no. 3, 2008, pp. 251–270.

Mark Sebastian Pinto / The Forgotten Community │ 187

Gerbeau, Hubert. “L’océan Indien n’est pas l’Atlantique: La traite illégale à Bourbon au XIXe siècle. Outre-mers, Revue d’histoire, vol. 89, n. 336, 2002, pp. 79–108. Government of India. Handbook of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Office of the Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, New Delhi, 1963. Harris, Joseph E. The African Presence in Asia: consequences of the East African slave trade. Northwestern University Press. --- “Expanding the Scope of African Diaspora Studies: The Middle East and India, a Research Agenda,” Radical History Review, vol. 87, 2003 pp. 157–68. Karunakar, P. “Political representation and Indigenous Peoples in India,” Fourth World Journal, vol. 10, no. 1, 2011, 47–61. Kaweesi, Bosco. Personal Interveiw. Dec 2016. Kessel, Ineke Van. “Conference Report: Goa Conference on the African Diaspora in Asia, African Affairs, vol. 105, no. 420, Jul 2006, Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal African Society, pp. 461–464. Kuku, Diepiriye, “India is Racist, And Happy About it,” Outlook India Magazine, June 2009, https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/india-is-racist-and-happy-about-it/250317 Accessed 08 Jan. 2019. Lodhi, Abdulaziz Y. “African Settlements in India” Nordic Journal of African Studies, vol. 1, no. 1, 1992, pp. 83–86. Machado, Pedro Alberto da Silva Rupino. “A Forgotten Corner of the Indian Ocean: Gujarati Merchants, Portuguese India and the Mozambique Slave-Trade, c. 1730–1830.” Slavery and Abolition, vol. 24, no. 2, 2003, pp. 17–32. Madan, Karuna, “The dark face of Indian racism”, Gulf News India, Jan 2019, https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india/the-dark-face-of-indian-racism-1.61161168m. Accessed 08 Jan 2019. Mohan Ganapati Siddi, “Activities of Siddi Jana Vikas Sanga” Siddi Jana Vikas Sanga, registered under Karnataka Societies Registration Act 2010, Apr 2011, siddijanavikas.blogspot.com. Accessed 24 Sep. 2018. Moosvi, Shireen. “Domestic Service in Precolonial India: Bondage, Caste and Market.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, vol. 64, 2003, pp. 560–582. Naik, Jacinta. Personal Interview. Jan 2017. Obeng, Pashington. Shaping membership, defining nation: The cultural politics of African Indians in South Asia. Lexington Books, 2007. Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Census of India 2011, Karnataka: District Census Handbook, Uttara Kannada, 201, censusindia.gov.in. Accessed 3 Apr. 2017 Pearson, Michael N. “Port cities and intruders: The Swahili coast, India, and Portugal in the early modern era”, Vol. 23. JHU Press, 2003. Pescatello, Ann M. “The African Presence in Portuguese India.” Journal of Asian History, vol. 11, no. 1, 1977, pp. 26–48. Prasad, Kiran Kamal. In search of an Identity: An ethnographic Study of the Siddis in Karnataka.” Jana Jagrati Prakashana, 1984, 2005. Ramchandran, Shastri, “Afrophobia and Racism Keep India Trailing Behind China”, IDN- InDepthNews, Sep 2018, https://www.indepthnews.net/index.php/the-world/asia- pacific/2143-afrophobia-and-racism-keep-india-trailing-behind-china. Accessed 08 Jan. 2019. Ross, Alistair. “Multiple Identities and Education for Active Citizenship,” British Journal of Educational Studies, vol. 55, no. 3, Sep 2007, pp. 286–303. Siddi, Francis Harnodkar. Personal Interview. Jan 2017. Vijayakumar, M., and K. C. Malhotra. “Inbreeding and Matrimonial Distances Among the Siddis of Karnataka.” Current Anthropology, vol. 24, no. 2, 1983, pp. 228–229. 188 │ InterDISCIPLINARY Journal of Portuguese Diaspora Studies Vol. 8 (2019)

Mark Sebastian Pinto is an independent researcher, alumnus of Instituto Superior de Ciências Técnicas e Empresarias (ISCTE-IUL), Lisboa (Msc in International Studies, December 2017. Previously completed an MA in Portuguese Literature and Culture from Goa University in June 2008.